Legislature(2015 - 2016)ANCH BENSON BLDG
12/13/2016 01:00 PM Senate LEGISLATIVE BUDGET & AUDIT
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Approval of Minutes | |
| Special Audit Requests | |
| Executive Session | |
| Aslc/acpe Performance Review | |
| Audit Preliminary Reports | |
| Other Committee Business | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
December 13, 2016
1:04 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Hawker, Chair
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Sam Kito
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Pete Kelly (Alternate)
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Kurt Olson
Representative Mark Neuman (Alternate)
Senator Anna MacKinnon, Vice Chair
Senator Bert Stedman
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Lora Reinbold
Senator Berta Gardner
Senator Gary Stevens
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
SPECIAL AUDIT REQUESTS
EXECUTIVE SESSION
ASLC/ACPE PERFORMANCE REVIEW
AUDIT PERFORMANCE REPORTS
AUDIT FINAL REPORT
OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor
Legislative Audit Division
Legislative Agencies and Offices
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Addressed the audits before the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee.
LINDA DAY, Audit Manager
Legislative Audit Staff Anchorage
Legislative Audit Division
Legislative Agencies and Offices
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered a question during the audit review
related to Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program
Travel Costs.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:04:05 PM
CHAIR MIKE HAWKER called the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. Representatives Kito
and Hawker and Senators Bishop (via teleconference), Giessel,
Hoffman (via teleconference), and Kelly (via teleconference)
(Alternate) were present at the call to order. Representatives
Thompson (via teleconference) and Pruitt arrived as the meeting
was in progress. Also present were Representatives Josephson
and Reinbold and Senator Stevens.
CHAIR HAWKER acknowledged the passing of former Representative
Mike Kelly and offered condolences to Senator (Pete) Kelly and
his family.
^APPROVAL OF MINUTES
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1:07:24 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved that the minutes from the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee meeting of October 17, 2016, be
approved. There being no objection, the minutes were approved.
^SPECIAL AUDIT REQUESTS
SPECIAL AUDIT REQUESTS
1:07:50 PM
CHAIR HAWKER announced that the next order of business would be
audit requests. He noted the first request was related to the
Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Travel Costs
and would serve to highlight what they are, how they have been
working, and how they might be improved.
1:09:19 PM
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Audit Division,
Legislative Agencies and Offices, in response to Chair Hawker,
confirmed that she had participated in the drafting of this
specific request and that the language of the request was
"adequate and appropriate" for the purpose of her undertaking an
examination for the purposes stated.
1:09:47 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL directed attention to [a memorandum to the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee from Representative Mike
Hawker, Chair, dated December 2, 2016, included in the committee
packet], and specifically highlighted the language in the first
bullet point on the second page of the memorandum. She
paraphrased the paragraph, which read in its entirety as
follows:
Determine whether the prior authorization and referral
process for Medicaid travel could be improved to
ensure the lowest travel costs are obtained with the
emphasis on booking travel in advance when possible.
As a part of this objective, review ticket
cancelations and reissuances.
SENATOR GIESSEL questioned whether the auditor could consider
geographic areas and whether there may be one area more prone to
cancelations than another. Further, she questioned whether it
would be possible to evaluate travel that occurred but ended
with a "no-show" to an appointment.
1:10:53 PM
MS. CURTIS offered her understanding that Senator Giessel was
referring to travel that occurred where no services happened.
She said she had looked at other states that do that and would
be considering that in the review of the audit.
1:11:12 PM
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked what percentage of the dollars being
audited are federal and what percentage are state.
MS. CURTIS deferred to Linda Day, the audit manager who
performed the travel audit.
1:11:43 PM
LINDA DAY, Audit Manager, Legislative Audit Staff Anchorage,
Legislative Audit Division, Legislative Agencies and Offices,
relayed that there were approximately $80 million in Medicaid
travel costs, and typically the reimbursement rate is 50 percent
federal and 50 percent state.
1:12:30 PM
CHAIR HAWKER noted that the next audit request would be related
to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. He explained he
brought this request to the committee as a result of concerns
that have been raised regarding various authorities and the
discharge to those authorities, with regard to operations and
management of the land office in the Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority. He explained the request to the state auditor is to
examine these issues, the policies, and the statutes to
determine traditional compliance. He emphasized that in the
time this issue was brought to his attention, it had "made a
certain show in the media," and he spoke with individuals
involved with the trust, who assured him they are taking steps
to remedy some of the errant concerns. He stated that the
intent of the audit is to document whether or not the concerns
are valid and, beyond that, to document the process procedures
in place and being taken by the Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority to remedy any concerns that exist.
1:13:55 PM
MS. CURTIS, in response to Chair Hawker, confirmed that she had
neither concern regarding the scope in the audit request, nor
doubt about her ability to comply with said request.
1:14:16 PM
CHAIR HAWKER noted the last audit request was related to the
Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), which asks
auditors to look at various aspects related to the transactions
and funding of AGDC. He said he personally takes a lot of
interest in this issue, because it was his own legislation which
created AGDC as a standalone state corporation. He noted that
he would be leaving the legislature after this year, and in
concurrence with Senator Giessel, who is the chair of the Senate
Resources Standing Committee, wanted to perform this audit to
obtain a formal report on what has transpired with AGDC. He
explained that there have been quite a few changes over the last
few years over how the legislature had intended it to be
established and function. He said he would like to leave the
state with a historic record of "how we got to this point and
where we are at as it now moves off into the future."
1:16:01 PM
MS. CURTIS, in response to Chair Hawker, said she has no
concerns regarding the audit request as presented.
1:16:32 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee approve the request for an audit of Medicaid and
Children's Health Insurance Program Travel Costs. There being
no objection, it was so ordered.
1:17:01 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee approve the request for an audit of the Alaska Mental
Health Trust Authority. There being no objection, it was so
ordered.
1:17:30 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee approve the request for an audit of the Alaska Gasline
Development Corporation. There being no objection, it was so
ordered.
CHAIR HAWKER thanked everyone who had helped draft the audit
requests.
^EXECUTIVE SESSION
EXECUTIVE SESSION
1:18:23 PM
CHAIR HAWKER announced that the next order of business would be
the executive session for the purpose of discussing:
Performance Reviews - Final, Alaska Student Loan
Corporation/Alaska Commission on Post-Secondary Education;
Audits - Preliminary Reports, Department of Health and Social
Services, Alaska Health Care Commission (Sunset) and Department
of Public Safety, Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory
Select Issues; and Audits - Final, Department of Commerce,
Community & Economic Development, Alaska Regional Development
Organizations.
1:19:15 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee enter into executive session under Uniform Rule
22(b)(3) and AS 24.20.301 for the discussion of confidential
audit and performance review reports. There being no objection,
it was so ordered.
1:19:44 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 1:20 p.m. to 2:31 p.m. for
the purpose of executive session.
2:31:08 PM
CHAIR HAWKER called the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee
back to order at 2:31 p.m. Representatives Kito, Thompson (via
teleconference), Pruitt, and Hawker, and Senators Bishop (via
teleconference), Giessel, and Hoffman (via teleconference) were
present at the call back to order. Also present were
Representative Reinbold and Senators Gardner and Stevens.
^ASLC/ACPE PERFORMANCE REVIEW
ASLC/ACPE PERFORMANCE REVIEW
2:32:55 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee release the Alaska Student Loan Corporation/Alaska
Commission on Post-Secondary Education final performance review
report to the public. There being no objection, it was so
ordered.
^AUDIT PRELIMINARY REPORTS
AUDIT PRELIMINARY REPORTS
2:33:25 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved that the following preliminary audits be
released to the agencies for response: Department of Health and
Social Services - Alaska Health Care Commission (Sunset);
Department of Public Safety - Alaska Scientific Crime Detection
Laboratory Select Issues. There being no objection, it was so
ordered.
2:34:06 PM
^AUDIT FINAL REPORT
AUDIT FINAL REPORT
GIESSEL moved that the following final audit be released to the
public: Department of Commerce, Community & Economic
Development, Alaska Regional Development Organizations. There
being no objection, it was so ordered.
^OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
2:34:30 PM
CHAIR HAWKER announced that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee would meet again in approximately 30 days, just prior
to the start of the Thirtieth Alaska State Legislative Session.
2:35:23 PM
CHAIR HAWKER ascertained that Ms. Curtis had nothing further to
state.
2:35:39 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee meeting was adjourned at
2:36 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Agenda.pdf |
JBUD 12/13/2016 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. Medicaid-CHIP Travel Audit Request.pdf |
JBUD 12/13/2016 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. AMHTA Audit Request.pdf |
JBUD 12/13/2016 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. AMHTA Audit Request - Background.pdf |
JBUD 12/13/2016 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. AGDC Audit Request.pdf |
JBUD 12/13/2016 1:00:00 PM |