Legislature(2021 - 2022)ANCH LIO DENALI Rm
07/29/2021 02:00 PM Senate LEGISLATIVE BUDGET & AUDIT
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Approval of Minutes | |
| Executive Session | |
| Final and Preliminary Audit Releases | |
| 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
Anchorage, Alaska
July 29, 2021
2:01 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Natasha von Imhof, Chair
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Lora Reinbold
Senator Bert Stedman
Senator Click Bishop (alternate)
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Neal Foster
Representative James Kaufman
Representative Dan Ortiz (alternate)
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Representative Chris Tuck, Vice Chair
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
EXECUTIVE SESSION
FINAL AND PRELIMINARY AUDIT RELEASES
OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor
Legislative Audit Division
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on audit follow-through
during the committee's discussion of other business.
ACTION NARRATIVE
2:01:54 PM
CHAIR NATASHA VON IMHOF called the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee meeting to order at [2:01] p.m. Representatives
Spohnholz, Kaufman, Josephson (via teleconference), Foster (via
teleconference), and Ortiz (alternate, via teleconference) and
Senators Micciche, Stedman, Bishop (alternate), Reinbold, and
von Imhof were present at the call to order. Also present was
Representative Hopkins (via teleconference).
^APPROVAL OF MINUTES
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
2:03:03 PM
CHAIR VON IMHOF announced that the first order of business would
be the approval of minutes.
2:03:10 PM
SENATOR STEDMAN moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee approve the minutes of the June 3, 2021, meeting as
presented. There being no objection, the minutes of the June 3,
2021, meeting were approved.
^EXECUTIVE SESSION
EXECUTIVE SESSION
2:03:32 PM
CHAIR VON IMHOF announced that the next order of business would
be an executive session to consider the final audit report for
the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board; and
the preliminary audit report for the Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority and the Board of Examiners in Optometry.
2:03:51 PM
SENATOR STEDMAN moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee go into executive session under Uniform Rule 22(b)(3)
for the discussion of matters that may, by law, be required to
be confidential.
2:03:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS interjected during the motion that he
would like to take part in the executive session.
2:04:15 PM
SENATOR STEDMAN restated the motion to go into executive session
and asked that the following persons remain in the room or
online: the legislative auditor and necessary staff of the
auditor; any legislators not on the committee; and staff for
legislators who are members of the committee. There being no
objection, it was so ordered.
2:05:03 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 2:05 p.m. to 3:43 p.m. for
the purpose of executive session.
3:43:51 PM
CHAIR VON IMHOF called the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee back to order at 3:44 p.m. Present at the call back
to order were Representatives Spohnholz, Kaufman, Foster (via
teleconference), and Ortiz (alternate, via teleconference) and
Senators Micciche, Stedman, Bishop (alternate), and von Imhof.
Also present was Representative Hopkins (via teleconference).
^FINAL AND PRELIMINARY AUDIT RELEASES
FINAL AND PRELIMINARY AUDIT RELEASES
3:44:03 PM
CHAIR VON IMHOF announced that the next order of business would
be final and preliminary audit releases.
3:44:14 PM
SENATOR STEDMAN moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee release the final audit report for the State Physical
Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board.
3:44:32 PM
SENATOR STEDMAN moved that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee release the following preliminary audit report to the
agencies for response: Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority,
statutes of select asset management issues; Board of Examiners
in Optometry, sunset audit. There being no objection, the
preliminary audits were released to the agencies for response.
^OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
3:44:56 PM
CHAIR VON IMHOF discussed the possibility of the next
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee meeting occurring either
August 27 or 28, 2021, and let committee members know they would
be polled to determine a consensus.
3:45:19 PM
CHAIR VON IMHOF next invited Representative Kaufman to speak on
the subject of audit follow-through.
3:45:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN stated that both the committee and the
public have observed that the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee is not working off findings, and they are significant
findings with both fiscal and societal impact. He shared his
familiarity with the problem comes from his background in
quality management, having worked with audits. He proposed
corrective action tracking on the most critical items. He said
he has spoken with Kris Curtis and others about doing a
criticality rating and "drive closure" and "drive resolution."
3:47:57 PM
CHAIR VON IMHOF asked Representative Kaufman what his vision is
for the committee's involvement.
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN suggested Kris Curtis may have some
input. He said he spoke with Ms. Curtis about finding the top
ten issues and doing a risk ranking on them.
3:48:36 PM
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Audit Division,
said in the past there has been discussion about bringing
executive branch department heads forward to discuss findings
regarding holding the executive branch accountable. Those
actions themselves might lead to more resolutions across the
board, she said. She talked about presentations of prior audit
findings over the last three years to the budget subcommittees,
which invited the departments to report their progress related
to the findings. She said there are formal and other options to
consider. She indicated that she thinks addressing this issue
is a good idea.
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN said he has found often "it takes
multiple directions to solve a problem." Sometimes a different
question needs to be asked. He talked about holding people
accountable and improving communication to find resolutions. He
said the problem is that the audit findings are accruing, and
the opportunity is that there could be a breakthrough in problem
solving with collaborative effort.
3:52:14 PM
CHAIR VON IMHOF agreed that audits are increasing and "we should
probably start breaking them apart into pieces and start
addressing them ... in chunks or by department or by whatever
other criteria."
3:52:35 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee meeting was adjourned at
[3:53] p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| LB&A 7 29 21 Agenda.pdf |
JBUD 7/29/2021 2:00:00 PM |
|
| IIa 6 3 21 LB&A Minutes for Approval.pdf |
JBUD 7/29/2021 2:00:00 PM |