Legislature(1997 - 1998)
04/07/1997 02:00 PM Senate CRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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SENATE COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
April 7, 1997
2:00 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Jerry Mackie, Chairman
Senator Gary Wilken, Vice Chairman
Senator Dave Donley
Senator Randy Phillips
Senator Lyman Hoffman
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 139
"An Act relating to state aid to volunteer fire departments; and
providing for an effective date."
-- MOVED CSSB 139(CRA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 131
"An Act imposing a tax on employment, with the tax proceeds
available to support public school construction and major
maintenance; and providing for an effective date."
-- HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 135
"An Act relating to the participating share for school construction
grants; and providing for an effective date."
-- MOVED SB 135 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 139 - See Community & Regional Affairs minutes 3/19/97.
SB 131 - No previous action to record.
SB 135 - No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
Senator John Torgerson
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Prime Sponsor of SB 139
Ms. Mary Jackson, Staff to Senator Torgerson
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on CSSB 139(CRA)
Mark Johnson, Chief, Community Health & Emergency
Medical Services
Division of Public Health
Department of Health & Social Services
P.O. Box 110616
Juneau, AK 99811-0616
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of CSSB 139(CRA)
Bill Rolfzen
Division of Municipal & Regional Assistance
Department of Community & Regional Affairs
P.O. Box 112100
Juneau, AK 99811-2100
POSITION STATEMENT: Department supports CSSB 139(CRA)
Deborah Vogt, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 110400
Juneau, AK 99811-0400
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on FY Note for SB 131
Marla Berg, Staff to Senator Al Adams
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented overview on SB 135
Eddy Jeans, Manager, School Finance Section
Education Support Services
Department of Education
801 W. 10th St., Suite 200
Juneau, AK 99801-1894
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on FY Note for SB 135
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 97-14, SIDE A
Number 001
SB 139 AID TO VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS
CHAIRMAN MACKIE called the Senate Community & Regional Affairs
Committee meeting to order at 2:00 p.m., and noted all members were
present. He then brought SB 139 before the committee as the first
order of business.
SENATOR TORGERSON , prime sponsor of SB 139, informed the committee
that since the previous hearing on the legislation, his office did
extensive research and came up with a proposed committee substitute
which will expand the existing state funding program to include
volunteer fire departments and EMS groups.
Number 050
SENATOR WILKEN moved CSSB 139(CRA) be adopted. Hearing no
objection, CHAIRMAN MACKIE stated the motion carried.
Number 055
MARY JACKSON , staff to Senator Torgerson, explained the committee
substitute takes the program out from under the municipal
assistance program and makes it a stand-alone program. When the
program is funded, it goes directly to volunteer fire departments
and EMS groups in the amounts determined by the funding level
appropriated by the Legislature. Also, the title in the committee
substitute has been changed reflecting "volunteer services" because
the program has been expanded to include EMS services. Both fire
and EMS services are limited to communities with a population of
2,500 or under, and EMS is limited to those that provide ambulance
services. Both volunteer services have to be certified or
registered with the state of Alaska.
Number 085
MARK JOHNSON , Chief, Community Health & Emergency Medical Services,
Department of Health & Social Services, testifying in support of
CSSB 139(CRA), said the department recognizes the difficulties that
volunteer agencies across the state face to get appropriately
trained and equipped, etc., to the provide these services. He
pointed out that the vast majority of the people who are in need of
EMS services are not local residents, especially when the service
is provided in highway areas, tourist impact areas, or commercial
fishing areas.
Mr. Johnson directed attention to a document prepared by the
department listing ambulance services that transport. He noted the
list does not include organized first responder services that don't
transport.
Number 158
JERRY GENTILE , Division of Fire Prevention, Department of Public
Safety, voiced the department's support for CSSB 139(CRA) and
stated he would respond to questions from the committee.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked Mr. Gentile if he thought that with the way
this program is laid out it will give a lot more support to the
small volunteer departments, and MR. GENTILE answered that he
thinks it will have a positive impact on small volunteer
departments that presently don't get enough money.
Number 172
CHAIRMAN MACKIE commented that currently, when a municipality gets
money under municipal assistance or revenue sharing for fire
protection services, it doesn't necessarily mean it's passed on to
the fire departments, so if this goes to the community specifically
for EMS or fire services, then these services should have a little
more leverage to make sure they get these funds.
Number 195
BILL ROLFZEN , Division of Municipal & Regional Assistance,
Department of Community & Regional Affairs, stated the department's
support for CSSB 139(CRA).
SENATOR DONLEY inquired how this legislation relates to the safe
communities funding bill. SENATOR TORGERSON responded that this is
a different program than the safe communities program and it
wouldn't have an effect on that legislation.
Number 236
SENATOR WILKEN moved that CSSB 139(CRA) be passed out of committee
with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so
ordered.
Number 240
SB 131 ANNUAL SCHOOL TAX
CHAIRMAN MACKIE introduced SB 131 as the next order of business.
ROBERT NELSON , staff to Senator Al Adams, who is the prime sponsor
of SB 131, explained the legislation imposes a school tax of $25 a
year on persons 19 years of age and older, both employed and self-
employed, resident and non-residents alike. The revenue collected
from this annual tax would go into the general fund with the intent
of the dollars going towards the School Construction Grant Fund and
the Major Maintenance Grant Fund.
Mr. Nelson said there is a definite need for the funding of school
maintenance throughout Alaska, and with the state's decline in
revenues and budget cut-backs, SB 131 would allow an alternative
means of funding for Alaskan schools.
Mr. Nelson noted that during 1995 the total number of people 19 and
older in the work force was about 254,000, and with a $25 per
person annual school tax, the state would stand to raise
approximately $6.3 million in revenue. Included in these figures
are the non-wage earners which comprise about 23 percent of total
wage and salary workers in Alaska. The state could stand to gain
approximately $2 million from the passage of SB 131 from non-
resident workers alike.
Number 280
DEBORAH VOGT , Deputy Commissioner, Department of Revenue, said the
fiscal note prepared by the department is based on the idea that
the Department of Revenue would directly enforce the tax against
self-employed people, and that the tax would be collected and
remitted to the general fund from employed people by the Department
of Labor in conjunction with the unemployment tax. For that
reason, the Department of Revenue fiscal note only shows $1.5 in
income. The Department of Labor has estimated that the collections
it would collect would be about $8.7 million. She noted the
Department of Labor has estimated there are approximately 350,000
employees in the state.
Ms. Vogt pointed out that the Long Range Fiscal Planning Commission
considered reinstating the school tax as one of the tools for
closing the revenue gap, but it was not adopted as a
recommendation.
Number 310
CHAIRMAN MACKIE inquired when the previous school tax was
eliminated. SENATOR PHILLIPS advised that the school tax was
repealed in 1980 for the same reason the state income tax was
repealed, which was because the state had a lot of money coming in
from oil revenues.
SENATOR WILKEN stated that when running for the Senate, he pledged
in his campaign that he wouldn't support any new taxes on Alaska
residents so he would be opposing SB 131.
Number 336
Following brief discussion by committee members, CHAIRMAN MACKIE
stated SB 131 would be held in committee because it didn't appear
that there were the votes to move it out.
Number 340
SB 135 SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION GRANT PROGRAM
CHAIRMAN MACKIE brought SB 135 before the committee as the final
order of business.
MARLA BERG , an aide to Senator Adams, said SB 135 deals with the
required local contribution for school construction projects.
Ms. Berg explained the legislation substitutes a three-part means
test for the existing waiver criteria. Under the provisions of
this bill, a school district must meet all three criteria
established in the bill to have their participating share waived.
The three-part test consists of:
(1) An assessed valuation per average daily membership of
$200,00 or less;
(2) An unemployment rate in the district of 10 percent or
more; and
(3) An average per capita income for residents in the
district that is 85 percent or less of the statewide average per
capita income.
Ms. Berg said although each of these measurements has its own
specific shortcomings, the combination of criteria provides the
Commissioner of Education a pretty good idea of local economic
circumstances. She said Senator Adams feels that school
construction projects are badly needed throughout the state, and
passage of SB 135 would allow school construction to proceed in an
equitable and expeditious manner.
Number 358
SENATOR WILKEN asked where the $200,000 assessed valuation of ADM
come from. MS. BERG explained that it is in an existing law that
passed in 1993.
Number 365
EDDY JEANS , School Finance Manager, Department of Education, said
in preparing its fiscal note, the Department of Education took the
existing major maintenance list and capital improvement list, and
using a list of districts that would be eligible under this
program, went through and identified those projects that would be
eligible for a waiver.
Mr. Jeans said he did consider preparing the fiscal note based on
the Governor's capital budget, SB 107, but as he reviewed the bill,
the school construction grants are to named recipients and it would
not fall under the same criteria as the school construction grants.
SENATOR WILKEN commented he has a feeling that assessed values in
unorganized areas are more of a reflection of a formula that
generates a number rather than something having to do with the free
market establishing value. He cautioned not to compare the two and
count them as being equal. MS. BERG agreed with Senator Wilken's
comments, and she added that for any community with a population of
under 750, they don't go out and really assess the value of the
area.
There being no further testimony, CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked for the
pleasure of the committee on SB 135.
SENATOR WILKEN moved SB 135 and the accompanying fiscal notes be
passed out of committee with individual recommendations. SENATOR
DONLEY objected and stated he doesn't agree with the legislation.
The roll was taken with the following result: Senators Wilken,
Hoffman, Phillips, and Mackie voted "Yea" and Senator Donley voted
"Nay." The Chairman stated the motion carried.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
CHAIRMAN MACKIE adjourned the meeting at 2:32 p.m.
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