Legislature(1993 - 1994)
04/20/1993 09:02 AM Senate CRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
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SENATE COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
April 20, 1993
9:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Randy Phillips, Chairman
Senator Robin Taylor, Vice Chairman
Senator Loren Leman
Senator Fred Zharoff
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Al Adams
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 189
"An Act relating to community health aide grants."
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 31
Relating to the minimum federal criteria for municipal solid
waste landfills.
HOUSE BILL NO. 221
"An Act relating to workers' compensation for volunteer
ambulance attendants, police officers, and fire fighters;
and providing for an effective date."
SENATE BILL NO. 164
"An Act relating to municipal incorporation,
reclassification, and dissolution."
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 189 - No previous action to record.
SJR 31 - No previous action to record.
HB 221 - No previous action to record.
SB 164 - See Community & Regional Affairs minutes
dated 3/30/93, 4/13/93.
WITNESS REGISTER
Myra Munson, Representing Alaska
Native Health Board
229 4th St.
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 189
Larry Stevens, Aide to Senator George Jacko
State Capitol
Juneau, Ak 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 189
Deborah Erickson, Health Program Sepcialist
Division of Public Health
Department of Health & Social Services
P.O. Box 110610
Juneau, AK 99811-0610
POSITION STATEMENT: Dept. supports SB 189
Senator Loren Leman
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Prime Sponsor of SJR 31
Heather Stockard
Hazardous & Solid Waste Management Section
Department of Environmental Conservation
410 Willoughby Ave., Suite 105
Juneau, AK 99801-1795
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on SJR 31
Representative Bill Hudson
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Prime Sponsor of HB 221
John George
Alaska State Firefighters Association
9515 Moraine Way
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information in support of
HB 221
Bruce Geraghty, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Community & Regional Affairs
P.O. Box 112100
Juneau, AK 99811-2100
POSITION STATEMENT: Dept. supports SB 164
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 93-23, SIDE A
Number 001
The Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee was called
to order by Chairman Randy Phillips at 9:02 a.m.
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS introduced SB 189 (COMMUNITY HEALTH
AIDE GRANTS) as the first order of business
MYRA MUNSON, representing the Alaska Native Health Board,
explained SB 189 is a very technical bill that will solve
the problem with the community health aide training grant
program. Community health aides make up the core of rural
health care delivery throughout Alaska. All of the money
for their salaries comes from federal appropriation through
the Indian Health Service.
The state provides a small grant program (less than
$700,000) to support training and supervision of the health
aides. When the program was created in 1985, it provided
that to be eligible to receive the funds an organization had
to exist in 1984 and employ health aides. Last year, after
the East Aleutian Borough formed, a new regional health
organization formed to serve that borough area, and because
this organization did not exist in 1984, it was not eligible
to receive training funds from the state.
SB 189 permits new regional organizations to come in and
provide services. The legislation does not change the
funding formula in any way; it is still based on the number
of health aides who were in the program in 1984.
Ms. Munson said the legislation is a very high priority for
people in the Aleutian-Priboloff region. Without passage of
the bill, those programs run the risk of having one program
with no funding or the two programs having less than their
share of the total funding. She urged swift passage of SB
189.
Number 092
LARRY STEVENS, aide to Senator George Jacko, said he
personally became aware of this problem the past interim
during a meeting with the Aleutian-Priboloff Islands
Association. Concern was expressed that if a solution was
not found in the near term, they would not be able to
continue on the basis which they had mutually agreed to to
accommodate the change in the situation.
Mr. Stevens voiced Senator Jacko's support for passage of
the legislation.
Number 110
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS referred to page 2, line 10, and
asked how the rural area of at least 4,000 square miles was
determined. MYRA MUNSON responded that the 4,000 miles is
determined by land mass, and the East Aleutians Borough area
served is just over 4,000 miles, so it will not create a new
problem. The land mass area was put into the law in the
first instance to encourage the efficiency of serving larger
regions, so as not to have every individual village coming
in and looking for grants.
Number 130
DEBORAH ERICKSON, Health Program Specialist, Division of
Public Health, Department of Health and Social Services,
stated the department's support for SB 189, and she said the
bill is just a technical change and will not the change the
nature or scope of the program.
Number 146
SENATOR LEMAN moved that SB 189 be passed out of committee
with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it
was so ordered.
Number 160
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS introduced SJR 31 (EXTEND FED
LANDFILL COMPLIANCE DEADLINES) as the next order of
business.
SENATOR LOREN LEMAN, prime sponsor of SJR 31, said the
resolution was the result of a request by a member of the
Kansas legislature who asked for the Alaska legislature's
help in joining them and other states in requesting the EPA
to back off of its October 9, 1993 deadline for
municipalities to meet federal criteria for solid waste.
Senator Leman said there are considerable solid waste
challenges throughout the state where there is no way that
the state will be able to upgrade what are now and have been
sites for dumping garbage to get them up to landfill status
by the October deadline. He added that he believes it is a
reasonable approach to request this delay in implementation
of these criteria.
Number 185
HEATHER STOCKARD, Department of Environmental Conservation,
stated the department's support for SJR 31.
Ms. Sotckard explained that federal regulations were
promulgated on October 9, 1991 and allowed two years for
states to develop regulations implementing the Hazardous and
Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 and receiving program
approval. There is a lot of flexibility built into the
federal regulations for states which have been approved for
solid waste, so program approval is a very important issue
for the state and for the local communities.
Ms. Stockard said there were provisions built into the
federal law that allow some exemptions for small remote
communities. That exemption was specifically targeted
toward Alaska, but does not go far enough for a number of
the smallest villages. DEC has been working to develop the
state solid waste regulations, but they are still in a
preliminary stage at this point. The department expects to
have a public comment version of the regulations available
next month.
Ms. Stockard related that she had just returned from a
meeting of the Association of State and Territorial Solid
Waste Management Officials where the issue of the upcoming
federal deadline was extensively discussed. She said the
Association has not yet taken a position on this matter, but
probably will not support a two-year deadline because many
states are opposing a two-year extension. However, they may
favorably take a compromise position of supporting an
extension of six to nine months to allow enough time for all
states to approve program approval and a longer extension of
the deadline on the financial responsibility requirements
for the communities.
Ms. Stockard said EPA has taken the position that it would
not be possible for them to administratively extend the
deadline at this point because there is not enough time left
for the regulation changes, so extensions to the landfill
deadline would have to be by congressional action.
Number 280
SENATOR TAYLOR moved that SJR 31 be passed out of committee
with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it
was so ordered.
Number 295
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS introduced HB 221 (WORKERS
COMP:VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTERS, ETC) as the next order of
business.
REPRESENTATIVE BILL HUDSON, prime sponsor of HB 221,
explained the legislation was introduced at the request of
firefighters in the Juneau area who had experienced a
serious accident at their fire training center where three
volunteer were injured and one man lost his life.
HB 221 clarifies that when volunteers are functioning with a
municipality on a fire or when they are involved in fire
training, they are for all intents and purposes employees
when it comes to workers' compensation. It modifies current
statute to indicate that volunteers would receive wage
replacement based on the actual wages lost or comparable
wages.
Number 315
SENATOR TAYLOR asked what the fiscal cost would be to
individual cities. REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON answered that the
fiscal cost is zero; it comes out of the workers'
compensation. The impact throughout the State of Alaska
means that volunteers, when they are called out, are
employees.
Number 335
JOHN GEORGE, representing the Alaska State Firefighters
Association, explained that workers' compensation is paid by
the municipality. It currently is based on the wages that
would be paid to an entry level firefighter. HB 221 would
change it to that or the actual wages of the volunteer in
his other employment, whichever is greater. The current
rates are based on a compensation of about $2,000 a year.
He said he talked to Brad Thompson of Risk Management, and
they think that if there is an increase it is going to be so
minuscule that it won't make any difference at all.
Number 350
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asked for the pleasure of the
committee on HB 221.
SENATOR TAYLOR moved that HB 221 be passed out of committee
with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it
was so ordered.
Number 360
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS brought SB 164 (MUNICIPAL
INCORP/RECLASSIFICATION/DISSOLUTION) before the committee as
the final order of business and noted there was a proposed
committee substitute.
BRUCE GERAGHTY, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Community
& Regional Affairs, said the Local Boundary Commission has
recommended the additional changes contained in the
committee substitute. He voiced the department's support
for the recommended changes.
Number 400
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS stated SB 164 would be held in
committee until the next meeting to give committee members
the opportunity to look at the new committee substitute.
There being no further business to come before the
committee, the meeting was adjourned at 9:31 a.m.
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