Legislature(2021 - 2022)SENATE FINANCE 532
05/17/2021 01:00 PM Senate FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB117 | |
| HB126 | |
| HB182 | |
| HB34 | |
| SB50 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 182 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 34 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 126 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 117 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 50 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
May 17, 2021
1:33 p.m.
1:33:18 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Bishop called the Senate Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Click Bishop, Co-Chair
Senator Bert Stedman, Co-Chair
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Donny Olson
Senator Natasha von Imhof
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator David Wilson
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Kris Curtis, Legislative Auditor, Alaska Division of
Legislative Audit; Tom Wright, Staff, Representative Steve
Thompson; Representative Bryce Edgmon, Sponsor;
Representative Laddie Shaw, Sponsor; Joshua Walton, Staff,
Representative Shaw; Christopher Clark, Staff, Senator
Click Bishop;
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Sara Chambers, Director, Division of Corporations, Business
and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce,
Community and Economic Development; Leslie Schmitz, Chair,
Alaska Board of Public Accountancy; Crista Burson,
President and CEO, Alaska Society of CPAs, Anchorage; Angel
Drobnica, APICDA, Juneau;
SUMMARY
SB 50 APPROP: CAP; REAPPROP; SUPP; AMEND
SB 50 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 34 NAMING VIETNAM HELI. PILOTS' MEM. BRIDGE
HB 34 was REPORTED out of committee with a "do
pass" recommendation and with one previously
published fiscal impact note: FN 1(DOT).
HB 117 EXTEND BOARD OF DIRECT-ENTRY MIDWIVES
HB 117 was REPORTED out of committee with a "do
pass" recommendation and with one new fiscal
impact note from the Department of Commerce,
Community and Economic Development.
HB 126 EXTEND BOARD OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY
HB 126 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
HB 182 EXTEND FISHERY RESOURCE LAND. TAX CREDIT
HB 182 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
HOUSE BILL NO. 117
"An Act extending the termination date of the Board of
Certified Direct-Entry Midwives; and providing for an
effective date."
1:34:14 PM
Co-Chair Bishop discussed housekeeping.
1:34:31 PM
Senator Olson considered the extension and sunset date for
the Board of Direct-Entry Midwives. He expressed concern
that if there was a critical issue the extension should be
for one year and not two.
1:35:40 PM
KRIS CURTIS, LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR, ALASKA DIVISION OF
LEGISLATIVE AUDIT, stated that logistically with a one-year
extension, the Division of Legislative Audit needed to do
the audit the year before the extension date, which would
mean starting immediately and the division did not have the
resources to do the work right now. She had been unaware of
the division ever granting a one-year extension and had
reached out to the prior legislative auditor, who revealed
it had occurred approximately twice in the past. It was
possible to do a one-year extension, but it would require
an audit to be done within a short period of time. She
believed that two years would give enough time to determine
the issues with the board.
1:36:50 PM
Senator Olson understood that Ms. Curtis was suggesting
that it was more practical to wait two years.
1:37:25 PM
Senator Wilson MOVED to report HB 117 out of Committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.
HB 117 was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass"
recommendation and with one new fiscal impact note from the
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development.
HOUSE BILL NO. 126
"An Act extending the termination date of the Board of
Public Accountancy; and providing for an effective
date."
1:37:48 PM
Co-Chair Bishop discussed housekeeping.
1:38:20 PM
TOM WRIGHT, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE STEVE THOMPSON, read from
the sponsor statement for HB 126 (copy on file):
HB 126 extends the termination date for the Board of
Public Accountancy for eight years until June 30,
2029.
Legislative Audit conducted their review of this board
and concluded that "?the board served the public's
interest by conducting meetings in accordance with
state laws, amending certain regulations to improve
the public accountancy occupation, and effectively
licensing and regulating certified public accountants
and partnerships/corporations engaged in the practice
of public accountancy."
The Board of Public Accountancy consists of seven
members appointed by the Governor. Five members are
certified public accountants or public accountants,
and two members are public members.
Extending the Board of Public Accountancy is critical
in protecting the public interest by ensuring that
only qualified persons are licensed, and that
appropriate standards of competency and practice are
established and enforced.
1:39:23 PM
Ms. Curtis referenced the document "A Sunset Review of the
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development,
Board of Public Accountancy (board)" (copy on file). She
relayed that the purpose of the audit was to determine if
there was serving the publics interests and whether its
termination date should be extended. She said it had been
determined that the board was serving the publics interest
and recommended an 8-year extension.
She referenced page 5, which listed the standard licensing
statistics for the board. She relayed that as of January
31, 2020, there were 1,328 active board licenses and
permits; a 10 percent increase from the previous 2012
audit.
1:42:28 PM
Senator Wilson thought it was important to ensure that
investigators had the right tools and resources.
1:43:06 PM
SARA CHAMBERS, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS, BUSINESS
AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (via teleconference),
relayed that there had been several boards under the
division's purview that had concern with the length of time
it took to complete investigations. She said that some
strategic changes had been made which included the addition
of support positions. She said that policies and procedures
had been updated as well as the triage system so that
priority cases were those of life, health, and safety. She
said there was no standard for the length of a case and
that the division sought out resources from their available
budget.
1:45:38 PM
Co-Chair Bishop OPENED public testimony.
1:45:50 PM
LESLIE SCHMITZ, CHAIR, ALASKA BOARD OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY
(via teleconference), thanked the division for its
recommendation. She said that the board worked to stay
active at both state and national levels.
Co-Chair Bishop thanked Ms. Schmitz for her years of
service.
1:47:06 PM
CRISTA BURSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ALASKA SOCIETY OF CPAS,
ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified in support of HB
126. She asserted that the board operated in the public's
interest and should considered for the full 8-year
extension.
1:48:18 PM
Co-Chair Bishop CLOSED public testimony.
Co-Chair Bishop relayed that the deadline for amendments
was May 17, 2021 at 5PM.
HB 126 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HOUSE BILL NO. 182
"An Act extending the fishery resource landing tax
credit for certain taxpayers that harvest fishery
resources under the provisions of a community
development quota; providing for an effective date by
amending the effective date of secs. 16 and 23, ch.
61, SLA 2014; and providing for an effective date."
1:48:34 PM
Co-Chair Bishop discussed housekeeping.
1:48:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BRYCE EDGMON, SPONSOR, explained that the
bill would extend the fisheries landing tax credit until
December 2030. He noted that the tax had been created in
1993, the same time as the CDQ program. The tax, at 3.3
percent, was split 50/50 between municipalities and the
state. He noted that the bill would have no fiscal impact.
1:50:28 PM
Senator Wilson disclosed that he had many family members
that were beneficiaries of the credit. He asked about the
effect of the retroactivity in the bill.
Representative Edgmon explained that the bill would most
likely have passed in the previous legislature if not for
COVID-19 hence the retroactivity clause.
1:51:29 PM
Senator Olson asked whether there was any consideration of
having other CDQs further north in the Kotzebue area.
Representative Edgmon replied that the CDQ program was ring
fenced around 65 communities in western Alaska, 14 of which
were in the Norton sound Economic Development Corporation.
He said that the ring fencing had made for arbitrary policy
calls. He stated that without changing federal law the CDQs
could not be extended further north.
Senator Olson asked about extending the sunset date and
what it did to the efforts to extend the program into the
Kotzebue area.
Representative Edgmon shared that he used to manage the CDQ
program and knew it had grown overtime. He said that
expanding the boundaries of the CDQ program would take a
change to federal law.
1:54:04 PM
Co-Chair Bishop OPENED public testimony.
1:54:18 PM
AT EASE
1:54:37 PM
RECONVENED
1:54:59 PM
ANGEL DROBNICA, APICDA, JUNEAU (via teleconference),
testified in support of the legislation.
1:56:23 PM
Co-Chair Bishop CLOSED public testimony.
Co-Chair Bishop noted that the amendment deadline was May
17, 2021 at 5PM.
HB 182 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HOUSE BILL NO. 34
"An Act naming the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots' Memorial
Bridge."
1:56:38 PM
Co-Chair Bishop discussed housekeeping.
1:57:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LADDIE SHAW, SPONSOR, shard that he served
two tours in Viet Nam. He cited statistics that over 5,000
helicopters were destroyed in Viet Nam, 2,000 pilots and
2,700 crew members were killed.
Representative Shaw drew attention to a document with a
photo of a helicopter and group of men (copy on file). He
was 22 years old in the photo. He recounted an emotional
story about the human cost of war. He had been stunned by
the outpouring of support in the Senate and noted that 15
members had signed on as cross-sponsors.
2:01:21 PM
JOSHUA WALTON, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE SHAW, referenced a
satellite photo of the bridge (copy on file). He noted
there were several articles available in member packets
(copy on file). He noted that the bill had the support of
Lynn Kyle, President, Alaska Chapter of the Vietnam
Helicopter Pilots Association and relayed a brief statement
on his behalf.
2:03:32 PM
Co-Chair Bishop OPENED public testimony.
2:03:39 PM
Co-Chair Bishop CLOSED public testimony.
Co-Chair Bishop discussed FN 1 from the Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities.
2:03:59 PM
Senator von Imhof requested to be a cross sponsor on the
legislation.
2:04:17 PM
Senator von Imhof MOVED to report HB 34 out of Committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.
HB 34 was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass"
recommendation and with one previously published fiscal
impact note: FN 1(DOT).
2:04:38 PM
AT EASE
2:05:43 PM
RECONVENED
2:05:47 PM
AT EASE
2:19:05 PM
RECONVENED
SENATE BILL NO. 50
"An Act making appropriations, including capital
appropriations, reappropriations, and other
appropriations; making supplemental appropriations;
making appropriations to capitalize funds; and
providing for an effective date."
Co-Chair Bishop discussed housekeeping. Amendments to SB 50
were due by 12PM Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
2:19:37 PM
AT EASE
2:20:12 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Bishop reiterated that amendments were due by noon
the following day.
Co-Chair Stedman MOVED to ADOPT proposed committee
substitute for SB 50, Work Draft version D as a working
document.
Co-Chair Bishop OBJECTED for discussion.
Co-Chair Bishop referenced back up documents and apologized
that they had not been easily labeled.
2:21:06 PM
CHRISTOPHER CLARK, STAFF, SENATOR CLICK BISHOP, relayed
that there were three reports from the Legislative Finance
Division that would provide insight into the bill (copy on
file). The first was an agency summary including all
funds, the second was an agency summary including only
undesignated general funds, and the third was the project
detail by agency. He referenced the "Funding Summary" at
the bottom of the all funds document. He pointed to the
first column and noted that the governors amended budget
of 120 million, which was minus the Mental Health Budget
numbers in order to compare the previous committee
substitute to the current version. He pointed to column 2,
the UGF of $169.4 million, which was the governor's amended
budget with the funding sources of AHFC, PCE, and bonding
receipts changed to unrestricted general funds. He pointed
to the third column, which showed $264.2 in unrestricted
general funds as reflected in the current bill version.
Mr. Clark addressed federal receipts listed as $1.9
billion.
Mr. Clark noted that the language section had not changed.
2:25:40 PM
Mr. Clark continued his remarks. He highlighted several
capital projects in the bill:
West Susitna Road Access - $8.5 million - G.O. Bonds
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Pavement Rehab Through Mat-Su
Population Corridor - $10 million Other Funds
Huston Middle School Replacement - $9 million General
Funds
Major Maintenance Grant Fund for School Major Maintenance
$21.6 million General Funds
Mt. Edgecumbe High School Repairs - 7.8 million General
Funds
Prosecutor Recruitment and Housing to Address Sexual
Assault and Sexual Abuse of a Minor Case Backlog - $4
million General Funds
Snowmobile Trail Development Program and Grants - $250,000
General Funds
Municipal Harbor Facility Grant Fund - $14 million
General Funds
UAA Building Performance Upgrades - $10 million General
Funds
Bartlett and Moore Hall Modernization Restrooms and
Sanitation - $18.6 million General Funds
Mr. Clark shared that he had worked closely with the other
body and the administration to craft the current bill.
2:28:02 PM
Co-Chair Stedman did not think there were any legislative
additions to the budget.
Mr. Clark stated there were a couple of items, including
the reappropriations in the language section.
2:28:25 PM
Senator von Imhof asked about page 2 line 24, which
pertained to grants to named recipients.
Mr. Clark informed that the grants were generally given to
non-profits and boroughs.
Senator von Imhof thought the bulk of the budget was for
the Mat-Su.
2:29:07 PM
Senator Olson looked at page 7, line 12, pertaining to snow
machine trails. He wondered where the grants were primarily
directed.
Mr. Clark stated the programs were mostly in Southcentral
with some in Southeast.
Co-Chair Bishop understood that the funds were generated
from fees collected from licensing fees.
Mr. Clark agreed that the DGF were from licensing fees.
2:30:02 PM
Senator von Imhof looked at the comparison the current and
previous bill versions. She noted that the total spending
went from $169 million UGF to $264 million. The increase
being predominately adds from the administration.
Mr. Clark agreed.
Senator von Imhof thought that the administrative adds of
over $1 million were curious from an executive branch that
claimed to want to trim the budget.
2:30:43 PM
Co-Chair Stedman asked for a rough estimate of the total
reappropriations in the language section.
Mr. Clark stated that the legislative appropriations added
up to $9.5 million but may not be that much come June 20,
2021.
Co-Chair Bishop estimated that the $9.5 million would
decrease.
Mr. Clark replied in the affirmative.
2:31:43 PM
Co-Chair Stedman explained that the reappropriations being
referenced were sometimes appropriated as many as ten years
in the past. The projects had wound down or were finished
but some communities could still be in need.
2:32:15 PM
ADJOURNMENT
2:32:30 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 2:32 p.m.