Legislature(1993 - 1994)
03/22/1993 01:33 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
March 22, 1993
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Steve Rieger, Chairman
Senator Bert Sharp, Vice-Chairman
Senator Loren Leman
Senator Jim Duncan
Senator Johnny Ellis
Senator Judy Salo
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Mike Miller
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 70
"An Act establishing a loan guarantee and interest rate
subsidy program for assistive technology."
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 7
Relating to Alcohol-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week.
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 70 - See HESS minutes dated 3/22/93.
HCR 7 - See HESS minutes dated 3/22/93.
WITNESS REGISTER
Gary Roth, President
Denali State Bank - Fairbanks
119 North Cushman
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 70.
Carolyn Morris, Administrative Coordinator
Governor's Committee on Employment of
People With Disabilities
3301 Eagle, #203
Anchorage, Alaska 99503
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 70.
Stan Ridgeway, Deputy Director
Vocational Rehabilitation
Department of Education
801 West Tenth Street, Suite 200
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1894
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 70.
Lynne Koral
Southeast Alaska Independent Living
8800 Glacier Highway, Suite 236
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 70.
Pat Jackson, Legislative Staff
to Representative Irene Nicholia
Alaska State Legislature
State Capitol Building
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave sponsor statement for HCR 7.
Suzanne Perry
Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Department of Health and Social Services
P.O. Box 110607
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0607
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HCR 7.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 93-29, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN RIEGER called the Senate Health, Education and
Social Services (HESS) Committee to order at 1:33 p.m.
The first order of business was SB 70 (ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
LOAN GUARANTEES). SENATOR DUNCAN, sponsor of SB 70,
explained the bill would establish the assistive technology
loan guarantee program to assist people with disabilities.
Equipment would be purchased to enhance employment
possibilities and independent living for people with
disabilities.
Number 028
GARY ROTH, President, Denali State Bank - Fairbanks,
testified in support of SB 70 and its companion bill HB 139.
He asked the legislature to approve the program. As a long
time banker and past president of the Fairbanks Resource
Agency, he feels that the loan guarantee and interest
subsidy program will assist many of the handicapped and
developmentally disabled people to lead a productive life.
Mr. Roth said the amount of pride and well being that is
displayed by these people when they can contribute to
society, rather than being a ward of society, is tremendous.
Many of these people have completed training programs which
have given them the necessary skills to become independent.
Unfortunately, because of their past disabilities or
handicaps, they have been unable to establish credit of any
kind. SB 70 will assist financial institutions in making
credit available to them. Additionally, the families of
some of the disabled people may have had undue hardships in
supporting this family member and this may have had a
derogatory effect on their credit. With proper counseling
and direction of the agency or department, funds could be
made available through the guarantee program for personal
computers, home workshops, handicapped accessible vehicles,
and other adaptive or assistive devices. The program will
also enable financial institutions to extend longer loan
terms over what normally would be considered a maximum term
allowable for personal loans. Mr. Roth noted the term is
usually no longer than eighteen months. He explained the
interest subsidy may or may not always be necessary. This
will depend on the individual circumstances of each case in
that it will have an effect in the amount of the proposed
monthly installments on any given loan. He said it may mean
the difference between qualifying under the bank's debt
income ratios for such credits. Mr. Roth urged the
legislation be passed.
Number 083
CAROLYN MORRIS, Administrative Coordinator, Governor's
Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities,
testified in support of SB 70. She said there are important
things that assistive technology can do for individuals who
experience disabilities. She explained that through
Assistive Technologies of Alaska and the Division of
Vocational Rehabilitation, there is an assistive technology
loan program so that individuals can come and try different
types of adaptive equipment to see what will work for them
before they make an investment in actually purchasing
something for themselves. With the passage of the bill as
well as the assistance of the agencies, this goes a long way
for a lot of people in Alaska.
Number 113
STAN RIDGEWAY, Deputy Director, Vocational Rehabilitation,
Department of Education, said the department supports SB 70.
There are approximately 4,000 Alaskans who are in need of
technology to assist them with work, play, and living
independently. Many of the people qualify for technology in
some way through various agency's insurance. He noted some
private individuals also help pay for devices. Mr. Ridgeway
explained the loan subsidy and guarantee will enable
individuals to have the ability to get a loan so that they
can purchase the devices themselves. He referred to the
fiscal note and said it shows that Assistive Technologies of
Alaska, through their federal funding, has requested $100
thousand of seed money for the loan program. Mr. Ridgeway
said by using the subsidy, guarantee, and the $100 thousand,
it could possibly leverage about $750 thousand from the
banking industry for loans.
SENATOR LEMAN referred to the seed money and asked if he
meant that the money can be used to leverage other money
from private lenders or if there is going to be an ongoing
requirement for the program to request money from the state.
MR. RIDGEWAY said it is his understanding that other states
that have similar programs have an excellent repayment rate
and there have been very few defaults. He said it is his
understanding the $100 thousand of initial seed money would
probably be the only money that would be needed to keep the
loan program going, even with the buy down interest rates.
CHAIRMAN RIEGER said he assumes that it would be the
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation who would determine
whether it could do a guarantee or an interest buy down. He
asked Mr. Ridgeway if the division has a draft plan of how
this would be implemented. MR. RIDGEWAY explained the
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation oversees the Assistive
Technology Program which is a federal grant program that has
a five year life span. Their staff has been working with
some of their consumer committees to establish the plan. He
said he thinks that what the Assistive Technology Program is
really interested in doing is putting together a package
that would assist the bank that is helping the individual
apply for a loan, to determine if there is another source or
place to obtain equipment without applying for a loan.
CHAIRMAN RIEGER asked Mr. Roth how the interest buy down
would work. He said if the rate you want to get to is, for
example, 5 percent, how would the Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation and a bank work out whether it is a 9 percent
loan that is bought down to 5 percent or a 13 percent loan
bought down to 5 percent. MR. ROTH said it would have to be
established through negotiations. He said he doesn't think
that the banks would want to get involved in the program if
they were going to make it part of their high earning
portfolio. He said they want to assist the people and
assumes that they would try to arrive at a normal
competitive rate. He noted that today's market rate for
consumer lending is between 7.5 percent and 10.5 percent.
Number 222
LYNNE KORAL, employed by Southeast Alaska Independent
Living, explained she is a consumer of services. She showed
committee members a talking clock and indicated it is part
of her organization's lending library that is currently
being developed. She showed committee members a small item
called `Braille and Speak' which is a computer that has a
memory computer chip. Ms. Koral referred to the loan
guarantee fund and said it would help people with
disabilities to be able to purchase and maintain or attain
employment. She informed the committee that she purchased
an IBM compatible computer, at a cost of $1,300, which
speaks to her. Ms. Koral urged the committee to pass SB 70.
SENATOR LEMAN asked Ms. Koral how much the talking clock
cost. Ms. Koral indicated the cost is about $20. Senator
Leman asked how much it costs to train a seeing eye dog.
Ms. Koral said approximately $25 thousand. She explained
that most dogs are trained with private foundation donations
and donations from concerned citizens.
MS. MORRIS asked if a parameter has been established as to
what might be the minimum or maximum loan that may be
obtained. MR. RIDGEWAY said he isn't sure of how much a
person may borrow but said initially $10 thousand had been
mentioned. SENATOR DUNCAN said the legislation doesn't
specify a specific amount. It would be up to the department
to help determine an amount depending on what type of
equipment will be purchased. He noted page 2 sets out the
term of the loan. Mr. Ridgeway noted a fully equipped
accessible van for a person who uses a wheelchair would run
from $30 thousand to $40 thousand. He noted that a big
factor is the person's ability to repay a loan which would
also govern how large the loan can be.
CHAIRMAN RIEGER said before the bill goes to the Senate
Finance Committee he would like a letter from the department
saying what the parameters of the loan will be and how the
department will determine whether they will do a guarantee
or an interest buy down, and what the guidelines are.
Number 332
There being no further testimony, SENATOR DUNCAN moved to
pass SB 70 out of the Senate HESS Committee with individual
recommendations. Hearing no objection, the motion carried.
Number 336
The next order of business was HCR 7 (ALCOHOL-RELATED BIRTH
DEFECTS AWARENESS WEEK), sponsored by Representative
Nicholia. PAT JACKSON, legislative staff to Representative
Irene Nicholia, said many years have been spent working on
the issues of alcohol-related birth defects. Legislation
has been passed that required school districts do in-
service. The Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse has made
treatment to pregnant women a priority. There is a
treatment program in Anchorage for pregnant women and there
are Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) awareness groups. Ms.
Jackson indicated that in the committee member's packets
there is a 1989 study which shows the economic impact of a
FAS child. She indicated the lifetime cost for a FAS child
is $1.4 million. The study didn't include estimates for
physical problems such as facial problems, kidney problems,
dental work, etc. The Center for Disease Control has
completed a study giving new estimates of the rate of FAS in
Alaska at 2.1 to 6.6 children per every 1,000. Ms. Jackson
urged support for HCR 7.
SENATOR LEMAN indicated support for the resolution as it
draws more attention to FAS.
SUZANNE PERRY, Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse,
Department of Health and Social Services, said she is the
former FAS coordinator for the division. She pointed out
that FAS was officially identified by the American Medical
Society in 1973. She said there are still doctors who
encourage pregnant women to have a drink or two as it will
relax them. She said there must be three criteria to have a
diagnosis of FAS and if any one of those criteria is
missing, then the diagnosis, if any, may be Fetal Alcohol
Effect (FAE). One criteria is retarded growth prior to
birth and after birth. She said there are specific facial
features and showed the committee some photos. There is
always central nervous system involvement, most commonly
mental retardation. Ms. Perry continued to show the
committee pictures, from the University of Washington,
relating to FAS and discussed problems and physical features
of FAS children. Ms. Perry said once a woman quits
drinking, she can't have a child with FAS in a subsequent
pregnancy. She discussed treatment centers for women who
drink such a Reflections which is a twelve bed women's only
treatment facility in Anchorage. Dena Acoy, which is
jointly funded with the Indian Health Service and the
Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, is an 18 bed facility
where women can stay throughout their entire pregnancy and
up to six weeks postpartum. Ms. Perry said she believes
that FAS is like drunk driving. Until society shares some
of the responsibility, we will continue to have serious
problems.
CHAIRMAN RIEGER asked Ms. Perry what she can confirm about
health professionals advising that moderate drinking is
alright during pregnancy. MS. PERRY said she has not talked
to a doctor that says that, but she has heard statements
from women that have seen their doctors within the last two
years who have been told that a couple glasses of wine or
beer will relax you. The Center of Disease Control, in
cooperation with the Department of Health and Social
Services, is running a five year program in Anchorage to do
surveillance to find out what the real rates for FAS are
throughout the state. Part of the project is to do a
knowledge, attitudes, and behavior survey for pediatricians
and obstetricians.
Chairman Rieger indicated he had a proposed amendment that
the resolution be sent to the Board of Nursing, the State
Medical Boards, and the Board of Certified Direct-Entry
Midwives. He moved Amendment #1. SENATOR SALO suggested
including the Board of Nurse Practitioners. Chairman Rieger
referred to the Alaska Statutes and said he doesn't believe
there is a Board of Nurse Practitioners but there are
definitions of a "nurse practitioner." Hearing no
objection, to Amendment #1, the motion carried.
Number 577
Senator Salo moved to pass HCR 7 out of the Senate HESS
Committee with a `Do Pass' recommendation. Hearing no
objection, it was so ordered.
There being no further business to come before the Senate
HESS Committee, Chairman Rieger adjourned the meeting at
2:20 p.m.
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