Legislature(2001 - 2002)
01/28/2002 01:33 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
January 28, 2002
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lyda Green, Chair
Senator Loren Leman, Vice Chair
Senator Gary Wilken
Senator Jerry Ward
Senator Bettye Davis
MEMBERS ABSENT
All Members Present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 162
"An Act relating to absences from the state under the longevity
bonus program."
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
HB 162 - See HESS minutes dated 4/20/01.
WITNESS REGISTER
Representative Gretchen Guess
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 162
Representative Fred Dyson
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 162
Ms. Alison Elgee, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Administration
PO Box 110200
Juneau, AK 99811-0200
POSITION STATEMENT: Addressed the fiscal note for HB 162
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 02-3, SIDE A
CHAIRWOMAN LYDA GREEN called the Senate Health, Education &
Social Services Committee meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. Present
were Senators Ward, Davis and Green. Chairwoman Green introduced
Janey Wineinger, staff to the Senate HESS Committee, and
announced that she will be the first point of contact for anyone
wishing to work with the committee. Senators Leman and Wilken
arrived at 1:34 p.m. and the committee took up HB 162.
HB 162-ABSENCES UNDER LONGEVITY BONUS PROGRAM
REPRESENTATIVE GRETCHEN GUESS offered the following information
about HB 162 on behalf of the House HESS Committee.
HB 162 changes two longevity bonus date clauses. It increases the
allowable paid absence from 30 to 60 consecutive days. She
requested that change after a constituent contacted her who
wanted to leave the state to visit family. The constituent had
to drive to three places in the Lower 48 and could not make the
trip within 30 days. She could find no reason in the record for
a 30-day limit. The second change extends the unpaid sabbatical
from 90 days to five years. Under the 90-day limit, many seniors
must fly back to Alaska during their sabbaticals for the sole
purpose of maintaining eligibility for the longevity bonus. The
longevity bonus is not provided to seniors while they are out of
the state. She noted Representative Dyson and a representative
from the Department of Administration were available to answer
questions.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON commended Representative Guess for bringing
this legislation forward and called committee members' attention
to its negative fiscal note. The Department of Administration
anticipates that the changes made in HB 162 will save the state
about $100,000 per year. He said that all seniors' groups that
he has heard from support this legislation and that some of his
constituents, as soon as they retire, go on short-term mission
projects around the world. This bill will allow them to remain
qualified for the longevity bonus while they are working on those
projects. He noted that quite a few of Alaska's seniors find
their lives dominated by the 90-day limit even though they are
legitimate residents.
SENATOR LEMAN asked why a five-year timeframe was chosen for the
sabbatical.
REPRESENTATIVE GUESS said that timeframe was suggested by the
Department of Administration.
MS. ALISON ELGEE, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of
Administration, explained that the department wanted a time
certain that would allow it to purge the rolls so that the
department could track the number of eligible recipients. She
noted, "In truth there is no magic to five years, we just felt
that that was a timeframe where we could safely assume that
people were not coming back or had perhaps passed away."
SENATOR LEMAN asked if it would do anyone a disservice to make
that time period three years.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ELGEE said it is truly a judgment call but
the Department of Administration is quite comfortable with the
five-year timeframe.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if the new language on page 2, lines 26-
31, is necessary to conform to the changes made in Section 1.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ELGEE said that is correct.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN confirmed that the bill contains new language
that permanently disqualifies a recipient who is continuously
absent for more than five years. She then asked Ms. Elgee to
comment on the fiscal note.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ELGEE said the fiscal note is made up of two
parts. The first part reflects the eligibility of individuals to
receive a check if they are out of state up to 60 days instead of
30 days. The department actually counted the number of absent
seniors in calendar year 2000 to determine how many of those
individuals would have been paid an extra longevity bonus check
and came up with an additional cost of $288,400. The second part
of the fiscal note shows the big savings will come from allowing
people to be out of state for longer periods of time. The
department estimates that 10 percent of longevity bonus
recipients will be absent for 30 days more than they are today if
HB 162 passes, saving the program $435,000 per year. The net
savings to the state will be $146,700 per year.
SENATOR WARD asked if the first number will increase if HB 162
passes.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ELGEE said the department quantified the
people who are out of state right now that are now receiving the
longevity bonus check (those absent between 30 and 60 days).
Because the pool is a closed pool, the other recipients are in
Alaska so the costs will not go up.
SENATOR WARD moved HB 162 from committee with individual
recommendations and its most recent fiscal note.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN announced that the motion carried with no
objection.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN informed members the committee will hear SB 250
on Wednesday and that the House HESS Committee will hear an
overview by the Department of Education and Early Development on
the regulations for correspondence study tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
She then adjourned the meeting at 1:40 p.m.
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