Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
02/07/2007 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB40 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 40 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 7, 2007
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bettye Davis, Chair
Senator Joe Thomas
Senator John Cowdery
Senator Kim Elton
Senator Fred Dyson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 40
"An Act relating to reapplications for the Alaska longevity
bonus program; and providing for an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to consider
WITNESS REGISTER
Senator Wielechowski
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SB 40
Pat Luby, Advocacy Director
AARP
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 40
Janet Clark, Assistant Commissioner
Department of Health & Social Services
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Available for questions on SB 40
Stacie Kraly, Assistant Attorney General
Civil Division
Department of Law
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Available for questions on SB 40
Ellie Fitzjarrald, Director
Division of Public Assistance
Department of Health & Social Services
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Available for questions on SB 40
Frederick Sturn, representing himself
Mat-Su Valley AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 40
Doris Carpenter, representing herself
Mat-Su Valley AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 40
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR BETTYE DAVIS called the Senate Health, Education and
Social Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:33:30
PM. Present were Senators Cowdery, Thomas, Elton, Dyson, and
Chair Davis.
SB 40-LONGEVITY BONUS REAPPLICATIONS
CHAIR DAVIS announced SB 40 to be up for consideration.
1:34:41 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI, sponsor of SB 40, said that it related to
reapplication for the longevity bonus, and he believes that the
bonus represents long-standing Alaska values and smart policy.
SENATOR ELTON moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute
to SB 40, Version /C, as the working document. There being no
objection, the motion carried.
1:35:46 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI explained that the committee substitute
made a simple administrative correction to give jurisdiction to
the commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services
(DHSS).
He said that the bonus went back to 1915, listed historical
facts about the bonus and the requirements over the years, and
how admission to the program was ended in 1996. Funding for the
bonus was ended in 2003 by former governor Frank Murkowski. No
analysis was done to determine the impact of this change on the
economy. Many seniors relied heavily on the bonus. He urged the
committee to join him in supporting the bill.
1:38:48 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI explained that the problem with
reinstituting the bonus was that the current statute required
continual application in order to maintain eligibility; section
1 of his bill would require that the commissioner of the DHSS
accept applicants who were eligible when the bonus funding was
cut. The bonus law had remained active even though the funding
was no longer provided. SB 40 would require applicants to have
been eligible in 2003, and have maintained continuous state
residency since that date. New applicants would not be allowed.
Provisions are also included about the reapplication date, the
right to determine whether an applicant meets requirements, the
amount of the monthly bonus, and an effective date.
1:40:46 PM
PAT LUBY, Advocacy Director for the Alaska AARP, said that many
of the AARP members were delighted that the governor had
reinstated the funding in her budget. He urged the committee to
approve the bill.
1:41:55 PM
SENATOR DYSON asked Mr. Luby whether his organization thought
the bonus should be needs-based.
1:42:51 PM
MR. LUBY replied that many people based their retirement budgets
on the longevity bonus. The AARP's position was that government
money should be first given to those most in need.
1:43:59 PM
SENATOR COWDERY remarked that like the permanent fund, the
longevity bonus should not be given on an as-needed basis.
1:45:40 PM
JANET CLARK, Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Health
and Social Services (DHSS), said that the DHSS supported the
bill, and she would explain the fiscal impact.
STACIE KRALY, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of
Law, said that the department's review of the statute showed a
need for reconstitution of the program. Under the existing
statute an applicant had to reapply consistently to remain
eligible, but with the de-funding of the program everyone
stopped applying. The statute thus needs to be fixed to allow
for reapplication.
1:49:13 PM
CHAIR DAVIS asked if such a change could be made within SB 40.
1:49:23 PM
MS. KRALY replied that the issue should be addressed in SB 40. A
process for re-determining eligibility needs to be created.
1:50:41 PM
CHAIR DAVIS said that some issues with the bill might be better
addressed in another committee.
1:51:11 PM
SENATOR COWDERY asked if people who left the state when the
bonus funding was cut would be allowed to re-apply, and how they
would be tracked.
1:51:38 PM
MS. KRALY replied that the issue needed to be addressed.
1:52:15 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said that according to the current bill,
people who left the state when the program funding was cut would
no longer be eligible if they returned.
1:52:59 PM
MS. KRALY replied that the process of re-qualification needed to
be examined.
1:53:43 PM
SENATOR ELTON asked if the DHSS would have the discretion to
determine the residency requirement.
1:54:26 PM
MS. KRALY replied that the DHSS would not be able to establish
baseline eligibility for residency, but the bill could create
litigation in specific scenarios.
1:55:42 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said that technically every applicant would
be in violation of the statute because it required monthly
applications, and agreed that an amendment needed to be made.
1:56:43 PM
MS. CLARK said that reestablishing the bonus would require
policy guidance and retooling of the bill.
1:57:31 PM
SENATOR THOMAS asked if there would be a provision for those who
may forget to apply for the bonus on time.
1:57:54 PM
MS. KRALY replied that the legislation was codified law of the
state of Alaska, so all due process would apply.
1:58:16 PM
CHAIR DAVIS said they could review the fiscal note at a later
date, and asked Ellie Fitzjarrald to testify.
1:58:55 PM
ELLIE FITZJARRALD, Public Assistance Director for the Department
of Health and Social Services (DHSS), explained that she could
talk about the fiscal analysis, but did not plan to testify.
1:59:14 PM
FREDERICK STURN, representing himself, said that the longevity
bonus was important to many seniors he knew, especially women
without retirement plans. Living off social security alone was
difficult with rising prices.
2:00:54 PM
DORIS CARPENTER, representing herself, said that she thought the
reapplication issue was not very important and that continual
reapplication was not necessary.
2:03:00 PM
SENATOR COWDERY said that he thought reapplication should be a
non-issue, and asked how many eligible people had died since the
program funding was cut.
2:04:10 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said that the number of eligible residents
has dropped from 18,000 to 13,000.
He explained that the governor line-item vetoed the funding in
2003, and that there had been wide support from the legislature
for the program. He agreed with Senator Cowdery in that the
bonus should not be needs-based.
2:06:09 PM
SENATOR ELTON said that he heard the cost of reinstituting the
program would be $33 million, and wondered if early appliers
would add an additional cost to this figure because of
retroactive payments.
2:08:06 PM
SENATOR COWDERY pointed out that the fiscal note on SB 40
required the bonus to be declared as supplemental income.
2:08:41 PM
CHAIR DAVIS said that the committee would be putting the bill
aside to allow the sponsor to confer with the Department of Law,
and the committee would likely review the bill again two weeks
from that date.
CHAIR DAVIS, finding no further business, adjourned the meeting
at 2:09:20 PM.
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