Legislature(2005 - 2006)BELTZ 211
02/28/2006 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB167 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 279 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 167 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 28, 2006
3:37 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gene Therriault, Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Bettye Davis
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Thomas Wagoner, Vice Chair
Senator Kim Elton
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 167(STA) am
"An Act relating to providing a death certificate for a deceased
veteran without cost; and relating to a program to honor the
memory of a deceased veteran."
HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 279
"An Act relating to missions and desired results to be applied
to certain expenditures from state operating budgets by the
executive branch of state government and the University of
Alaska and by the judicial branch of state government; and
providing for an effective date."
BILL POSTPONED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 167
SHORT TITLE: DECEASED VETERAN DEATH CERTIFICATE/HONOR
SPONSOR(s): MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
02/22/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/22/05 (H) MLV, STA
03/17/05 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124
03/17/05 (H) Moved CSHB 167(MLV) Out of Committee
03/17/05 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
03/18/05 (H) MLV RPT CS(MLV) 5DP
03/18/05 (H) DP: THOMAS, GRUENBERG, CISSNA, ELKINS,
LYNN
03/21/05 (H) FIN REFERRAL ADDED AFTER STA
04/12/05 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
04/12/05 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard
04/14/05 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
04/14/05 (H) Moved CSHB 167(STA) Out of Committee
04/14/05 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/15/05 (H) STA RPT CS(STA) NT 6DP
04/15/05 (H) DP: GARDNER, LYNN, GRUENBERG, RAMRAS,
ELKINS, SEATON
04/25/05 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/25/05 (H) Moved CSHB 167(STA) Out of Committee
04/25/05 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
04/26/05 (H) FIN RPT CS(STA) NT 6DP 3NR
04/26/05 (H) DP: HAWKER, MOSES, WEYHRAUCH, FOSTER,
MEYER, CHENAULT;
04/26/05 (H) NR: HOLM, JOULE, KELLY
04/29/05 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/29/05 (H) VERSION: CSHB 167(STA) AM
05/01/05 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/01/05 (S) STA, FIN
02/28/06 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 211
WITNESS REGISTER
Representative Bob Lynn
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced HB 167
Representative Max Gruenberg
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information on HB 167
John Cramer, Director
Administrative Services Division
Department of Military & Veterans
Affairs
PO Box 5800
Ft. Richardson, AK 99505-0800
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information on HB 167
Philip Mitchell, State Registrar
Department of Health &
Social Services
PO Box 110601
Juneau, AK 99801-0601
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information on HB 167
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR GENE THERRIAULT called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:37:28 PM. Present were Senators
Bettye Davis, Charlie Huggins and Chair Gene Therriault.
CSHB 167(STA)AM-DECEASED VETERAN DEATH CERTIFICATE/HONOR
3:37:42 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT announced HB 167 to be the first order of
business.
REPRESENTATIVE BOB LYNN, Chair of the House Special Committee on
Military and Special Affairs, stated that HB 167 sends a signal
that Alaska supports its troops. It provides that when a veteran
passes away eligible family members receive, free of charge, one
copy of the certified death certificate and one copy of the
Governor's Memorial Certificate. The latter is a program that is
modeled after the Presidential Memorial Certificate Program and
acknowledges the State's appreciation for the deceased veteran's
service.
3:39:04 PM
SENATOR CHARLIE HUGGINS expressed support for the bill and
mentioned the fiscal note.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said it's less that $1,000 per year.
CHAIR THERRIAULT noted that the fiscal note is zero.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN responded it's actually indeterminate.
CHAIR THERRIAULT referenced page 3, lines 4,5, and 6 and noted
that Alaska Territorial Guard isn't listed, but the definition
of veteran under AS 26.10.080 includes that group.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN responded he would be amenable to a friendly
amendment to include that group.
SENATOR HUGGINS moved to insert Alaska Territorial Guard on page
3, line 4 after the word "force."
CHAIR THERRIAULT found no objection and announced that his staff
would work with the drafter to determine how it should be
inserted.
Referring to the Health and Social Services fiscal note
analysis, he asked if the idea is to establish a reasonable
limit to the number of complementary copies that are provided to
the families.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN replied, establishing a reasonable limit is
acceptable.
CHAIR THERRIAULT questioned how many certificates would be
reasonable.
SENATOR HUGGINS recommended it not exceed five.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN agreed.
CHAIR THERRIAULT recapped the discussion for Representative
Gruenberg.
REPRESENTATIVE MAX GRUENBERG directed attention to page 2, line
23 and said that each eligible member of a veteran's family
would receive a certificate and it's for the purpose of applying
for death benefits.
SENATOR HUGGINS said his experience is that families typically
need five copies and he would suggest that it say, "not to
exceed five."
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG agreed.
3:48:12 PM
PHILIP MITCHELL, State Registrar with the Department of Health &
Social Services, advised that he helped prepare the fiscal note
and that five was used in the calculations.
3:50:42 PM
JOHN CRAMER, Director of the Administrative Services Division of
the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, stated agreement
with a previous statement that the definition of "veteran" is
given in AS 26.10.080 and it includes the Alaska Territorial
Guard.
CHAIR THERRIAULT observed that it's confusing that the bill
doesn't include the Alaska Territorial Guard in the list of
veteran groups being addressed yet the Alaska Territorial Guard
is included in the statutory definition of "veteran," which is
referenced in another section of the bill.
MR. CRAMER suggested the reference to Alaska Scouts is confusing
because the Alaska Territorial Guard members were scout
battalions and therefore the Alaska Territorial Guard includes
the Alaska Scouts.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked if an Alaskan resident who died
and wasn't yet retired would be covered.
SENATOR HUGGINS informed members that you're a veteran on the
first day of service whether you're on active duty or not.
CHAIR THERRIAULT announced he would hold HB 167 in committee to
work with the drafters to: delete reference to Alaska Scouts and
insert Alaska Territorial Guard; limit the number of copies to
not exceed five; and correlate the fiscal note to the math that
was used.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG remarked the drafters might prefer to
use the term veteran with no specific references.
CHAIR THERRIAULT said he'd take that up with the drafters and
hopefully have a CS for the committee to consider soon.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Therriault adjourned the meeting at 3:55:22 PM.
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