HB 143-NAMING THE DANIEL R. FAUSKE BUILDING  5:25:26 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 143, "An Act naming the Daniel R. Fauske Building." 5:25:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CHENAULT, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 143, as prime sponsor. He paraphrased from the sponsor statement, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: I am pleased to offer House Bill 143 in honoring Dan Fauske by naming the AHFC Building at 4300 Boniface Parkway, the Daniel R. Fauske Building. Dan Fauske served as the head of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) for 18 years, managing assets of $4.8 billion. During his tenure, AHFC started its Weatherization and Home Energy Rebate Program, which had provided weatherization upgrades for renters and homeowners and rebates for energy improvements to homeowners for nearly 16,000 homes by the end of 2010. AHFC also played key roles in providing affordable housing statewide, making it possible for Alaskans to pursue the dream of home ownership. Under his leadership, AHFC continued its series of annual contributions to the State of Alaska, which totaled $1.9 billion by the end of 2010. In May 2010, while serving as CEO and Executive Director of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), Fauske was selected by the Alaska Legislature to lead a joint development team charged with studying the feasibility of designing, financing and constructing an in-state natural gas pipeline capable of delivering North Slope gas to communities within Alaska. Initially, the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AHFC to manage the development of the Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline (ASAP) plan. In 2013, the Legislature re-established AGDC as an independent corporation of the State and appropriated $355 million towards the project. Fauske continued in a dual capacity, leading both Corporations, until August 2013 when he resigned from AHFC to focus exclusively on AGDC and gasline work. REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT commented that Mr. Fauske had a long history with the state, both at the state level and the local level; he served as chief financial officer (CFO) for the North Slope Borough (NSB) and in many other roles. He maintained that Mr. Fauske was a gentleman; he accomplished all with which he was tasked by the state and the legislature; and he was a great statesman and a friend. 5:29:33 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 143. 5:29:47 PM JERRY LAVINE testified that he opposes HB 143. He expressed his gratitude for Mr. Fauske's service to the State of Alaska while working for AHFC. He mentioned Mr. Fauske's contributions to AHFC in helping to "grow" AHFC's bottom line and paying dividends back to the State of Alaska. He stated that he did not know Mr. Fauske nor has he used any AHFC services. He said he opposes HB 143 because he believes that under the current fiscal situation, the Thirtieth Alaska State Legislature should be spending its limited time working on fiscal issues, not renaming public buildings. MR. LAVINE asked, "What does it cost to change the name of a public building?" He mentioned that the fiscal note from the Department of Administration (DOA) indicates a zero-fiscal note, but he suggested there is a cost for the change: new signs; new name plates; changes to online directories; changes to printed directories, and public records changes. He maintained that HB 143 is not in the best interest of Alaska citizens. MR. LAVINE stated, "With all due respect to Mr. Fauske, most people don't know who Daniel is." He suggested that Mr. Fauske is known by people in the financial markets and the executive and legislative branches of government, but the general public would not recognize his name. He asserted that the name change may create confusion for the public trying to locate the AHFC building in Anchorage. MR. LAVINE opined that with 34 bills and 12 resolutions in the House State Affairs Standing Committee as of today, HB 143 is a waste of legislative time, and he encouraged the committee members to table the proposed legislation or vote against it. He conceded that evidence suggests that Mr. Fauske did excellent work at AHFC, but he offered that the committee consider a legislative citation to honor Mr. Fauske's work. 5:32:30 PM JOHN BITTNEY testified that he supports HB 143. He stated that he represented AHFC in the capitol for seven years of his 31 years [as a lobbyist]. He mentioned that the proposed legislation is important because AHFC is considered one of the premier housing authorities in the nation - the most sophisticated, the most financially strong, and the best operated. He maintained that a large part of that success is due to the action of the Seventeenth Alaska State Legislature in combining many of the housing functions of the state under one organization and the hire of Mr. Fauske in the late '90s. He relayed that Mr. Fauske was able to overcome political barriers to put all the housing functions under AHFC; it was no small feat; and the practice has continued to this day. He maintained that AHFC is an organization for which the state can be proud. 5:34:26 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS, after ascertaining that there was no one else who wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 143. 5:34:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH stated that he is a co-sponsor of HB 143. He asserted that the proposed legislation would appropriately recognize Mr. Fauske's distinguished service to the people of the State of Alaska. 5:35:00 PM REPRESENTATIVE Birch moved to report HB 143 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS objected for purpose of discussion. REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON said that she supports HB 143. She opined that the proposed legislation is appropriate and takes advantage of a good opportunity. REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP complemented the committee packet provided by the sponsor of HB 143 and stated that he supports moving HB 143 out of committee. CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS noted that AHFC is a model for statewide housing authorities, and he said naming the building is appropriate and consistent with what the legislature has done in the past. CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS removed his objection. There being no further objection, HB 143 was reported from the House State Affairs Standing Committee. 5:37:41 PM The committee took an at-ease from 5:37 p.m. to 5:39 p.m. 5:39:10 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS reiterated that there being no objection, HB 143 was reported from the House State Affairs Standing Committee.