HOUSE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE April 11, 2000 3:11 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Fred Dyson, Chairman Representative Jim Whitaker Representative Joe Green Representative Carl Morgan Representative Tom Brice Representative Allen Kemplen Representative John Coghill MEMBERS ABSENT All members present COMMITTEE CALENDAR CONFIRMATION HEARING State Board of Education Sally Rue - Juneau - CONFIRMATION ADVANCED HOUSE BILL NO. 355 "An Act establishing a state community service program; establishing by statute the Alaska State Community Service Commission; and providing for an effective date." - MOVED HB 355 OUT OF COMMITTEE CONFIRMATION HEARING Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees Phil Younker - Fairbanks - CONFIRMATION ADVANCED HOUSE BILL NO. 300 "An Act relating to the establishment and enforcement of medical support orders for children; and providing for an effective date." - MOVED CSHB 300(HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 409 "An Act prescribing the rights of grandparents related to hearings on petitions to adjudicate a minor as a child in need of aid and to the testimony of grandparents at those hearings; and amending Rules 3, 7, 10, 15, 17(e), and 19, Alaska Child in Need of Aid Rules." - MOVED CSSSHB 409(HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE HOUSE BILL NO. 149 "An Act relating to insurance coverage for treatment of mental illness and substance abuse; repealing provisions of ch. 8, SLA 1997, that terminates required mental health benefit coverage; and providing for an effective date." - MOVED HB 149 OUT OF COMMITTEE HOUSE BILL NO. 375 "An Act relating to abuse of inhalants." - BILL HEARING POSTPONED PREVIOUS ACTION BILL: HB 355 SHORT TITLE: STATE COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 2/09/00 2147 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 2/09/00 2147 (H) HES, FIN 4/06/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 4/06/00 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard 4/11/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 BILL: HB 300 SHORT TITLE: MEDICAL SUPPORT ORDERS FOR CHILDREN Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 1/21/00 1962 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 1/21/00 1962 (H) HES, JUD, FIN 1/21/00 1962 (H) ZERO FISCAL NOTE (REV) 1/21/00 1962 (H) GOVERNOR'S TRANSMITTAL LETTER 2/24/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 2/24/00 (H) Heard & Held 2/24/00 (H) MINUTE(HES) 3/23/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 3/23/00 (H) Heard & Held 3/23/00 (H) MINUTE(HES) 4/11/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 BILL: HB 409 SHORT TITLE: GRANDPARENTS' RIGHTS REGARDING CINA Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 2/16/00 2220 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 2/16/00 2221 (H) HES, JUD, FIN 2/23/00 2278 (H) SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE INTRODUCED 2/23/00 2279 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 2/23/00 2279 (H) HES, JUD, FIN 2/25/00 2315 (H) COSPONSOR(S): KOOKESH 3/23/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 3/23/00 (H) Heard & Held 3/23/00 (H) MINUTE(HES) 4/06/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 4/06/00 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard 4/11/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 BILL: HB 149 SHORT TITLE: INSURANCE:MENTAL HEALTH & SUBSTANCE ABUSE Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 3/19/99 516 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S) 3/19/99 516 (H) HES, L&C, FIN 4/08/99 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 4/08/99 (H) HEARD AND HELD 4/08/99 (H) MINUTE(HES) 4/10/99 (H) HES AT 10:00 AM CAPITOL 106 4/10/99 (H) HEARD AND HELD/SUBCOMMITTEE APPOINTED 4/10/99 (H) MINUTE(HES) 4/11/00 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106 WITNESS REGISTER SALLY RUE, Appointee to the State Board of Education 7083 Hendrickson Road Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as Appointee to the State Board of Education. PHIL YOUNKER, Appointee to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees 121 Spruce Avenue Fairbanks, Alaska 99709 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as Appointee to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees. MATTHEW TURNER Big Brothers/Big Sisters PO Box 20049 Juneau, Alaska 99802 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 355. YVONNE CHASE, Deputy Commissioner Department of Education & Early Development 333 West Fourth Avenue, Suite 220 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 355. ROBERT BASSETT, Coordinator Spirit of Community Initiative Volunteers of America, Alaska no address provided Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 355. BARBARA MIKLOS, Director, Central Office, Child Support Enforcement Division, Department of Revenue 550 West Seventh Avenue, Suite 310 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 300. PETER TORKELSON, Staff to Representative Fred Dyson Alaska State Legislature Capitol Building, Room 104 Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Presented amendments to SSHB 409. ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 00-44, SIDE A Number 0001 CHAIRMAN FRED DYSON called the House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:11 p.m. Members present at the call to order were Representatives Dyson, Green, Kemplen and Coghill. Representatives Whitaker, Morgan and Brice arrived as the meeting was in progress. CONFIRMATION HEARING State Board of Education CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the committee would consider one nominee for the State Board of Education. Members would not vote for the nominee but would pass her name out of committee for full consideration of the House and Senate. (A resume was provided for the appointee.) SALLY RUE, Appointee to the State Board of Education, came forward to testify. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN asked Ms. Rue what she considers the three most important issues facing state education and how she intends to address them in her tenure on the Board of Education. Number 0241 MS. RUE indicated that the first issue would be meeting higher standards. That is going to take a long commitment, and that is well on the way. From her school board and volunteer experiences in Juneau, she knows there are going to be some bumps in the road. A steady course needs to be maintained to focus on the goal and figure out how to get there from here. It probably won't be an easy or quick process. It is important to stick to the standards and refine them as needed. One of the bumps in the road is probably going to be the results of the first high school qualifying exam. How that is dealt with will have to be thought out carefully, and what will be done to make sure all students succeed in the end. MS. RUE mentioned another issue she would be defining, a broader role for both the board and the Department of Education & Early Development (EED) in terms of incorporating the early development aspect into the department. She does not have tremendous expertise in that area, but she is very interested in it. The more that is found out about how children develop, the more those years become absolutely critical. Problems need to be taken care of before the problems show up in school. MS. RUE said the third issue would be seeing more students graduate from high school but also seeing more high school graduates go on to some kind of postsecondary training. Generally a high school diploma is not adequate for making a wage to raise a family on these days. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN asked Ms. Rue if she would be supportive of initiatives that allowed qualified high school students to take college credits at the expense of the school district. MS. RUE said she hadn't thought a lot about that; she would have to think about the details. Generally, she is supportive of students having options. She knows there are students in Juneau who have taken courses at the University of Southeast when the high school couldn't offer the courses. At some point, resources become an issue so she would have to look at the details. Number 0446 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked Ms. Rue how she would see her role in connecting early childhood development and K-12 education. He also asked what she is going to do to ensure that the gifted and talented regulations will be developed over the summer. MS. RUE replied she is still new at this and hasn't had any detailed conversations about that. She doesn't know the details of where the EED is in terms of the regulations so she can't really answer that. MS. RUE said there has been a subcommittee appointed for early childhood development, and she volunteered for that subcommittee. She would look for the board to have some far-reaching discussions on what the role should be. Number 0608 REPRESENTATIVE GREEN mentioned that one of the leading causes of youth death is firearm mishaps. He asked Ms. Rue what she thought of a voluntary course in the schools on outdoor living, gun safety and things like that. MS. RUE said she is very supportive of hunter education and gun safety courses. A voluntary course would be fine. She is a little worried that schools are expected to do so much in light of trying to narrow down and doing better on math, reading and writing. All those things have to be weighed carefully, and resources would be an issue. She supports having those courses whether it is the school that offers them or not. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked Ms. Rue to discuss how she'll make a decision on how much to "dumb down" the qualifying exam if there is an unacceptable failure rate. Number 0740 MS. RUE replied she does not believe the exam should be "dumbed down." The question of where the cut is set is a different question. That gets back to the standards and what the students should know and be able to do when they graduate from high school. Then the question is how do we get the students there. CHAIRMAN DYSON said some standards were set a couple years ago on how much money goes into the classroom, and how much goes into administration. That has sparked a lot of discussion about what are classroom expenses. He noted that Ms. Rue voted a few weeks ago to put all the administration as part of the 70 percent of the classroom. He asked her to address what she was thinking. MS. RUE admitted she did vote for that. There was not the option of picking and choosing different positions in the 400 line of school administration. The choice was either waiting a year to have it become effective if the chart of accounts was changed or taking too much now and dealing with the problem of some school districts that have been switching from having principals to head teachers which means there may be people evaluating teachers who do not get in their classrooms; they may be 100 miles away. She looks at principals, and possibly some vice principals, as critical pieces of improving the schools. MS. RUE said philosophically, she doesn't agree with setting principals off as an extraneous category saying administration has nothing to do with instruction; she believes it has a lot to do with instruction. She doesn't see much progress made on getting students and schools to higher standards without having a really strong instructional leader in the principal. That is key. She understood at the time it would cause some unhappiness, in terms of the budget, but on the merits of it and the substantive reasons, it was the right thing to do, and that is how she voted. The board requested that the EED change the chart of accounts so the support staff and travel could be sorted out and not be associated with instruction. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked who, besides the principals, did she vote to include in the classroom. MS. RUE answered that whoever is in that line, which right now is probably all the staff in the central office of a school building. If she had the choice, she would not support that; she would support people who really have the instructional leadership roles, not the school secretary and other people in the office. CHAIRMAN DYSON said he appreciated that explanation. He asked Ms. Rue if she believes that charter schools should receive part of the local contribution. MS. RUE answered it depends on how it is sorted out and what services the regular schools provide for the students. She would want to look at it on a case-by-case basis. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked if she would decide what a charter school gets based upon what services it requires, not it getting a fair share of each funding stream. MS. RUE said the charter schools should get a fair share, but she would want to see what is being proposed and what the situation is in the district. There is a charter school in Juneau that she supported, but she also learned from that experience that quite a bit of effort is required from the school district to make it work. CHAIRMAN DYSON said the school district gets money from several different sources, such as state money, federal money and maybe some grants and in some districts from the local tax base. In essence, most of that money flows into one pot, then it goes out for lots of things. He asked Ms. Rue if she thought the local contribution ought to be set aside and the charter schools can't get their fair share of that. MS. RUE said she doesn't necessarily believe that. She would still have to look at what the proposal was. She agrees with the principle of the charter schools getting a fair share of all funding streams. Number 1061 CHAIRMAN DYSON asked Ms. Rue who should set the standards for a school's behavior and safety standards. MS. RUE answered the local school board, the school districts, the parents and staff at the school. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL said he had heard some village teachers say that a lot of students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades are beginning to not want to complete school. The students have a hopelessness about them. He wondered if the REAAs [Rural Education Attendance Area] should be combined at the high school level to give the students something to look forward to. He asked Ms. Rue what are some of the solutions to getting students from the seventh grade into postsecondary education. MS. RUE answered one solution is to give students hope that there will be something to do, and they will have a future in Alaska. Another area to look at is how to provide them with high quality teaching. It is a concern that small districts tend to have new and not very experienced teachers who tend to stay only a couple of years. Inexperienced teachers who only stay a short time is a handicap. That is something that needs to be dealt with. It would help to have more local teachers, more Native teachers and more minority teachers. MS. RUE noted there is a worry that students who fail the exit exam will leave school. Who is going to want to come back in the senior year after flunking the test twice? It is the board's job to make sure that doesn't happen and give the students across the state the tools to succeed at that exam. She doesn't have a magic answer, but it takes caring teachers, and experienced teachers certainly help. She would like to work on getting more students into postsecondary education. If students see something to do beyond high school, they will see the need to get a high school diploma. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked Ms. Rue what the primary thing is she will bring to the Board of Education. Number 1294 MS. RUE answered she brings a passion for education. It is what she does avocationally, not professionally. She said she feels like she has a vision for what the system can be. It has a long way to go, and it is not an easy thing to move that way. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked Ms. Rue what she believes has caused the panic in Alaska about the fact that there are the competency tests. He wondered if it is a problem of the school system or because there are so many dysfunctional families or parents who don't care. He asked if there are adequate requirements for children to go from one grade to the next, or are students just allowed to move on. MS. RUE replied her answer lies in moving to standards rather than seat time. If the move can be made to standards so students understand what they are supposed to be doing, and what it looks like when they are doing that at an acceptable level, it connects them much more to real things. Learning feels more relevant, and students begin to see why they need to know something. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN said he was appalled to find out that students graduating from high school can't do a checkbook. He wondered how can that be. MS. RUE said because up until now, the system has been oriented toward seat time. Students need to be involved in their education and understand what standards are. She believes Alaska is moving in the right direction. CHAIRMAN DYSON thanked Ms. Rue for serving and advised her to not the let system absorb her. [Ms. Rue's confirmation was advanced.] HB 355 - STATE COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM Number 1500 CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the next order of business as House Bill No. 355, "An Act establishing a state community service program; establishing by statute the Alaska State Community Service Commission; and providing for an effective date." Number 1520 REPRESENTATIVE ALLEN KEMPLEN, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, came forward to present HB 355. He has become increasingly concerned about the lack of participation in the civic sector by the citizens. Before he became a legislator, he was very active in his neighborhood and community, and he found it increasingly difficult to get people to participate in volunteer activities. He discovered that volunteerism is an essential trait of the American character and has always been powerful in American culture. He told the committee members there are several articles in their packets that addressed the diminishing character trait. Technology has played a great role in this. One of the articles maintained that television is drawing people away from participating in the community, faith organizations and community service organizations. The Internet is also keeping people isolated from their neighbors. With this increasing isolation of individuals, the community needs are not being addressed. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN explained that in the past, many of the social problems were dealt with in the civic sector by social and community organizations. House Bill 355 provides incentives for people to participate in civic sector organizations and do some good for their neighborhood and the community at large. The Department of Education & Early Development has provided a zero fiscal note for HB 355. The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation said it foresees no increased cost for the housing voucher. It would be treated as a component of its portfolio. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN noted that the community service program that was created by executive order is lodged in the Department of Education & Early Development (EED). It was created to channel the Americorps grants from the federal government, and HB 355 moves that commission to Alaska statutes and gives it some additional responsibilities. The commission will take the initiative to create an Alaska-based community service program instead of just monitoring the Americorps pass-through grants. The EED feels it can do that with existing staff. Number 1797 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked Representative Kemplen if this was a prototype, or if it was patterned after things existing in other states or communities. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN answered that the community service program is something already in place. This bill makes it Alaska-specific and strengthens it. Number 1835 REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER asked Representative Kemplen how HB 355 revamps the existing Community Service Commission. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN replied it doesn't revamp the commission itself, it just moves it into Alaska statutes. It makes it an official state-sponsored program and gives it some additional responsibilities. REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER asked how exactly it enhances the commission. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN said it enhances it by giving the commission members a greater charge. It strengthens their mission so they become responsible for laying out an Alaska- specific community service program. The commission will write administrative procedures and regulations on how this Alaska program would be implemented, what would qualify an organization to receive the designation of an official Alaska community service program, and what type of criteria it would have to meet in order to justify the housing or education voucher. It gives the commission work. Number 1934 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked Representative Kemplen what he envisioned as part of the community service specific to a community; what kinds of logistical things was he thinking people would do. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN suggested a number of things could qualify, but the Community Service Commission would set those parameters. That would be the commission's charge to define exactly what the sideboards are that qualify for community service. It will be structured. It will have to be an established civic organization. There are already a number of civic organizations that provide community service, and those organizations could apply to participate in this Alaska community service program. CHAIRMAN DYSON commented that this group will be doing a lot of work. If it can do it without existing cost, he wondered what is being done now that the commission will quit doing. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN said his impression from talking to the members of the Community Service Commission, is that they don't do too much now besides approve the federal pass-through dollars. House Bill 355 will tap into that potential. Number 2048 CHAIRMAN DYSON asked where the money is going to come from for the vouchers. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN answered that the housing voucher becomes part of the portfolio of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC). The AHFC is guaranteeing a 100 percent mortgage loan. That is carried on the AHFC's books so there is no additional cost to the AHFC. The educational vouchers could come from either the university as a line item in its budget or from federal funds. CHAIRMAN DYSON referred to page 3 of HB 355 and asked about the faith based organizations. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN answered Catholic Community Services does social service activities and would be eligible for this type of activity because it is separate from the other part of the organization. It basically precludes preaching of a specific faith. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE explained that this commission wouldn't draw from the EED's current resources, it just is putting what it does now into statute. Number 2199 REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER asked Representative Kemplen if he had given thought to the notion that the volunteer efforts of the individuals, who might qualify for either the educational voucher or the housing voucher, would now be no longer voluntary, but there would be remuneration considered for that time. Therefore, it may have an implication with regard to federal income taxes. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN said it may. Often most people who do volunteer activities don't make very much money. Young people out of high school or recent college graduates are not making very much money. REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER said because the individuals may not have substantial earnings, they may essentially be taxed for $2500 credit referred to on page 6, line 14. The volunteers may be taxed on revenue, but this is a credit so it could have a substantial negative effect on their tax situation. He recommended that Representative Kemplen look into that. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked Representative Kemplen if he thought about putting this commission into the Department of Health & Social Services. Number 2310 REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN replied he did not consider that. The current commission is lodged in EED and the administration was comfortable in keeping it there. The programs that will be eligible have yet to be defined by the commission. If there is a heavy social services orientation to it, that may be something to address down the road. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked if Representative Kemplen studied or knew of any studies on the structure for community volunteerism in Alaska. He commented that there are a lot of nonprofit or civic minded organizations that are probably doing this, and it seems that this could insert a community in areas where nonprofit and other civic organizations have already asserted themselves. TAPE 00-44, SIDE B Number 2351 REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN answered he hasn't done a systematic analysis but in conversations with people who are active in the civic sector, they tell him this is great; it would make it easier to get people to participate in the different organizations, and it would make the organization do a better job. REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER asked Representative Kemplen if the commission would pay pass-through dollars to the university for the educational voucher and the same then would be true for the recipient of the housing voucher to pay for mortgage insurance no matter who the mortgage holder may be. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN explained if a participant were to complete the defined length of community service, he/she would be eligible for a voucher, either housing or education. It would be very similar to the GI [Government Issue] bill. As a veteran, he received a housing voucher from the Veterans Administration which guaranteed his loan at 100 percent so he can purchase a home for zero down payment. This would be very similar. The actual details would have to be worked out by the commission; this bill just gives the commission the authority to move forward. A participant would receive a certificate from the Community Service Commission with the backing of AHFC. When the participant applies for a housing loan, the certificate is presented to the loan officer, and the loan officer knows it is guaranteed 100 percent by the portfolio held by AHFC, and the participant doesn't have to put anything down. The biggest obstacle to moving someone into home ownership is the down payment. This becomes a great incentive for people. Number 2191 REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER said in going back to the full faith and credit of AHFC, he asked if that would then be subsidized by the pass-through dollars as attributable to the commission from the federal government. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN answered it would not be subsidized. REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER asked if that would be a cost borne by AHFC. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN explained that AHFC would guarantee that loan. If someone pays on time and doesn't default, there is no cost to AHFC. REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER said the problem with that is it is on the wrong side of the ledger of the portfolio; that is a liability and that could be problematic, and he suspects that will be reflected in a fiscal note of an appropriate amount. The same question would be appropriate with regard to the university. There is no pass-through funding from the commission; it is simply the responsibility of the university given this voucher as a result of HB 355. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN explained that employees of the university now can take classes at no cost. CHAIRMAN DYSON temporarily suspended the hearing on HB 355 in order to take testimony for a confirmation hearing. CONFIRMATION HEARING Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the committee would consider one nominee for the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees. Members would not vote for the nominees but would pass his name out of committee for full consideration of the House and Senate. (A resume was provided for the appointee.) Number 2138 PHIL YOUNKER, Appointee to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees, testified via teleconference from Fairbanks. He told the committee he has been in Alaska about 36 years and works in the investment field. He has served on the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board for the past five years and is seeking a second term. He has felt the trust authority board has accomplished a lot. He serves as the asset manager on the board. He is proud of the land management project to provide ongoing funds on an annual basis. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE stated his appreciation for the work Mr. Younker has done on the trust authority. Number 2085 REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER said Mr. Younker is a pillar of the community, and he continues to serve the community well. CHAIRMAN DYSON thanked Mr. Younker for his willingness to serve. [Mr. Younker's confirmation was advanced.] HB 355 - STATE COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM Number 2071 CHAIRMAN DYSON reopened the hearing on HOUSE BILL NO. 355, "An Act establishing a state community service program; establishing by statute the Alaska State Community Service Commission; and providing for an effective date." Number 2056 MATTHEW TURNER, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, came forward to testify in support of HB 355. The entire product of Big Brothers/Big Sisters is entirely dependent upon adult volunteers who work with children. If there is a commission in place that sets certain standards for both an agency and the volunteer, it seems like the question of liability is pretty low risk. The volunteer proves himself/herself by showing up on time, doing the service, and basically following a contract with an agency for no payment. He wondered if the question of liability would take a lower mark because of that. MR. TURNER noted that this is a good step in the direction of legislation impacting culture because it raises the bar for volunteers and agencies that are part of this program. The commission is going to expect that certain commitments are met. It will be an asset to the agencies to know there is enough of an incentive to know there will be follow through on what a volunteer says he/she will do and follow through on those commitments over the course of a year. Another positive outcome of HB 355 would be the impact on agencies. In order to qualify, agencies are going to have to meet certain performance standards. There will be some accountability without a lot of penalty. MR. TURNER noted that many people are imported from other states, and this bill will encourage more volunteerism in Alaska. Number 1896 YVONNE CHASE, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Education & Early Development (EED), testified via teleconference from Anchorage. The Alaska State Community Service Commission resides within the EED. She researched what other states have done and said many states are in the process of moving their respective commissions into statute, and ten states already have moved to establish their commissions in statute. Establishing the commission in statute formalizes the commitment to volunteer services. The EED did submit a zero fiscal note because the department saw the bill, with the exception of the section on the housing vouchers, as actually taking the functions that were presently outlined for the commission and moving them into statute. The commission has two staff people, and the department doesn't anticipate more staffing would be necessary with these changes. A good deal of the work in reviewing proposals and determining community needs is done by the commission members in a volunteer capacity. The department sees this as a workable bill in statute. Number 1815 CHAIRMAN DYSON asked Ms. Chase if organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous or Boy Scouts are disqualified because of their religious affiliation or orientation. MS. CHASE answered no they wouldn't be disqualified because of a religious orientation. She believes the issue is not of the organization's religious orientation but rather that the organization will serve individuals regardless of their religious orientation. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked Ms. Chase how the commission came to be in the Department of Education & Early Education. He asked if it was there originally or did it go through HB 40 under reorganization. Number 1766 MS. CHASE answered that the commission was moved under HB 40. Initially, the commission was in the Department of Labor & Workforce Development, as a result of the changes in HB 40. The commission members at the time felt that the commission's placement fit better in the Department of Education & Early Development. Number 1730 ROBERT C. BASSETT, Coordinator, Spirit of Community Initiative, Volunteers of America, Alaska, testified via teleconference from Anchorage in favor of HB 355. He has experience with state commissions in other states, most notably New York, and the function and role of the state Community Service Commission is a wonderful and critical part of the strategy for developing human resources in any state. He has followed the development of the Alaska Community Service Commission, and it is at an exciting stage right now. He believes that to codify the state commission and also to establish a state community service program would be a wonderful strategy to keep people engaged, especially young Alaskans who are frankly facing disengagement, either because they are dropping out of school or don't necessarily see a worker career path, or possibly don't see themselves going on to higher education. MR. BASSETT likes the fact that the proposed bill seems to emphasize disadvantaged youth and young people who may not be on the fast track to success. By providing some additional state leadership through the EED, the state is doing a great service. It increases the emphasis on volunteerism. It connects volunteerism to educational development. All experiences out in the community that are structured, mentored and supervised provide great education and in some cases, better education than what is going on in a classroom. It also focuses on citizenship at a time when young people and adults are questioning what their role is in the community. This bill says it is important to be a citizen, and that is going to be recognized through a system of incentives that are tied to higher education. Education is the key. MR. BASSETT noted lastly the bill focuses on motivation. If the young people are not motivated in school, and if they don't feel there is an opportunity for them in the community, there is direction to be motivated if they find an opportunity to get involved in a community activity in service or volunteerism that is meaningful to them where they feel valued and have some sense of success. That leads to building on to a career path or higher education. It is a great proposal to have the state commission become formally part of the EED. CHAIRMAN DYSON closed the public testimony. Number 1577 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to move HB 355 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL objected. He said the idea sounds good, but he has not had time to think about ramifications. He doesn't want to see civic organizations get crowded by a governmental organization in volunteerism. He would like to do more research because it is not clear to him that this type of commission isn't going to overshadow some of the community efforts. He might be mistaken, and he is open to discussion on it. However, he is not ready to move the bill out of committee. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE said, to alleviate Representative Coghill's concerns, this bill enhances civic organizations' volunteer efforts. It provides a stream of volunteers for those organizations to use to work within the community, and that is why he supports it. Anything that can be done to encourage more volunteerism in the community is a good thing, and thus establishing the commission in statute is appropriate and timely. The commission is not competing. It is cooperating with volunteer organizations. Number 1469 REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER said he likes the idea, and it has tremendous merit, but he has some practical concerns. He is not going to oppose the bill moving on. However, he is concerned with what the university and AHFC may have to say, and with the tax and wage concerns. He offered to work with the sponsor in the interim to advance something like this. A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Kemplen, Whitaker, Green, Brice and Dyson voted in favor of moving the bill. Representative Coghill voted against it. Representative Morgan was absent. Therefore, HB 355 moved from the House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee by a vote of 5- 1. HB 300 - MEDICAL SUPPORT ORDERS FOR CHILDREN Number 1385 CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the next order of business as House Bill No. 300, "An Act relating to the establishment and enforcement of medical support orders for children; and providing for an effective date." He asked Ms. Miklos if she'd had time to look over the proposed committee substitute (CS). Number 1337 BARBARA MIKLOS, Director, Central Office, Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED), Department of Revenue, testified via teleconference from Anchorage. She said for the most part the changes are fine. She and Diane Wendlandt had a question on Section 7, page 7, lines 9-13, which is confusing. She was worried that it would do the opposite of what is wanted. Specifically, her concern is in regard to the words "government assistance", which she interpreted to mean that if it were covered by government assistance, then the CSED would not be collecting the support from the parent. She asked what the purpose of that sentence is. MS. MIKLOS referred to page 12, line 25, Indirect Amendment of Court Rule. In their reading of the court rule, the two orders are not locked together like in statute now. They don't believe that the statute, even as written, would amend the court rule. That is not as big an issue for them as the question on Section 7. MS. MIKLOS said she has mistakenly spoken and thus wanted to correct her comments as follows: The CSED wouldn't collect on behalf of Medical Assistance; rather, Medical Assistance would do the collecting. She reiterated her concern that the language "government assistance" would prohibit Medical Assistance from collecting this money if the people were already covered by government assistance. CHAIRMAN DYSON said he understood her; it would negate the ability to get reimbursed. MS. MIKLOS agreed that is what she is worried about. From discussions with the committee, she thought that was the opposite of what some of the members of the committee want, and it is the opposite of what the federal government intends when it tells CSED it must go after medical support orders. CHAIRMAN DYSON said his staff told him that is quoted directly from the court rules. MS. MIKLOS said no, "government assistance" is not in the court rules. The court rule says, "reasonable health care expenses not covered by insurance unless a court orders otherwise for good cause" so there is a little difference in the language. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked Ms. Miklos how this bill is doing in the Senate. MS. MIKLOS replied that it is scheduled [to be heard in the] Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow. She also told the committee the House Bill will go to the [House] Judiciary Committee after [it is moved out of the House] Health, Education and Social Services Committee. CHAIRMAN DYSON said it would be his desire to let the House Judiciary Committee decide whether it is consistent with the court rules or not. Number 1060 REPRESENTATIVE GREEN made a motion to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 300, version 1-GH2061\D, Lauterbach, 4/11/00, as a work draft. There being no objection, Version D was before the committee. Number 1032 REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER made a motion to move CSHB 300, version 1-GH2061\D, Lauterbach, 4/11/00, from committee with individual recommendations and the attached fiscal note. Number 1020 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL objected because he hadn't had a chance to spend the time [reviewing the CS] that he would have liked. Furthermore, he is still concerned about private insurance, although it looks like that was addressed in the proposed CS, which seems quite different. Representative Coghill removed his objection. CHAIRMAN DYSON asked whether there was further objection. There being no objection, CSHB 300(HES) moved from the House Health, Education and Social Services Committee. The committee took an at-ease from 4:30 p.m. to 4:31 p.m. HB 409 - GRANDPARENTS' RIGHTS REGARDING CINA Number 0923 CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the next order of business as Sponsor Substitute for House Bill No. 409, "An Act prescribing the rights of grandparents related to hearings on petitions to adjudicate a minor as a child in need of aid and to the testimony of grandparents at those hearings; and amending Rules 3, 7, 10, 15, 17(e), and 19, Alaska Child in Need of Aid Rules." CHAIRMAN DYSON noted that the last time the committee heard this bill, the Department of Health & Social Services objected to the difficulty of finding and informing all the grandparents. Therefore, Peter Torkelson will offer some amendments. Number 0882 PETER TORKELSON, Staff to Representative Fred Dyson, Alaska State Legislature, came forward to present two amendments to SSHB 409. The first amendment is a technical title change to make it more accurate. The second amendment addresses the issue that the department had with the bill while still granting grandparents the rights the sponsor believes they should have. Number 0819 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to adopt Amendment 1, which read: Page 1, line 1, following "to": Insert "child-in-need-of-aid" Page 1, lines 1-2: Delete "on petitions to adjudicate a minor as a child in need of aid" CHAIRMAN DYSON asked whether there was any objection. There being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted. Number 0795 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to adopt Amendment 2 [1- LS1458\G.1, Lauterbach, 4/5/00], which read: Page 2, lines 9-18: Delete all material and insert: "(d) the department shall give advance written notice of all court hearings in a child's case to a grandparent of the child if the grandparent has contacted the department, requested notice about the hearings in the child's case, and provided the department with a current mailing address." CHAIRMAN DYSON asked whether there was any objection. There being no objection, Amendment 2 was adopted. MR. TORKELSON noted that the Division of Family and Youth Services (DFYS) said this change would negate the rather large fiscal note. There may be a few costs related to the notification but not the large amount that would have applied under the old version of HB 409. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE stated his understanding that the bill could be passed out without the fiscal note, then. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked Mr. Torkelson whether the DFYS had indicated how much the fiscal note would be reduced. MR. TORKELSON answered no, it would just take care of the fiscal concerns with the bill. There would be postage costs involved in notifying the grandparents but not a huge addition. Number 0686 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to move CSSSHB 409, version 1- LS1458\G, Lauterbach, 3/16/00, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations. There being no objection, CSSSHB 409(HES) moved from the House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee. HB 149 - INSURANCE: MENTAL HEALTH & SUBSTANCE ABUSE Number 0661 CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the next order of business as House Bill No. 149, "An Act relating to insurance coverage for treatment of mental illness and substance abuse; repealing provisions of ch. 8, SLA 1997, that terminates required mental health benefit coverage; and providing for an effective date." He asked Representative Coghill to give a subcommittee report. [The bill had been assigned to a subcommittee on 4/10/99.] Number 0637 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL reported that the subcommittee on HB 149 could not come to a conclusion on the matter, so the bill was coming back before the committee for perusal. He personally had strong objections to this bill going on, considering the mandate of mental health insurance coverage at this time, but couldn't get a consensus in the subcommittee. He recommended that the committee not move the bill out of committee. Number 0574 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to move HB 149 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL objected. A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Brice, Kemplen, Whitaker and Dyson voted in favor of moving the bill. Representatives Coghill and Green voted against it. Representative Morgan was absent. Therefore, HB 149 moved from the House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee by a vote of 4-2. ADJOURNMENT Number 0514 There being no further business before the committee, the House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 4:39 p.m.