SENATE COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE April 10, 1996 2:05 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator John Torgerson, Chairman Senator Randy Phillips, Vice Chairman Senator Tim Kelly Senator Fred Zharoff Senator Lyman Hoffman MEMBERS ABSENT All members present COMMITTEE CALENDAR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 466(FIN) am "An Act establishing the Adak Reuse Authority." CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 322(FIN) "An Act authorizing grants for temporary housing assistance during emergencies and disasters." CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 386(JUD) "An Act relating to cruelty to animals and to the power of first and second class boroughs to prohibit cruelty to animals." CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 542(FSH) "An Act relating to participation in matters before the Board of Fisheries by members of the board." PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION HB 466 - See Community & Regional Affairs minutes dated 4/3/96. HB 322 - See Community & Regional Affairs minutes dated 4/3/96. HB 542 - No previous action to record. WITNESS REGISTER Representative Carl Moses State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Prime Sponsor of HB 466 George Dozier, Staff to House Military & Veterans Affairs Committee State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on HB 322 Carol Carroll, Director Administrative & Support Services Division Department of Military & Veterans Affairs P.O. Box 110900 Juneau, AK 99811-0900 POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on HB 322 Representative Alan Austerman State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Prime Sponsor of HB 542 Steven White, Assistant Attorney General Natural Resources Section Department of Law P.O. Box 110300 Juneau, AK 99811-0300 POSITION STATEMENT: Department neutral on HB 542 Jim Ellison P.O. Box 55590 North Pole, AK 99705 POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SCS CSHB 386(CRA) Art Griswold 873 Runamuck Ave. North Pole, AK 99705 POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SCS CSHB 386(CRA) Bob Franklin, State President Alaska Farm Bureau P.O. Box 75184 Fairbanks, AK 99707 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SCS CSHB 386(CRA) Bill Ward P.O. Box 350 Soldotna, AK 99669 POSITION STATEMENT: Has some concerns with SCS CSHB 386(CRA) ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 96-20, SIDE A Number 001 CSHB 466(FIN) am ADAK REUSE AUTHORITY  CHAIRMAN TORGERSON called the Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. He then brought CSHB 466(FIN) am before the committee as the first order of business and outlined changes made in a draft CRA SCS. The first change is to page 1, lines 8 and 12, which changes the lead agency from the Department of Community & Regional Affairs to the Department of Commerce & Economic Development. The second change is to page 2, lines 20 through 22, which deletes the language "In case of a tie vote on a motion or resolution pending before the authority, the motion or resolution shall be presented to the governor and, if approved by the governor, is considered adopted by the authority." It is replaced with the language "Action may be taken and motions and resolutions may be adopted by the authority only upon an affirmative vote of a majority of the full membership of the authority." The third change is to page 3, line 2, where subsection (c) was rewritten to state all employees are employees of the authority or contract employees and that the contract does not exceed two years. SENATOR KELLY commented that the new language in subsection (c) is a recognition that this is a transitional authority. He acknowledged to Senator Zharoff that, if necessary, a contract could be renewed after the two years. Number 058 REPRESENTATIVE CARL MOSES, prime sponsor of HB 466, stated his agreement with the proposed changes. Number 102 SENATOR KELLY moved the adoption of SCS CSHB 466(CRA). Hearing no objection, the Chairman stated the motion carried. Number 120 SENATOR KELLY moved SCS CSHB 466(CRA) be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. CSHB 322(FIN) GRANTS FOR HOUSING FOR DISASTER VICTIMS  SENATOR TORGERSON brought CSHB 322(FIN) before the committee and noted it was the committee's second hearing on the legislation. GEORGE DOZIER, staff to the House Military & Veterans Affairs Committee, explained the legislation was sponsored by the committee at the request of the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs. Under existing law, when the governor proclaims a disaster emergency, the Division of Emergency Services has the statutory authority to arrange temporary housing for individuals that have been displaced by the emergency. However, this presents an administrative burden because the department only has the ability to secure the housing rather then making housing grants and allowing individuals to secure their own housing. HB 322 would permit the department to get out of the business of being a landlord by allowing individuals who have suffered displacement to make their own housing arrangements through grants. Number 165 CAROL CARROLL, Director, Administrative & Support Services Division, Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, explained the current process used by the department when a disaster is proclaimed by the governor. She then outlined the process that will be used if HB 322 passes. The division will go into a community and after doing an analysis of the current rental market, an amount will be set which will be provided to people who qualify. Those individuals would then go out and find their own housing. The department will require proper documentation to make sure the individuals have actually rented something and are not being provided housing by someone else. SENATOR KELLY said several years ago, when he was on the Finance Committee, a provision was added to the statute that required reimbursement back to the state if individuals were covered by insurance, and he wondered if that requirement was being met. MS. CARROLL said it was her understanding that people at the Division of Emergency Services do match the insurance returns to any cost that the state has in that regard. SENATOR KELLY commented he has some trepidation about the whole statute because there is no control over how much money will be spent on an emergency, and it makes him nervous to have that open liability to the state of Alaska out there. He is also concerned that the legislation doesn't provide oversight on what kind of housing individuals can get. MS. CARROLL said the department would limit the amount given to individuals that qualified to a medium on the rental scale. If individuals choose to stay in a rental unit that is at the top of the line, they would have to pay the difference between what the medium rental amount was and that increase. SENATOR KELLY suggested adding language to the legislation which would require that the costs of housing not covered under temporary housing assistance be pre-approved by the department. Number 300 SENATOR ZHAROFF said he agreed with Senator Kelly's concern, but he pointed out that if there is a major disaster in an area that already has a tight rental market, it makes it difficult finding suitable temporary housing. Number 315 SENATOR TORGERSON asked if there currently is a cap on how much is spent per person. MS. CARROLL answered there is a cap for the individual family grant, but for temporary housing the cap is not a monetary cap, it is a time-sensitive cap. For people who have been renters beforehand, there is a limit of three months. For homeowners who have had severe damage, there is a limit of 18 months. SENATOR TORGERSON expressed his frustration with the appropriation process in covering these disasters because when the money is not there, the cities have to go in and obligate their funds to make all this happen. Number 400 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asked Senator Hoffman if homeowner insurance was hard to obtain in his district. SENATOR HOFFMAN responded that it wasn't in the larger communities like Bethel, but he believes it is a problem in some of the smaller communities where many of the homes are non-conforming and the communities lack adequate fire systems to deal with these situations. SENATOR KELLY asked if Ms. Carroll could provide the committee with the total reimbursement amount that the state has received from private insurance under this program, and MS. CARROLL acknowledged that she would. Number 455 SENATOR TORGERSON stated HB 322 would be held so that a committee substitute addressing the committee's concerns could be drafted. HB 542 BOARD OF FISH VOTING ETHICS  SENATOR TORGERSON introduced CSHB 542(FSH) as the next order of business. Number 465 REPRESENTATIVE ALAN AUSTERMAN, prime sponsor of HB 542, said he introduced the legislation after a February meeting of past members and the current chairman of the Board of Fisheries. The main issue that came out of the two-day meeting was that there was a problem with the conflict of interest in the Board of Fisheries and how it was being handled. People were being conflicted off of the board, decisions were not being made in some instances, and decisions were being swayed in other instances because of the people being conflicted off of the board. Representative Austerman said HB 542 removes the attorney general out of the picture, in that he does not give opinions any more about the Board of Fisheries conflict of interest. The bill also mandates that board members will discuss and vote on all issues after declaring a conflict of interest. Board members will also have to file a financial conflict of interest statement with the APOC. Representative Austerman said the basis of the legislation is to get the Board of Fisheries back on track and have them make decisions based upon the issues rather than being conflicted off. Number 530 SENATOR ZHAROFF moved that an immediate effective date be added to the legislation. Hearing no objection, the Chairman stated the motion carried. Number 557 STEVEN WHITE, Department of Law, stated the department has no position on HB 542. He related that for the past six years he has advised the Board of Fisheries and has helped them through implementing the current Executive Ethics Act. He noted that if HB 542 passes, it will be the first time that any agency will be exempted from the conflict of interest provisions of that Act. TAPE 96-20, SIDE B Number 001 Mr. White discussed and answered questions on the current process for determining if board members have a conflict of interest. He emphasized the department does not make the decisions for the board; they help them work through the issues, but the board itself makes the final determination. In his closing comments, Mr. White said he understands that former board chairmen don't like the Ethics Act and it's somewhat understandable because it does add more to the board process. However, under the current process, the lay character of the board is preserved because the members who do have experience are allowed to share that experience with the board; they're just not permitted to vote or to persuade other persons. He also said the department believes in the board process and the integrity of the board process, and they don't want to see anything that would lead the public to lose its confidence that there's total impartiality on the board when they make their decisions. Number 130 There being no further testimony on HB 542, SENATOR TORGERSON asked for the will of the committee. SENATOR ZHAROFF moved SCS CSHB 542(CRA) pass out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. Number 140 CSHB 386(JUD) CRUELTY TO ANIMALS  SENATOR TORGERSON brought HB 386 before the committee as the final order of business. He directed attention to a draft SCS that contains a new Section 2, which adds animal husbandry practice and a new Section 4, which defines cruelty to animals as it relates to the care of animals by farmers. Number 155 JIM ELLISON, a North Pole farmer testifying from the Fairbanks LIO, stated his strong support for the language in Section 2, as well as Section 4. Number 165 ART GRISWOLD, a North Pole farmer testifying from the Fairbanks LIO, said he believes the bill is realistic and covers what is necessary. The amendments will make the difference in the practicality of the application of the law. Number 173 BOB FRANKLIN, State President of the Alaska Farm Bureau testifying from Fairbanks, said the agricultural community statewide definitely needs the definition of cruelty to and care of animals by farmers. He said anytime a statute is amended that gives more regulation authority to a individual entity like the animal control, then it is necessary to define exactly what their perimeters of jurisdiction are. Number 190 SENATOR TORGERSON clarified that Representative Grussendorf came forward with the amendment, and that his staff worked hard with a lot of people to try to find a neutral ground to help in the passage of the legislation. Number 250 BILL WARD, testifying from Kenai, said he believes the amendment to the legislation is appropriate and worthwhile to consider. However, he does have some concern that some animal control officers in the local municipalities might not necessarily be qualified to really interpret what proper care is. Also, the municipalities may enact some local ordinances that would conflict with state regulations or be actual contradictions of state regulations. Number 300 There being no further testimony on HB 386, SENATOR TORGERSON asked for the pleasure of the committee. SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS moved SCS CSHB 386(CRA) be adopted. Hearing no objection, the Chairman stated the motion carried. SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS moved SCS CSHB 386(CRA) be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:22 p.m.