00 HOUSE BILL NO. 336 01 "An Act establishing an energy assistance program in the Department of Revenue to 02 issue an energy voucher to Alaska permanent fund dividend recipients; and relating to 03 the analysis and recommendation of an energy assistance program by the governor." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05  * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 06 to read: 07 ALASKA ENERGY VOUCHER. (a) To help residents meet the high cost of energy 08 in the state, the Department of Revenue shall issue an energy voucher to each adult who is 09 determined by the department to be eligible for the permanent fund dividend paid in 2012. 10 (b) The voucher shall be redeemable for 250 gallons of heating oil, the natural gas 11 British thermal unit equivalent of 250 gallons of heating oil, or for 1,500 kilowatts of 12 electricity. 13 (c) The energy voucher 14 (1) shall be numbered and state the name of the adult to whom the voucher is 01 issued; 02 (2) must contain a certification that the voucher recipient is complying with all 03 the requirements of the voucher; 04 (3) is nontransferable and may not be sold, transferred, or traded for any other 05 compensation, except as provided in (g) of this section; 06 (4) is redeemable only at a distributor qualified under (e) of this section but 07 may not be split among multiple distributors; 08 (5) is valid for heating oil or natural gas delivered, or kilowatts used, before 09 April 30, 2013; 10 (6) is valid for heating oil, natural gas, or electricity delivered to any 11 residential or business address in the state; and 12 (7) shall be issued by the department not earlier than July 1, 2012, and not 13 later than December 1, 2012. 14 (d) A distributor qualified under (e) of this section shall, before June 1, 2013, submit 15 claims for reimbursement to the Department of Revenue. The department shall mail 16 reimbursement for an energy voucher not later than 20 days after receiving an eligible claim 17 from a qualified distributor. Submitted claims must include 18 (1) the voucher number; 19 (2) the name of the recipient, as stated on the voucher; 20 (3) the address to which the heating oil, natural gas, or electricity paid for by 21 the voucher was delivered; and 22 (4) the retail value of the heating oil, natural gas, or electricity on the date or 23 dates it was delivered. 24 (e) For purposes of (d) of this section, a distributor of oil, natural gas, or electricity is 25 qualified if the distributor is licensed to do business in the state, is regularly engaged in the 26 business of distributing oil, natural gas, or electricity, and meets other eligibility requirements 27 that the Department of Revenue may adopt by regulation under AS 44.62 (Administrative 28 Procedure Act). The department shall maintain a list of qualified distributors eligible to accept 29 and redeem vouchers. 30 (f) In determining the eligibility of an individual under a public assistance program, a 31 heating assistance program, or a veterans' benefits program in which eligibility for assistance 01 is based on financial need, the state may not consider an energy voucher as income or 02 resources received by the recipient or by a member of the recipient's household unless 03 required to do so by federal law or regulation. 04 (g) An recipient of an energy voucher who does not pay directly for the heating oil, 05 natural gas, or electricity used in the recipient's residence may certify that fact on a form 06 provided by the Department of Revenue and may exchange the voucher with the department 07 for 08 (1) a replacement voucher in the name of the landlord or owner of the 09 residence in which the recipient resides, the value of which may, subject to negotiations 10 between the landlord and tenant, be deducted from rent; replacement of a voucher under this 11 paragraph is not considered a transfer for purposes of (c)(3) of this section; or 12 (2) a check for $250 in the name of the recipient of the energy voucher. 13 (h) Except as provided in (i) of this section or as may be provided by regulations 14 adopted by the Department of Revenue, an energy voucher issued under this section is not 15 valid unless it is signed by the individual named on the face of the voucher. 16 (i) The energy voucher of an individual who is disabled or incompetent must be 17 signed by the individual's parent, legal guardian, or other authorized representative. An 18 individual may complete, sign, and redeem an energy voucher on behalf of a member of the 19 armed forces of the United States who is serving on active duty outside of the United States if 20 the individual has a power of attorney from the member of the armed forces that, in specific 21 or general terms, authorizes the individual to redeem the voucher. 22 (j) If a public agency claims an energy voucher on behalf of an individual, the public 23 agency shall hold the energy voucher in trust for the individual. 24 (k) An individual who is disabled or incompetent may not maintain a claim against 25 the state or an officer or employee of the state based on the manner in which the parent, 26 guardian, or authorized representative other than a public agency of the state managed or 27 disposed of an energy voucher received on behalf of the disabled or incompetent individual. 28 (l) In addition to any criminal penalties imposed by state law, if an individual or 29 qualified distributor is convicted of a crime in connection with a false statement made in a 30 certification required under (c)(2) of this section, submission for a reimbursement under (d) of 31 this section, or an exchange of energy vouchers under (g) of this section, or in connection 01 with forging an energy voucher, and the conviction is not reversed, vacated, or set aside, or if 02 an individual or qualified distributor is found by the Department of Revenue to have bought, 03 sold, traded, or otherwise violated the terms of the voucher, that individual or qualified 04 distributor forfeits the energy voucher, and the individual is not eligible for a future 05 permanent fund dividend. 06 (m) If an individual or distributor is aggrieved by a decision of the Department of 07 Revenue with respect to the individual's eligibility for an energy voucher, the individual's 08 authority to claim an energy voucher on behalf of another, or reimbursement of a distributor, 09 or other decision under (l) of this section, the individual or distributor may request that the 10 Department of Revenue review its decision. Within 12 months after an administrative appeal 11 under this subsection is filed, the Department of Revenue shall provide the individual or 12 distributor with a final written decision. If the individual or distributor is aggrieved by the 13 final written decision of the Department of Revenue, the individual or distributor may appeal 14 that decision to the superior court in accordance with AS 44.62.560. An appeal to the court 15 under this subsection does not entitle the aggrieved individual or distributor to a trial de novo. 16 The appeal shall be based on the record of the administrative proceeding from which appeal is 17 taken, and the scope of appeal is limited to matters contained in the record of the 18 administrative proceeding. 19 (n) If the Department of Revenue determines that an energy voucher should not have 20 been issued to an individual or a reimbursement should not have been made to a distributor, 21 the commissioner of revenue may use all collection procedures or remedies available under 22 AS 43 to recover the energy voucher or the cash value of the voucher that was improperly 23 issued or for which reimbursement was improperly made. Except as provided in (o) of this 24 section, a notice of an improperly issued voucher or improper reimbursement shall be sent to 25 the individual or distributor, as applicable, within 26 (1) three years after the energy voucher was issued if the notice is sent to an 27 individual; or 28 (2) three years after the distributor received reimbursement if the notice is sent 29 to a distributor. 30 (o) The three-year time limit under (n) of this section for the department to send 31 notice of an improperly issued voucher or an improper reimbursement is extended to six years 01 if the Department of Revenue determines that the individual or distributor 02 (1) exercised gross negligence or reckless disregard with respect to a material 03 fact in connection with a false statement on the energy voucher or submission for 04 reimbursement; or 05 (2) forged an energy voucher. 06 (p) If notice is not sent within the time required under (n) or (o) of this section, 07 administrative or judicial proceedings may not be commenced for recovery of an improperly 08 issued energy voucher or improper reimbursement. 09  * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 10 read: 11 ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATION OF AN ENERGY ASSISTANCE 12 PROGRAM. (a) The governor shall analyze the energy assistance program in (b) of this 13 section and alternate options for providing energy assistance to Alaskans and, before 14 October 1, 2012, provide a report to the legislature making a recommendation for an energy 15 assistance program to be implemented in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, that 16 (1) correlates the amount of assistance to the local cost of residential heating, 17 taking into consideration the price of fuel and heating degree days in each community; 18 (2) is implemented based on crude oil price or heating oil price; 19 (3) has total funding based on state revenue; 20 (4) minimizes administrative costs; 21 (5) makes participation of fuel distributors voluntary; 22 (6) includes a hold harmless provision for recipients of public assistance and 23 veterans' benefits; and 24 (7) includes penalties for fraud, including ineligibility for a future permanent 25 fund dividend. 26 (b) The governor shall analyze the following options and may analyze alternate 27 options to provide energy assistance to Alaskans: 28 (1) a fuel price reduction program with the following features: 29 (A) state reimbursement to a heating oil or natural gas distributor of a 30 portion of the wholesale purchase price of fuel that the distributor sold to heat 31 residential structures; 01 (B) an amount of reimbursement necessary to reduce the wholesale 02 purchase price of a distributor by a specified amount or to a specified price; 03 (C) a limit on the amount of fuel that a person may purchase and for 04 which a distributor received a state reimbursement; and 05 (2) an individual account program with the following features: 06 (A) application on a permanent fund dividend application for energy 07 assistance in the form of a state payment to the applicant's account with a fuel 08 distributor or electric utility; 09 (B) assistance based on heating degree days and the cost of energy in 10 the community; 11 (C) electronic selection of 12 (i) a fuel distributor or electric utility to receive the individual's 13 energy assistance payment; and 14 (ii) an optional amount from the applicant's dividend to be 15 deposited in the individual's account with a fuel distributor or electric utility; 16 (D) a statewide base amount to be sent with the applicant's permanent 17 fund dividend for an applicant for energy assistance who fails to select a fuel 18 distributor or electric utility to receive the individual's energy assistance payment. 19 (c) The governor's report to the legislature under (a) of this section shall evaluate 20 (1) the estimated cost of the program for the first five years; 21 (2) the cost of administering the program compared to the assistance provided; 22 (3) whether the program provides the highest level of assistance to the 23 individuals with the highest heating costs; and 24 (4) whether the program can be structured so that energy assistance is not 25 subject to federal taxation. 26 (d) In this section, "heating degree days" means the average temperature for a day 27 minus the reference temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit.