2001-02-23                     House Journal                      Page 0417
property against the state or a municipality.  The public needs some                                
way of ensuring that persons who make demands on the public                                         
treasury by seeking to recover money or property from the state or a                                
municipality are doing so in good faith.  The most effective means of                               
doing this is to provide clear consequences for unlawful conduct.  This                             
bill would allow for a civil penalty of up to three times the amount                                
suffered as well as court costs and attorney fees from persons who                                  
make a misrepresentation or false claim against the state or a                                      
municipality.                                                                                       
                                                                                                    
The bill would provide incentives to cooperate in the prosecution of a                              
misrepresentation or false claim.  Also, the bill would apply only to                               
matters involving at least $500 and would not apply to unemployment,                                
workers' compensation, state tax, public assistance, or temporary                                   
assistance claims, or to permanent fund dividend applications.  These                               
programs have specific authority elsewhere in statute providing for the                             
prosecution of false claims.                                                                        
                                                                                                    
The bill requires the attorney general to investigate misrepresentations                            
and false claims against the state and requires the prosecuting                                     
authority for a municipality to investigate misrepresentations and false                            
claims against the municipality.  It also provides procedures for                                   
circumstances in which both state and municipal money or property                                   
are involved and sets a limitation period of 10 years after which suits                             
for misrepresentations and false claims are barred.                                                 
                                                                                                    
Nearly all states and the federal government have false claims statutes.                            
It is time that Alaska had similar authority to protect the public                                  
treasury from wrongful and fraudulent claims.                                                       
                                                                                                    
                                Sincerely,                                                         
                                /s/                                                                 
                                Tony Knowles                                                        
                                Governor"                                                          
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    
HB 146                                                                                            
HOUSE BILL NO. 146 by the House Rules Committee by request of                                       
the Governor, entitled: