Legislature(2019 - 2020)
2019-07-08 House Journal
Full Journal pdf2019-07-08 House Journal Page 1218 HB 40 The following was engrossed and enrolled, signed by the Speaker and Chief Clerk, President and Secretary of the Senate, and the engrossed and enrolled copies were transmitted to the Office of the Governor at 4:50 p.m., June 13 with a manifest error memorandum (page 1200): 2019-07-08 House Journal Page 1219 CONFERENCE CS FOR SS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 40 "An Act making appropriations for the operating and capital expenses of the state's integrated comprehensive mental health program; and providing for an effective date." Also transmitted was a copy of the following letter dated June 8 to Ms. Mary Jane Michael, Chair, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority: "Dear Ms. Michael: Pursuant to the requirements of AS 37.14.005(c), this letter and the enclosed reports describe how the funding contained in HB 40 (the FY20 Mental Health budget) and SB 19 (the Capital Bill) differ from the FY20 Mental Health Trust Authority's (Authority) funding recommendations for the State's integrated comprehensive mental health program. While the statute requires reporting only on general fund expenditures, information regarding expenditures of Authority receipts is also included in the attached reports. Operating Appropriations (report #1) For mental health operating program funding, the Agency Summary report compares the FY20 Mental Health Trust Authority operating budget recommendations to the Governor's request and to the appropriations passed by the legislature. Note that, for comparison purposes, Authority recommendations include FY20 salary adjustments and base transactions requested by the Governor. This brings the FY20 total Authority recommendations to $235.7 million. The Governor requested $211.2 million, and the Conference Committee's budget totaled $219.6 million. The Conference Committee budget is $8.4 million above the Governor's request, an increase of 4 %. Governor's Request (report #2) An enclosed Transaction Compare report shows differences between Authority recommendations and the Governor's request. The differences between the two (excluding executive branch travel reductions) are as follows: • Department of Administration Legal and Advocacy Services/ Public Defender Agency - the Trust recommended $372.7 more of GF/MH than the Governor's request; 2019-07-08 House Journal Page 1220 • Department of Health and Social Services o Alaska Pioneer Homes/Pioneer Homes - the Governor removed all GF/MH ($16.4 million) from the Pioneer Homes allocation and transferred the remaining UGF (non-MH) to the new Payment Assistance allocation, resulting in ~$20 million UGF to support residents in need of financial assistance. This net reduction of $12.3 million UGF from FY19 to the program assumes increased revenue (GF/PR and I/A) associated with substantial rate increases planned for FY20 o Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API)/API -the Governor requested an amendment including $4.7 million GF/MH for ongoing API operations in FY20 o Behavioral Health/Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery Grants - the Governor requested a reduction of $12 million GF/MH in anticipation of more behavioral health services transitioning to Medicaid under the 1115 waiver o Senior and Disabilities Services/Senior and Disabilities Services Administration - the Trust recommended $63.0 more of GF/MH funding than the Governor requested; • Department of Labor and Workforce Development Employment and Training Services/Workforce Services - the Trust recommended $128.8 more of MHTAAR funding than the Governor requested; and • Department of Natural Resources Administration & Support Services/ Mental Health Trust Lands Administration - the Trust recommended $29.2 more of MHTAAR funding than the Governor requested. Conference Committee Budget (report #3) The legislature treated the Governor's request as a starting point for budget deliberations. Other than the differences listed below, the legislature approved the FY20 Mental Health Budget as submitted by the Governor. â?¢ Various Agencies – the legislature denied the following travel reductions proposed by the Governor: o Department of Administration/Office of Public Advocacy - $3.2 GF/MH 2019-07-08 House Journal Page 1221 o Department of Health and Social Services/Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education - $5.9 MHTAAR o Department of Revenue/Long Term Care Ombudsman Office - $4.2 GF/MH • Department of Health and Social Services o Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery Grants - fund change to replace $1.5 million of unsustainable Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment and Prevention Funds (code 1180) with Recidivism Reduction Funds (RRF) (DGF, code 1246) o Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery Grants - fund change to replace $4 million of UGF (GF/MH) with Marijuana Education and Treatment Fund (MET) (DGF, code 1254) o Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery Grants - the legislature accepted approximately half of the Governor's proposed $12 million GF/MH decrement as follows: square4 approved $8.24 million of the $12 million reduction which corresponds to the reduction in grant solicitations currently being reviewed by DHSS for FY20; and square4 restored $2.1 million of said decrement with DGF/MET funding, resulting in a NET reduction of $6.14 million GF for this item. o Pioneer Homes – in addition to restoring $5 million UGF (non-MH) from the Governor's proposed cuts to the Pioneer Homes program, the legislature also added $2.4 million in Recidivism Reduction Funding (DGF) to the Pioneer Homes allocation to support operations. Supplemental Appropriations (report #4) The legislature approved the Governor's supplemental capital request of $3.685 million for the Department of Corrections. $2.54 million GF/MH and $1.15 million MHTAAR will be used to accommodate the Women's Mental Health Unit at the Hiland Mountain Correctional Center. 2019-07-08 House Journal Page 1222 Capital Appropriations (report #5) The Authority recommended a $15.3 million capital budget. The Governor's request totaled $2.1 million (a reduction of $13.2 million). The legislature approved the Authority's recommended budget as reflected in the enclosed FY2020 Capital Project Detail by Agency. New Legislation (report #6) The legislature reduced the Suicide Prevention Council's budget (Health and Social Services) by $61.7 GF/MH in FY20 along with intent that the Council work with the Department of Education and Early Development to develop a long-term sustainability plan for suicide prevention training. If you have questions regarding the enclosed reports, please contact Kelly Cunningham of the Legislative Finance Division at 465-3821. Sincerely, /s/ Representative Neal Foster Conference Committee Chair Senator Bert Stedman Conference Committee Vice-Chair Enclosures 1. MH Agency Summary (Operating Budget) 2. Transaction Compare between 20MH TrustOp & 20 GovAmdTOT 3. Transaction Compare between GovAmdTOT and CC6 4. MH Supplemental Project Detail by Agency 5. MH Capital Project Detail by Agency 6. MH New Legislation Transaction Detail"