Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
03/13/2023 09:00 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Department of Education and Early Development Governor's Amendments Update | |
| Subcommittee Closeout Reports: | |
| Department of Administration | |
| Department of Public Safety | |
| Department of Education and Early Development | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 39 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 41 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 41
"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."
^PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY
DEVELOPMENT GOVERNOR'S AMENDMENTS UPDATE
9:03:40 AM
NEIL STEININGER, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET,
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, introduced the amended version of
the governor's budget that was released on March 7, 2023.
He explained that he would be walking through the
amendments released by the governor related to Department
of Education and Early Development (DEED).
Mr. Steininger began on item 1 of the spreadsheet "FY2024
Governor Amend Bill Summary Spreadsheet" (copy on file).
Item 1 was $4 million for the Alaska Native Science and
Engineering Program (ANSEP) to serve additional students.
There was $1 million for the program in the budget released
by the governor on December 15, 2022, and the item would
increase the amount by $4 million for a total of $5
million. He continued on item 2, which was $1 million for
Alaska Resource Education (ARE) grants. The organization's
mission was to educate students about Alaska resources and
resource development in the state. Item 3 was $3 million
for Career and Technical Education (CTE) grants. The grants
would be awarded to programs that offered opportunities to
build awareness, skills, and work-based learning
experiences for high school students. Item 4 was $3 million
for a program that would aim to support teacher
recruitment, retention, and certification. The funding
would apply from FY 24 through FY 26 to allow for
sufficient evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.
Item 5 was $5 million for the Alyeska Reading Academy and
Institute (ARAI) which was designed to increase the quality
of reading instruction. He noted that a representative from
DEED was available for any questions.
9:06:02 AM
Representative Ortiz referred to item 1 of the spreadsheet.
He understood that the change would involve providing more
regional access including developing a school in Juneau
along with some other locations. He thought there was a
summer program for students that might not be able to
attend ANSEP during other times of the year. He asked for
more details about the vision for the summer program.
HEIDI TESHNER, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT, responded that the $5 million
increment was specifically for the academy expansion and
she did not have enough information about other programs.
The program intended to enable eighth grade students to
earn a bachelor's degree in five years.
Representative Ortiz asked what Ms. Teshner meant by a
bachelor's degree.
Ms. Teshner responded that ANSEP allowed students to earn a
bachelor's degree in five years or earn a number of credits
towards a bachelor's degree. It intended to incorporate
students into the workforce at an accelerated rate.
Representative Coulombe asked for more details on item 4
regarding the program to support teacher recruitment and
retention. She wondered if the study involved analyzing
whether the recruitment efforts were successful or if the
study itself involved recruiting teachers.
Ms. Teshner responded that the study was supporting the
teacher recruitment and retention efforts that were already
happening within DEED. There was an action plan report
dated April of 2021 that outlined six areas of improvement
and the funding would help support the recommendations that
were found in the report. In addition, the Board of
Education and DEED were moving forward with an alternate
certification pathway program and creating strategies to
keep teachers and students in the state.
Representative Coulombe asked if any of the money went
toward physicians.
Ms. Teshner responded in the negative.
9:10:21 AM
Representative Galvin asked whether the recruitment and
retention efforts were inside or outside the state.
Ms. Teshner responded that the goal was to focus on in-
state recruitment but the department was not opposed to
looking out-of-state as well.
Representative Galvin asked if there was a sense of whether
the resources would go towards the recruitment and
retention efforts. She asked what the balance was between
dedicating funds towards recruitment and retention efforts
and towards the certification programs. She asked how the
alternative certificate program might function.
Ms. Teshner responded that DEED was still working on the
vision for the certificate program. The full
recommendations had not yet been released. The department
was still in the process of identifying the way in which
the funds would be distributed.
Co-Chair Johnson suggested that committee members reference
the item number when asking questions.
Representative Galvin clarified that she was still on item
4 of the spreadsheet. She asked whether Alaska Pacific
University (APU), University of Alaska (UA), and other
entities would be working in collaboration with the
department.
Ms. Teshner responded that there would be collaboration
between stakeholders, other departments, schools, and other
entities to ensure that efforts were not duplicated.
Representative Galvin asked about line item 5 relating to
the ARAI. She asked if the $5 million funding would be used
in its entirety in the following year or if it would be
used over a longer period of time.
Ms. Teshner responded that the funding was for FY 24.
Representative Galvin thought the program looked fantastic.
She wondered if there were complimentary resources that
would be put towards early learning.
Ms. Teshner responded that DEED had the money that had been
appropriated through the Alaska Reads Act (ARA) in addition
to the funding that was already in the budget to support
Pre-K grants. There was not any additional funding beyond
what was already in place. She added that the $5 million
funding would also provide educators with a year-round
opportunity to receive hands-on training on strategies for
teaching reading.
Representative Galvin understood that the program would
begin during 2023 and continue through 2024 and would serve
20 to 25 students in each grade level for a total of up to
100. She asked whether the funding would go towards 100
students total or if it would go towards 100 students per
school.
Ms. Teshner responded that the funding would support the 12
permanent full-time teachers and administrative support
professionals in addition to serving up to 100 students.
The goal was for more students to be served as the program
expanded and it was a starting point. The department was
still trying to identify how the money would be broken out.
Representative Galvin hoped there would be a way to develop
the program in a way that benefited more than 100 students.
9:15:53 AM
Representative Josephson asked who owned ARAI.
Ms. Teshner responded that the program would be run by the
department. It was similar to the model for Alyeska Central
School, which was a correspondence school that had closed
down. She explained that ARAI was simply reinstating the
model.
Representative Josephson asked if the second batch of
amendments were solely intended for DEED or if there were
other entities involved.
Mr. Steininger responded that the second batch of
amendments were just for DEED.
Representative Ortiz referred to item 4. He understood that
the alternate certificate program was still in the
formation stage, but wanted more details on what the
program was an alternative to and how the program might
function.
Ms. Teshner responded that an example would be that the
program would allow for accelerated education such as
enabling paraprofessionals to complete coursework while
also working in the field. Through the program,
paraprofessionals might not be required to earn a full
bachelor's degree but could perhaps test for competency.
She reiterated that the program was still in the
development stage and the department was looking to the
university and other states for modeling.
Representative Ortiz referred to item 5. He assumed that
ARAI would provide opportunities for teachers to fulfill
their certifications as required under ARA. He asked if his
understanding was correct.
Ms. Teshner responded in the affirmative.
Representative Ortiz understood that teachers would be able
to attend a reading program to earn the certifications
during the summer months. He asked whether there would be
an online element or if training would occur strictly in
person.
Ms. Teshner responded that the program would occur during
the summer and that the current focus was on in-person
instruction for teachers.
9:19:27 AM
Co-Chair Edgmon referred to item 5. He noted that there was
a $5 million request which included 12 permanent full-time
positions. He asked if the positions would need to be
recruited for or if the positions were already filled.
Ms. Teshner responded that prospective employees would need
to be recruited for the positions.
Co-Chair Edgmon noted that item 5 necessitated highly
trained teachers and reading coaches. He asked what impact
the item would have on rural Alaska. He assumed that the
teachers and coaches would have to travel to rural Alaska,
which could be costly. He asked if it was fair to say that
a significant portion of the $5 million request would be
dedicated to travel costs related to rural schools.
Ms. Teshner responded that she assumed it would accommodate
travel, particularly for rural teachers. She suggested that
it also would help cover housing in Anchorage because it
would begin as an Anchorage-based facility. She thought it
would support rural teachers and allow them to receive
training because some small schools were a "one man shop."
Co-Chair Edgmon commented that he was supportive of the
program, but that it would be interesting to look back at
it in the future to see whether it was successful.
Representative Cronk asked if retired reading specialists
could fill the positions.
Ms. Teshner responded that she would love to hire a retired
reading specialist to support the efforts.
^SUBCOMMITTEE CLOSEOUT REPORTS:
9:22:34 AM
Co-Chair Johnson announced that the committee would be
hearing subcommittee closeout reports.
^DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
9:23:14 AM
Representative Coulombe gave the overview for the
Department of Administration (DOA) subcommittee. She
relayed that the committee met five times to review the
governor's FY 24 budget proposal and recommended five
changes. She read the following recommendations from the
report titled, "HFIN Subcom BA Sheet w GovAmend" (copy on
file) as follows:
A total of $86.7 million in unrestricted general funds
(UGF), $31.9 million in designated general funds
(DGF), $205.9 million in other funds, and $1.4 million
in federal funds for a total of $325.9 million.
Compared to the FY 24 adjusted budget, the
recommendations of the subcommittee represented an
increase of $9.8 million in UGF, an increase of $2
million in DGF, an increase of $112,000 in federal
funds, and a reduction of $607,000 in federal funds,
for a total increase of $11.4 million. There were
1,289 permanent full-time positions within DOA, seven
permanent part-time positions, and 25 temporary
positions for a total of 1,321 positions. After
discussing each of the transactions in detail, the
subcommittee proposed two amendments but did not adopt
either amendment.
Representative Josephson asked for more details about the
nature of the amendments.
Representative Coulombe responded that she did not recall.
9:25:44 AM
AT-EASE
9:27:29 AM
RECONVENED
9:27:34 AM
Co-Chair Johnson wanted to ensure that Representative
Coulombe was prepared for the question. She noted that she
did not expect members to be prepared to speak to
information that was not included in the subcommittee
report. She expressed that the finance subcommittee process
was exhaustive.
Representative Josephson commented that he would look into
the information about the amendments that did not pass. He
asked about page 3 of the report and item 21 relating to
the funding recommendation for caseload stabilization for
the Public Defender Agency (PDA). He understood that the
recommendation represented the total amounts desired by the
agency and the governor.
Co-Chair Johnson asked Representative Josephson to repeat
the question.
Representative Josephson reiterated that the transaction
comparison included the governor's amendments and all items
that the agency wanted in FY 24.
Co-Chair Johnson understood that the item represented
everything that had been presented up until the present
time.
Representative Coulombe responded that she shared the same
understanding as Co-Chair Johnson.
Representative Coulombe noted that the two amendments were
related to public radio and disability services. The first
amendment proposed a $1.5 million increase for public radio
and the second was $100,000 in UGF for the Governor's
Council on Disabilities and the Alaska Work Matters Task
Force.
Co-Chair Johnson invited other questions on the DOA
subcommittee report.
9:31:16 AM
AT-EASE
9:31:31 AM
RECONVENED
^DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
9:31:41 AM
Representative Coulombe presented the report from the
Department of Public Safety (DPS) subcommittee. She read
from the report entitled "DPS Spreadsheet" (copy on file):
The finance subcommittee reviewed the governor's FY 24
budget proposal and recommended several changes:
$235.1 million in UGF, $9.4 million in DGF, $16.4
million in other funds, and $39 million in federal
funds for a total of $299.9 million. Compared to the
FY 24 adjusted base, the subcommittee's
recommendations represented an increase of $21.9
million in UGF, $653,800 in DGF, $2.8 million in other
funds, and $3.1 million in federal funds for a total
increase of $25.9 million in all fund sources. She
relayed that DPS had 951 permanent full-time
positions, 12 permanent part-time positions, and 19
temporary positions for a total of 1,013 positions.
After reviewing and discussing each of the governor's
proposed transactions in detail, the subcommittee
adopted all items with unanimous consent.
Representative Coulombe explained that it was the intent of
the chair that the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault (CDVSA) be relocated from DPS and into an agency
where its mission and scope of duties could be completely
supported. She continued to read from the subcommittee
report:
The committee received one friendly amendment on
behalf of the chair. The proposed amendment replaced
the governor's one-time increment of $3 million in
general funds with an increment of $3 million in
restorative justice account funds. After discussion,
the amendment was withdrawn due to insufficient
statutory authority. The chair intended to propose
legislation to increase CDVSA's statutory authority
and ensure that the council received a larger portion
of the funds than it was currently receiving. She
relayed that the council needed more stable funding
and an increase in funding for outreach. The
subcommittee hoped to move the council to a department
that could offer better support and hoped to increase
the council's percentage of restorative justice funds.
Representative Josephson noted that he had met with Ms.
Brenda Stanfill [the executive director of the Alaska
Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA)]
to speak about funding options. He relayed that Ms.
Stanfill saw a long-term sustainability problem within the
council. He asked if CDVSA had the funds it needed for FY
24.
Representative Coulombe responded in the affirmative and
added that the $3 million request made by CDVSA was
approved to move forward. She was working on a strategy to
use restorative justice funds for the $3 million funding
for CDVSA rather than pulling the funds from UGF.
9:36:02 AM
Co-Chair Johnson invited the next subcommittee report.
^DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
9:36:14 AM
Representative Coulombe emphasized that the support from
members from DEED was valuable and the members were helpful
in the subcommittee process. She read through the report
titled "Education & Early Development (Fin Sub) Committee"
(copy on file) as follows:
The Finance Budget Subcommittee for the Department of
Education and Early Development reviewed the
Governor's FY 24 budget proposal and recommends the
items contained in the below details.
Recommendations:
Fund Source: (dollars are in thousands)
Unrestricted General Funds (UGF) $69,984.2
Designated General Funds (DGF) $26,268.2
Other Funds $36,478.6
Federal Funds $270,083.5
Total $402,814.5
Compared to the FY24 adjusted base, the subcommittee
recommendations represent a decrease of $14,845.9 in
UGF (-17.5%), an increase of $23,480.9 in DGF
(842.4%), an increase of $2,140.0 in other funds
(6.2%), and an increase of $22.357.5 in Federal Funds
(9.0%), for a total of $33,132.5.
After reviewing and discussing each of the Governor's
proposed transactions in detail, the subcommittee made
numerous recommendations, as well as adopted an
amendment put forward by a member during the final
meeting.
Further, it is the intent of the Chair to bring
forward an amendment in the full Finance Committee,
and to work with the members on the committee, to
recommend three Cultural Specialist positions for the
department instead of two Reading Specialist positions
to assist in implementing the Alaska Reads Act.
Representative Coulombe clarified that she had added three
new Reading Specialist positions at the recommendation of
Representative CJ McCormick. She continued reading from the
report:
The Chair set a deadline and welcomed amendments from
all members. The committee received eight amendments,
one of which was adopted to expand the Best
Beginnings' Dolly Parton Imagination Library program
as outlined above.
9:39:12 AM
Co-Chair Johnson asked Representative Coulombe to detail
the specific budget actions.
Representative Coulombe read through the significant budget
actions taken by the committee:
• Education Support and Admin Services Rejected the
Governor's $900.0 (UGF) request for a Student
Information System and Predictive Data Dashboard.
• Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museums
Returned UGF authority to FY22 actuals.
• Education Support and Admin Services Fund source
change for the ANSEP program's $1,000.0 appropriation
from UGF to the Higher Education Investment Fund
• Education Support and Admin Services Reject $385.0
(UGF) in Review Panel Costs Associated with
• FY24 Fiscal Note Projection for HB 114 (Alaska Reads
Act)
• Education Support and Admin Services Add 2 Reading
Specialist Positions for an additional $258.8 (UGF).
• Education Support and Admin Services Replace
GF/Program Receipts with I-IGF to offset teacher
certification fees in the amount of $126.2.
• Education Support and Admin Services Add $320.0
(UGF) for the Imagination Library to increase
outreach.
• Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education Add
intent language directing the ACPE direct its
resources to student completion of the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and
require a report on such.
9:44:35 AM
Representative Josephson referred to the item related to
the Alaska State Libraries returning UGF authority. He
thought it seemed to imply there was a reduction and that
the governor wanted more funding. He asked what the
difference was between the governor's desired outcome and
the outcome decided upon by the subcommittee.
Representative Coulombe responded that she thought the
difference was about $402,000. The funds would be coming
out of library operations. The vacant positions would
account for about half of the fundings.
Co-Chair Johnson indicated that subcommittee reports had
been completed.
9:46:08 AM
Co-Chair Johnson announced the agenda for the afternoon's
meeting.
HB 39 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 41 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024_Governor DEED Amend_Bill_Summary_Spreadsheet_3-7-2023.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| FY2024_Operating_Gov DEED Amend_Final_Backup_3-7-23.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOA - HFIN Subcom BA Sheet w GovAmend - DRAFT.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DEED FY24 Subcommittee Closeout Narrative.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DEED House SubCommitteeSpreadSheet - FINAL.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOA Budget Subcommittee Narrative.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOA-AgencyTotals.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOA-TransactionCompare1.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOE-AgencyTotals.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOA-Wordage.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOE-TransactionCompare1.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOE-TransactionCompare2.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DPS Budget Narrative Report 3.10.23 6PM Final Edit[52].pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DPS-AgencyTotals.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DOE-Wordage.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DPS-Spreadsheet.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DPS-TransactionCompare1.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |
| DPS-Wordage.pdf |
HFIN 3/13/2023 9:00:00 AM |
HB 39 |