03/22/2013 01:30 PM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 113                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to the membership of the Alaska Fire                                                                      
     Standards Council."                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:36:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MICHAEL   PASCHALL,   STAFF,  REPRESENTATIVE   ERIC   FEIGE,                                                                    
communicated that  HB 113 had  been requested by  the Alaska                                                                    
Fire  Standards   Council.  He  disclosed  that   he  is  an                                                                    
assistant fire  chief in Alaska.  The bill would  adjust the                                                                    
membership of  the council and  would change  the membership                                                                    
appointment qualifications.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Mr.  Paschall detailed  that the  council  currently had  11                                                                    
members including two chief  administrative officers or fire                                                                    
chiefs from  local government, four representatives  of fire                                                                    
fighters (including one from the  Alaska State Fire Fighters                                                                    
Association (ASFA)),  two volunteer fire fighters  (one from                                                                    
a community of  2,500 or less and one from  a community with                                                                    
a population greater than 2,500),  two members of the public                                                                    
(one  from a  community  of 2,500  or less  and  one from  a                                                                    
community  with a  population greater  than 2,500),  and the                                                                    
state fire marshal  or designee. The bill  would require one                                                                    
of the  four fire fighters  to be a representative  from the                                                                    
Alaska  Professional  Firefighters Association  (APFA);  the                                                                    
association  represented   approximately  500   career  fire                                                                    
fighters. The bill  would also add an  additional member who                                                                    
would represent  the Alaska Fire Chiefs  Association (AFCA);                                                                    
AFCA  represented  fire  chiefs throughout  the  state.  The                                                                    
legislation   specified   that   the   organizations   would                                                                    
recommend  three   individuals  to  the  governor   and  the                                                                    
governor   would  appoint   a  member   from  each   of  the                                                                    
organizations.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:39:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Paschall explained  that the purpose of  the process was                                                                    
to allow the statewide organizations  to have a voice on the                                                                    
council.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative Costello MOVED HB 113 before the committee.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Austerman OBJECTED for discussion.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Holmes  pointed to  Section  2  of the  bill                                                                    
related  to how  the  members were  elected.  She asked  how                                                                    
members were currently selected.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Mr.  Paschall   deferred  the  question  to   the  executive                                                                    
director of council.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Austerman noted the public  testimony would be held                                                                    
shortly.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative Holmes  referenced Section  2 related  to the                                                                    
governor appointment  of a  member from a  list of  at least                                                                    
three  nominees.  She noted  that  some  of the  subsections                                                                    
referred  to  [fire]  associations  and some  did  not.  She                                                                    
looked  at  the  subsections   related  to  public  members,                                                                    
volunteer firefighters from communities,  and the state fire                                                                    
marshal; she wondered where the  list of nominees would come                                                                    
from for appointment.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Mr.  Paschall   replied  that   the  current   members  were                                                                    
appointed through public notice. He  relayed that all of the                                                                    
members  would submit  their names  in a  formal application                                                                    
and would  then be  selected through the  governor's vetting                                                                    
process. He  furthered that the  AFCA, ASFA, and  APFA would                                                                    
submit  a list  to the  governor  for the  appointment of  a                                                                    
representative from the three organizations.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:43:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Holmes  asked if  it  was  standard for  the                                                                    
governor to have the ability to  reject a list and request a                                                                    
new one.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Mr.  Paschall  answered that  he  could  not speak  for  all                                                                    
organizations, but  he had seen  the language used  in other                                                                    
board  nomination processes.  He stated  that the  provision                                                                    
gave  the  governor  the  power   to  refuse  the  suggested                                                                    
members.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative   Gara  wondered   about   support  for   the                                                                    
legislation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Mr.  Paschall  replied  that the  packet  should  contain  a                                                                    
letter of  support from AFCA.  There were  testifiers online                                                                    
to speak in support of the  legislation. He was not aware of                                                                    
opposition  to  the  bill  from  any  of  the  fire  fighter                                                                    
organizations.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
JEFF  TUCKER, ALASKA  FIRE  CHIEFS  ASSOCIATION, NORTH  POLE                                                                    
(via teleconference),  spoke in support of  the legislation.                                                                    
He explained that  the bill would give AFCA,  ASFA, and APFA                                                                    
a seat at the table and a greater voice on the council.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:46:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Gara asked  about Mr.  Tucker's affiliation.                                                                    
Mr. Tucker  replied that he  represented AFCA.  He clarified                                                                    
that Edward Athey was also online and represented the ASFA.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Austerman CLOSED public testimony.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative Gara asked to hear from ASFA.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
EDWARD   ATHEY,   PRESIDENT,   ALASKA   STATE   FIREFIGHTERS                                                                    
ASSOCIATION,  SEWARD  (via   teleconference),  testified  in                                                                    
favor of the  legislation. He stated that the  council had a                                                                    
tall order to fill  and ASFA would be happy to  be a part of                                                                    
the process.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Gara   asked  if  ASFA  was   the  statewide                                                                    
organization  representing fire  fighter  unions. Mr.  Athey                                                                    
replied in  the negative.  He relayed that  ASFA represented                                                                    
the volunteer component of fire fighters statewide.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Gara requested  to hear  from the  paid fire                                                                    
fighters  organization.  Mr.  Paschall  responded  that  Tom                                                                    
Wescott had testified in support  for the legislation to the                                                                    
previous  committee.  Representative   Gara  asked  who  Mr.                                                                    
Wescott worked  for. Mr. Paschall  replied that  Mr. Wescott                                                                    
worked for  APFA, the organization representing  the unions.                                                                    
Representative  Gara  requested  a  copy  of  Mr.  Wescott's                                                                    
testimony. Mr. Paschall replied in the affirmative.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:50:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Edgmon surmised  that  the consensus  behind                                                                    
the bill  was to make the  council more diverse and  to make                                                                    
it  more  oriented  towards   volunteer  fire  fighters.  He                                                                    
referred  to testimony  that the  bill would  take away  the                                                                    
requirement  of two  fire chiefs  tied to  local government.                                                                    
Mr. Paschall answered that he  had raised the issue with the                                                                    
council. He pointed to Chief Tucker  as an example; he was a                                                                    
fire chief of a  non-profit organization under contract with                                                                    
the Fairbanks  North Star Borough to  provide fire services.                                                                    
The bill  would remove  the question of  whether or  not Mr.                                                                    
Tucker was the fire chief of a municipal fire department.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Austerman directed attention to the fiscal note.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Costello pointed  to  the  zero fiscal  note                                                                    
from Department of Public Safety.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Costello  MOVED  to  REPORT HB  113  out  of                                                                    
committee   with   individual    recommendations   and   the                                                                    
accompanying fiscal  note. There being NO  OBJECTION, it was                                                                    
so ordered.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
HB  113 was  REPORTED  out  of committee  with  a "do  pass"                                                                    
recommendation and  with one new  zero fiscal note  from the                                                                    
House  Finance  Committee  for   the  Department  of  Public                                                                    
Safety.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:52:55 PM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:55:12 PM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED