04/03/2012 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 129(FIN)                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to providing a death certificate for                                                                      
     a deceased veteran without charge."                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:33:10 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MAX  GRUENBERG, introduced HB 129  and stated                                                                    
that the bill  provided four certified copies  of a deceased                                                                    
veteran's death  certificate without cost to  the requestor.                                                                    
He explained  that the legislation  would enable  the estate                                                                    
of a deceased  veteran to obtain benefits;  the term benefit                                                                    
was not limited to  governmental benefits, but could involve                                                                    
benefits such as life insurance.  He noted that the bill was                                                                    
modeled on  an Arizona law  and that it would  help Alaska's                                                                    
veterans. On  page 3 of the  bill, a veteran was  defined as                                                                    
an individual who  was on active duty at the  time of his or                                                                    
her  death, or  someone  who had  received  an honorable  or                                                                    
general discharge from  a branch of the  armed services; the                                                                    
individual must  have also  been an  Alaska resident  at the                                                                    
time of their death. He  added that service branches such as                                                                    
the   National  Guard,   the  Alaska   Scouts,  the   Alaska                                                                    
Territorial  Guard,  and  the   Alaska  Naval  Militia  were                                                                    
included in the legislation.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Stedman discussed the fiscal note in the packet.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:35:19 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PHILLIP   MITCHELL,   SECTION   CHIEF,   BUREAU   OF   VITAL                                                                    
STATISTICS,  DEPARTMENT  OF   HEALTH  AND  SOCIAL  SERVICES,                                                                    
relayed  that his  intent  was to  explain  the fiscal  note                                                                    
attached to HB  129 and that administration  had no position                                                                    
on  the bill.  He related  that on  average, five  copies of                                                                    
certificates  were requested  for each  death; approximately                                                                    
30  percent of  the  death certificates  per  year were  for                                                                    
veterans.  Assuming  that  three  to four  copies  would  be                                                                    
issued per  person and free  of charge, the  expected impact                                                                    
was  3,000   to  4,000  copies  per   year.  The  department                                                                    
currently charged $25 for the  first certificate and $20 for                                                                    
each  additional copy.  The  department  estimated that  the                                                                    
bill would reduce the fees collected  by the bureau by up to                                                                    
$75,000  the first  year and  to $100,000  by year  five. He                                                                    
stated that  3 percent of  the bureau's budget was  based on                                                                    
general funds and that the  remainder of the budget was fee-                                                                    
based and  was built in.  The fiscal note was  submitted for                                                                    
the purpose  of covering the  cost of the  decreased program                                                                    
receipts. He related that the  fiscal note was a fund change                                                                    
and that it  did have a zero net cost.  He furthered that in                                                                    
order to  maintain current service and  staffing levels, the                                                                    
lost receipts would need to be replaced with general funds.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:37:14 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MARIE  DARLIN,   ALASKA  ASSOCIATION  OF   RETIRED  PERSONS,                                                                    
testified in  support of the  legislation. She  related that                                                                    
Alaska had the highest per  capita number of veterans in the                                                                    
United  States  and  that  the   bill  was  another  way  to                                                                    
recognize a veteran's service.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:38:37 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Senator Olson  queried whether the legislation  included the                                                                    
Alaska  Naval   Militia  as  recipients  of   the  benefits.                                                                    
Representative Gruenberg  responded that the group  was well                                                                    
established in  statute. He furthered  that the  militia was                                                                    
mainly  active during  Alaska's  territorial  days and  that                                                                    
they were mostly very elderly individuals.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Olson  referenced  a  rogue  militia  situation  in                                                                    
Fairbanks  and expressed  concerns regarding  how a  militia                                                                    
was defined under the legislation.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Representative Gruenberg  responded that the  Alaska Scouts,                                                                    
the Alaska  Territorial Guard, and the  Alaska Naval Militia                                                                    
were specifically  set forth in  statute and that  they were                                                                    
nothing like  the "patriot militia."  He concluded  that the                                                                    
groups that were  included in the bill  were all statutorily                                                                    
recognized and  that the legislation was  crafted to include                                                                    
all legitimate veterans.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CSHB 129(FIN)  was HEARD and  HELD in committee  for further                                                                    
consideration.