Legislature(2025 - 2026)DAVIS 106
04/24/2025 03:15 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB138 | |
| HB151 | |
| HB52 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 138 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 151 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 52 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 138-BEH. HEALTH CRISIS SURCHARGE & FUND
3:22:24 PM
CHAIR MINA announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 138, "An Act establishing a behavioral health
crisis services surcharge; establishing the behavioral health
crisis services fund; and providing for an effective date."
3:22:37 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 3:22 p.m. [During the at-
ease, Chair Mina passed the gavel to Representative Mears.]
3:23:20 PM
CHAIR MINA, as prime sponsor, read the sponsor statement for HB
138 [included in the committee file], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Alaska is confronting a significant behavioral health
crisis, having the nation's highest rates of youth
suicide and the second highest rates of adult suicide.
Additionally, while most U.S. states have seen a
decline in opioid-related deaths in recent years,
Alaska's rates have nearly doubled. House Bill 138
proposes the establishment of a $0.98 monthly
surcharge on each wireless and wireline telephone
number and creates a dedicated Behavioral Health
Crisis Services Fund. This initiative aims to enhance
the state's capacity to respond more appropriately to
mental health emergencies, building upon the
behavioral health crisis system of care framework
established in HB 172 (2022). At $.98 per line, HB 138
is estimated to generate $6-8 million annually in
predictable, sustainable funding. Currently, Alaska's
behavioral health crisis services rely heavily on
dwindling general fund dollars, unstable or temporary
grant funding, and insufficient Medicaid reimbursement
rates. As Alaska has transitioned to leveraging
Federal dollars through 1115 Medicaid waiver services,
there has been a significant decline in funding to
Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery Grants. This
financial instability has led some providers to
discontinue or delay the implementation of crisis
services. By establishing a consistent funding
mechanism through the proposed surcharge, Alaska can
ensure the sustainability and expansion of its
behavioral health crisis response system. The proposed
surcharge would support critical services, including
the 988 crisis hotline, mobile crisis teams, crisis
stabilization centers, and culturally-appropriate
outreach, programs, and services. These services are
essential for providing immediate assistance to
individuals experiencing mental health crises,
reducing the burden on emergency departments, law
enforcement agencies, and the correctional system.
These funds would also facilitate the recruitment and
retention of behavioral health professionals, offer
specialized training, and support public awareness
campaigns to destigmatize mental health issues.
Adopting the behavioral health crisis
telecommunication surcharge in House Bill 138 is a
critical step toward strengthening Alaska's mental
health infrastructure. It offers a sustainable funding
solution to enhance crisis response services, ensuring
that individuals in need have access to timely and
effective support. By investing in this initiative,
Alaska can improve public safety, reduce the strain on
emergency services, and provide better outcomes for
those experiencing behavioral health crises.
3:29:00 PM
KATY GIORGIO, Staff, Representative Genevieve Mina, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Mina, prime sponsor,
gave the sectional analysis [included in the committee packet]
for HB 138, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1. Establishes Article 5 under Title 43 -
Revenue and Taxation, Chapter 98 - Miscellaneous
Provisions, to establish the Behavioral Health Crisis
Services Surcharge in AS 43.98.080
Subsection (a) establishes a telecom fee of $.98 per
month for each wireless telephone number and wireline
telephone.
Subsection (b) provides that the telephone company
shall impose the surcharge to each customer with a
billing address in the state and collect the surcharge
from the customer. Customers may not be subject to
more than one surcharge per line. A customer with more
than 100 lines are subject to the surcharge on no more
than 100 lines.
Subsection (c) specifies that the telephone company
shall clearly state the surcharge on the monthly
telephone bill. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska
may not consider this surcharge as revenue of the
telephone company and has no jurisdiction over
behavioral health crisis services.
Subsection (d) specifies that the telephone company
shall remit the amount collected to the Department of
Health no later than 60 days after the end of the
month in which the surcharge was collected. The
telephone company may deduct and retain the greater of
1% of the amount collected or $150 to support the
administration of surcharge collection.
Subsection (e) states that the telephone company is
not obligated to take legal action to enforce
collection of the surcharge. However, if the telephone
company attempts to collect an unpaid debt from
customer, the company shall also collect the unpaid
surcharge. If a customer pays only a portion of their
bill, the surcharge amount shall be prorated
accordingly. The telephone company shall also provide
an annual report to the Department of Health with
detailed information on customer non-payment amounts.
The telephone company is not liable for uncollected
surcharges.
Subsection (f) the Department may require an annual
audit of the telephone company's records
concerning the collection and remittance of the
surcharge.
Subsection (g) establishes the Behavioral Health
Crisis Services Fund in the general fund. The
Department of Administration shall account for this
fund separately. The Legislature may appropriate the
annual estimated balance of the fund to the Department
of Health for the specific behavioral health crisis
response purposes outlined in subsections (1)-(7)
including support for the crisis call center, mobile
crisis teams, crisis stabilization centers, workforce
development, training, education, and other services.
Subsection (h) states that nothing in this section
creates a dedicated fund.
Subsection (i) includes the definitions for "local
exchange access line," "local exchange telephone
company," "wireless telephone," "wireless telephone
company," and "wireline telephone."
Section 2. Provides for an effective date of July 1,
2025
3:32:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS announced that the committee would hear
invited testimony.
3:32:37 PM
CAITLIN HOCHUL, Vice President of Public Policy, Inseparable,
testified in support of HB 138. She provided statistics on
suicide in the country, emphasizing that Alaska has the second
highest rate of suicide of all fifty states. She stated that
calls to 988 are "funneled" based on intensity of need, as most
calls are treated by a 988 responder and some are forwarded to
emergency services. She said that funding created by HB 138
would allow communities to tailor their crisis responses to
their own individual needs and cultures.
3:35:36 PM
THEA AGNEW BEMBEN, Special Assistant, Municipality of Anchorage,
testified in support of HB 138. She described the crisis
response framework employed in Anchorage, including their
outreach to the homeless community and their dispatch centers at
both the police and fire departments. She emphasized the
overdose deaths and opioid crisis facing Anchorage and she urged
the committee's support for HB 138.
3:38:55 PM
MS. BENBEN, in response to a series of questions from
Representative Prax, clarified that a call to 911 or 311 rings
dispatch at the police department, and those calls can be
transferred to 988 and/or the fire department. She emphasized
that these entities collaborate closely with one another. She
said that 211 is used to gain health and social services
information and it is a non-emergency phone number. She added
that 211 responders are trained to transfers callers to 988,
911, or 311, as needed.
3:43:18 PM
DENNIS LASLEY, Secretary, Anchorage Police Department, described
his deep personal commitment to suicide prevention and mental
health advocacy. He explained that the state must do more to
divert individuals in a mental health crisis from law
enforcement and toward the care they really need. He said that
most of the mental health calls his dispatch center receives do
not require a police officer, but that is the only option his
center has to send. He stated that HB 138 would provide a
sustainable solution by generating the funds needed to maintain
a Crisis Now response model statewide. He added that HB 138
would create a predictable line of support for the mental health
services needed by Alaskan communities.
3:47:33 PM
MR. LASLEY, in response to a question from Representative Prax,
stated that the Anchorage Police Department and fire department
both have access to behavioral health specialists available to
join officers in response to mental health calls. He clarified
that the fire department dispatch center is contacted when a
mental health crisis is not a threat to public safety, while the
police department responds to those calls involving public
safety concerns. He said that the core function of officers
paired with mental health physicians during their shift is to
respond to mental health crises. He added that the core
function of those mental health physicians is also to respond to
mental health crisis calls.
3:52:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked when the mobile crisis team was
established in Anchorage and how much it costs annually.
3:52:52 PM
MS. BEMBEN responded that she would need to gather more
information to provide the total annual cost of the mobile
crisis team. She said that the initial expansion of the mobile
crisis team required approval from the Anchorage Assembly for an
additional alcohol tax of $1.4 million. She added that
Anchorage also has a $6 million contract to support six
positions between the two departments and that much of the
public health workforce is supported by a state grant. She said
that the Anchorage Police Department established the mobile
intervention team in 2000 and the Anchorage Fire Department
established the mobile crisis team in 2001.
3:56:15 PM
MS. BEMBEN, in response to a series of questions from
Representative Prax, said the seven clinicians are located at
the police department and six are located at the fire department
who are dedicated to mobile crisis teams. She stated that the
Anchorage 911 system receives about 221,000 calls a year. She
added that 21,000 of those calls were responded to by the mobile
crisis team and 2,500 were responded to by the mobile
intervention team in 2024. Ms. Bemben agreed with
Representative Prax that the existing mental health resources in
Anchorage are not meeting the demand by the community. She
described the harm reduction program that the Municipality of
Anchorage has implemented to disperse Narcan, a life-saving drug
for those experiencing opioid overdose, throughout the
community. She referred to a program employed by Paterson, New
Jersey, that provides individuals with substance abuse disorders
with immediate treatment.
4:05:09 PM
BRENDA HANNAH, Strategic Prevention Framework Grant Manager, 988
Athabascan Suicide Response, testified in support of HB 138.
She emphasized the impermanence of federal and state grants
currently supporting mental health resources in Alaskan
communities, and the need for a 988 surcharge under HB 138 to
sustain those resources. She also explained the need for
culturally relevant suicide prevention programs.
4:07:50 PM
MS. HANNAH, in response to a question from Representative
Ruffridge, stated that she is a grant director and her job is to
make 988 more culturally relevant to Alaska Native people.
4:08:22 PM
MS. HANNAH, in response to a series of questions from
Representative Prax, stated that Crisis Now provides a mobile
crisis team in Fairbanks. She said that the Fairbanks Native
Association (FNA) is working to make 988 culturally relevant to
Alaska Native people and that Careline Alaska actually answers
the 988 calls. She emphasized that 911 responders cannot answer
mental health calls in the same way that 988 responders are
trained to do.
4:11:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE asked about the current cost of
operating 988 call centers and how many there are.
4:12:08 PM
MS. GIORGIO listed the variety of funding sources for 988 call
centers.
4:12:48 PM
TRACY DOMPELING, Director, Division of Behavioral Health,
Department of Health, responded that there is one main call
center which is funded through a $2.8 million contract. She
said that the Department of Health (DOH) is trying to work with
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to leverage federal
match dollars to reduce the cost to operate that call center.
She said that calls to Careline, 988, and another number come
into that call center.
MR. DOMPELING, in response to a series of questions from
Representative Ruffridge, stated that it is a federal
requirement for each state to have a 988 call center. She said
that there has been an increase in 988 calls over the last few
years and that the call responders have all been trained to do
so.
4:17:44 PM
MS. DOMPELING, in response to questions from Representative
Prax, stated that the contract for the Careline Alaska does sit
within the Division of Behavioral Health.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX commented that it is very difficult to
distinguish the differences between each of the mental health
phone lines.
4:18:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS responded that 211 was created to help
individuals sort through those differences to determine which
resource will best serve them.
4:19:08 PM
MS. DOMPELING, in response to a question from Representative
Fields, stated that she does not know how the amount of revenue
for the call center itself compares to the revenue for the
services that individual would be directed to through a call.
4:19:54 PM
CHAIR MINA responded that HB 138 would create a fund for those
services.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that he would like to know how much
more HB 138 would be able to accomplish besides funding the cost
of the 988 call-line.
MS. DOMPELING responded that funding comes in many ways to
support mental health resources. She suggested potential gaps
in funding that the revenue generated by HB 138 would be able to
fill.
4:22:45 PM
CHAIR MINA, in response to Representative Prax, said that HB 138
would create a new fund for mental health services, but there is
a complexity regarding how that new funding would relate to
Medicaid in particular.
4:23:31 PM
MS. DOMPELING added that it could be complicated to [streamline]
all the funding sources because there is nothing prohibiting
these mental health services from seeking grant funding from
outside of the state.
4:24:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS emphasized that at least some mental health
services in Anchorage receive funding through alcohol tax,
adding another complexity to the variety of funding sources.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX said that the public would perceive the
surcharge as being solely for the 988 number, not the 911
number, while they are integrated. He expressed a desire for
more clarity regarding where the funds produced under HB 138
would go.
4:26:01 PM
CHAIR MINA concurred that public education is important. She
said that she thinks there is already public awareness that
there is a 911 surcharge everyone pays, and she hopes HB 138
would replicate that awareness and funding for 988.
4:27:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY said that individuals would be charged about
$1 per month per phone line under HB 138.
CHAIR MINA, in response to Representative Gray, clarified that a
family plan of three would be charged about $3 each month.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY observed that families with more phone lines
would feel the impact of HB 138 more than those with less phone
lines.
4:28:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE said that HB 138 would have a very
quick effective date which would drive up the capital
expenditure for implementation. He asked if the effective date
should be pushed back further to reduce the capital expenditure
by at least half.
4:29:40 PM
BRANDON SPANOS, Deputy Director, Tax Division, Department of
Revenue, responded that with an implementation date further in
the future, HB 138 would cost taxpayers less. He added that the
surcharge would be unique to the Tax Division but it would be
treated like any other tax in its filing and processing.
4:31:30 PM
MR. SPANOS, in response to Representative Mears, stated that an
effective date of December 2025 or later would not be considered
expedited.
4:32:34 PM
MS. GIORGIO, in response to concerns from Representative
Schwanke, stated that phone companies would report their
receival of surcharge payments under HB 138 for the State to be
able to determine where discrepancies in funds expected versus
funds received stem from
4:34:24 PM
MR. SPANOS responded that AS 43.05 gives the Tax Division the
authority to audit. Therefore, it would be allowed to conduct
audits regarding 988 surcharges.
4:35:43 PM
CHAIR MINA added that her goal is for the language of HB 138 to
parallel the of AS 29.35.131 regarding surcharges for 911 calls.
4:36:11 PM
MS. GIORGIO apologized for possibly misspeaking when reading the
sectional analysis earlier, possibly replacing Department of
Administration with Department of Health.
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked what would happen if people do not
pay the 988 surcharge.
MS. GIORGIO responded that if a customer chose not to pay the
surcharge, the State would not force the telecom company to
pursue that 98 cents.
4:38:18 PM
MR. SPANOS, in response to Representative Prax, stated that he
would follow up regarding how soon he expects to hear back from
the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA).
4:39:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS announced that HB 138 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 138 Version I.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 138 |
| HB138-DOH-BHTRG-04-17-2025.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 138 |
| HB138-DOR-TAX-4-18-25.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 138 |
| HB 138 Supporting Documents 04.23.25.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 138 |
| HB 138 Sectional Analysis Version I.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 138 |
| HB 138 Combined Bill Packet 04.23.25.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 138 |
| HB 138 Sponsor Statement Version I.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 138 |
| HB 138 Letters of Support 04.23.25.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 138 |
| HB 151 Letters of Support 04.23.25.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 151 |
| HB151-DOH-MS-4-16-25.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 151 |
| HB151-DOH-CO-4-15-25.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 151 |
| HB 52 Amendment Packet 04.23.25.pdf |
HHSS 4/24/2025 3:15:00 PM |
HB 52 |