03/01/2005 03:00 PM House HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB100 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 100 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 151 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
March 1, 2005
3:38 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Peggy Wilson, Chair
Representative Paul Seaton, Vice Chair
Representative Vic Kohring
Representative Sharon Cissna
Representative Berta Gardner
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Tom Anderson
Representative Lesil McGuire
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 100
"An Act relating to a lease-purchase agreement for the
construction, equipping, and financing of a state virology
laboratory in Fairbanks, on land provided by the University of
Alaska, Fairbanks, to be operated by the Department of Health
and Social Services; relating to the issuance of certificates of
participation for the laboratory; relating to the use of certain
investment income for certain construction and equipment costs
for the laboratory; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED CSHB 100(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 151
"An Act relating to provider responsibility for ocular
postoperative care; and providing for an effective date."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 100
SHORT TITLE: STATE VIROLOGY LABORATORY
SPONSOR(S): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
01/21/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/05 (H) STA, HES, FIN
02/22/05 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
02/22/05 (H) Moved CSHB 100(STA) Out of Committee
02/22/05 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/23/05 (H) STA RPT CS(STA) NT 2DP 3NR
02/23/05 (H) DP: GARDNER, SEATON;
02/23/05 (H) NR: LYNN, GRUENBERG, RAMRAS
03/01/05 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HB 151
SHORT TITLE: RESPONSIBILITY FOR CARE AFTER EYE SURGERY
SPONSOR(S): LABOR & COMMERCE BY REQUEST
02/14/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/14/05 (H) HES, L&C
03/01/05 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
RICHARD MANDSAGER, M.D., Director
Division of Public Health
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 100.
DEVEN MITCHELL, Debt Manager
Treasury Division
Department of Revenue
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on the financing of HB
100.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR PEGGY WILSON called the House Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:38:46 PM.
Representatives Wilson, Cissna, and Gardner were present at the
call to order. Representatives Seaton and Kohring arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
HB 100-STATE VIROLOGY LABORATORY
3:39:59 PM
CHAIR WILSON announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 100 "An Act relating to a lease-purchase
agreement for the construction, equipping, and financing of a
state virology laboratory in Fairbanks, on land provided by the
University of Alaska, Fairbanks, to be operated by the
Department of Health and Social Services; relating to the
issuance of certificates of participation for the laboratory;
relating to the use of certain investment income for certain
construction and equipment costs for the laboratory; and
providing for an effective date." [Before the committee is CSHB
100(STA).]
3:40:07 PM
RICHARD MANDSAGER, M.D., Director, Division of Public Health,
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, offered a
handout detailing HB 100, which proposes the construction of the
state public health virology lab in Fairbanks. The second page
of the handout was entitled, "The Alaska State Virology
Laboratory," which defines the word virology as providing
specialized testing services for the purpose of diagnosing human
and animal viral infections, such as influenza, rabies,
hepatitis A, B, and C, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), West Nile Virus,
Norovirus, measles, mumps, and rubella.
DR. MANDSAGER related that rabies testing has been important in
Alaska for many decades. He related that after the animal has
been "put down," the head is sent to the Fairbanks lab where the
brain tissue is tested to identify if rabies is, in fact,
present.
3:41:36 PM
DR. MANDSAGER, in response to Chair Wilson, related that there
are often cases of animal rabies in Alaska, however, there
hasn't been a case of human rabies for 20 - 30 years. He added
that currently one of the Alaskan villages has an animal
quarantine in place because of rabies in the community.
3:42:13 PM
DR. MANDSAGER said that Alaska and Hawaii are the only states in
the country that don't have a case of West Nile Virus. However,
the testing for the virus is in place and birds have been
evaluated for the virus over the last couple of summers, he
relayed. He emphasized that preparedness is important to ensure
protection from of the "fly away" birds migrating north. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and research
scientists develop the tests for new viruses, such as SARS,
after which the sentinel laboratories are the first to implement
the tests. The Fairbanks sentinel laboratory is 1 of 23 in the
U.S., he noted. The reason Alaska needs to be prepared is due
to the population of "fly away" birds from Southeast Asia, and
the "trans pacific" air cargo shipped into the state. He said
that flu disease, more commonly called influenza, typically
starts in Southeast Asia and then proceeds to move around the
world. Therefore, the flu vaccines are developed against
viruses that currently exist in Southeast Asia. He noted that
currently one [strand of influenza] has arrived in California
from Southeast Asia.
3:43:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA asked how long have the majority of
viruses been coming from Southeast Asia and exactly how are they
transported.
DR. MANDSAGER replied that he does not know that answer. He
relayed that in Southeast Asia there is a greater population of
animals and humans living in closer proximity to one another,
thus, it enhances the likelihood of [viruses] jumping from
animals to humans. In addition, there is a natural transition
of disease [from human to human] transmitted through
transportation modes, such as planes, he added.
3:44:48 PM
DR. MANDSAGER turned to the next page entitled, "Current
Fairbanks Virology Laboratory," which shows a picture of the
current space of about 5,000 square feet. The laboratory has
been located on the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) campus
for quite some time and has many problems, including the
following: space limitations, inadequate lighting and
ventilation, and fails to meet laboratory building standards.
The laboratory received an evaluation from the Association of
Public Health Laboratories stating that it is "an accident
waiting to happen."
3:45:31 PM
DR. MANDSAGER, in response to Chair Wilson, replied that the
laboratory does have proper ventilation hoods. However, he
added that the laboratory director would say that [the
laboratory staff] perform biosafety laboratory III techniques,
in a biosafety level II facility. He said that the fact that
the staff has never contracted influenza is a indicator that
their techniques are good despite their working conditions.
3:46:09 PM
DR. MANDSAGER turned to page 4 entitled, "Proposed Virology
Laboratory Solution," which details the reason the facility
should be rebuilt in Fairbanks. He said one reason is because
it's important for the state's capacity for rapid identification
of known and new virus identification. One recommendation from
the Association of Public Health Laboratories evaluation was to
provide redundant and surge capacity for another laboratory in
the event of a natural disaster.
3:47:01 PM
DR. MANDSAGER, in response to Representative Gardner, clarified
that the Anchorage facility is not a virology laboratory. He
explained that the state's public health laboratory system has
three laboratories, of which two are for the Division of Public
Health and the other for the Division of Environmental Health
under the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The
Division of Environmental Health administers the Food and Animal
Safety Laboratory that is being relocated to Anchorage. In
response to Chair Wilson, he reiterated that the laboratory was
administered by the DEC, which administers shellfish testing,
food safety, and dead animal identification. The Division of
Public Health Laboratory in Anchorage is a bacteriology and
chemical lab, and its expansion capacity has been utilized with
"mission expansion" chemicals as part of the country's
biological preparedness. He related that after [the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001] "mission expansion" was a
national effort to identify chemical toxins. The third
laboratory is the virology laboratory in Fairbanks.
3:48:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked if, in the event of a catastrophe,
the Anchorage laboratory would be the back-up facility.
3:48:56 PM
DR. MANDSAGER answered that, in the event that the facility was
lost, certain functions of the laboratory in Anchorage would be
stopped, to facilitate the equipment and staff of the Fairbanks
laboratory and prioritize the most important virology testing.
3:49:26 PM
DR. MANDSAGER, in response to Representative Gardner, related
that the Fairbanks laboratory would better serve the state. He
explained that a laboratory in Fairbanks would provide
redundancy in the case of a natural disaster or terrorist attack
and allow retention of its experienced staff who would be
difficult to replace. Furthermore, UAF is building its human
biology and genetics mission for which the students could
benefit from a biosafety level III laboratory for research work.
3:50:46 PM
CHAIR WILSON alluded to the design of the building and its
accommodations.
DR. MANDSAGER directed attention to the last page entitled
"Proposed Site of State Virology Lab," which shows where the
building will be built. The building will be an addition to the
biological research and diagnostics facility, which is currently
under construction on the UAF campus, he added. During the time
of the federal grant, the details of the facility usage will be
worked out between the state and UAF. He related that the
University of IOWA and IOWA State University have a laboratory
that share functions, from which both organizations benefit.
CHAIR WILSON commented that she has visited the laboratory in
IOWA and it does function well.
DR. MANDSAGER, for clarification purposes, said that the state
is proposing a similar relationship.
3:52:11 PM
DR. MANDSAGER turned to page 5 entitled, "Construction of a
State Public Health Virology Laboratory in Fairbanks," which
details the cost of the laboratory that will be financed by
certificates of participation (COPs). The long-term land lease
through UAF, if HB 100 is funded this session, will make the
land available to the department at no cost for thirty years
with two ten-year options, he noted.
3:52:50 PM
DR. MANDSAGER, in response to Representative Cissna, clarified
that the construction for biological research and diagnostics
facility will be a UAF facility. However, in further response
to Representative Cissna, he said the facility would be a
collaborative effort [between the state and UAF].
3:53:31 PM
CHAIR WILSON asked if the loan is a 15 year loan.
DR. MANDSAGER said "that's correct."
3:53:50 PM
CHAIR WILSON asked how the loan service would work and whether
it would come from the general fund or someplace else.
DEVEN MITCHELL, Debt Manager, Treasury Division, Department of
Revenue, replied that the funding to pay the debt service would
come from the general fund.
3:54:31 PM
MR. MITCHELL, in response to Chair Wilson, said she was
"correct," the state would build the facility and share it with
UAF. There will be a lease involved to facilitate the borrowing
of the funds and the COPs will ensure participation in that
lease. The planned lease has a $500,000 interest with a trustee
bank that will have a title interest in the facility. He added
that the COP is a mechanism that allows the general fund to pay
on the lease, which in turn goes to the trustee who disseminates
through the Depository Trust Company (DTC) to people who
purchase the COPs as investments.
3:55:37 PM
MR. MITCHELL, in response to Chair Wilson, relayed that the $2.3
million cost was a projection based on the current 4.9 percent
interest rate reported in the fiscal notes. The current
interest rates are actually lower, but a conservative estimate
is necessary to account for future negative impacts or negative
market movements. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
would manage the construction of the facility, and according to
discussions between DOT and the Department of Revenue, the bonds
would be issued in the latter half of 2005. Therefore,
incremental debt service would occur in 2007.
3:56:28 PM
MR. MITCHELL, in response to Chair Wilson, stated that the state
is not leasing the facilities, however, there is a ground lease.
Since UAF is a land grant university it doesn't have the ability
to segregate pieces of land. However, the university has an
arrangement with initial term of lease and optional renewals, he
added.
DR. MANDSAGER added that the land will be of no cost to the
state but there will be a maintenance and operations agreement
of an estimated $200,000 per year. The financing lease will be
a 15 year agreement, after which there will be an operational
agreement of an estimated increase of $200,000, over the present
agreement with UAF, he noted.
3:57:51 PM
DR. MANDSAGER, in response to Chair Wilson, said that the state
knows the approximate amount that UAF will charge for the
operations of the facility, which is in the fiscal note. In
further response to Chair Wilson, he related that the increased
cost, over the present cost, is about $200,000 per year. In
further response to Chair Wilson, Dr. Mandsager related that
currently the laboratory is approximately 5,000 square feet,
while the usable square footage of the new building will be over
11,000 square feet, which means additional costs in terms of
basic utilities, such as heat.
3:59:00 PM
CHAIR WILSON asked about the difference between the new and old
building maintenance and operation costs.
3:59:08 PM
DR. MANDSAGER replied that the current building costs about
$150,000 per year, and the new building will have an additional
cost of $200,000 on top of that. In further response to Chair
Wilson, he assured the committee that the maintenance and
operation cost is reasonable.
3:59:44 PM
DR. MANDSAGER, in response to Representative Gardner, said that
the plan is to build a state of the art virology laboratory.
4:00:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA asked if the COP is the same mechanism
used to build the Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API).
MR. MITCHELL replied that the COP structure is a "nice fit for
stand-alone facilities," where the need for a building doesn't
lend itself to the general obligation type bonds. Recently, the
COPs have been used for the DEC Seafood and Food Safety
Laboratory, API, and the DHSS laboratory in Anchorage.
4:01:47 PM
CHAIR WILSON asked about the state's commitment to fulfilling
the debt obligation from the aforementioned projects.
4:01:55 PM
MR. MITCHELL replied that the outstanding obligations for the
DHSS lab were issued January of 1998. Those had a 10-year
obligation and were recently refinanced. In further response to
Chair Wilson, he related that the state received a lower
interest on the DHSS laboratory for which the final maturity
will be in January 2008. The DEC laboratory was issued in
August 2003, which has a 15-year obligation, and its final
maturity won't be until 2018. Some of the older projects issued
with COPs are the Spring Creek Correctional Facility, the
Soldotna Maintenance Facility, various state courthouses, and
the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) facility in Palmer, he
added.
4:03:28 PM
MR. MITCHELL, in response to Chair Wilson, related that if HB
100 should pass, it will grant the authority for the state to
issue COPs. However, next year the legislature will have to
approve the budget to fund that service in 2007, he added.
The committee took an at-ease from 4:04:11 PM to 4:05:50 PM.
4:06:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER moved to report CSHB 100(STA) out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, it was so ordered.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee meeting
was adjourned at 4:07:42 PM.
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