Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
03/23/2017 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB166 | |
| HB156 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 156 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 166 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 166-MUSEUM CONSTRUCTION GRANT PROGRAM
8:04:05 AM
CO-CHAIR FANSLER announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 166, "An Act establishing a museum
construction grant program in the Department of Commerce,
Community, and Economic Development."
8:04:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether the bill sponsor had
determined how the State Library, Archives & Museum (SLAM) was
funded.
8:05:05 AM
LISA WORL, Staff, Representative Justin Parish, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Parish, prime sponsor
of HB 166, prefaced her response by noting that the SLAM would
not be qualified to receive any benefit under HB 166, and she
indicated that is because it is also a state library. She said
the SLAM was funded through capital project funding, and she
suggested that Patience Frederiksen, the director of Libraries,
Archives and Museums, could offer more information.
8:06:00 AM
CO-CHAIR PARISH, as prime sponsor of HB 166, questioned how
germane the question was to the issue at hand.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER explained he would like the information
in order to establish what the current funding mechanism is
before considering a new one. He then asked how much money,
under HB 166, would be available to museums seeking state
support to construct new facilities.
CO-CHAIR PARISH answered that initially the amount would be
zero, because the amount would be subject to future allocation.
He added, "And I do not believe that the bill that Senator
Stevens introduced and that I'm carrying on this side ... has
dollar amounts in it." In response to Representative Saddler,
he confirmed that HB 166 does not have an effect until the
legislature appropriates money, and although he knows there are
"a host of ... potential museums" that have put in requests, at
present the capital budget is constrained and even a request for
only 10 percent funding would likely be turned down. He
clarified that under HB 166, 50/50 would be the minimum
participation from local and non-profit sources, but if he were
the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development
(DCCED), he would favor those able to fund "a higher degree of
outside participation."
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked what HB 166 would accomplish if it
has no funding attached to it and its sponsor does not plan to
amend the state budget to derive funding for it.
CO-CHAIR PARISH answered that HB 166 "opens the door" and
provides the option for communities to talk to their legislators
to try to convince them that [their museum projects] should be
priorities of the state.
8:10:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER noted that the committee, at a previous
hearing, had heard that HB 166 is modeled on a successful
library grants program. He asked the sponsor if any information
is available showing whether there have been grants issued
through that program.
CO-CHAIR PARISH answered yes. He pointed to a handout [included
in the committee packet], which shows that 15 libraries, out of
the 27 that applied, received grants under AS 37.05.315.
8:11:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked for confirmation that under HB
166, applications for grants would sit in a queue, and it would
be up to legislators to decide whether to sponsor a bill to
support them.
CO-CHAIR PARISH offered his understanding that it would be the
prerogative of this or future legislatures to put money in the
fund if a cultural institution were to surpass the 50 percent
threshold for alternate sources of funding. He said there are a
lot of cultural institutions concerned about education for
children, tourism opportunities for visitors, the preservation
of the state's history, and cultural enrichment that "will be
making that argument in coming months and years."
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked for clarification that "there's
not a pile of money that sits there waiting for the next project
to come along."
CO-CHAIR PARISH offered his understanding that that is correct;
however, he said conceivably money could be allocated to the
fund which would be insufficient to any given project or an
insufficient amount could be left over after funding a project.
He concluded, "I don't think this will ever become one of those
funds that just sits there with a few millions dollars and a low
interest rate."
8:14:25 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER directed attention back to the handout to
which Co-Chair Parish had pointed. He noted that from fiscal
year 2011 (FY 11) and FY 16, zero library grants had been
awarded under AS 14.56.355.
CO-CHAIR PARISH said that is true; however, he said it is worth
noting that the grants to municipalities - public library
construction [under AS 37.05.315] has functioned in much the
same way. He referred to the last part of sentence at the
bottom of the handout, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
It is the intent of the legislature that the following
Grants to Municipalities (AS 37.05.315) satisfy the
highest ranked public library construction projects
identified by the Alaska Library Association and
received by the Department of Commerce, Community, and
Economic Development under the FY2012 Public Library
Construction and Major Expansion Matching Grant
program (AS 14.56.355).
CO-CHAIR PARISH deferred to DCCED for further clarification.
8:17:47 AM
KATHERINE ELDEMAR, Director, Division of Community and Regional
Affairs (DCRA), Department of Commerce, Community & Economic
Development (DCCED), in response to Representative Saddler,
confirmed that there has never been funding under [AS
14.56.355].
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER noted that mid-way down the same page,
information read, "1 Awards under AK 14.56.355," and he asked
for clarification about the number one.
MS. ELDEMAR answered that is a misprint; it should read zero.
8:19:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked Ms. Eldemar how the SLAM was
funded.
MS. ELDEMAR said the SLAM was a $37.5 million project, and she
offered her understanding that it was funded through "the
capital project." She explained that her division's computers
have been "down" and she is trying to get that information to
the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if the following is a fair
statement:
The state paid much if not all the cost for the ...
SLAM building. We are envisioning it creating a
program under which the state would offer 50 percent
of the funding for future museum construction
elsewhere in the state, but there's no funding
available to it at this point.
MS. ELDEMAR said she believes that is an accurate statement, but
said she could follow up with a written document for the record.
8:21:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND related that SLAM was funded through the
Department of Education and Early Development via the capital
budget, Senate Bill 119, which passed in 2014. She confirmed
the amount of the funding was $37.5 million, and she said it was
for all the House districts, thus it was considered a statewide
project. She offered her understanding that the funding may
have begun in 2013, but said confirmation of that would require
searching another capital budget.
8:22:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked if money has ever "just sat in the
library fund."
MS. ELDEMAR said the DCRA does not have any funds in its account
related to the library statute. In response to Representative
Rauscher's question repeated, she stated, "No, in the history of
this fund there's been no ... account just waiting there to be
spent."
8:23:54 AM
CO-CHAIR FANSLER ascertained that there was no one wishing to
give public testimony; therefore, he [did not reopen public
testimony, which was closed on 3/21/17].
8:24:47 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 8:25 a.m.
8:25:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER directed attention to the previously
discussed handout, to the flip side, the first heading of which
he noted is titled "FY 11 Library Construction and Major
Expansion Matching Grant Program." He asked if any of the
projects on this side of the handout are considered museums.
8:26:18 AM
CO-CHAIR PARISH said he believes all entities listed on the page
are libraries, with the exception of [the Sealaska Heritage
Institute's Walter Soboleff Building].
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if there is anything that prevents
museums from obtaining state grants through the program set up
under AS 37.05.315.
MS. ELDEMAR answered, "There is nothing preventing the
legislature from making a grant award under [AS] 37.05.315
absent this bill. If this bill were not passed, it could still
go ahead and seek funding underneath AS 37.05."
8:27:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE moved to report HB 166 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HB 166 was reported out of the
House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 156 Fiscal Note CED.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB 156 Legal Memorandum School Funding Language.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB 156 Municipal Tax Exemption Explanation.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB156 Comparison.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB0156A.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB156_AEDC Support.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB156_CityofSeward Support.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB 156 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB 166 Support Letter 3-22-17.pdf |
HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 166 |
| HB 166 Sponsor statement.pdf |
HCRA 3/21/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 166 |
| HB 166 lttrs supporting.pdf |
HCRA 3/21/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 166 |
| HB0166A.PDF |
HCRA 3/21/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 166 |
| HB 166 Fiscal Note CED.pdf |
HCRA 3/21/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 3/23/2017 8:00:00 AM |
HB 166 |