04/16/2010 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 190(FIN)                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act amending the Alaska children's trust and                                                                           
     relating to the trust; establishing a children's trust                                                                     
     grant account; relating to birth certificates and                                                                          
     certificates of marriage; relating to special request                                                                      
     Alaska children's trust license plates; and amending                                                                       
     the State Procurement Code to exempt the Alaska                                                                            
     children's trust and the Alaska Children's Trust                                                                           
     Board."                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Stedman said it was  the first hearing on the bill.                                                                    
He  noted three  zero fiscal  notes from  the Department  of                                                                    
Health and  Social Services, the Department  of Revenue, and                                                                    
the   Department  of   Commerce,  Community,   and  Economic                                                                    
Development.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ANNA FAIRCLOUGH,  SPONSOR, explained that the                                                                    
purpose  of the  bill  is  to help  prevent  child abuse  in                                                                    
Alaska. She  related that  almost two  years ago  the Alaska                                                                    
Children's Trust  (ACT), the ACT  Board, and Friends  of the                                                                    
Alaska   Children's   Trust    brought   forth   issues   to                                                                    
legislators.  The problem  was  developing a  public/private                                                                    
partnership that  works and drawing donors  in to contribute                                                                    
to  a fund  that the  legislature capitalized  several years                                                                    
ago  with a  $6 million  appropriation. The  Trust currently                                                                    
has difficulties and restrictions  that allow a grantee only                                                                    
to receive 100  percent funding in the  first year, followed                                                                    
by  a  50  percent  reduction,  followed  by  a  25  percent                                                                    
reduction.  If the  Trust finds  someone doing  a good  job,                                                                    
they are  unable to function  because they have  to withdraw                                                                    
funds per state statute.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Fairclough continued  to say  that the  bill                                                                    
attempts to provide a public/private  partnership. It sets a                                                                    
funding mechanism based on a  percent of market value of the                                                                    
Trust. It would  take a 5 percent rolling  average and place                                                                    
it  into an  established grant  account. The  fund would  be                                                                    
managed by  the Department of  Revenue and exempt  the Trust                                                                    
from  the  procurement  process,   make  grant  writing  and                                                                    
processing  more efficient,  and  make  the government  more                                                                    
accountable to private sector donations.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:56:36 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PANU  LUCIER,  EXECUTIVE  DIRECTOR, FRIENDS  OF  THE  ALASKA                                                                    
CHILDREN'S TRUST  & ALASKA  CHILDREN'S TRUST,  urged support                                                                    
of the  bill. She shared  her background working  with child                                                                    
abuse prevention  and the frustration with  current statute.                                                                    
She shared the benefits of the bill.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
HB  190  was  heard  and   HELD  in  Committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:58:18 AM