Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
05/01/2024 09:00 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB187 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 187 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 223 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 119 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
May 1, 2024
9:02 a.m.
9:02:25 AM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Edgmon called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 9:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bryce Edgmon, Co-Chair
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative DeLena Johnson, Co-Chair
Representative Julie Coulombe
Representative Mike Cronk
Representative Alyse Galvin
Representative Sara Hannan
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Dan Ortiz
Representative Will Stapp
Representative Frank Tomaszewski
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Amory LeLake, Staff, Representative Bryce Edgmon.
SUMMARY
HB 119 MARIJUANA TAX
HB 119 was SCHEDULED but not HEARD.
HB 223 TAX & ROYALTY FOR CERTAIN GAS
HB 223 was SCHEDULED but not HEARD.
CSSB 187(FIN) am
APPROP: CAP; REAPPROP; SUPP
CSSB 187 (FIN) am was HEARD and HELD in committee
for further consideration.
Co-Chair Edgmon reviewed the meeting agenda. The goal was
to present the first committee substitute (CS) for CSSB 187
(FIN) am.
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 187(FIN) am
"An Act making appropriations, including capital
appropriations, supplemental appropriations, and other
appropriations; making reappropriations; making
appropriations to capitalize funds; amending
appropriations; and providing for an effective date."
9:03:49 AM
Co-Chair Edgmon asked his staff to review the changes in
the proposed CS. There had been a number of initial
hearings on the capital budget but the goal of the meeting
would be to explain how the budget had developed over the
course of the past few months. The capital budget was a
document that strived to balance a variety of elements but
there was not much time left in the current session to
finalize the budget. He relayed that the House had agreed
to transmit the budget to the Senate by May 9, 2024, which
gave members about a week to complete its work on the
capital budget. The agreement between the two bodies was
rigid and it included set dollar amounts focusing on life,
health, safety, energy, education, and housing. He thought
that the budget closely adhered to the parameters of the
agreement while working within federal and state
guidelines. He would respond to questions to the best of
his ability, but there were invited testifiers available to
provide more detailed information. Once the amendment
deadline was set, his staff would send out an email to all
members' offices to provide more information on the process
of submitting capital budget amendments.
9:07:08 AM
Co-Chair Foster MOVED to ADOPT the committee substitute for
CSSB 187(FIN), Work Draft 33-GS2491\Y (Dunmire, 4/30/24)
(copy on file).
There being NO OBJECTION, Work Draft 33-GS2491\Y was
ADOPTED.
9:07:40 AM
AMORY LELAKE, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE BRYCE EDGMON, reviewed
the changes in the CS. She stated that no Senate items were
removed, with one exception by request of a senator in
order to change a district project. There were no
governor's items removed from the capital budget. The
Senate funded a large portion of its capital budget through
FY 24, which meant that there were some items listed in
Section 1 and Section 4 of the bill. She advised members to
not be alarmed if a statewide or district project was not
listed as fully funded. She suggested that it was easier to
look at the total additions for a complete picture of the
budget. She would highlight statewide items that were
represented in the bill. She also referred the committee to
three reports prepared by the Legislative Finance Division
(LFD) for additional clarity which could all be found on
the LFD website. She would begin with the statewide
regional items added in the CS.
Co-Chair Edgmon invited Ms. LeLake to review the changes.
Ms. LeLake reiterated that all of the changes were in
Section 1 of the bill. She began on page 3, lines 9 through
11 of the bill. For the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) Round
16 Renewable Energy Project Grants, the House funded
$10,302,45 in addition to the Senate's $4 million for a
total of $14,302,45. The funding would be in effect through
project 8 of the renewable energy projects. She continued
to page 4, line 7, which detailed funding for grants to
named recipients, which included House district items and
statewide regional items. The grants began on page 4, lines
16 through 18. She indicated that there was an addition of
$2.83 million for the Alaska Addiction Rehabilitation
Services' Residential Expansion Project. On page 5, lines 9
and 10, the House added $500,000 in addition to the
Senate's $1.5 million for the Blood Bank of Alaska's Blood
Donor Testing Laboratory project. The project would also be
included in Section 4 as a Senate addition. On page 5,
lines 28 through 30, the House added $670,000 to the
Senate's $750,000 for Iditarod upgrades, improvements, and
operational support for the Iditarod Trail Committee for a
total of $1.42 million. On page 5, lines 31 and 32, the
House added $4,535,000 for natural gas main extensions for
the Interior Gas Utility. On page 7, lines 3 through 5, the
House included $3.5 million for the Southcentral Foundation
for the purpose of designing, constructing, and equipping a
crisis center. The list of grants to municipalities began
on page 7, line 8, and included House district and
statewide regional projects. On page 8, lines 32 and 33,
the House added $2.5 million for flood and erosion
mitigation for the Mat-Su Borough for susceptible roads. On
page 9, lines 4 and 5, $2.5 million was added for
maintenance and enhancement of local fisheries for Mat-Su.
9:12:08 AM
Ms. LeLake moved to House additions to the Department of
Education and Early Development (DEED) on page 10, lines 17
through 19. The House added $26,570,936 for the School
Major Maintenance Grant Fund. Combined with the Senate's
contribution of $36,190,217, the total funding amounted to
$62,761,729 to fund through project 26 on the school major
maintenance list. The Senate's addition could be found in
Section 4 of the bill.
Ms. LeLake moved to the funding amounts for the Department
of Revenue (DOR). On page 15, lines 28 and 29, the House
added $7.5 million to DOR for the replacement of the
dividend application information system. On page 16, lines
4 and 5, the House added $3 million to the Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation (AHFC) weatherization program. The
Senate contributed $7 million to the program for a total of
$10 million for weatherization. On page 16, lines 24 and
25, the House added $1 million to the AHFC housing
development program. Combined with the Senate's $3 million,
the total addition to the program was $4 million.
Ms. LeLake continued to the funding amounts for the
University of Alaska (UA). On page 31, lines 19 through 21,
there was an addition of two new projects for UA based on
the deferred maintenance priority list. The House added
$2.2 million in addition to the Senate's $26 million, which
totaled $28,817,000 for university deferred maintenance
which would fund through project 8 on the deferred
maintenance list. The projects were reflected on page 31,
lines 19 through 21. There was an addition of $1,194,400 to
UA's Mat-Su campus-wide mechanical systems, electrical
systems, and interior systems. The next project was on page
31, lines 22 through 24 and included $998,000 for the UA
Prince William Sounds campus' mechanical systems,
electrical systems, fire protection, roof updates and
maintenance, and campus interiors.
Ms. LeLake moved to page 31, lines 25 and 29, which
reflected a fund source change of $5 million for university
receipts to unrestricted general funds (UGF) for a total of
$10 million in UGF for phase III of the Alaska Drones
Program. On page 31, line 27 through 29, the House restored
$2,220,000 in funding at the request of the governor for
the UA Fairbanks' Alaska Railbelt Carbon Capture and
Sequestration Project.
Ms. LeLake moved to judiciary items beginning on page 32,
line 6. The House added $4.9 million for the Palmer
Courthouse expansion, which was in addition to the Senate's
$2.3 million for a total of $7.2 million. The addition was
also reflected in Section 4 of the bill. In total, the
House added $103,693,500 for a total general fund budget of
$552,333,333 in UGF. The total for designated general funds
(DGF) was $72,156,700. In other state funds, the total was
$227,622,965. In federal funds, the total was
$3,194,117,557 billion for a total capital budget of
$4,46,352,600.
9:17:43 AM
Representative Josephson asked Ms. LeLake to repeat the
items she highlighted on page 8.
Ms. LeLake responded that she highlighted lines 32 and 33
on page 8, which listed $2.5 million for Mat-Su Borough
flood and erosion mitigation for susceptible roads. On page
9, lines 4 and 5, there was an addition of $2.5 million for
the Mat-Su Borough to maintain and enhance local fisheries.
Representative Galvin asked Ms. LeLake to repeat the items
she highlighted on page 16, line 24 and 25.
Ms. LeLake responded that on page 16, lines 24 and 25, the
House added $1 million to the AHFC housing development
program. Combined with the Senate's $3 million, the total
addition to the program was $4 million.
Co-Chair Edgmon added that he had previously understood
that the $1 million the House was adding was the entirety
of the funding, but there was an additional $3 million
coming from the Senate for a total of $4 million. The
program allowed AHFC to work with the Alaska Mental Health
Trust Authority (AMHTA), the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), and the university in an effort to
identify possible land that could be suitable for expanding
and building housing developments. He suggested that the
effort would be centered more around the Railbelt area than
outlying areas where land ownership was not state centered.
Representative Ortiz understood that the governor's budget
was not reduced; however, he thought that in the initial CS
proposed by the Senate, the governor's budget actually was
reduced. He asked if it was part of the deal between the
two bodies that it would be the House's responsibility to
restore the funding that the Senate reduced.
Ms. LeLake responded that the Senate reduced some
governor's items by a little over $50 million as part of
the agreement. The House was responsible for deciding
whether it wanted to restore the funding for any of the
governor's items and the House had chosen to restore the
funding to one project.
9:21:29 AM
Representative Josephson asked Ms. LeLake for clarification
on her last statement as he did not hear the final word.
Ms. LeLake responded that the House restored funding to one
project.
Representative Josephson asked which project was restored.
Ms. LeLake responded that the project was on page 31, lines
27 and 29. The House restored $2,220,000 in funding at the
request of the governor for the UA Fairbanks' Alaska
Railbelt Carbon Capture and Sequestration Project.
Co-Chair Edgmon noted that the agreement between the House
and Senate was to fund the capital budget at $550 million
in UGF accompanied by about $3 billion in federal funding
and other funding sources. When the capital budget was
originally submitted by the governor, he proposed a total
of around $303 million in UGF. The capital budget was
historically constructed with input from the executive
branch and the Senate. Every branch would be able to
contribute to the building of the budget. The Senate worked
with the governor to reduce some of his needs but both
bodies contributed to the budget in its current form.
Representative Galvin commented that she wanted more time
to digest the information and she would likely have
questions later. She thought it was a relief that there
would not be many struggles in the negotiation process. She
appreciated that many needs seemed to have been met and
appreciated the work that had been put into crafting the
budget.
Co-Chair Edgmon set an amendment deadline of Friday, May 3,
2024, at 10:00 a.m.
CSSB 187(FIN) am was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
9:25:06 AM
Co-Chair Foster began chairing the meeting. He reviewed the
meeting agenda for the afternoon.
ADJOURNMENT
9:26:23 AM
The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 223 Public Testimony Rec'd by 042924.pdf |
HFIN 5/1/2024 9:00:00 AM |
HB 223 |
| HB 223 Amendments 1-15 043024.pdf |
HFIN 5/1/2024 9:00:00 AM |
HB 223 |
| HB 119 DOR Response 4.30.24.pdf |
HFIN 5/1/2024 9:00:00 AM |
HB 119 |
| SB 187 HCS FIN WorkDraft v.Y 043024.pdf |
HFIN 5/1/2024 9:00:00 AM |
SB 187 |
| SB 187 v.Y HCS1 TOTAL HouseDistrictSummary Compare to Gov and Senate.pdf |
HFIN 5/1/2024 9:00:00 AM |
SB 187 |
| SB 187 v. Y HCS1 StatewideTotals-Compare to Gov and Senate.pdf |
HFIN 5/1/2024 9:00:00 AM |
SB 187 |
| SB 187 v. Y HCS1 TOTAL ProjectDetailByAgency Compare to Gov and Senate.pdf |
HFIN 5/1/2024 9:00:00 AM |
SB 187 |