Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
03/07/2024 01:30 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB268 || HB270 | |
| Subcommittee Closeout Reports | |
| Legislature | |
| Department of Natural Resources | |
| Department of Family and Community Services | |
| Department of Health | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 268 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 270 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 268
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government and for
certain programs; capitalizing funds; amending
appropriations; making capital appropriations; making
supplemental appropriations; making reappropriations;
making appropriations under art. IX, sec. 17(c),
Constitution of the State of Alaska, from the
constitutional budget reserve fund; and providing for
an effective date."
HOUSE BILL NO. 270
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
capital expenses of the state's integrated
comprehensive mental health program; and providing for
an effective date."
1:35:18 PM
^SUBCOMMITTEE CLOSEOUT REPORTS
1:36:16 PM
^LEGISLATURE
BRODIE ANDERSON, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE NEAL FOSTER, read
through the finance subcommittee recommendations for the
Legislature (copy on file):
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Legislature submits the following recommended
operating budget for FY2025 to the House Finance
Committee:
Fund Source: (dollars are in thousands)
Unrestricted General Funds (UGF) $82,848.3
Designated General Funds (DGF) $ 639.9
Other Funds $ 332.4
Federal Funds $ 0.0
Total $83,820.6
The Unrestricted General Fund difference from FY25
Adjusted Base to the House Subcommittee budget
recommendation is an increase of $1,504.5 million of
Unrestricted General Funds, which is 1.8% above the
FY25 Adjusted Base.
Positions:
Permanent Full-time 272
Permanent Part-time 279
Temporary 28
Total 579
BUDGET ACTION:
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Legislature reviewed the FY2025 Legislature's budget
requests for both the Legislative Council and the
Legislative Budget & Audit, and recommends the
following actions:
1) Accept all the Governor's proposed budget items.
This includes the following items:
• $707.0 thousand Unrestricted General Fund swap
from the Restorative Justice Fund for the Office
of Victims Rights.
• $100.0 thousand of Unrestricted General Funds for
Security Service at the Anchorage Legislative
Office Building.
2) Accept all the Legislative Council & Legislative
Budget & Audit proposed budget items.
This includes the following highlighted items:
• The establishment of Division of Technology and
Information Service Transfer out from
Administrative Services and into the Division of
Technology and Information Service of the
following:
• 65 positions
• $4,059.7 thousand of Unrestricted General Funds
• $6.7 thousand of Interagency Receipts
• $235.0 thousand of General Fund Program Receipts
for the Assembly Building Apartments.
• $90.8 thousand of Unrestricted General Fund for
increased lease costs.
• $22.7 thousand of Unrestricted General Fund for
the transition of a part-time position to a full-
time position for the Select Committee on Ethics.
• $100.0 thousand of Unrestricted General Fund for
transition of a part-time position to a full-time
position for the Legislative Security Services in
the
• Capital.
• The transfer of 60 positions from Legislators
Allowances to the following:
40 positions to House Legislators Salaries
20 positions to Senate Legislators Salaries
• $581.0 thousand of Unrestricted General Fund to
ensure funding for a 30-Day Special Session, if
necessary.
• $375.0 thousand of Unrestricted General Fund for
the Redistricting Board for funding ongoing
litigation.
ATTACHED REPORTS:
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Legislature adopts the attached reports:
1. Agency Totals
2. Transaction Compare FY25 AdjBase and House
Subcommittee
3. Transaction Compare FY25 GovAmend to House
Subcommittee
1:41:53 PM
Mr. Anderson concluded the report.
Representative Josephson asked Mr. Anderson to explain the
restorative justice swap and why it was necessary.
Mr. Anderson responded that the Restorative Justice Fund
(RJF) collected its funding through the size of the
Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). The account had received
significantly less funding for distribution because the PFD
had been smaller in the prior year. The fund source swap
was intended to cover the cost of the lost unrestricted
general fund (UGF) revenue.
Representative Stapp asked if it was wise to have two
separate salary line items in the budget going forward. He
thought it seemed like the salaries of one legislative body
could be changed to be different than the salaries of the
other legislative body if the two were separate line items.
Mr. Anderson agreed that it was a policy decision made at
the legislative level. He thought that the swap was the
necessary way to resolve the issue. He relayed that the
legislature could make a policy decision in the future to
change it.
Co-Chair Johnson asked what Mr. Anderson meant by stating
that the swap was the only way to handle the situation.
1:44:26 PM
Mr. Anderson understood that after debate on the budget in
the prior year between the two bodies on items such as the
handling of compensation, the Senate had decided to split
up the House salaries and the Senate salaries into two
allocations. The positions were not moved in the prior
year. There was an allocation that would pay for the
salaries of the 40 House members but the positions had not
been moved with the allocation. The change was to move the
positions to match the allocation. He suggested that the
Legislative Finance Division (LFD) clarify the situation.
Co-Chair Johnson understood that the House had reduced the
office accounts in the past and the Senate had not. She
thought there was a difference and she would look into it.
Representative Hannan asked if the structure was in
existence already and was differentiated because the office
accounts were different depending on the legislative body.
She understood that the salary and position funds had been
moved into the two office account line items.
Mr. Anderson suggested that LFD respond to the question.
1:47:18 PM
ALEXEI PAINTER, DIRECTOR, LEGISLATIVE FINANCE DIVISION,
explained that prior to the Senate's action in the prior
year, there was a single allocation for the salaries and
allowances for legislators in both the House and Senate. In
the prior year, the salaries were split from the allowances
and the Senate was split from the House. There had been
other disagreements in past years about whether the
allocations should be separated and the allocations had
been separated and recombined in the past.
Co-Chair Johnson asked if there had been recent discussion
on recombining the allocations.
Mr. Anderson responded that there were no discussions on
recombination in the subcommittee meetings.
Representative Galvin noted that there was an allocation to
ensure that there would be sufficient funding for a special
session. She asked if funding for special session was
normally handled in the subcommittee process or if there
could be a supplemental for the funding. She asked if the
estimated expenditure was intended for a month in Juneau,
in Anchorage, or elsewhere.
Mr. Painter responded that there was existing funding for
special session, but it was not sufficient for a full
special session. The cost of a full special session would
be about $1 million. The increment was also offered in the
prior year by the Legislative Council, included in the
budget, and vetoed by the governor. The intention was to
avoid pulling funding from other parts of the budget to
fund a special session. When there had been special
sessions in previous years, funding was transferred within
the legislative budget to cover the costs. The intention of
the increment was to reflect the costs up front rather than
transferring funds in the future.
Mr. Anderson added that the costs were associated with a
special session being held in Juneau with currently
established support.
1:50:18 PM
^DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
1:50:37 PM
Representative Cronk introduced himself and his staff.
SUE STANCLIFF, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CRONK, read
through the finance subcommittee recommendations for the
Department of Natural Resources (DNR)(copy on file):
FY25 HOUSE FINANCE BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE DEPARTMENT OF
NATURAL RESOURCES NARRATIVE REPORT
March 6, 2024
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Department of Natural Resources held a total of three
meetings and submit the following recommended
operating budget for FY25 to the House Finance
Committee:
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Fund Source: (dollars are in thousands)
Unrestricted General Funds (UGF) $79,848.0
Designated General Funds (DGF) $47,418.1
Other Funds $42,195.9
Federal Funds $18,616.2
Total $188,078.2
Compared to the FY25 Adjusted Base, the Subcommittee
recommendations represent an increase of 5,538.0
(+7.5%) in Unrestricted General Funds, an increase of
$2,218.7 (+4.9%) in Designated General Funds, an
increase of $334.2 (+0.8%) in Other State Funds, and a
decrease of $199.2 (+1.1%) in Federal Receipts, for a
total of $7,89 1.7 (+4.4%) of all funds.
Positions:
Permanent Full-time 745
Permanent Part-time 234
Temporary 74
Total 1,053
BUDGET ACTIONS:
After reviewing and discussing each of the Governor's
Amend proposed transactions in detail, the
subcommittee adopted all items by unanimous consent.
Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation: The
subcommittee changed out a Park Ranger I to Park
Specialist authorizing $199.0 for improvement of park
maintenance in the Delta Area. Mining, Land & Water:
Changed the increment of Geological & Geophysical
Survey to a three year temporary increment of $1,000.0
to conduct research on Geothermal Energy potential.
Highlights of items accepted from the Governor's
request include:
Authorized $400.0 in General Fund Program Receipts for
Reclassification and Range flexibility of Natural
Resource Specialist positions. Added $1,800.0 for
incentive pay to recruit and retain wildlife fire
fighters. Authorized $900.0 UGF allowing Timber Sale
Receipts to fund expanded forest road access projects.
Added $1,500 for new leases for the Northern Region
Warehouse and Southcentral Crew Facility. Added $741.0
GF for Navigability and Revised Statue 2477.
Authorized the Governor's Amendment for Facilities
$578.0 for the lease renewal at the Fairbanks Denali
Building
SUBCOMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The Chairman set an amendment deadline, welcomed
amendments from all members. The subcommittee adopted
two amendments; both are Intent Language.
Intent
It is the intent of the legislature that the
Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry
shall provide a report detailing salvage sales,
emergency sales, and expedited sales of timber,
including the timeline of recent and pending sales, as
well as acreage sold and resulting state revenues.
This report shall be provided to the Co-chairs of
Finance and Legislative Finance Division by December
20, 2024.
It is the intent of the legislature that the
Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry
provide to the Co-Chairs of Finance and the
Legislative Finance Division at the conclusion of the
calendar year 2024 fire season, an estimate of
supplemental funding needed for the remainder of FY
2025. At the time of the Governor's FY 2025
supplemental budget submittal, the Department shall
also provide to the Co-Chairs of Finance and the
Legislative Finance Division the Fire Cost Summary
report providing a detailed breakdown of actual and
projected expenditures and reimbursements.
ATTACHED REPORTS
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Department of Natural Resources adopted the attached
reports:
• DNR Agency Totals
• DNR Transaction Compare: Adjusted Base to House
Subcom
• DNR Transaction Compare: GovAmend to House Subcom
• DNR Wordage
1:56:29 PM
Representative Galvin asked about the increment change for
a three-year geological and geophysical survey. She
referred to page 3 of the Budget Analysis report (copy on
file) which showed the addition of two permanent full-time
positions. She was uncertain if the category of permanent
was correct considering that the survey would only last for
three years.
Ms. Stancliff responded that she understood the allocation
for the two new employees was unrelated to the new three-
year survey. She noted that her understanding could be
incorrect.
Representative Galvin asked if she could receive
confirmation that the information was correct. She recalled
that the increment was an addition of $1 million for
overall geothermal costs.
1:58:03 PM
AT EASE
1:58:09 PM
RECONVENED
Ms. Stancliff suggested that LFD respond to the question.
CONOR BELL, FISCAL ANALYST, LEGISLATIVE FINANCE DIVISION,
responded that the subcommittee change would remove the
governor's base increment for geothermal research and
replace it with a three-year temporary increment. Both the
DNR subcommittee item and the governor's budget item
included two permanent full-time positions and would cost
$1 million. The difference was that the subcommittee
increment was temporary and the governor's item was
permanent. He clarified that the subcommittee item would
cost $1 million per year for three years.
Representative Galvin noted that the positions were listed
as full-time permanent positions for three years. The full-
time permanent positions would be funded for three years
with a temporary increase. She asked if her understanding
was correct.
Mr. Bell responded in the affirmative and confirmed that
the funding increment was temporary but the positions were
permanent.
2:00:48 PM
^DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
2:00:59 PM
Representative Stapp introduced himself and his staff.
BERNARD AOTO, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE WILL STAPP, read
through the finance subcommittee recommendations for the
Department of Family and Community Services (DFCS)(copy on
file):
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Department of Family & Community Services held a total
of five meetings consisting of division overview
presentations and discussions over the Governor's
amended budget. Based on those considerations, the
Subcommittee has made a few changes to the Governor's
operating budget and submits the following recommended
operating budget for FY25 to the House Finance
Committee:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Fund Source (dollars are in thousands)
Unrestricted General Funds (UGF) $259,230.3
Designated General Funds (DGF) $29,971.9
Other Funds $105,830.0
Federal Funds $85,178.6
Total $480,210.8
Compared to the FY25 Adjusted Base, the Subcommittee
recommendations represent an increase of$7,315.6
(2.9%) in Unrestricted General Funds, No change in
Designated General Funds, $2,355.6 (2.3%) in Other
funds, and $1,392.8 (1.7%) in Federal funds for a
total increase of $11,064.0 (1.1%) in all fund
sources.
POSITIONS
Permanent Full-Time (PFT) 1866
Permanent Part-Time (PPT) 11
Temporary 66
Total l,943
Compared to the FY25 Adjusted Base, the Subcommittee
recommendations represent no change in the number of
positions within the Department.
BUDGET ACTION
The Subcommittee reviewed and discussed each of the
Governor's proposed transactions in detail. After
consideration, all items were adopted unchanged with
unanimous consent.
Highlights (dollars are in thousands):
The following are items unchanged from the Governor's
proposal:
• $1.000.0 Gen Fund one-time increment to allow the
department to retain legal counsel for a class
action lawsuit.
• $1,392.8 Federal Receipts, $1,058.3 GF Match, and
$2,548.9 Gen Fund to increase foster care base
rates to align with rate review.
• The following are items changed by the
subcommittee:
• $750.0 Gen Fund temporary increment to FY28 to
support resources to meet the level of care
needed for complex patients to transition to a
community-based setting.
• $100.0 Gen Fund increment to support People First
Initiative Grants.
• Reduced the authority of the Commissioner to
transfer funds between appropriations within the
Department from $10,000.0 to $7,500.0 and added
additional wordage to require the Department to
report to the Legislature any transfers made in
the last fiscal year.
SUBCOMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The Chair set an amendment deadline and welcomed
amendments from all members. There was one amendment
received. The amendment was offered and discussed, and
the subcommittee decided not to adopt the amendment.
ATTACHED REPORTS
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Department of Family & Community Services adopted the
attached reports:
• DFCS Agency Totals
• DFCS Transaction Compare: FY25 Adjusted Base to
House Subcom
• DFCS Transaction Compare: FY25 Gov Amend to House
Subcom
• Wordage
2:05:33 PM
Representative Ortiz asked for a description of the People
First Initiative.
Representative Stapp replied that the change came from
Representative C.J. McCormick. The initiative involved
grant distributions for a variety of programs, mainly in
rural areas of the state. He could provide more details in
a follow up.
Representative Hannan asked how long the class action
lawsuit had been going on, what the lawsuit was about, and
how much money had already been spent on the lawsuit.
Representative Stapp responded that the concept was to
retain legal counsel because other similar cases in other
states lacked the funds for the cases and the lawsuits were
extended for many years. He understood that a similar
situation in Texas ended in Texas paying out around $12
million for the case. He thought it would be an interesting
conversation with the Department of Law (DOL). He was
unsure if DOL had an existing Reimbursable Services
Agreement (RSA).
Co-Chair Johnson reminded members that the purpose of the
subcommittee recommendations was to inform the House
Finance Committee of the actions of the subcommittees. She
indicated that Representative Stapp would be available
outside of the committee meeting to respond to any detailed
questions. She thought it would be more appropriate to have
an in-depth conversation when the committee discussed
proposed committee substitutes and amendments.
Representative Hannan asked what the topic of the lawsuit
was and when the litigation began.
Mr. Aoto responded that he was unsure when the lawsuit
began, but the case was a civil lawsuit regarding the A
Better Childhood (ABC) organization. He thought that the
lawsuit began in the prior year but he was not certain.
Representative Josephson commented that there was a
discussion in the subcommittee regarding the Department of
Justice (DOJ) investigation and whether the state was
properly assisting children in Alaska. There was a question
as to whether the state should reach a settlement as it
could be cheaper than litigating the case; however, the
merits of the lawsuit were not discussed in detail.
Co-Chair Johnson understood that the increment came about
due to an amendment in subcommittee and it was not in the
governor's budget.
Representative Stapp responded that he wanted to be
cautious about discussing legal cases. The amendment in
subcommittee was a reduction in the amount of money for the
lawsuit but the subcommittee rejected the amendment. He
wanted to tread carefully around the subject of active
litigation.
2:10:59 PM
^DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
2:11:07 PM
Mr. Aoto read through the finance subcommittee
recommendations for the Department of Health (DOH)(copy on
file):
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Department of Health held a total of five meetings
consisting of division budget presentations and
discussions over the Governor's proposed and amended
budget. Based on those considerations, the
Subcommittee has made several changes to the
Governor's operating budget and submits the following
recommended operating budget for FY25 to the House
Finance Committee:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Fund Source (dollars are in thousands)
Unrestricted General Funds (UGF) $973,183.5
Designated General Funds (DGF) $54,693.1
Other Funds $98,171.5
Federal Funds $2,337,512.1
Total $3,463,560.2
Compared to the FY25 Adjusted Base, the Subcommittee
recommendations represent a decrease of $6,905.6
(0.7%) in Unrestricted General Funds, an increase of
$171.9 (0.3%) in Designated General Funds, a decrease
of $900.3 (0.9%) in Other funds, and an increase of
$308,796.8 (15.2%) in Federal funds for a total
increase of $301,162.8 (9.5%) in all fund sources.
POSITIONS
Permanent Full-Time (PFT) 1536
Permanent Part-Time (PPT) 5
Temporary 60
Total 1601
Compared to the FY25 Adjusted Base, the Subcommittee
recommendations represent an increase of twenty-five
PFT positions (1.7%) within the Department.
BUDGET ACTION
The Subcommittee reviewed and discussed each of the
Governor's proposed transactions in detail. After
consideration, most of the items were adopted
unchanged. There were also several changes made by the
committee.
Highlights (dollars are in thousands):
The following are items unchanged from the Governor's
proposal:
• $862.3 GF Match increment with $897.4 in Federal
Receipt authority to support funding for 20
permanent positions authorized in FY23 and FY24
in the Public Assistance Field Services
allocation.
• $4,151.1 GF Match increment with $10,237.6 in
Federal Receipt authority to fund the second year
of Medicaid eligibility for postpa1tum mothers in
support of SB58 which was passed by the
Legislature in FY24.
• The following are items changed by the
subcommittee:
• Reduction of $10,000.0 in Medicaid Services in
anticipation of decreased utilization due to
ongoing Medicaid Redetermination process.
• $935.0 GF Match increment with $935.0 in Federal
Receipt authority to maintain Health Information
Exchange operations.
• $1,500.0 GF Match temporary increment to FY30
which is spread out between Public Health
Laboratories and Epidemiology allocations to
support efforts to eliminate congenital syphilis.
• $500.0 GF Match temporary increment to FY30 which
is spread out between Public Health Laboratories,
Nursing, and Epidemiology allocations to adopt
recommendations in the Alaska Tuberculosis
Elimination Plan.
• Reduced the authority of the Commissioner to
transfer funds between appropriations within the
Department (except for appropriations from
Medicaid Services) from $15,000.0 to $10,000.0
and maintains wordage to require the Department
to report to the Legislature any transfers made
in the last fiscal year.
SUBCOMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The Chair set an amendment deadline and welcomed
amendments from all members. There were twelve
amendments received. The committee adopted two
amendments, rejected six amendments, and four
amendments were not offered or withdrawn.
Adopted Amendments (dollars are in thousands):
• $1,200.0 Gen Fund to restore the funding that was
listed as a decrement to fund Public Health
Nursing Grants.
• $821.5 Gen Fund and accompanying intent language
to support increased rates for the General Relief
Temporary Living Assistance Program
ATTACHED REPORTS
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the
Department of Health adopted the attached reports:
• DOH Agency Totals
• DOH Transaction Compare: FY25 Adjusted Base to
House Subcom
• DOH Transaction Compare: FY25 Gov Amend to House
Subcom
• Wordage
2:16:53 PM
Co-Chair Johnson asked if there were questions or comments
from the committee. She commended the subcommittee members
for their hard work.
Co-Chair Johnson read a clarification:
Technical corrections made by LFD would not include
corrections to subcommittee closeout narratives as the
narratives were crafted by specific legislative
offices. Any corrections must be made by the office
responsible for preparing the narratives. The $200
error in the Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities (DOT) closeout narrative pointed out by
Representative Galvin [during the House Finance
Committee meeting on March 6, 2024, at 2:03 p.m.] had
been corrected by Representative Tomaszewski's office.
HB 268 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 270 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Johnson reviewed the agenda for the committee's
following meeting.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| LEG HFIN SubComm Closeout 030724.pdf |
HFIN 3/7/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 268 |
| DNR HFIN SubComm Closeout 030724.pdf |
HFIN 3/7/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 268 HB 270 |
| DFCS HFIN SubComm Closeout 030724C.pdf |
HFIN 3/7/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 268 HB 270 |
| DOH HFIN SubComm Closeout 030724.pdf |
HFIN 3/7/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 268 HB 270 |