04/10/1996 02:05 PM Senate CRA

     CSHB 322(FIN) GRANTS FOR HOUSING FOR DISASTER VICTIMS                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR TORGERSON brought CSHB 322(FIN) before the committee and            
 noted it was the committee's second hearing on the legislation.               
                                                                               
 GEORGE DOZIER, staff to the House Military & Veterans Affairs                 
 Committee, explained the legislation was sponsored by the committee           
 at the request of the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs.              
                                                                               
 Under existing law, when the governor proclaims a disaster                    
 emergency, the Division of Emergency Services has the statutory               
 authority to arrange temporary housing for individuals that have              
 been displaced by the emergency.  However, this presents an                   
 administrative burden because the department only has the ability             
 to secure the housing rather then making housing grants and                   
 allowing individuals to secure their own housing.                             
                                                                               
 HB 322 would permit the department to get out of the business of              
 being a landlord by allowing individuals who have suffered                    
 displacement to make their own housing arrangements through grants.           
                                                                               
 Number 165                                                                    
                                                                               
 CAROL CARROLL, Director, Administrative & Support Services                    
 Division, Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, explained the            
 current process used by the department when a disaster is                     
 proclaimed by the governor.  She then outlined the process that               
 will be used if HB 322 passes.  The division will go into a                   
 community and after doing an analysis of the current rental market,           
 an amount will be set which will be provided to people who qualify.           
 Those individuals would then go out and find their own housing.               
 The department will require proper documentation to make sure the             
 individuals have actually rented something and are not being                  
 provided housing by someone else.                                             
                                                                               
 SENATOR KELLY said several years ago, when he was on the Finance              
 Committee, a provision was added to the statute that required                 
 reimbursement back to the state if individuals were covered by                
 insurance, and he wondered if that requirement was being met.  MS.            
 CARROLL said it was her understanding that people at the Division             
 of Emergency Services do match the insurance returns to any cost              
 that the state has in that regard.                                            
                                                                               
 SENATOR KELLY commented he has some trepidation about the whole               
 statute because there is no control over how much money will be               
 spent on an emergency, and it makes him nervous to have that open             
 liability to the state of Alaska out there.  He is also concerned             
 that the legislation doesn't provide oversight on what kind of                
 housing individuals can get.  MS. CARROLL said the department would           
 limit the amount given to individuals that qualified to a medium on           
 the rental scale.  If individuals choose to stay in a rental unit             
 that is at the top of the line, they would have to pay the                    
 difference between what the medium rental amount was and that                 
 increase.                                                                     
                                                                               
 SENATOR KELLY suggested adding language to the legislation which              
 would require that the costs of housing not covered under temporary           
 housing assistance be pre-approved by the department.                         
                                                                               
 Number 300                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR ZHAROFF said he agreed with Senator Kelly's concern, but he           
 pointed out that if there is a major disaster in an area that                 
 already has a tight rental market, it makes it difficult finding              
 suitable temporary housing.                                                   
                                                                               
 Number 315                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TORGERSON asked if there currently is a cap on how much is            
 spent per person.  MS. CARROLL answered there is a cap for the                
 individual family grant, but for temporary housing the cap is not             
 a monetary cap, it is a time-sensitive cap.  For people who have              
 been renters beforehand, there is a limit of three months.  For               
 homeowners who have had severe damage, there is a limit of 18                 
 months.                                                                       
                                                                               
 SENATOR TORGERSON expressed his frustration with the appropriation            
 process in covering these disasters because when the money is not             
 there, the cities have to go in and obligate their funds to make              
 all this happen.                                                              
                                                                               
 Number 400                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asked Senator Hoffman if homeowner insurance           
 was hard to obtain in his district.  SENATOR HOFFMAN responded that           
 it wasn't in the larger communities like Bethel, but he believes it           
 is a problem in some of the smaller communities where many of the             
 homes are non-conforming and the communities lack adequate fire               
 systems to deal with these situations.                                        
                                                                               
 SENATOR KELLY asked if Ms. Carroll could provide the committee with           
 the total reimbursement amount that the state has received from               
 private insurance under this program, and MS. CARROLL acknowledged            
 that she would.                                                               
                                                                               
 Number 455                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TORGERSON stated HB 322 would be held so that a committee             
 substitute addressing the committee's concerns could be drafted.