03/19/2024 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

               HB 346-GRANTS TO DISASTER VICTIMS                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:54:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX  announced that the  final order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL NO.  346,  "An  Act relating  to  grants to  disaster                                                               
victims."                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:54:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ANDI STORY,  Alaska State  Legislature, as  prime                                                               
sponsor,  presented HB  346.   She began  by reading  the sponsor                                                               
statement [included  in committee packet], which  read as follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     As  a state,  Alaska has  experienced numerous  natural                                                                    
     disasters in  the past  few years,  including typhoons,                                                                    
     mudslides,  rockslides   and  floods.  Many   of  these                                                                    
     occurrences  do not  meet the  requirements to  receive                                                                    
     federal  disaster funds.  House  Bill  346 changes  two                                                                    
     things  regarding  state-only disasters.  First,  under                                                                    
     current  law, Alaskans  can  receive  $21,000 from  the                                                                    
     state  to  pay  for   the  damage  experienced  in  the                                                                    
     disaster. This amount has not  been changed in decades.                                                                    
     In most  cases, the amount  is too low to  help victims                                                                    
     replace what was lost. This  bill increases that amount                                                                    
     to  $50,000 or  half of  the federal  relief allowable,                                                                    
     whichever amount is greater.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     In  addition,  the  current  statute  does  not  permit                                                                    
     disaster  victims  who  are condo  owners  to  use  the                                                                    
     grants received  to pay for  assessments levied  by the                                                                    
     condo  association to  pay for  condo-wide damage.  For                                                                    
     example,  if  the   condo  buildings'  foundations  are                                                                    
     damaged,   the  condo   association   will  impose   an                                                                    
     assessment  upon  each  unit  owner  to  help  pay  for                                                                    
     repairs.  Although  this   amount  is  significant  and                                                                    
     causes  financial distress  at a  time that  is already                                                                    
     overwhelming, the  current statute  does not  allow the                                                                    
     use of state  aid for that purpose. HB  346 will permit                                                                    
     Alaskans  who  own  condos  to  use  the  relief  grant                                                                    
     towards the  assessment they owe for  condo-wide damage                                                                    
     repair costs.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     I respectfully  ask for  support in  the passage  of HB
.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:59:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JOAN WILKERSON,  Staff, Representative  Andi Story,  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature,  on  behalf  of  Representative  Andi  Story,  prime                                                               
sponsor,  gave the  sectional analysis  for HB  346 [included  in                                                               
committee packet],  which read  as follows  [original punctuation                                                               
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Section 1:  Repeals and reenacts a  previously existing                                                                    
     section in  statute without substantive changes  so the                                                                    
     format is consistent with later sections.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2:  Increases the maximum  amount of  state aid                                                                    
     to  the  greater of  $50,000  or  half of  the  federal                                                                    
     maximum, which is approximately $21,000 currently.                                                                         
     Allows those  receiving a  grant who  are members  of a                                                                    
     condominium  association to  use state  aid to  pay for                                                                    
     the grantee's share of damage  expenses incurred by the                                                                    
     condominium association.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
5:00:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SADDLER  asked   Representative  Story  what  the                                                               
relationship  between   private  disaster  insurance   and  state                                                               
disaster grants is.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY  referred her  answer to Angela  Laflamme of                                                               
the Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
ANGELA LAFLAMME,  Legislative Liaison,  Department of  Military &                                                               
Veteran's Affairs, answered  committee questions on HB  346.  She                                                               
said  that the  state disaster  relief program  is not  currently                                                               
designed to replace private insurance.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
5:02:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked  whether it would be  cheaper for the                                                               
State of Alaska  to "buy out" residents living  in areas affected                                                               
by frequent natural disasters.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS.  LAFLAMME  answered  that  the  state  individual  assistance                                                               
program does not  currently cover ground movements  and said that                                                               
current regulations  in Alaska are  on par with  federal disaster                                                               
regulations.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS  asked whether  an insurance  company would                                                               
consider  a home  destroyed by  a landslide  a flood  claim or  a                                                               
ground movement claim.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS. LAFLAMME said that the  statutory definition of a disaster is                                                               
what would trigger a state disaster relief program.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
5:05:12 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY  commented that the fixes  proposed under HB
 are directed  at two specific problems  and acknowledged that                                                               
there is  more work  to be  done with  regard to  disaster relief                                                               
funds in Alaska.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
5:05:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
WADE BRYSON,  Juneau Assembly Member,  gave invited  testimony on                                                               
HB 346.  He began his  testimony by speaking about the Mendenhall                                                               
Rivers  recent  catastrophic  flooding   events  and  shared  his                                                               
experience as  an elected official  assisting and  providing aide                                                               
to those  affected by the  flood.   He said the  understanding of                                                               
uncertainty  that  natural disasters  pose  is  paramount in  the                                                               
understanding  of  the  necessity of  disaster  preparedness  and                                                               
relief.   He emphasized that  no electoral district in  Alaska is                                                               
immune from disaster and said  that HB 346 presents an acceptable                                                               
solution for  families and individuals  that might  inevitably be                                                               
affected by a natural disaster in the future.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
5:13:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FIELDS  asked whether  the  City  and Borough  of                                                               
Juneau (CBJ)  is working to update  its land hazard maps  in wake                                                               
of its recent flooding events.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. BRYSON replied  that "Juneau is built on  a landslide hazard"                                                               
and said that  the Juneau Assembly has removed  some hazard areas                                                               
on  its current  land  hazard  maps to  allow  for homeowners  to                                                               
better prepare for the possibility of a landslide.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
5:16:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX asked whether the  Federal Emergency Management Agency                                                               
(FEMA) was  working with CBJ  to help provide disaster  relief to                                                               
affected families and individuals along the Mendenhall River.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. BRYSON  replied that the  land that  is eroded away  from the                                                               
river bands by flooding water  is considered "earth movement" and                                                               
is not covered by FEMA.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
5:16:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SYLVIA   HEINZ,  Tribal   Emergency   Manager,  Chilkoot   Indian                                                               
Association, gave  invited testimony  on HB 346.   She  said that                                                               
disasters  are increasing  in their  frequency and  intensity and                                                               
said, "It is not if a disaster  gets a community, but when."  She                                                               
described  how the  2020 Haines  flooding disaster  impacted that                                                               
community  and emphasized  that the  state individual  assistance                                                               
funds were  paramount in the  recovery of people affected  by the                                                               
event.  She said that the  current disaster relief funds from the                                                               
state are not  sufficient to get people back on  their feet.  She                                                               
highlighted that HB 346 would  have a positive effect on Alaska's                                                               
economy   and  explained   how  the   money  would   stimulate  a                                                               
community's  local economy.   She  added that  she was  impressed                                                               
with  the   Alaska's  Division  of  Homeland   Security  and  its                                                               
performance in  the relief  and support  of Alaskans  affected by                                                               
natural disasters.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
5:23:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX announced that HB 346 was held over.