05/09/2024 01:30 PM House FINANCE

SENATE BILL NO. 104                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to appropriations to the civil legal                                                                      
     services fund."                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
5:48:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster asked for a brief recap of the bill.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
JAMES HOLZENBERG,  STAFF, SENATOR FORREST  DUNBAR, explained                                                                    
that  the   bill  would  give  the   Alaska  Legal  Services                                                                    
Corporation  a  slightly  larger  cut  of  filing  fees  and                                                                    
damages  awarded to  the state.  The  amount was  set at  25                                                                    
percent back  when the  original idea  had been  floated. He                                                                    
explained that  the number  had been  reduced to  10 percent                                                                    
and  had  remained  at  that  level  for  the  past  several                                                                    
decades.  He   detailed  that  the  Alaska   Legal  Services                                                                    
Corporation was  striving to serve  a growing number  of low                                                                    
income  applicants.  Since  1984,  the  number  of  Alaskans                                                                    
eligible  for  legal services  had  more  than doubled  from                                                                    
41,000  to  over  128,850.  He  reported  that  the  state's                                                                    
contribution to  the Alaska  Legal Services  Corporation was                                                                    
only a fraction of what it  was about 40 years ago. The bill                                                                    
aimed to stabilize  funding for the corporation  and to help                                                                    
ensure that civil legal aid was available to all Alaskans.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster asked for a review of the fiscal notes.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
NANCY MEADE, GENERAL COUNSEL,  ALASKA COURT SYSTEM, reviewed                                                                    
Judiciary's  zero  fiscal  note,   OMB  component  768.  She                                                                    
relayed that all  of the filing fees collected  by the court                                                                    
system  went   straight  into  the  general   fund  for  the                                                                    
legislature  to appropriate  as  it saw  fit. She  explained                                                                    
that whether the  legislature took 10 percent  or 25 percent                                                                    
of the filing  fees to provide to the  Alaska Legal Services                                                                    
Corporation had no impact on the court system's operations.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster  noted that the  other fiscal note  was from                                                                    
the   Department  of   Commerce,   Community  and   Economic                                                                    
Development. He believed the  individual from the department                                                                    
was in another meeting.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster  relayed that the committee  would come back                                                                    
to the remaining fiscal note at another time.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SB  104  was  HEARD  and   HELD  in  committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster CLOSED public testimony on HB 275.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster RECESSED  the  meeting  [note: the  meeting                                                                    
never reconvened].