Legislature(2023 - 2024)SENATE FINANCE 532
05/11/2023 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB125 | |
| SB89 | |
| SB125 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 125 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 48 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 89 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SENATE BILL NO. 125
"An Act relating to subsidiary corporations of the
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; and establishing
the Alaska energy independence fund."
9:04:16 AM
Co-Chair Olson relayed that it was the first hearing for SB
125.
9:04:41 AM
AT EASE
9:20:18 AM
RECONVENED
SENATE BILL NO. 125
"An Act relating to subsidiary corporations of the
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; and establishing
the Alaska energy independence fund."
9:32:28 AM
Co-Chair Olson reiterated that it was the first hearing for
SB 125.
9:32:48 AM
AKIS GIALOPSOS, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA HOUSING
FINANCE CORPORATION (via teleconference), introduced his
fellow presenter.
9:33:20 AM
CURTIS THAYER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA ENERGY AUTHORITY
(via teleconference), introduced himself for the record.
Mr. Gialopsos addressed a PowerPoint presentation entitled
Senate Bill 125: Alaska's Energy Independence Fund," (copy
on file). He showed slide 2, which introduced himself and
Mr. Thayer.
9:34:10 AM
Mr. Gialopsos advanced to slide 3, "PRESENTATION OUTLINE":
• Senate Bill 125 overview & implementation
• Policy objectives
• Role of Alaska Housing Finance Corporation
• Role of Alaska Energy Authority
9:35:00 AM
Mr. Gialopsos showed slide 4, "SENATE BILL 125: OVERVIEW":
Senate Bill 125 (and House Bill 154) proposes two
actions for the
Legislature's consideration:
1. Empowers AHFC to work with AEA on developing
sustainable energy development through several tools,
including establishing non-profit subsidiary
corporations.
2. Establishes the Alaska Energy Independence Fund
(AEIF) with the intent to be managed by AHFC's non-
profit subsidiary corporation. The fund is capitalized
with General Funds initially and federal receipt
authority.
9:36:32 AM
Mr. Gialopsos spoke to slide 5, "SENATE BILL 125: PROPOSED
POLICY IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS":
1. Legislation creating the Alaska Energy Independence
Fund & empowering AHFC to create a non-profit
subsidiary passes and is enacted
2. The AHFC Board of Directors, in consultation with
legal counsel, creates a non-profit subsidiary
corporation to manage the AEIF. That creation includes
bylaws and initial regulations by AHFC for the non-
profit subsidiary
3. The created non-profit subsidiary acquires relevant
staff, and works with the Alaska Energy Authority and
AHFC on crafting the sustainable energy development
programs articulated in Senate Bill 125
4. The created non-profit subsidiary pursues federal
funding opportunities and establishes relationships
with financial institutions to begin capital
aggregation
Mr. Gialopsos summarized that the end result of the
subsidiary and the fund being implemented would be the
establishment of a green bank; a lending institution that
would aid in sustainable development programs that faced
capital restraints.
9:39:32 AM
Co-Chair Stedman wondered why the proposed project would
not be under the Alaska Energy Authority.
Mr. Gialopsos answered that AHFC had a unique history in
being able to create subsidiary corporations. He considered
that AHFC had the ability to create the corporate
architecture necessary to derive a special purpose vehicle.
9:41:53 AM
Mr. Thayer asked Co-Chair Stedman to repeat the question.
Co-Chair Stedman asked about the concept behind putting the
proposed program under AHFC instead of AEA.
Mr. Thayer relayed that AHFC had been the best economical
choice for housing the program.
9:43:35 AM
Senator Wilson followed up on Co-Chair Stedman's question.
He thought AEA had similar programs, and queried whether
the program would be redundant. He wondered about the level
of expertise of the staff running the programs.
Mr. Thayer said that he could not hear the questions due to
technical difficulties.
9:44:49 AM
AT EASE
9:47:04 AM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Olson informed the committee that because of
technical difficulties the meeting would stand at recess.
9:47:25 AM
RECESSED
10:42:26 AM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Olson explained that the technical issues had been
dealt with and the hearing on SB 125 would continue where
it left off on slide 5.
10:43:26 AM
Mr. Gialopsos addressed an earlier question from Co-Chair
Stedman related to the implementation of the bill and
housing a subsidiary corporation as a green bank within
AHFC. He noted that the answer was two-fold. He recounted
that the AHFC had a history of dealing with developing
financial instrumentation and collaborating with
institutional investors to ensure that capital could be
delivered appropriately to serve Alaskans. He explained
that additionally, AHFC had a history of collaborating with
AEA to stand up subsidiary corporations that would allow
for the requisite structure of corporate governance. He
noted that a green bank, while not taking direct deposits,
would be involved in implementing and regulating financial
instrumentation, which would result in a degree of
liability.
10:45:06 AM
Mr. Gialopsos advanced to slide 6, "POLICY OBJECTIVES":
Creating and capitalizing Alaska Energy Independence
Fund may help Alaska compete for federal funding
opportunities to improve the energy profile for homes
and businesses:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant opportunity
from a pool of $27 billion in available funding
(no Notice of Funding Opportunity yet;
application period estimated summer 2023)
• Waivers from the Department of Energy for loan
guarantees if funded through a State Energy
Finance Institute (e.g. AEIF)
• Stacked with energy tax credits for businesses
Mr. Gialopsos recounted the passage of the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction
Act, which had allowed for multifaceted forms of funding to
come through federal funding agencies to pursue several
goals. He pointed out that Alaska used the funds for
infrastructure and energy development. He noted that Alaska
was the only state in the union, besides Hawaii, that did
not have a connection to the rest of the united states. He
said that by being able to pursue federal funding through
the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund the AHFC, with
conjunction with AEA, would make it competitive to import
capital and develop meaningful financial products to assist
with the cost of energy in the state. He said that the
stacked credits were limited to 2032.
10:48:18 AM
Senator Bishop asked if AHFC had enough people on staff,
and whether going after grant funds would be a joint
venture between AHFC and AEA.
Mr. Gialopsos relayed that the subsidiary corporation had a
request of 2 initial PCNs. The positions would be a Project
Coordinator and an assistant who would work directly with
AHFC, AEA, and the governor's office to make sure the state
had the resources to pursue the federal funds.
10:50:16 AM
Senator Bishop pointed out the timeline of the federal
funds and stressed that time was of the essence for
capturing the federal funds.
10:50:42 AM
Senator Wilson considered slide 6 and considered funding
that might be needed to achieve the proposed policy.
Mr. Gialopsos relayed that AHFC believed that the venture
could be competitively placed to interact and achieve a
significant portion of the funds. He said that there were
quantifiable aspects to the funding, particularly a $6
million tranche that was specifically directed to community
development that Alaska had a very good chance of being
awarded, which if achieved would help the subsidiary
achieve one-quarter of the federal authority.
10:52:41 AM
Mr. Gialopsos reviewed slide 7, "ROLE OF AHFC":
AHFC has a 50-year tradition of meeting needs of
Alaskans.
• Standing up programs to help Alaskans in need
• Emergency Rental Assistance and Homeowner
Assistance
• Home Energy Rebate
• Standing up subsidiaries to meet policy needs of
Alaskans
• Alaska Corporation on Affordable Housing
• Alaska Gasline Development Corporation
(originally a subsidiary of AHFC)
Mr. Gialopsos referred to an earlier question about why the
project would be housed under AHFC and whether it would
create redundancies. He stressed that AHFC had a half
century of work meeting Alaskans needs. He referenced
Senator Bishop's question about time sensitivity and
mentioned the successful energy efficiency projects
implemented by the agency. He expounded on the successes of
AHFC in the realms of rental and housing assistance and
energy efficiency. He discussed the various subsidiaries
housed within AHFC.
10:56:51 AM
Mr. Gialopsos showed slide 8, "ABOUT AEA," which offered an
overview of AEA. He said that AEA was designed to manage
the Power Cost Equalization program. The slide listed the
various work done by AEA in the state. He concluded that
that AEA had a significant bench of technical expertise for
identifying sustainable projects.
10:58:53 AM
Senator Wilson wanted to understand the purpose of the
proposed new loan program. He queried the size of the loans
and how the loans differed from funds available from other
programs.
Mr. Gialopsos agreed to provide the response to Senator
Wilson's question in writing.
11:00:07 AM
STUART COHEN, SELF, JUNEAU, spoke in support of the bill.
He thought that a successful and well administered green
bank program would protect public money and have a real
work impact. He shared that he was working with a heat pump
program in Juneau that would provide loans for residents.
The loans allowed for financing of heat pumps; the income
from the program helped finance the program. He said to
offer the loans, a source of low-cost capital was needed.
SB 125 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Olson discussed housekeeping.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 125 SFIN.AHFC-AEA-SENATE-BILL-125 5.11.23.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB 125 Public Testimony Packet 1.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB 125 Testimony DelValle.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB 125 public Testimony McCabe.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB 125 Testimony Hinterberger.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB 125 Support Decker.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB 125 Please support SB125 Masteller.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB 125 Sectional Analysis 04.06.23.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB125 Transmittal Letter 04.04.23.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |
| SB 89 Summary of Changes 5-11-23.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 89 |
| SB 89 work draft R version.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 89 |
| SB 125 230512-SFIN-LETTER.pdf |
SFIN 5/11/2023 9:00:00 AM |
SB 125 |