03/19/1997 01:35 PM Senate CRA

                                                                               
           SB 139 AID TO VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS                          
                                                                               
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  brought SB 139 before the committee as the final            
 order of business.                                                            
                                                                               
  RODNEY JENSEN , Director of Public Safety, City of Nenana, said the          
 Nenana Volunteer Fire Department serves a population of Alaska                
 residents who would otherwise not be served.  What little funds the           
 Nenana Fire Department receives from the state only supplement                
 costs for wear and tear on equipment.  He said the state receives             
 a  great deal from what little amount the departments do receive              
 for their services.                                                           
                                                                               
 Mr. Jensen requested that the sponsor and the committee consider              
 adding enough funding for volunteer emergency medical services for            
 those entities which have separate fire and EMS services to assist            
 in defraying some of the costs incurred in providing these                    
 services.  He pointed out that almost 50 percent of their volunteer           
 organization live outside the city limits in those areas which they           
 service.                                                                      
                                                                               
  TAPE 97-12, SIDE B                                                           
 Number 560                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR TORGERSON , prime sponsor of SB 139, said that while this            
 legislation needs a lot of work, his intent is to take away the               
 inequity that currently exists by limiting state funding for                  
 volunteer fire departments to those which are not in an organized             
 municipality.  He said he started working on this issue many years            
 ago and ran into the problem of how to identify what a volunteer              
 fire department is.  He noted that the City & Borough of Juneau has           
 volunteer departments, but it was never his intention that the pie            
 would be divided to include an area as big or as capable of taxing            
 themselves as a community such as Juneau.                                     
                                                                               
 Senator Torgerson said there are volunteer fire departments in the            
 state that are having bake sales, pancake feeds, etc., to buy gas             
 for their vehicles to make things happen for their operations,                
 while there are other volunteer departments in the unorganized                
 areas that are receiving $10 a person, which has been prorated down           
 to $2.80 a person just for calling themselves a volunteer fire                
 department.  He said he thinks that needs to be changed.  He                  
 stressed that it is not his intent to make a huge fiscal note out             
 of this but just to take care of the smaller operations that need             
 help.                                                                         
                                                                               
 Senator Torgerson said he would like to see the emergency medical             
 services included in this legislation if it can be accomplished               
 with a realistic fiscal note.  He said in some instances, it should           
 almost be more EMS than it is volunteer fire departments, but in              
 a lot of cases the same people are performing both the fire                   
 services and the EMS services.                                                
                                                                               
 Number 525                                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  noted that a number of recent newspaper articles            
 have talked about a number of volunteer EMS agencies in the state             
 that have disbanded because of a lack of funds.  He said as a                 
 former emergency medical technician, he's well aware of the                   
 importance of these kinds of programs, and he welcomes the                    
 opportunity to work with the sponsor to try to take care of EMS and           
 volunteer fire departments, whether they are in unorganized or                
 organized areas.                                                              
                                                                               
  SENATOR TORGERSON  pointed out that the total disbursement for this          
 program is less than $36,000 that goes out to rural Alaska, and he            
 thinks it this issue needs to be revisited and looked at.                     
                                                                               
  SENATOR PHILLIPS  asked how many volunteer fire departments are in           
 this category.   SENATOR TORGERSON  clarified there are 27                    
 departments in this program right now.                                        
                                                                               
 Number 437                                                                    
                                                                               
  CRAIG LEWIS , Director of the Emergency Medical Services Council,            
 Interior Region, as well as the president of the Alaska EMS                   
 Association, testified in support of amending SB 139 by adding                
 volunteer EMS ambulance services to those considered for the $10              
 allocation. He said the EMS community has equivalent controls that            
 could easily blend with those identified in the bill for volunteer            
 fire departments.  There are regulations in the Administrative Code           
 that establish a very rigorous criteria for credentialling                    
 ambulance services, which he feels would support anyone's                     
 assessment for quality control and quality assurance in the work              
 that they do.                                                                 
                                                                               
 Mr. Lewis related that at one time in Alaska there were over 160              
 certified ambulance services at the basic life support level or               
 advanced, whereas today this number has declined to 115.  He said             
 this is a serious decline, and the major reason for it is lack of             
 funding.  Those that provide support along the highway network and            
 the places that are more difficult to respond to in rural Alaska              
 need the Legislature's support to maintain that type of service.              
                                                                               
 Number 400                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR PHILLIPS  asked if there is a charge to out-of-state                 
 residents for EMS services along the highways.   MR. LEWIS  answered          
 that most of the ambulance services do have a ambulance fee.  In              
 many cases, they cannot access the insurance industry because of              
 the requirements of Medicaid, Medicare and a variety of private               
 carriers to be officially credentialed and sanctioned.  It is                 
 difficult because they have to keep a lot of records, communicate             
 regularly, and the amount of reimbursement is insufficient to cover           
 the costs.                                                                    
                                                                               
 Number 365                                                                    
                                                                               
  PAM ELLIS , representing the City of Delta Junction, voiced support          
 for SB 139, as well as adding a provision for emergency medical               
 services.  She pointed out Delta Junction doesn't have a tax base,            
 so all of their revenues come from the state and what they can                
 collect in fees for EMS services.                                             
                                                                               
 Number 330                                                                    
                                                                               
 There being no further testimony,  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  stated SB 139             
 would be held in committee for further work.  He then adjourned the           
 meeting at 2:45 p.m.