Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
05/16/2023 10:30 AM House 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 | |
| SB48 | |
| SB140 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 48 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 140 | TELECONFERENCED | |
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 140(FIN)
"An Act relating to funding for Internet services for
school districts; and providing for an effective
date."
Co-Chair Foster relayed that the committee had been
considering conceptual amendment 2 when the bill had been
set aside the previous day. He gave a brief recap of the
bill that would increase the internet speed for some
schools from 25 megabytes to 100 megabytes. The committee
had considered amendments the previous day and had adopted
Amendment 1, which added the pupil transportation component
at about $7.5 million and reflected a piece of the Base
Student Allocation (BSA) bill. Conceptual amendment 1 had
added the remainder of the BSA bill.
Representative Stapp WITHDREW conceptual amendment 2.
Co-Chair Foster provided a recap of the amendments. He
explained that conceptual amendment 1 included a BSA
[increase] of $680 per student. He relayed that conceptual
amendment 2, which had just been withdrawn, was for a BSA
[increase] of $1,360. He noted the amendment process had
concluded.
1:15:59 PM
Representative Josephson clarified that conceptual
amendment 1 had included all of CSSB 52(FIN) [also referred
to as the "BSA" bill].
Co-Chair Foster agreed. He recognized Representative
Rebecca Himschoot in the audience.
Representative Galvin shared that she had watched video of
some of the SB 52 work done in the Senate and she remarked
on the numerous times senators had stated that the bill was
the extension of the Alaska Reads Act in order to ensure
funding for all of the pieces put in place the previous
year with a $30 increment. She wanted to make sure the
committee acknowledged that component.
1:17:22 PM
Representative Ortiz MOVED to REPORT HCS CSSB 140(FIN) out
of committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal notes.
Representative Stapp OBJECTED. He supported increases in
broadband speed and the BSA. He thought school districts
had been very clear on the need for a funding increase. He
believed the stability of long-term funding was a good
thing. He was not entirely certain the increase in SB 140
was the right amount. He believed the broadband bill would
help equalize opportunity in rural Alaska for the coming
generation, which was a good thing. However, he could not
help but think about the fiscal note to the underlying bill
prior to adopted amendments. He referenced a fiscal note
that ranged from $6,000 to indeterminate. Another fiscal
note was $40 million per year outside of the BSA. He
referenced a letter [included in members' packets]
specifying it would be $19 million per year; however, there
was an indeterminate fiscal note. He thought all of the
items included in the bill were likely good things that
should be done, but he was wary about doing them on the
last day of legislative session. He did not believe there
had been adequate opportunity for the committee to vet the
legislation.
Representative Josephson supported the motion to move the
bill from committee. He noted that the amendment adopted in
the previous hearing on the bill was "wildly popular" in
the Senate. He remarked that in March or April, Amendment
26 had been adopted on the House floor and was cosponsored
by every member of the majority and had included the same
amount as was included in the current legislation. He
remarked that it was statutory. He discussed that the
legislature could look at reforming the foundation formula
in the next session. He thought that whatever came from
that effort would not change the net result and he did not
believe the legislature was being deceived by the 53 school
districts that were reporting the funding was critical. He
believed the funding request was one of the top "asks" of
the Alaska people. He highlighted that third graders were
only in the third grade one time and did not have time to
wait around. He was disappointed that the bill did not
include inflation. He noted there had been an amendment
that would have doubled the [BSA] funding, which had come
closer to covering inflation. He had not viewed the
amendment as frivolous. He stated it was a critical
component that had been endorsed by about 57 members of the
legislature.
Co-Chair Edgmon spoke to the importance of the underlying
bill that would allow a large number of schools in the
state to participate in the E-rate program allowing for a
matching rate of $8 to $9 for every $1 in state funding. He
had not expected the bill to become a carrier to other
issues and he had supported both amendments. He did not
disagree with the comments about the needs for school
districts. He would support moving the bill from committee,
but he was concerned the amendments may weigh down the
underlying bill. He understood there were other bills in
play that dealt with the BSA, the Reads Act, and pupil
transportation.
1:23:00 PM
Representative Hannan would support moving the bill from
committee. She noted the committee had heard from
constituents from school districts throughout the entire
session about the importance of education. She noted the
dollar amount for the BSA was the amount the House had
passed in the [operating] budget prior to sending it to the
Senate. She noted it was the largest ticket item in the
bill currently before the committee. She spoke about the
underlying portion of the bill to increase internet speed
and remarked that the sticker price was not as big as the
legislature had feared it may be in the first fiscal note.
She stated it was necessary to set school districts up to
be able to get as much infrastructure in place to expand
educational opportunities. The one financial piece that had
not been vetted was $7.5 million in pupil transportation
added in an amendment the previous day. She did not flinch
at the increase when the past fall the state had seen pupil
transportation crippling districts throughout the state.
She stressed the importance of ensuring students could get
to school safely. She believed the bill met the needs,
albeit just barely. She did not think it set the system up
for long-term success and there were other things she
wished were included. However, she believed the bill was a
very positive step forward for all of the state's school
districts. She encouraged a yes vote on the legislation.
1:25:27 PM
Representative Coulombe stated her concerns about the bill
coincided with those voiced by Representative Stapp. She
stated there was a lot of blurry math going on. She
remarked they were not clear on what the impact would be,
yet she knew schools needed faster broadband and a higher
BSA. She had yet to find anyone justifying $680. She
believed it was a random number that had not been vetted.
She stated the same was true for pupil transportation and
she had not understood the Public School Trust fund
mechanism used to pay for transportation. She was uncertain
about where the increase of $7.5 [million] had come from.
She noted there had been a reference to CPI. She emphasized
the committee was the finance committee and she could not
afford to make decisions based on emotion. She stressed the
importance of vetted numbers that made sense. She did not
think the numbers were justified. She struggled because she
did want to see increased funding for transportation,
education, and increased broadband speeds. She found it
irresponsible to commit the state to funding going forward
into the future with the hope it would work.
Co-Chair Foster acknowledged Representative Maxine Dibert
in the room.
Representative Tomaszewski agreed with some of the prior
comments. He stated that when the internet bill came to the
committee it had a $40 million fiscal note. He remarked
that somehow the number had changed to $6,000 prepared by
Senators Hoffman and Olson, which he found curious. He
referenced the fiscal note analysis specifying that 108
schools had been identified as newly eligible under the
bill. The schools equaled 72 percent of the 151 currently
eligible schools. He elaborated that the Department of
Education and Early Development estimated $19 million in
grant funding would be needed for the schools to reach up
to 100 megabytes. He stated that passing the bill was
basically a blank check. He did not believe the state could
afford to write blank checks. He stated his understanding
that the committee had not heard public testimony on the
bill. He did not support the passage of the legislation. He
knew the programs were good, but the committee needed to
pass legislation based on the numbers. He thought it would
be irresponsible to move the bill forward.
1:30:36 PM
Representative Galvin stated that the underlying bill was
very important, particularly to those learning in rural
Alaska. She appreciated that the broadband assistance grant
(BAG) had gone down to $6,000 because there had not been
clear numbers. She stated that setting the benchmark was
critical for K-12. She elaborated that rural Alaska had
broadband speeds of 25 megabytes at best and that urban
Alaska was doing fine. She read from the Alaska
Constitution: "The legislature shall by general law
establish and maintain a system of public schools open to
all children of the state and may provide for other public
education institutions." She stressed the need to open up a
21st century learning opportunity for all children, which
would be accomplished by the bill. She appreciated that the
fiscal note had been reduced from the initial $40 million
because there had been uncertainty around whether the
number was accurate. She stated it made sense to her that
it had been pushed to 2025. She did not believe the bill
was a big risk in that sense and there was time to work it
out.
Representative Galvin highlighted that the House had vetted
the BSA portion twice. She believed it was known that the
$680 figure had come from the district in the middle of the
needs. She believed the Kenai number had been selected,
which had come from the district's superintendent. She
stated her colleague had arrived at $1,250 because the
state had not been keeping up with the inflationary cost of
education over time. She noted the figure in the bill was a
compromise that would not please everyone. She pointed out
that Alaskans were expecting the amount to be included in
the budget. She stressed that adequate, predictable funding
[for education] was the top request of Alaskans. She
remarked that there had been some confusion about how the
number for pupil transportation had been reached. She
detailed that CPI inflation equaled 22 percent, while the
bill would move the funding to 11 percent, which resulted
in the $7.5 million figure. She emphasized there had been
no raises in pupil transportation since 2016. She stated it
was not absolutely perfect because some districts had more
needs than others, but when considering policy for an
entire state with 53 different school districts it was
necessary to find ways to a solution. She hoped the bill
would get to a floor vote because it was the most important
work ahead.
1:35:05 PM
Co-Chair Foster supported all three parts of the bill. He
did not want to exacerbate the existing digital divide. He
stated the importance of getting ahead of the curve. He had
voted yes to adopt the amendment to include pupil
transportation. He noted that one of his school districts
on the Lower Yukon only received $1, but he supported the
increase for the Mat-Su where there had been a real issue
over the winter with a lack in bus drivers. He stated the
BSA was not just the teachers but included substantial fuel
increases and insurance costs. Additionally, the
availability of classes in subjects like art, carpentry,
and welding were slowly dying off. He reasoned that Alaska
could not be a state where only math and reading were
taught. He supported the passage of the bill.
1:36:40 PM
Representative Stapp WITHDREW the OBJECTION.
HCS CSSB 140(FIN) was REPORTED out of committee with six
"do pass" recommendations, four "no recommendation"
recommendations, and one "amend" recommendation and with
two new zero fiscal notes from the Department of Education
and Early Development, one new fiscal impact note from the
Department of Education and Early Development for Fund
Capitalization, and one previously published indeterminate
fiscal note: FN1 (EED).
Co-Chair Foster discussed the schedule for the afternoon.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 140 Public Testimony Rec'd by 051623.pdf |
HFIN 5/16/2023 10:30:00 AM |
SB 140 |
| SB 140 Public Testimony Rec'd by 051623 Pkt 2.pdf |
HFIN 5/16/2023 10:30:00 AM |
SB 140 |
| SB 140 HCS-FIN FINAL version w Committee Report.pdf |
HFIN 5/16/2023 10:30:00 AM |
SB 140 |
| SB 140 Public Testimony Pkt.3 .pdf |
HFIN 5/16/2023 10:30:00 AM |
SB 140 |
| SB 140 HCS FIN NEW FN DEED-FP-4-16-23.pdf |
HFIN 5/16/2023 10:30:00 AM |
SB 140 |
| SB 140 HCS FIN NEW FN DEED-PEF-4-16-23.pdf |
HFIN 5/16/2023 10:30:00 AM |
SB 140 |
| SB 140 HCS FIN NEW FN DEED-PT-4-16-23.pdf |
HFIN 5/16/2023 10:30:00 AM |
SB 140 |