01/28/2008 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES

           SB 233-TEACHERS/HEALTH CARE PROFESS HOUSING LOAN                                                                 
                                                                                                                              
CHAIR DAVIS announced SB 233 to be up for consideration.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:13:29 PM                                                                                                                    
DAN  FAUSKE,  CEO,  Alaska Housing  Finance  Corporation  (AHFC),                                                               
Anchorage AK,  said the current  bill is  due to sunset  in June.                                                               
There's new  language in the  current bill to  include additional                                                               
people into a successful program  that offers a zero down payment                                                               
or  a hundred  percent loan  to  create housing  for licensed  or                                                               
certified  teachers and  health  care professionals.  One of  the                                                               
concerns expressed  in the past  is that  it is available  to too                                                               
many people and  they also have that concern to  some degree. His                                                               
office supports the bill.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELTON said the difficulty  is the expanding program. It's                                                               
offering doctors a benefit he's not sure they need.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. FAUSKE  said that is  a concern  that was raised.  He doesn't                                                               
think there'll  be a rush  on the  program from doctors.  He said                                                               
there's  a concurrent  teacher  health  care/public safety  grant                                                               
program  that is  geared toward  rural applicants  and said  that                                                               
most applicants to  this program are urban. A  doctor could apply                                                               
but it's not anticipated that there will be many.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:20:28 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  ELTON asked  if there  was some  kind of  requirement to                                                               
stay in  Alaska for a  year or two  or a penalty.  Getting people                                                               
here is important. Keeping them here is also.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. FAUSKE  said that has  been discussed  as well and  it's been                                                               
difficult to track.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DAVIS asked if the  committee needs more information and if                                                               
they would  like to know  who has been  served for the  past year                                                               
tenure of the program.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
BRIAN  BUTCHER,  Director,   Governmental  Relations  and  Public                                                               
Affairs, Alaska Housing Finance  Corporation, Anchorage, AK, said                                                               
there's  a  list in  the  committee  member  packets of  all  the                                                               
communities  involved over  the five-year  period. If  there's an                                                               
'E'  on the  list, those  were  teacher loans.  An 'H'  indicates                                                               
nurse loans.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The difficulty in recruitment and  retention of these professions                                                               
is  what  got  it  going.   Because  of  its  zero  down  payment                                                               
provision,  AHFC  would  have  to  provide  30  percent  mortgage                                                               
insurance instead of 20 percent.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:22:59 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. BUTCHER  said it makes  no financial  sense for a  doctor who                                                               
wants to  buy a million-dollar house  to use this program.  But a                                                               
doctor just  out of  medical school  who had  a large  debt might                                                               
want to take advantage of it.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:24:17 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR THOMAS asked MR. FAUSKE about an income limit.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FAUSKE replied  that they  would use  tax exempt  first-time                                                               
home buyer guidelines  that are already supplied  in federal law.                                                               
The limit would be 115 percent of median income.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:26:31 PM                                                                                                                    
MELISSA  STONE,  Director  of Behavioral  Health,  Department  of                                                               
Health &   Social  Services, said  the proposed  legislation adds                                                               
health care  professionals to the program  and would specifically                                                               
benefit  the  behavioral  health   provider  system.  Work  force                                                               
shortage  is  a problem.  UAA  conducted  a  study and  found  29                                                               
percent vacancy  in behavioral  health, which  was more  than any                                                               
other  occupational group.  Behavioral health  clinicians had  an                                                               
11.8 percent  vacancy rate. The  vacancy rate was 9.3  percent in                                                               
urban areas and 22.9 percent in rural areas.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELTON  said he's in sympathy,  but sees one of  the major                                                               
reasons  for the  vacancy rates  is because  people are  not paid                                                               
what they're  worth. He also asks  why it is being  done for this                                                               
profession  when   there's  a  difficulty   recruiting  fisheries                                                               
biologists, for example.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:30:32 PM                                                                                                                    
MS. STONE  said that in  the behavioral health  system, employees                                                               
aren't  part of  the state,  but generally  part of  a non-profit                                                               
group.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:31:24 PM                                                                                                                    
NANCY  DAVIS,  RN,  Coordinator,  Recruitment  and  Retention  of                                                               
Nurses Project,  Division of Public Health,  Department of Health                                                               
and  Social  Services (DHSSAnchorage,  AK,  said  that since  the                                                               
inception  of  the  AHFC  teacher and  nurse  housing  loan,  her                                                               
organization  has  used it  as  an  incentive in  recruiting  and                                                               
retaining  nurses  all   over  the  state.  The   field  is  very                                                               
competitive and it makes Alaska more attractive.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DAVIS asked members to  contact her office about changes so                                                               
a CS could be created.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:36:09 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  COWDERY said  he would  like to  sign off  on the  bills                                                               
heard today.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  DAVIS said  she understands  that,  but he  can't do  that                                                               
because he's  not present. She  announced that she would  hold SB
 in  committee and seeing  no further business,  she adjourned                                                               
the meeting at 2:37:06 PM.