Legislature(2009 - 2010)CAPITOL 106
04/14/2009 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB225 | |
| HB205 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 225 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 205 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 205-PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND FOR DECEASED 9:47:47 AM VICE CHAIR SEATON announced that the last order of business was HOUSE BILL NO. 205, "An Act relating to the permanent fund dividend of an otherwise qualified individual who dies during the qualifying year; and providing for an effective date." REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 205, Version 26-LS0780\R, Cook, 4/11/09, as a work draft. VICE CHAIR SEATON objected for discussion purposes. 9:49:13 AM PAUL GRASSI, Staff, Representative Harry Crawford, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Crawford, prime sponsor of HB 205, described the changes proposed in Version R. He said the first change was language added stipulating that the person who dies during the qualifying year would also have to have qualified for a dividend for the year immediately preceding the qualifying year. The second change stipulates that the person must have been a resident of Alaska for at least 180 days prior to his/her death. Mr. Grossi continued as follows: The third change is a requirement that they be physically present in the state or ... exempted from the requirement under [AS] 43.23, I believe it's 008. 9:50:36 AM REPRESENTATIVE WILSON directed attention to the language on page 2, line 4, which read, "Notwithstanding AS 43.23.011". She asked whether that statute allows an Alaska resident a medical absence. VICE CHAIR SEATON requested the committee focus on the three changes that would be made through Version R. 9:52:46 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted that in a letter [included in the committee packet], Mr. Grossi writes that on page 1, line 14, "and (a)(5)" was inserted; however, Version R shows "and (a)(6)". MR. GROSSI said the notation in his letter is a typographical error and the correct notation is "and (a)(6)". 9:53:31 AM MR. GROSSI reviewed the intent of Version R. He said the idea for the bill was brought to the attention of the bill sponsor by two widows whose husbands died in November and did not qualify. He said it turns out there are others who have experienced similar situations, and Senator Meyers is presenting a bill which mirrors HB 205. 9:54:42 AM REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN, regarding the 180 days, asked Mr. Grossi to confirm that a person who dies just after the 180 days - "if they make it until the end of June" - would qualify for the dividend. MR. GROSSI responded, "I believe that is correct." 9:55:25 AM VICE CHAIR SEATON noted that the person would not have to have been in the state for 180 days, because the language states that he/she must maintain residency - it does not say he/she must be physically located in the state. MR. GROSSI responded as follows: No, ... section 3 does require [the person to be] physically ... present in the state. So, ... I'm sorry, that third change in the ... CS does require them to be physically [present] unless otherwise exempted. MR. GROSSI, in response to Vice Chair Seaton, offered his understanding that that is shown in the language on page 2, line 2. 9:56:21 AM REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN stated his belief that it is an allowable absence for an Alaska resident to be in the Lower 48 to receive medical care. MR. GROSSI confirmed that is correct. 9:56:51 AM VICE CHAIR SEATON noted that the bill merely states that the person has to have been a resident for at least 180 days; it does not say the person had to be present in the state during that time. MR. GRASSI offered his understanding that any exception that previously exists would be an exception under HB 205. 9:59:55 AM REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN said he thinks the intent of the proposed bill is to qualify the deceased person who had remained a qualified resident, with or without exemptions, for at least 180 days before his/her death. MR. GROSSI said he believes that is correct. VICE CHAIR SEATON interpreted that under HB 205, the person would not have to have been "physically present in the state any of the time" before his/her death for that entire year, "because that's an allowable absence." 10:02:08 AM CHRIS POAG, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, Commercial & Fair Business Section, Department of Law (DOL), clarified the issue as follows: Eligibility requirements are found in [AS 43.23.005], and ... there's a variety of eligibility requirements. And this is s test to determine whether or not you're a bonafide Alaskan resident for purposes of the dividend. We're creating them because a deceased person couldn't apply to the department ..., they couldn't be a state resident on the date of application, and because the allowable absence provisions say you have to be absent with intent to remain, we've created exemptions from those requirements, and what exists is a requirement that you be a state resident - as state resident is defined in the statutes and the regulations - for 180 days prior to your death. So, ... state residence doesn't itself require physical presence; it says you have to be here with an intent to remain or, if you leave, you have to be absent with the intent to return. And we do have a regulation that further defines what it is to be a state resident and to maintain your state residency. So, you're correct, Representative Seaton: in theory a person could be gone for that 180 days, die outside of Alaska, and still qualify under this bill. And certainly, whatever the will of the committee is, we can draft it so that's not an intended consequence, but as I read this provision, that's how it could be interpreted. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON said she thinks that is okay, because that is not different than the exemptions allow currently. Many times the reason a resident is Outside is because he/she is ill and is getting treatment unavailable in Alaska. 10:04:32 AM MR. POAG, in response to Representative Gruenberg, confirmed that [HB 205] stipulates that the otherwise qualified resident would have to have lived for at least 180 days of the year before dying in order to qualify for that year's dividend. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he tends to support that. 10:05:12 AM MR. POAG, in response to a question from Representative Petersen, said a death certificate is proof positive of the date of death. VICE CHAIR SEATON remarked that he thinks the wording [in Version R] has changed significantly from the purported need of the bill. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said someone could be on a cruise beginning January 1, for five months, and could be planning to return to Alaska, but dies on the cruise. He said he thinks HB 205 is humane and is "intended to cover those people, too." 10:08:32 AM MR. POAG stated that there are fairly rigorous requirements in regulation related to maintaining residency, which the Permanent Fund Dividend Division takes seriously. If any steps are taken that "severs the residency," the person would not be eligible. He said there is also statute which includes what is known as "the touch-down requirement," which requires the person to have spent at least 72 hours in the state in the last two years. A physical presence requirement is currently not in HB 205, but could be added by the committee; however, there currently are provisions in existence to require the individual to maintain his/her state residency. 10:09:21 AM VICE CHAIR SEATON asked what it takes for a person to remove his/her state residency. MR. POAG replied that the answer to that is found in 15 A.C.C. 23 143, which has a general provision as to guidelines for maintaining residency. Some reasons for losing that residency include: claiming a nonresident motor vehicle tax exemption; accepting full-time employment in another state; filing for a part-year resident income for property tax returns in another state; naming a claim of homestead property tax exemption in another state; receiving an education from another state; disclosure in a court proceeding an affidavit indicating that the person is resident in [another] state; and executing a will of residency in another state. VICE CHAIR SEATON concluded that basically, a person has to declare that he/she has permanently changed residency. He asked how many people would have qualified under this provision this last year. 10:11:17 AM MR. POAG offered his understanding that the fiscal note discloses the annual number of deaths during the qualifying year, and projects a number of anticipated participants who would qualify, which he said he thinks is "in the realm of 1,700." VICE CHAIR SEATON confirmed that the fiscal note shows that approximately 1,700 people would qualify per year. 10:12:07 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked if Version R conforms to "the bill that is hopefully going to be on the floor today." CHRISTINE MARASIGAN, Staff, Representative Kevin Meyer, Alaska State Legislature, confirmed that is correct. VICE CHAIR SEATON, after ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, closed public testimony. 10:13:22 AM VICE CHAIR SEATON removed his objection to the motion to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 205, Version 26- LS0780\R, Cook, 4/11/09, as a work draft. There being no further objection, Version R was before the committee. 10:13:44 AM VICE CHAIR SEATON stated that he has a problem with [Version R] because it would "tremendously" expand the bill from its original intent. He reiterated his previous points. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON said she feels that qualifications should be the same whether a person is alive or has died, and she said she likes the bill. 10:15:41 AM VICE CHAIR SEATON clarified that the problem with the bill is that "you don't know whether these people would have qualified or not, ... because they could have been gone for 185 days - they only had to be here for 180 days - that doesn't qualify you for a permanent fund dividend." REPRESENTATIVE WILSON pointed out that that is a five-day difference. VICE CHAIR SEATON continued: That is if you were just starting from the beginning of the year. I mean, you could have been here a month and have left ... - or two months and left - and then ... four ... or six months later not having been here. But you still maintained that residency because you didn't declare a residency in another state. So, you could have left in February and never returned and died ... six months later, and that still qualifies for a permanent fund dividend. 10:17:20 AM MR. GROSSI said he thinks that one indicator that residency had been established would be whether or not the individual in question had received a dividend in "the year immediately before the qualifying year." REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG commented that when dealing with people who die, the people who are helped are their widows and orphans. 10:18:23 AM REPRESENTATIVE WILSON moved to report the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 205, Version 26-LS0780\R, Cook, 4/11/09, out of committee, with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 205(STA) was reported from the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 01 HB0225A.pdf |
HFIN 3/11/2010 9:00:00 AM HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 225 |
| 01 HB 205.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 205 |
| 02 HB 225 Sponsor Statement.doc |
HFIN 2/8/2010 1:30:00 PM HFIN 3/11/2010 9:00:00 AM HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 225 |
| 03 HB 225 Sectional Analysis.doc |
HFIN 2/8/2010 1:30:00 PM HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 225 |
| 04 HB225-DOA-DGS-04-10-09.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 225 |
| 02 HB 205 Sponsor Statement.PDF |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 205 |
| 03 Sectional HB 205.PDF |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 205 |
| 04 Support.PDF |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 05 empire art.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 06 letter from l mason.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 07 letter from k neher.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 05 HB225-DOC-OC-04-13-09.pdf |
HFIN 3/11/2010 9:00:00 AM HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 225 |
| 08 email from m smith.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 09 email from m kajikawa.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 10 4-11-09 Draft CS for HB 205 Version R.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 205 |
| 11 HB205-DOR-PFD-04-13-09.pdf |
HSTA 4/14/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 205 |