Legislature(1997 - 1998)
04/03/1997 10:40 AM Senate FIN
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE BILL NO. 83
"An Act making an appropriation for management fees for
the constitutional budget reserve fund (art. IX, sec. 17,
Constitution of the State of Alaska); and providing for
an effective date."
Co-chair Pearce reconvened the meeting and noted they would
be working from a CS draft O-LS0537\B. Senator Phillips
moved CSSB 83(FIN) work draft for discussion purposes and
without objection it was adopted. She referred to a spread
sheet showing differences in the Governor's request, HB 113
as it came to the committee and the CS now before the
committee. The leasing number in the draft was the same as
the house passed over in their bill. They decided, that
while they knew a supplemental of $993.7 thousand had been
requested, to underfund that while they continued discussion
of how to bring leasing costs down in the long run. She
noted the committee's frustration with the large lease
obligations, however the department had been asked to bring
these costs down.
Annalee McConnell was invited to join the committee. She
explained the total amount needed to fulfil lease
commitments in 1998 had been identified however they had
only put the amount that had been in the 1997 budget in the
back-up. She referred to a letter to Representative Hanley
that they would be supportive of reducing the amount
anticipated next year for supplementals by $1.9 million so
they could fully fund leasing, OPA and PD at the projected
1998 requirement. The next issue was incentives to bring
down the overall cost of leasing. Previously, there had
been efforts to reduce the amount of the leasing budget in
order to seek opportunities to renegotiate leases. There
were presently efforts underway to pick up additional
savings in future years through space utilization and
looking at getting out from leases. She also had
recommendations for leasing and space utilization to be
brought before the deferred maintenance task force.
Senator Phillips asked about the Bank of America building
and Ms. McConnell said she would get him up-to-date
information. She did note the Governor wanted to be sure
there was no perception of conflict of interest.
Representative Hanley had recommended that since there would
be some savings in FY '98 if the building were to be
purchased that it should be treated as a fiscal note.
Co-chair Pearce referred to the Office of the Public
Advocate. She noted the Governor's request for $247.8; the
House for $210.5; and the work draft CS put back in $247.8.
She said the total level of spending for the Public Advocate
for 1997 was $7,616.9 million. Senator Donley said he had a
problem with the money that was going to criminal defense.
He wanted to know the ratio of criminal to non-criminal
defense. Ms. McConnell said she had not been asked to
provide that information, but she will get the correct
information to the committee. Senator Donley said he will
not support these monies for the Office of the Public
Advocate. They have abused the funding; assigned multiple
defense attorneys to cases, whereas prosecutors have dealt
with one attorney; defense offices all over Alaska where
there are also multiple defense attorneys and only one
prosecutor. The explanations from the Administration
implied if not specified that somehow the Legislature told
them it was o.k. for them to overspend their budget and come
back and ask for more money. No cost saving measures had
been taken and this was a corrupt public policy goal to
reduce the load on the prisons by better defending the
criminals and getting them off.
Senator Sharp asked if there was going to be a breakdown
provided for the civil and criminal cases. Senator Donley
indicated that he had asked several times this year and had
not received an answer. Senator Phillips said he would
provide the information. Ms. McConnell said the
appropriation covered one item; it was not broken down
between civil, child abuse, neglect cases, etc. She further
noted a constitutional obligation to do conflict cases
through OPA. There was also a very heavy responsibility to
provide guardian services for children and needy adults.
Caseloads expand and they are outside the control of the
department. Senator Phillips said it is a very frustrating
matter. He realized the constitutional requirements but on
the other hand there should be recommendations for cuts. He
suggested if statutory or constitutional change were
necessary to let the Legislature know. He felt the subject
brought up by Senator Donley was very valid. Ms. McConnell
said she felt there had been improvements but first of all
child abuse must be reduced. The conflict cases were very
involved. Senator Sharp also voiced concern of his
constituents that state money was being spent on real
"animals". Ms. McConnell said the Court assigned cases and
they had no control. However, they had looked at the matter
with the Court system and initiated better screening and
better criteria for review of conditions for referring
cases. Senator Phillips suggested the Court system and the
Administration meet so a better view could be had of the
matter. Senator Donley commented on "everything being
driven by case load". He said the prosecutors had no
supplemental request. The cases could only occur if the
prosecutors were handling them. Both OPA and the PD
requests have increased ten times.
Dan Spencer was invited to join the committee. He said that
in the past the prosecutors had been one of the strongest
supports of the public defenders' supplemental request.
There are a number of resources available to the prosecutor
that are not available to the public defender. For one, the
prosecutor had the Department of Public Safety to do
investigative work. The prosecutors' office had said they
were concerned if the Public Defender were not properly
funded it would slow down the process more than it was now.
Senator Donley said the prosecutors had been told by the
Administration not to ask for or try to get any more money.
He said prosecutors do not agree with that but they have
been told they have a position they have to honor within the
Administration.
Co-chair Pearce further referred to the Youth Corps and a
memo from Carol Carroll, noting the amount of the request
had decreased to the amount of $186,439. which was the
number included at the request of the Department of Military
and Veterans' Affairs. She noted an inadvertent error in
the draft had been corrected to March 1, 1998 on line 2,
page 8. Senator Adams moved amendment #1 (page 7 of
supplemental he added $838,800) and without objection it was
adopted.
Senator Torgerson moved amendment #2 (timber sales on the
Kenai Peninsula) and without objection it was adopted.
Senator Adams moved amendment #3 (keep PCE in general fund).
Senator Donley objected. By a vote of 1 - 5 (Pearce, Sharp,
Donley, Torgerson, Phillips; Parnell absent) it failed.
Senator Donley moved amendment #4 (House amounts on Public
Advocacy of $210.5). Senator Phillips asked Department of
Administration be invited to join the committee.
Sharon Barton, Director, Division of Administrative
Services, Department of Administration was invited to join
the committee. She advised the committee that any
opportunity for containing the cost in OPA obviously had
been taken. The OPA request was reduced this year after
further review of the numbers. They were diligently trying
to manage the budget and keep costs down. They will,
however, need their full request this year. The budget is
not a science. The costs are projected right up to the end
of the fiscal year. They can be greater or lesser.
However, they feel they will be for a supplemental to cover
the costs in '98. Ms. McConnell clarified that the amount
was brought down from the earlier request. It was reduced
by $70,000 from what was thought to be required. Senator
Donley said it was too bad there had not been a more
definitive break down of what goes to criminal defense vs.
other functions of OPA. Perhaps the only solution since a
good answer has never been received on those questions would
be to break the function out from the agency at some point.
Ms. Barton apologized if a request for information had gone
unanswered. She had received no request nor was she aware
of a request coming to the department. She said she would
be happy to provide this information to the committee. By a
vote of 4 - 2 amendment #4 was adopted.
Senator Phillips moved amendment #5 (add $970,000 for a
total of $993.7 which would fully fund the governor's
request for leasing). Senator Sharp asked for an
explanation. Senator Phillips said he wanted the total
amount to equal $993.7. Senator Donley asked if the motion
was to move the difference in funds to the general funds.
Co-chair Pearce said the amendment would add $970.1 thousand
in general funds to the leasing line and then deleting the
$309.8 in other funds. Senator Phillips said that would
fully fund the governor's request on leasing for this fiscal
year out of general funds. Senator Sharp asked what the
fund source would be. Co-chair Pearce said it would be
interagency receipts from other departments. Senator Donley
requested an explanation from Senator Phillips regarding the
amendment since he was chair of LB&A.
Senator Phillips said it was the amount the Department of
Administration felt they would need. He said he would have
to go along with it as an obligation.
Ms. McConnell noted that leasing was handled by the
Department of Administration. Nothing was built into other
departments. The amount was needed to fulfill contractual
obligations the department had as referred to in the letter
sent by Commissioner Boyer to Representative Mark Hanley in
March. Senator Donley asked if the monies could be gotten
elsewhere to fulfill the contractual obligations. Senator
Phillips indicated that it was the intent of the chair to
keep pressure on the department to negotiate lower prices on
new leases coming up. He felt the department had done what
they could in good faith in negotiating lower prices and the
number presently before the committee was one that was
obligated for this year. Next year they would recommend a
half million dollar reduction from their request. He wanted
the department to continue to go out and get "good deals".
Without objection amendment #5 was adopted.
Senator Donley moved amendment #6 (fixed amount of $100,000
for the Public Defender Agency). He said each year the
Legislature tried to have the agency reduce their costs. He
doesn't feel the right effort had been made. They have had
a tremendous increase over the past decade and it is
appropriate to send a strong message, finally, in some
supplemental. Just once the line has to be drawn.
Reduction to a fixed sum amount will send a message to the
agency that they need to change the way they do business.
By a vote of 4 - 3 (Phillips, Parnell, Adams) it was
adopted.
Senator Adams requested an explanation regarding section 27,
Aid to Families with Dependent Children. He said $800,000
was needed and asked for an explanation. Co-chair Pearce
indicated that was a delete/add as shown on line 28.
Senator Parnell explained it was a lapse in funds that was
being transferred to Adult Public Assistance.
Janet Clarke, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Health and Social Services was invited to join
the committee. In response to the question by Senator Adams
she said there was a fifty percent chance that the
department could actually do that, but there would be
lapsing funds in AFDC that could move into Adult Public
Assistance. In earlier testimony before the House, they
wanted to see what the March caseload would be like because
these were both entitlement programs and they have to pay
based on the individuals that use the program. Their
projections were a little high for March and they told the
House there was perhaps a thirty percent chance and now they
have moved it to a fifty percent chance, however, it was a
risk to count on $800,000 in lapsing funds from AFDC. She
said there was still three months to go in both of these
programs and they will have to see how they come out.
Senator Donley asked if the line item this would be going
into could be pro-rated. Ms. Clarke indicated they could
not. The payment standards were set by statute. Senator
Parnell said that based on the estimation by Legislative
Finance of approximately $1 million from AFDC that would
lapse, they chose the more conservative figure of $800,000.
That was the basis for that recommendation.
Senator Donley moved amendment #7 (extend lapse date of item
65, section 16 of the bill). This was lapse in the
Department of Public Safety, Public Safety Officer
contracts. He said he was concerned it would artificially
inflate the coming fiscal year VPSO expenditures that would
build in a very large escalation for next year's operating
budget and therefore would be difficult to control. The
money had not been used this year and would lapse. Senator
Adams objected saying more VPSO's were needed in the
villages to fill the vacancies. Approximately fifteen
VPSO's were still needed but the funding was only for
twelve. The money would help fund unfilled positions badly
needed in the villages. He noted the total lapse amount was
about $40,000. Senator Donley asked if the exact amount of
the lapse was. Ms. McConnell indicated that at present she
did not know but would try to secure an update projection as
soon as possible. She did concur with Senator Adams noting
that the State was very short on the number of village
public safety officers throughout the State. There were
approximately ninety villages currently without a VPSO.
Senator Donley said he was concerned about next year's
impact on Public Safety's budget. He said everyone would
love to have enough village public safety officers, state
troopers, prosecutors and jails. Senator Adams noted that
only one VPSO was being requested. Most areas have State
Troopers. Senator Donley said there were three State
Troopers in Anchorage and they were mainly to patrol the
highways. Co-chair Pearce inquired of Senator Donley if he
had closed the Public Safety subcommittee and he indicated
no. She asked him to withdraw his amendment pending receipt
of his figures and what they would show for fiscal year '98.
An amendment could be made later. Senator Donley advised
that the subcommittee recommendation was to add at least two
new VPSO's and two new State Troopers for next year.
Senator Pearce said there could possibly be federal funding
available in October for use in the village public safety
officer program. If the lapse would be allowed to pick them
up then the funding could be continued with federal funds.
Senator Donley withdrew amendment #7. He would be allowed
to put in necessary amendment at second reading on the
floor. He continued to note that it was a potential
budgetary problem for next year. It is a one time source of
money that disappears next year. He further stated that the
supplemental presented an opportunity to deal with some of
the Corrections problems. There is a serious problem with
Corrections and the funding of a solution must be found.
There was a proposal from Administration to deal with
partial funding towards providing a womens' facility and
that was a high priority for them. Overcrowding needs to be
addressed. The McLaughlin issue as well as other youth
facilities and centers needed to be addressed equally.
These were all legitimate crisis situations.
Senator Adams referred to section #2, aerospace. He said
$18 million was federal money and $5 million from the Alaska
Science and Technology Institute and wanted to know where
the other $5 million was going to come from. Co-chair
Pearce indicated that it was also federal funds, noting that
it was a separate $5 million from the Department of Defense
for a specific tracking facility. It will build one of the
buildings of the entire launch facility.
Ms. McConnell stated that she concurred with Senator
Donley's evaluation of the Department of Corrections. Dan
Spencer further referred to line 52 of the spread sheet.
Co-chair Pearce said they did not know if the entire amount
represented would be needed. It was just the outside
expectation.
Senator Sharp moved CSSB 83(FIN) with individual
recommendations. Without objection it was reported out.
Co-chair Pearce reviewed the schedule for tomorrow morning,
noting time change to 10:00 a.m. She said budget closeouts
would begin Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. There would be
additional closeouts scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday evening. Next Saturday morning they would begin at
10:00 a.m. with the front section and appropriate
amendments. This coming Saturday morning there would be
statewide teleconference held regarding the budget.
ADJOURNMENT
Co-chair Sharp recessed the meeting at 11:45 a.m.
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