Legislature(2015 - 2016)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/09/2015 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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 | |
HB149 | |
SB61 | |
SB99 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
*+ | SB 61 | TELECONFERENCED | |
*+ | SB 99 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 149 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 61-MUSEUM CONSTRUCTION GRANT PROGRAM 2:04:44 PM CHAIR COSTELLO announced the consideration of SB 61. "An Act establishing a museum construction grant program in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development." She noted the new fiscal note. 2:05:05 PM DOUG LETCH, Staff, Senator Gary Stevens, introduced SB 61 on behalf of the sponsor. He noted that this is companion legislation to HB 52. He spoke to the following sponsor statement: Senate Bill 61 establishes a matching grant program in the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development for eligible museum construction, expansion, and major renovation projects. Language in the bill is similar to the existing program for libraries. Under provisions of SB 61 • A person in charge of construction, expansion, or major renovation of an eligible museum may apply to the department for matching funds under regulations adopted by the department. • Subject to appropriation, the department would award not more than 50 percent of the total proposed grant project costs to an eligible applicant. • Museums are eligible for this program if they are located in Alaska, entitled to receive state grant funds, and provide matching funds from other sources of at least 50 percent of the cost of the project. Alaska is home to more than 60 museums and cultural centers, located in more than 30 communities of various sizes around the state. These facilities connect our past to our future through stewardship of local material, culture and history, while educating Alaskans and visitors of all ages. Many also serve as focal points for community life, providing a place for neighbors to connect, collaborate, and strengthen their sense of self and environment. More than half of these museums anticipate undertaking major capital improvement projects in the next five years. Passage of Senate Bill 61 and any accompanying appropriations will help them continue their important work. MR. LETCH said the sponsor is aware of the new fiscal note and anticipates a committee substitute to coordinate SB 61 with the companion legislation and reduce the fiscal note to zero. CHAIR COSTELLO opened public testimony. 2:08:19 PM JAMES BROOKS, board member, Alaska Historical Society, Juneau, Alaska, testified in support of SB 61. He explained that he enjoys traveling throughout the state and always tries to stop in local museums. Many of these museums were built in 1967, the centennial of Alaska's purchase, and haven't been updated since then. SB 61 will make the updates happen. Everyone is a part of history and the museums in this state do a good job of preserving that history, he said. 2:09:37 PM KATHERINE ELDEMAR, Director, Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA), Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), testified to the role DCRA plays in the grant program paraphrasing from a prepared statement, which reads as follows: DCRA administers over $2 billion dollars in federal, legislative, and state grants. DCRA grant administrators are located in Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks and each grant administrator is responsible for approximately 250 grants. Should SB 61 become law, DCRA will be responsible for the Museum Grant Program. It might appear that SB 61 would not have a fiscal impact on DCRA because currently there is no grant funding attached to the bill, but that presumption would be inaccurate. Assuming SB 61 becomes law, DCRA foresees the impacts to the Division will be similar to those experienced when the Library Grant Program was created because the two programs are statutorily similar. For instance, DCRA will be required to create regulations for the Museum Construction Grant Program. The creation of regulations requires a number of procedural steps, which includes public notice, and typically takes about a year to complete. Additionally, communities submitted grant applications for their projects to DCRA for consideration despite the lack of available funding. There is an effect in that communities want to secure their place in the queue for when funding does become available. DCRA processed the applications and also rated the applications. The applicants were then notified of DCRA's rating of their application. However, since there were no funds to award, DCRA was placed in the unusual position of having completed its duties, but despite all the efforts, no grant awards. It's anticipated SB 61 for museums would likely result in similar impacts to DCRA as was experienced with libraries. This red binder I am showing you is an actual library grant request. As you can see the paperwork is significant. This does not represent an award and subsequent monitoring, which may take additional years to complete. The work DCRA grant administrators must complete is real. The grant application costs to review, oversee, and store grant applications are real - the impacts to DCRA are real. DCRA has thus submitted its fiscal note to SB 61 to help you, the decision makers, make the tough calls as to where state money will be spent during these challenging budget times. If SB 61 becomes law we ask the legislature to fund DCRA sufficiently so we can professionally assist our Alaskan communities with their museum endeavors. The ability to absorb additional programs has been curtailed by the reductions in positions that are ongoing. The expansion of the definition of museum under SB 61 is exciting. This expansion of the definition of museum opens the door for many which were previously closed, to showcase their wonderful and unique communities. But, as with most things, it does take funding. DCRA asks that if the legislature passes this bill that it provide the staffing necessary for DCRA to be successful in its administration. MS. ELDEMAR explained that the language in the committee substitute for the companion bill results in a zero fiscal note. The amended language reads as follows: The department may not accept an application for a grant under this section unless the legislature makes an appropriation for the grant program. She explained that the intent of the foregoing language is twofold. First, it allows the department to promulgate the rules to put the regulations in place. More importantly, it will keep the department from having to do the paperwork associated with a grant application and administration until the funding becomes available. She asked the sponsor to consider the same language so the department could submit a zero fiscal note. 2:14:19 PM FRED PARADY, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), highlighted that the department agreed to absorb the workload of promulgating regulations in order to reach resolution of the fiscal note on the companion bill to SB 61. SENATOR STEVENS asked if the museums would be prioritized according to need and if the department would do that work. MS. ELDEMAR explained that the applications are rated as they come in and follow a hierarchy thereafter. Of the applications that qualify, some will have matching dollars while some will not. She deferred further explanation to Ms. Davis. 2:15:54 PM JANET DAVIS, Grants Manager, Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA), Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), Fairbanks, Alaska, added that a DCRA application selection committee scores each application based on the project description, impact to the community, the budget, and the museum's administration and project management abilities. The scores are averaged and the application is given a rating and then forwarded to the commissioner's office. If funding is available, the grants are awarded based on the applicant's rating. CHAIR COSTELLO asked Mr. Parady if the match funding model had been successful in other infrastructure projects. MR. PARADY answered yes; it is a good way to leverage resources to get something done. SENATOR MEYER asked if amending the bill to zero the fiscal note would do away with the position that's referenced. MR. PARADY answered yes. Applications would not be accepted and handled until money was appropriated. SENATOR MEYER asked if the position would be needed if money was appropriated. MR. PARADY said that question hasn't been resolved, but it would be addressed once an appropriation was considered. Responding to a further question, he relayed that the 1,929 grants that are open in the department represent a five-year cycle. 2:21:06 PM PATRICIA RELAY, Executive Director, Valdez Museum and Historical Archive, Valdez, Alaska, testified in support of SB 61, paraphrasing from the following prepared statement: With nearly 20,000 visitors to the Valdez Museum each year, the Museum is grounded in a strong sense of responsibility to contributing to the regions educational and economic development. We: · Provide opportunities for education and learning. · Contribute to the development of our community. · Build human capital through building social networks. · Attract tourist to the area, stimulating the economy and creating employment. Determining the economic impact includes a number of categories including the Museum's annual operating budget. Visitors and tourist spending combined with tax revenue and local jobs equals the total economic impact. Applying this formula, the Valdez Museum's economic impact on the local community is $1,180,900. The educational impact is equally impressive. Last year our education and public programs served 3,750 people, which includes public and private schools, outreach to remote areas, and adult learners. We have become known as a classroom for private and homeschool groups. The Valdez Museum has accomplished a lot within the past few years: incorporating a successful expanded range of programming, increasing its visitation, and raising its standards of collection management. Despite these achievements, the institution is now at a point in which its progress is being hampered by limitations of space. The Valdez Museum has accomplished a lot within the past few years: incorporating a successful expanded range of programming, increasing its visitation, and raising its standards of collection management. Despite these achievements, the institution is now at a point in which its progress is being hampered by limitations of space. As a matter of fact, our educational programs have become so successful that we no longer have space to conduct classes and workshops. Last summer we used a tent on the front lawn. The Valdez Museum functions as a place of ideas and education. It is a natural gathering place that helps build and strengthen inter-connections within the family units and within the community at large. I urge you to support SB 61, establishing a museum construction grant program, so that museums throughout the state of Alaska may continue to serve their communities. Help us make this bill a reality! 2:24:38 PM ANJULI GRANTHAM, Curator of Collections and Exhibits, Baranov Museum, Kodiak, Alaska, testified in support of SB 61. She reported that the Baranov Museum was founded in 1967 to commemorate the centennial of the Alaska purchase. Following the 1964 earthquake and tsunami that washed out much of Kodiak, the citizens rallied to save the Erskine House from demolition. Using grant funds from the centennial celebration, they restored the building and opened it as the Baranov Museum. This building is the oldest building in Alaska; it was constructed in 1808 by the Russian American Company. MS. GRANTHAM said the community has worked hard to preserve and maintain this historic landmark over the past 50 years. Storage is inadequate and the stairs are so steep some people have to go down backwards, but they wouldn't consider major alterations because it would signify a major loss to the history of Alaska. SB 61 matters because it allows museums and historic buildings to leverage funds to do major preservation work in tune with best practices and historic preservation. Each museum is unique and SB 61 recognizes this and provides a framework to allow many different institutions to enhance the care of their collections and better educate visitors. For the Baranov Museum, the bill will help to preserve the last physical remnants of Russian colonization in Alaska. She concluded saying that SB 61 will provide a wonderful opportunity to make Alaska's history and culture shine in time for the 150th anniversary of the purchase of Alaska. 2:27:08 PM MICHELE MILLER, Member, Pratt Museum Board of Directors, Homer Alaska, testified in support of SB 61, paraphrasing from the following prepared statement: The Pratt Museum is an anchor institution on the Kenai Peninsula: - educating children and adults - contributing to our community's sense of place and identity through history, art, and culture. Like museums all over Alaska, the Pratt contributes to the state's economy through employment and cultural tourism. Thank you, Senator Stevens for sponsorship of SB 61: - provides structure for establishing a system for prioritizing museum capital project funding requests in Alaska - following the state's model for library construction projects Even without immediate appropriations into the fund, the mechanism created by SB 61 can provide: - a solid ranking of capital projects - aid in legislative decision-making during the capital budget process This is currently the case with the library program (AS 14.56.355-56): - has helped build 14 new libraries through $50 million of awards. This legislation will allow museums to plan to protect valuable collections well into the future. With the passage of this legislation into law, construction projects will be: - funded by the merits of their projects and - prioritized by their ability to match state funding, and where they are in the construction process Again, I thank Senator Stevens for his sponsorship of Senate Bill 61 and thank you to this committee. HOW THE LIBRARY PROCESS WORKED: AKLA developed the matrix that vetted a construction project for shovel readiness. The matrix was/is held by AKLA. The libraries were in consensus on which project(s) would be put forward for funding. The matrix required appropriates pre-development planning, including going through CAPSIS. AKLA had the candidates ready to advance when the grant opportunity came forward. DCCED could then review the grant and match it to AKLAs matrix. Because the libraries worked together as they prepared for their shovel-ready project, legislators, funders, & the DCCED knew that the projects were ready and would be successful and excellent credibility was developed. 2:29:34 PM BETHANY BUCKINGHAM-FOLLETT, Curator, Dorothy G. Page Museum, Wasilla, Alaska, testified in support of SB 61, paraphrasing from the following written statement: The Mat-Su is the fastest growing area in the state. Economic development and a healthy community are on the minds of all in our area. The current museum building was built in 1931 as Wasilla's Community Hall. We honor that history and heritage by continuing to offer community programs including Wednesday Nights at the Museum, traveling exhibits, and providing a space for visitors to learn about Alaska. Through our programs and exhibits, we infuse history and culture into a learning experience our visitors take with them throughout their lives. Children who come on school tours bring their families and friends to enjoy the museum. Watching the connection from classroom learning to real world application at the museum, you see the students become the teachers; sharing what they have learned and what they know with their families and friends. Visitors come and learn about Dog Mushing, Gold Mining and Homesteading, not only of the Mat-Su but all of Alaska. As we strive to meet the growing needs of our audience, we find we have the opportunity to expand not only our programs, but our space to host those programs. For a Community Hall built for a town of about 100, we find we are bursting at the seams hosting events for visitors numbering 500 or more. We are in need of more space and updated technology. SB 61 is critical to our museum buildings and programming as we move towards celebrating 150 years of Alaskan history and the future of our communities. We currently host 700 third grade students each year and are projected to be serving close to 2100 students in three years. Senate Bill 61 is important to our museum and all museums around the state. This is an opportunity for Alaskan museums to create a healthy environment for patrons to learn about the community and the world around them. This would be completed through renovation and restoration of our current buildings. SB 61 provides the framework for Alaskans to support Museums and preserve our heritage. 2:32:44 PM EVA MALVICH, Director/Curator, Yupiit Piciryarait Museum, Bethel, Alaska, testified in support of SB 61, stating the following: I am the Director/Curator for the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum, a tribally run and managed museum based in Bethel. We are the only museum based in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Region and we support SB 6, the enabling legislation to support construction or renovation of museums and cultural centers around the state. Our area is home to Yup'ik and Cup'ik Eskimos and Athabaskan Indians. We have lived here for a millennia and our museum collection is full of objects showing how we lived over time - valuable objects that are priceless and full of information. Please support SB 61. This enabling legislation will allow our museum to better preserve our collection of Alaska Native objects here in the Y-K Delta region. The legislation will also provide our institution with the means to protect the right environment for priceless museum objects. Our HVAC was shut off over 13 years ago by our landlord, the Kuskokwim Campus. And our collection of animal hides, walrus ivory, and driftwood pieces are at risk of damage and loss. With this enabling legislation we can finally have a means to provide adequate services to the collection, and with this designation we would also be eligible to house objects that are taken out of federal lands in our area. We would be able to take care of objects in our own region and with more staff become a resource for archeologists and their projects in Southwest Alaska. As you know, with our coastline zeroed and we know there are historic sites in danger of becoming lost to the Bering Sea every year, our museum is more than just a building with walls around it. It is a valuable resource as well for many people and institutions. For instance, just this week I have worked with a group of fish skin sewers who enrolled for a week-long course in the evening at our local college. The group represents several generations from different backgrounds and cultural identities. The group had one thing in common - to learn how to prepare fish skin from scratch and to learn how to make garments, artwork and jewelry from this art form that is part of our cultural identity. I was fortunate to work with two students from the Kuskokwim Learning Academy this week - kids enrolled in an alternative boarding school at risk of dropping out of high school. These two young ladies are of Cup'ik and Yup'ik. I wanted these two young ladies to know that their culture and identity are worth preserving, and as part owners of this museum they need to know what we have in our collection. One of the students found a picture of her grandfather taken in 1962. He was a store manager at the time and she had never seen his image before at that age. We pulled out objects from her hometown and remarked about how skillful the artists are and that she has every right to be proud of her hometown and the family she is a part of. We talked about how I got to my role as Curator/Director. It took me 18 years to get my master of public administration degree - the only one in my large family of nine to graduate from high school and to go to college. As a mother of Yup'ik and Cup'ik boys, I want kids to know that they can do anything that they want to, and that nothing is out of their reach. The other young lady was able to relate to the objects in our collection and remarked how her uncle is teaching her how to make [indisc.] knives. She marveled at the condition of the knives in our collection, from artists that are no longer around. And I hope she picks up the carving knife and continues to hone her skills in carving and woodwork. I mentioned that we are planning a walrus ivory carving class and that I hope she joins us. I want her to know she lives in an area rich in her Yup'ik culture and that she has every right to be proud of who she is. Please support SB 61. This enabling legislation will allow our museum to grow to meet our customers' needs. Quyana for your time. CHAIR COSTELLO closed public testimony and held SB 61 in committee for further consideration.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
---|---|---|
2015.04.09 L&C Agenda.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
Agenda |
HB 149 - Version A.PDF |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HB 149 |
HB 149 am - Version A.A.PDF |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HB 149 |
HB 149 am - Senate L&C Hearing Request.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HB 149 |
HB 149 am - Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM SL&C 4/14/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HB 149 |
HB 149 am - Sectional Analysis.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HB 149 |
HB 149 am - Fiscal Note DCCED.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HB 149 |
HB 149 am - Summary of Changes.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HB 149 |
HB 149 am. - Legislation Diagram.PDF |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HB 149 |
SB 61 - Version A.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 61 |
SB 61 - Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 61 |
SB 61 - Sectional Summary.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 61 |
SB 61 - Support Resolution - FoJDCM.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 61 |
SB 61 - Support Letter - Milli Martin.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 61 |
SB 61 - Support Letter - City of Ketchikan.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 61 |
SB 61 - Support E-mail Donner.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 61 |
SB 61 - Resolution of Support - City of Ketchikan.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 61 |
SB 99 - Version W.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 99 |
SB 99 - Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 99 |
SB 99 - Sectional Summary.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 99 |
SB 99 - Title 4 Policy Brief.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 99 |
SB 99 - Title 4 Executive Summary.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 99 |
SB 99 - Title 4 Recommendations.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 99 |
SB 99 - Legislative Presentation.pdf |
SL&C 4/9/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 99 |