10/03/2002 01:15 PM House BUD
| Audio | Topic |
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT COMMITTEE ON
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET & AUDIT
October 3, 2002
1:15 p.m.
SENATE MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gene Therriault, Chair
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Gary Wilken, alternate
SENATE MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Jerry Ward
Senator Randy Phillips
Senator Dave Donley
HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Hugh Fate
Representative Ken Lancaster
Representative Bill Williams, alternate
HOUSE MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Eldon Mulder
Representative Reggie Joule
Representative John Harris
Representative John Davies, alternate
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
REVISED PROGRAMS (RPLs)
AUDIT REPORTS
AUDIT REQUESTS
VETERANS' HOME STUDY
FINAL REPORT ON FEDERAL REVIEW OF THE DIVISION OF FAMILY & YOUTH
SERVICES
PREVIOUS ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LARRY MEYERS, Deputy Director
Division of Tax
Department of Revenue
NICO BUS, Administrative Services Manager
Department of Natural Resources
JOHANNA MUNSON, Special Assistant
Department of Natural Resources
MARK MYERS, Director
Division of Oil & Gas
Department of Natural Resources
MICHAEL SHIFFER, Program Coordinator
Alaska Workforce Investment Office
Department of Labor & Workforce Development
PAT POLAND, Director
Division of Business & Community Development
Department of Community & Economic Development
P.O. Box 110800
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0800
TOM LAWSON, Director
Division of Administrative Services
Department of Community & Economic Development
P.O. Box 110800
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0800
PETE HALLGREN, City Administrator
Delta Junction
City of Delta Junction
P.O. Box 229
Delta Junction, Alaska 99737-0229
Phone: (907) 895-4656
FAX: (907) 895-4375
NAN THOMPSON, Chair-Commissioner
Regulatory Commissioner of Alaska
701 West Eighth Avenue, Suite 300
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
BOB STALNAKER, Information Systems
Administrative Services
Department of Environmental Conservation
410 Willoughby, Suite 303
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1795
YURI MORGAN, Legislative Staff
Denali Commission
510 L Street, Suite 410
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
TAPE 02-08, SIDE A
CHAIR GENE THERRIAULT called the Joint Committee on Legislative
Budget & Audit to order at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 3,
2002. Senators Therriault, Hoffman, Wilken, Representatives
Lancaster, Williams, and Representative Fate were all present at
the roll call.
REVISED PROGRAMS (RPLs)
RPL Number: 04-03-1005
CHAIR THERRIAULT announced that the first order of business
would be the RPLs. They were split into two groups and the
committee would move on those twelve RPLs with no technical
problems. Subcommittee staff were consulted on the RPLs. He
asked if any RPLs needed to be moved down to the full discussion
agenda.
SENATOR HOFFMAN stated he did not want to move the first RPL
down to the full discussion agenda but did have some questions
on the Motor Fuel Tax Compliance RPL number 04-03-1005.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked who was available to discuss RPL number
04-03-1005, Department of Revenue Motor Fuel Tax Compliance.
LARRY MEYERS, Deputy Director, Division of Tax, Department of
Revenue, was available.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked if the request for the RPL was due to
companies not being in compliance with the motor fuel tax and if
so, how much money was anticipated by performing the compliance
audits.
MR. MEYERS stated that the $8,000 for travel was primarily for
an auditor and wasn't really designated for a particular
function.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked if through the audit the division
envisioned finding people out of compliance and, if so, how much
was anticipated in collections. He inquired as to whether it be
more than the $8,000 to be spent on the audits.
MR. MEYERS stated that he couldn't guarantee that the money
received from the federal program would be more than what would
be expended.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked if it was anticipated that audit would
look at the portion of motor fuel tax that the state levies, the
5 percent for boats, 8 percent for highways, and for aviation.
MR. MEYERS replied yes, that is what it would be used for.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if there were further questions on that
RPL. Next, he brought up RPL number 10-03-4042, Department of
Natural Resources, Western North Slope Satellite Development
Project. He mentioned that the write-up from the administration
indicated that an agreement would be in place by October 3,
2002, and that had not taken place. He didn't see a problem
giving the authorization for the SDPR at this time. He was
concerned that it be made clear that the authorization for this
and any other RPLs with SDPR that the authorizations given were
for the specific projects named. If a particular project did
not happen then the department was not free to just accept SDPR
for something else.
SENATOR HOFFMAN had a question on RPL number 12-03-0101,
Department of Public Safety, Alaska Rural Village Fire
Suppression Capabilities. He wanted to request a copy of 29
villages that would be receiving critically needed fire
training.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE had a question on the 10-03-4044, Department
of Natural Resources, Point Thomson Project Coordinator.
NICO BUS, Administrative Services Manager, was on line to
discuss the RPL.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE asked how long it was envisioned that the
position would be around. He was interested in the duties of
the coordinator position.
MR. BUS stated the agreement would go through December 2003.
The position would be around as long as the services were needed
by the companies.
CHAIR THERRIAULT stated that subcommittee staff had told the
committee staff that the state had already hired Dick LeFebvre.
MR. BUS answered that yes, Mr. LeFebvre had been appointed and
after a favorable decision from the committee today, then he
would start charging his time to the Point Thomson project.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if he had been hired before the
department had the funds to pay for the position.
MR. BUS stated that if the RPL was not authorized, the
department would have to absorb the costs in another area
because Exxon was told that the department would expedite it.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked how long he had been on board.
JOHANNA MUNSON, Special Assistant to the Commissioner,
Department of Natural Resources, stated that Mr. LeFebvre was
appointed on July 24.
MARK MYERS, Director, Division of Oil & Gas, Department of
Natural Resources, addressed the chair's concerns. He stated
that one of the main reasons the coordinator position was needed
was to give input to the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency]
on the environmental impact statement. The initial development
would consist of about 75,000 barrels a day of gas cycling
liquids production. He went on to describe the unit expansion
requirements as being pretty aggressive. There are significant
penalties if the requirements are not met about $27.5 million.
The division did not want to be a roadblock and was working to
ensure the project went forward. It is a huge project for the
state. It was very important to get the coordinator up to speed
in working with EPA. He agreed the division may have jumped the
gun a little, but said it was all with good intentions.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if there were further questions with
the consent agenda. Seeing none, he asked for the motion.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee approve the RPLs
listed as a block under consent agenda [those RPLs were 04-03-
1005, Department of RevenueMotor Fuel Tax Compliance; RPL 06-03-
0124, Department of Health & Social Services, Far North Family
Support Project & Workforce Coordination Project;09-03-0020,
Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs, CIP-Anti-Terrorism
Activities;10-03-4038, Department of Natural Resources BLM/NPR-A
Coordination;10-03-4039, Department of Natural Resources, Alaska
Oil & Gas Exploration, Development & Permitting Project;10-03-
4040, Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Cadastral Project;
10-03-4041, Department of Natural Resources, BLM/Ring of Fire
Resource Management Plan; 10-03-4042, Department of Natural
Resources, Western North Slope Satellite Development Project;
10-03-4044, Department of Natural Resources, Point Thomson
Project Coordinator - Revised; 11-03-1066, Department of Fish &
Game, Increase SDPR for Harbor Seal Work; 12-03-0101, Department
of Public Safety, Alaska Rural Village Fire Suppression
Capabilities; 18-03-0359(CIP), Department of Environmental
Conservation, Public Drinking Water System Security]. There
being no objection, the consent portion of the RPLs agenda was
approved. He next moved to the full discussion portion of the
agenda.
RPL Number: 07-03-1036
MICHAEL SHIFFER, Program Coordinator, Alaska Workforce
Investment Office, Department of Labor & Workforce Development,
was present to discuss RPL 07-03-1036 on the Workforce
Investment Act & Denali Commission Grants.
DAVID TEAL, Director, Division of Legislative Finance, discussed
his findings on the RPL. He explained that the precise amount
and purpose of the authorization needed by the department was
unclear to his division. It appeared that the department used
existing authorization to put some of the money on the street
and this RPL would replace that federal authorization in
anticipation of future need. He explained that this was not a
major objection to the RPL they just wanted the committee to
understand the specific purposes of the money. APIC, the
Industry & Careers Consortium, has already been granted through
the Alaska Department of Labor [and Workforce Development] and
is related to another RPL later on the agenda. He wanted to
clarify that the money was not being used for what the RPL
states.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked the department to explain how the funding
had been switched around.
MR. SHIFFER, explained that there was a grant that came in from
the U.S. Department of Labor. The department chose to use some
existing authority knowing that they needed to spend that money
later in the year. As the year progressed along the department
found itself needing to spend the funds. He referenced the
carry forward money for the workforce investment grants that
were about to come due. The department was trying to be
responsive to get the funds out to the private nonprofit.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked which private nonprofit that was.
MR. SHIFFER responded that it was the Alaska Process Industry
Career Consortium. It is a collection of agencies that focus on
jobs in the oil & gas industries.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if this RPL had any new positions
associated with it.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee approve RPL number
07-03-1036. There being no objections, the RPL was approved.
RPL Number: 08-03-0103
CHAIR THERRIAULT moved next to RPL number 08-03-0103, Department
of Community & Economic Development, Delta Junction Missile
Defense Test Bed Facilities Impact, and asked if anyone was
present to explain the request.
MR. TEAL explained the Division of Legislative Finance's
position that the RPL would leave the department with about
$270,000 of authorization that appears to be surplus. Secondly,
as the original grant was about to be signed $9.7 million
another $9 million became available. There doesn't seem to be a
precise description of the projects.
PAT POLAND, Director, Division of Business & Community
Development, Department of Community & Economic Development,
spoke to the RPL. He explained that there is a long-term plan
between the Department of Missile Defense and the community of
Delta Junction. He had a list of projects from the community
and was prepared to share them with the meeting. The first
three years of funding was contained in the list.
SENATOR THERRIAULT explained the list would be faxed to the
members on teleconference. The community had been expecting to
get $9 million, and that list was shared with the legislature
during the budget cycle.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE clarified that those were pass-through funds
to be administered by Delta Junction.
MR. POLAND confirmed that.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked about the surplus of $270,000.
TOM LAWSON, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Community & Economic Development explained that
federal dollars will come in and then be passed on through to
the community. He figured there would be little if any interest
generated.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if any interest generated on the funds
would be counted as federal funds.
MR. LAWSON replied that was correct.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked whether, of things were passed through
quickly to the community and held in an account, any interest
would be accounted for separately and not on the state's books.
MR. LAWSON confirmed that was correct.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked about the $270,000 surplus funds, then,
and if the RPL couldn't just be approved for $270,000 less.
MR. LAWSON explained that the capital request was for $10
million, and then the grant came in a little less than that. As
far as the department was concerned, it would be fine to approve
it for less.
PETE HALLGREN, City Administrator, Delta Junction was on line
and testified that the full amount to be considered was $18
million. He offered to go through the projects being considered
by the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
(DOT&PF). He asked if the committee had a signed copy of the
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). He said he had received it
yesterday for a total of $18.3 million.
CHAIR THERRIAULT stated that if the department received
authorization for $10 million during the budget process and this
RPL was for $9 million, that didn't add up to $18.3 million.
SENATOR WILKEN asked if there was a list of the projects that
the funds would be spent on. He stated he saw where the $18.3
million would be spent.
MR. POLAND replied that there is a list of approved projects
that had been identified and studied and approved by the U.S.
Department of Defense (USDOD).
CHAIR THERRIAULT clarified that the list was the same that had
gone through the regular legislative budgetary projects.
MR. POLAND clarified that a number of the projects are fairly
large and were just now starting the design and engineering;
thus the costs may vary some and there might be some moving
around of the funds between the projects.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if there was the possibility of new
projects to be added.
MR. POLAND replied not without the approval of the Department of
Defense.
SENATOR HOFFMAN stated there seemed to be a lot of figures
running around. He asked about combining the FY 02 & FY 03
lists of projects. That added up to $23 million worth of
projects but didn't match the back up given the committee. He
said there was a need for reconciliation. He was concerned
about the commissioner signing the MOA without approval of the
Legislative Budget & Audit Committee.
MR. POLAND expected it was because DOD told the department that
there had to be a signed agreement in place before the deal
could be completed. Because it was FY 03 money the funds would
lapse. Because the department is simply a pass-through agency
they were trying to be helpful to USDOD and helpful to the
community.
CHAIR THERRIAULT clarified that signing the MOA did not obligate
the state. It simply states that if the funds materialize then
this agreement would already be in place.
SENATOR HOFFMAN said that if the committee does not take action
then the money does not pass through. He pointed out the
previous unsigned agreement had certain projects listed but the
signed agreement did not have the projects delineated.
MR. POLAND said the project were outlined in the backup.
MR. TEAL said there should be a list in the backup.
MR. HALLGREN said that the latest USDOD version of the list had
a complete break down of the $18.3 million. There were
approximately nine pages, with one major change in shifting from
one project to another. He explained that pool assistance was
$3.5 million, fire station addition was $3.2 million, ambulance
and fire truck were $.9 million, community landfill was $5.5
million, recreation center and library-city hall were $1.2
million, communications-TV tower was $480,000, postal service
programs were $270,000, education programs were $750,000, and
business loans were changed from $5 million to $2.5 million.
Basically, $2.5 million was switched from business loans to
school assistance. These are for FY 02 and 03. The higher
number referenced earlier was for FY 04, in addition.
CHAIR THERRIAULT confirmed that the funds totaled $18.3 million.
MR. HALLGREN confirmed that.
SENATOR HOFFMAN stated that the FY 02 - 04 document of funds
totaled closer to $30 million.
MR. POLAND stated that the study submitted to USDOD and the
community of Delta Junction have been working on the projects,
and the department simply viewed itself as the pass-through
agency.
MR. TEAL stated that it appeared that the list of capital
projects were what Delta Junction expects to pay for the entire
list of projects. So the totals would be larger because it also
includes the federal funds.
CHAIR THERRIAULT said he wanted to make sure that the committee
not approve more than the total for the projects.
MR. POLAND stated that department does not object to the
authorization being lowered.
MR. TEAL suggested that if the committee were going to reduce
the authorization, it consider doing so at the level of
$18,350,000 because there is a $50.0 administrative fee.
MR. POLAND said the department would need that authorization.
SEN. DONLEY asked if Senator Wilken were on line. He pointed to
the school construction figure of $11 million for two fiscal
years.
MR. POLAND said he didn't think that the school project had been
approved.
CHAIR THERRIAULT stated that the School District has a school in
Greely now being maintained in a warm status. He wasn't sure if
that school would be utilized.
SENATOR DONLEY wanted to know if this school district was paying
anything locally toward the school foundation formula costs.
SENATOR THERRIAULT stated that it was not an organized borough.
SENATOR DONLEY wanted to know how any of this money could be
utilized to offset some of those costs to the state since they
aren't paying any local taxes. He also wanted some guarantee
that the schools would be properly maintained. He thought some
of this money should go towards those costs instead of the
community relying on the people in the rest of the state.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said he wasn't sure that the federal
government was looking to step in and help with that. The
federal funds were being used to mitigate the negative impacts
of the federal projects.
SENATOR DONLEY said that the impacts from the base closure was
one of the reasons that the community didn't want to pay local
taxes to support their schools.
SENATOR WILKEN said that it seemed that there was $4.25 million
that was going toward education. He would like to know from the
Delta Greely school district where that money was going to be
applied. He also wanted to know if the $4.25 million was simply
a grant or if there was any local match money going towards it
as well.
MR. HALLGREN said he didn't speak for the school district but it
was 100 percent grant money and it was in the amount of $3.5
million to the school district. The other portion was $750,000
for education programs which will go to the city. He stated
that they were a second-class city and precluded by law from
having their own school district. There is a $30,000 grant to
study potential borough formation. None of the basis for the
money had to do with a desire not to pay for schools.
SENATOR WILKEN stated he understood and he looked forward to Mr.
Hallgren's support while working with the Delta-Greely Borough
to form their own government so they can pay for their
education. He also asked again for the list of projects. He
wanted to have a discussion about building a new school whether
or not the people would sign on to maintain it in the future.
He said he would not object to the request because it is time
sensitive.
CHAIR THERRIAULT said that the discussion will continue in the
future.
SENATOR WILKEN was concerned about where the $4.5 million would
be applied so that he could track it over the next two years to
assure it's being spent wisely. He also agreed with Senator
Donley that some of that money should be given to the state to
help replace the four mills requirement that the rest of the
people in the state are responsible for.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES was present on teleconference.
CHAIR THERRIAULT stated that the RPL did need to be reduced down
to $8,350 million.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee approve RPL 08-03-
0103 with the revised amount of $8,350 million. There being no
objection, the request was approved.
[There is no recording on Side B of Tape LBA 02-8.]
TAPE LBA 9, SIDE A
RPL Number: 08-03-0104
CHAIR THERRIAULT next moved to RPL number 08-03-0104 Department
of Community & Economic Development, Rural Alaska Internet
Access Grant Program.
MR. TEAL commented that the Division of Legislative Finance
found that it appeared that USDA would require some state or
local match. It was felt that the RCA's staff time would meet
the in-kind match. He was concerned that it might be
appropriate that the grant be administered in a different
division other than RCA.
NAN THOMPSON, Chair-Commissioner, Regulatory Commissioner of
Alaska, explained the RPL. The amount is variable in regard to
which community it is serving. These funds are directed towards
communities with a high rate of "not employed" and lower
populations. The amount of match is unknown because the federal
government was still reviewing the list of eligible communities.
She stated that it may go down. The community that is selected
as the beneficiary will be the one that puts up the match. Use
of community facilities may be considered as a match. The RCA
would not be hiring anyone new to be administering the grant
moneys.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked Tom Lawson about match funds and whether
the department was planning to supply some of that.
MR. LAWSON said it was his understanding that the money would
come from the local communities. It was still being worked out
which division in the department would be administering the
grants.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if it would be handled by an unbudgeted
RSA.
MR. LAWSON replied that would be a likely means.
MS. THOMPSON said that staff time could be used as a match and
that was acceptable to USDOD.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked about a percentage for match from the
communities.
MS. THOMPSON replied that twenty percent would be the high end
under the federal guidelines and can be reduced based on a
showing of economic distress on the community. She said that
they were in the process of defining which communities will be
eligible to receive the funds.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if this was just half the money needed
for the projects.
MS. THOMPSON said only part of the money was put out at this
time and the other would be cycled through next fiscal year.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE asked whether the future funds would come in
under the same requirements as they are now.
MS. THOMPSON stated that is USDA's choice and it would be her
intent that the match requirements remain the same.
SENATOR WILKEN had to leave the meeting.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES asked about funds would be available in
the future would they be additional communities served. He
wanted to know if the projects would be self-contained.
MS. THOMPSON said that was something that was looked at closely.
They needed to be self-supporting.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee approve RPL number
08-03-0104.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked for a roll call vote.
YEAS: Senators Donley, Hoffman, Therriault, Representative
Joule, Lancaster, Williams, Davies, and Fate.
NAYS: 0
The motion passed 8-0.
RPL number: 08-03-0108
CHAIR THERRIAULT moved to RPL number 08-03-0108, Department of
Community & Economic Development, Alaska Process Industry
Partnership.
MR. TEAL explained that the comments from the Division of
Legislative Finance are related to the previous RPL number 07-
03-1036. This money flowed from US Department of Labor to APIC
and now back to the Department Community & Economic Development
(DCED). It is related and is now coming back into the state as
SDPR which is the correct classification.
CHAIR THERRIAULT clarified that the position that was vacant was
now being filled.
MR. LAWSON explained that when this funding surfaced the
department chose to leave this position on the books and it is
being reclassified as an exempt position.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee approve RPL 08-03-
0108. There being no objection, the request was approved.
CHAIR THERRIAULT stated that Mr. Teal had disclosed that his
wife was working on this project and may be the one to fill the
position in the future.
RPL number 18-03-0358
CHAIR THERRIAULT moved next to RPL number 18-03-0358, Department
of Environmental Conservation.
MR. TEAL explained that this RPL was a request for capital funds
and there is no existing capital project to which money could be
added and believed that this was an incorrect classification.
If it were "reclassed" as an operating request it should be
revised to reflect only the FY 03 amount and drop the FY 04
amount. That would revise it from $715,707 down to $361,500.
BOB STALNAKER, Administrative Services, Department of
Environmental Conservation, explained that there was no
objection from the department. He clarified that it was two
grants from EPA that help to get all the data integrated from
different programs. One was an internal and one was external
integration.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee approve RPL number
18-03-0358, revised to an operating request and down to
$361,500. There being no object to the motion, the RPL was
approved.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee move into executive
session for the purpose of discussing confidential audit reports
under AS 24.20.301.
AUDIT REPORTS
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that committee return to regular
session following the executive session at 2:55 p.m. No
objection was made.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the following final audits be
released to the agencies for response. Those audit reports were
[Department of Revenue, Treasury Revenue Management System,
Department of Community & Economic Development, State Medical
Board, Department of Community & Economic Development, Board of
Nursing, Department of Community & Economic Development, Board
of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives]. There were no objections
to the motions to release the preliminary audits.
AUDIT REQUEST
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee approve an audit
request by Senator Donley on the Department of Transportation &
Public Facilities.
SENATOR DONLEY spoke about the efficiency of the department due
to the some 70 layoffs. He asked that the construction of road
projects in the state be compared with that of other states.
MS. DAVIDSON, Legislative Auditor spoke to the request. She
thought the audit would not be started until April or May and a
specialist would have to be hired to help them. She stated she
may need to come back to the committee for approval of a
contract to do so. It would provide a very interesting look of
the inner workings of DOT&PF to the legislature.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said he had spoken with Ms. Davidson about
the budget aspect of this request.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE said this would provide a model for studying
the efficiencies of a program and would be helpful in looking at
other departments.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked about the timing of preliminary response.
MS. DAVIDSON said she had spoken with Senator Donley's staff
about that issue and they were agreeable.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES encouraged Ms. Davidson to hire the
independent engineer for that expertise.
SENATOR THERRIAULT spoke again about the budget issues.
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE asked about the quality control aspect of
the project.
SENATOR DONLEY said that the quality control would be part of
the process of making sure there was a decent project in the
planning and construction phase. He is interested in how our
quality control compares with other states.
MS. DAVIDSON stated that it would be addressed in a micro and
macro levels. DOT&PF has a couple of groups that already do
that. As the benchmarks are set, those things will be looked at
overall.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES asked about the scope of the audit, and
whether or not it would include aviation as well.
SENATOR DONLEY stated that his interest was in the road
construction projects and did not reference the airport issues.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE moved that the committee approve the audit
request of DOT&PF benchmarks. There being no objection, the
request was approved.
VETERANS' HOME STUDY
SENATOR THERRIAULT spoke about the veterans' home study and
informed the committee that the RFP was in the process of being
written. Staff was looking at an Oregon study to sort of model
after it. A draft had been prepared.
MS. DAVIDSON spoke about the draft RFP. As a result of
discussions taking place, she recommended that the committee
phase the study. The veterans' groups were looking for a study
to be completed to support an application to the Department of
Veterans' Affairs for the acquisition of a housing grant. They
were very helpful in providing information. She referenced an
earlier discussion of the committee that several options be
looked at, rather than just a stand-alone home.
MS. DAVIDSON stated that there needed to be a needs assessment,
an economic feasibility study, and then look at what approach
should be taken. The first phase would be the identification of
the needs assessment and then the feasibility of the options.
Then, from there the legislature can evaluate the results of
that and recommend which direction to take. The RFP should be
let for $150,000 for this first phase.
MS. DAVIDSON explained that the first phase should be done
towards the end of FY 03, and then the rest of the money would
need to be reappropriated for further study to be done by the
beginning of the next session.
SENATOR THERRIAULT spoke about making application to the federal
government. It made sense that the legislature not make the
actual application; that would be more appropriate coming from
the administration. He agreed there would be quite a bit of
work to be done in determining what the needs of veterans were.
He wanted to make sure that phasing the project was acceptable
to the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES agreed that the phasing made a lot of
sense.
[There is no recording on Side B of Tape LBA 02-9.]
TAPE LBA 02-10, SIDE A
FINAL REPORT ON THE FEDERAL REVIEW OF DIVISION OF FAMILY & YOUTH
SERVICES REPORT
MS. DAVIDSON next spoke about the Final Report on the Federal
Child & Family Services. The report was different from a
Legislative Audit report. This report gives a broad based view
of how well DFYS is doing. Representative Fate's original audit
request was primarily on the welfare of children in state
custody. She gave an overview of the findings of the federal
review report.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked if there was an overall rating for the
Department.
MS. DAVIDSON stated that the department showed non-compliance on
7 of the 10 main issues. There was no overall rating.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE stated he didn't feel that this was adequate
to address his concerns. Several things have not been looked at
one of which was the medical conditions of the children going
into the foster homes. His concerns were mainly focused on what
the medical condition is or was at the time the child went into
the home or whether or not the condition was contracted while in
the home. The concerns came about after several deaths occurred
in the foster homes. He felt disappointed with the federal
review and felt as though the committee didn't have the answers
he was looking for.
MS. DAVIDSON stated that the review was run strictly on federal
guidelines and she knew that the state audit staff was not going
to be involved in that aspect. After getting into the review
substantially the state audit staff did not know what aspects of
medical conditions would be looked at. She proposed that the
committee expand the scope of an on-going audit. She stated
that there are two on going audits of DFYS and they are not
really related, but with the committee's approval she could
identify those specific areas that needed to be looked at and
bring those into one of the existing audits. She felt this
would result in a more timely answer to the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE stated that would be fine. He explained he
had been a foster parent and would like to see those answers.
SENATOR THERRIAULT pointed out that the federal report did touch
on the medical condition of the children in cases that were
reviewed. He thought the auditors could use some of the
information of the federal review and expand on it.
MS. DAVIDSON agreed that DFYS does not do adequate work and with
additional audit review they could identify better to the extent
that the division is not doing an adequate job. She explained
that they would look further into regional issues, a statewide
deficiency, a particular medical or mental health type issues
that are not being done. She felt a better evaluation would
result.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if there should be an actual motion to
expand one of those audits.
MS. DAVIDSON explained that her recommendation would be that she
be given the opportunity to talk to Representative Fate to get a
clear understanding of what should be done and then take it up
at the next meeting.
REPRESENTATIVE LANCASTER asked who would be coming up with the
program improvement plan.
MS. DAVIDSON said she would not be involved in developing the
program improvement plan. She would monitor it and get it out
to the committee. It would be DFYS and the commission on Child
Protection called together by Governor Knowles to look at
adoption issues and other issues may result with comments from
the Alaska Court System.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES asked what Ms. Davidson's sense of how
DFYS views the findings of the report. He wanted to know if
they were on track to producing the plan.
MS. DAVIDSON stated she believed the department was in agreement
with the review. There was an issue with the training of the
social workers and DFYS had asked the federal reviewers to take
another look at that finding. It was changed to "in compliance"
and identified the improvements that DFYS had made in that area.
DFYS has bought into the process and committed substantial
resources to the review and taking the program improvement plan
seriously.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES asked, in the case of lower-priority
reports of harm, whether or not DFYS was going to specifically
deal with that issue.
MS. DAVIDSON stated that her understanding was that they would
have to address it. She stated she hadn't seen the plan but
thought they had 30-60 days to respond.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES said that was one area he would like
addressed.
CHAIR THERRIAULT moved on to the school district budget waivers.
He stated he had received them and the department and board
would be holding a teleconference later in the week. He stated
he had scanned a number of them and noticed there were some
districts that are taking further steps to come into compliance.
Others were claiming that the cost of insurance was rising and
that was causing them from moving closer to compliance this
year. He would be going through them. Next, he gave a brief
update on the school cost study. He stated that the oversight
committee would be meeting with the contractor and a couple of
the representatives from ALASBO to participate at that meeting.
SENATOR THERRIAULT stated that the next meeting would be
tentatively set for November 13. He introduced Yuri Morgan as
the new committee staff person at the Denali Commission.
YURI MORGAN, Legislative Staff, Denali Commission, gave a brief
overview of his position, stating his primary job was to be a
resource to the committee. He would be working on energy and on
health and safety, the two primary issues being worked on.
SENATOR THERRIAULT stated that Mr. Morgan was the contact for
any information that might be needed by committee members.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
meeting was adjourned at 4:25 p.m.
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