Legislature(2001 - 2002)
01/16/2002 01:44 PM House FIN
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
January 16, 2002
1:44 P.M.
TAPE HFC 02 - 3, Side A
TAPE HFC 02 - 3, Side B
TAPE HFC 02 - 4, Side A
TAPE HFC 02 - 4, Side B
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Mulder called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:44 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Eldon Mulder, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Williams, Co-Chair
Representative Con Bunde, Vice-Chair
Representative Eric Croft
Representative John Davies
Representative Richard Foster
Representative John Harris
Representative Bill Hudson
Representative Ken Lancaster
Representative Jim Whitaker
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Moses
ALSO PRESENT
Representative Lisa Murkowski; Shirley Holloway,
Commissioner, Department of Education and Early Development;
Dr. Ed McLain, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Education
& Early Development; Mark Leal, Statewide Assessment
Coordinator, Teaching & Learning Support Division,
Department of Education & Early Development; Karen Rehfeld,
Director, Division of Education Support Services, Department
of Education and Early Development; Yvonne Chase, Deputy
Commissioner, Early Education, Department of Education and
Early Development; Deborah Sedwick, Commissioner, Department
of Community and Economic Development; Michelle Brown,
Commissioner, Department of Environmental Conservation; Jeff
Bush, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Community and
Economic Development; Tom Lawson, Administrative Director,
Department of Community & Economic Development; Barbara
Frank, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Environmental Conservation; Barbara Belknap,
Executive Director, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute,
Department of Community and Economic Development.
GENERAL SUBJECT(S):
Missions and Measures Reports:
Department of Education & Early Development
Department of Community & Economic Development
Department of Environmental Conservation
The following overview was taken in log note format. Tapes
and handouts will be on file with the House Finance
Committee through the 22nd Legislative Session, contact 465-
2156. After the 22nd Legislative Session they will be
available through the Legislative Library at 465-3808.
LOG SPEAKER DISCUSSION
TAPE HFC 02 - 3
SIDE A
000 CO-CHAIR MULDER Opened the House Finance Committee
meeting at 1:44 P.M.
*malfunctioning tape*
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & EARLY
DEVELOPMENT
008 SHIRLEY HOLLOWAY, Introduced Dr. Ed McLain and Yvonne
COMMISSIONER, Chase, Deputy Commissioners for here
DEPARTMENT OF Department and additional staff Mark
EDUCATION AND EARLY Lean, Statewide Assessment Coordinator.
DEVELOPMENT Commissioner Holloway provided members
with the Department's handout. [Copy on
File].
106 Commissioner Noted that the Department would provide
Holloway an assessment workshop for legislators
and staff indicating the details of the
statewide assessment system and the
impact of the additional assessment
requirements included in reauthorization
of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA). Commissioner Holloway spoke
to Governor Hickel's Alaska 2000 plan
established to improve public schools.
That was based on implementing standards
so that as Alaskans, we could decide what
our students should know and be able to
do at each grade level. The
Knowles/Ulmer administration continued
and built on the plan through the Quality
Schools Initiative. The Alaska standards
are the basis for assessment system in
the areas of reading, writing &
mathematics.
286 COMMISSIONER Pointed out that the Department has 61
HOLLOWAY measures within the current status. Both
benchmark and background information for
each of the measures that was developed
jointly with the legislative last session
would be addressed.
369 Commissioner Noted that the Department would focus on
Holloway four measures relating to student
assessment. Commissioner Holloway
referenced Page #3 of the handout. The
measure provides the percentage of
students who meet the proficiency level
in the benchmark assessments in Grades 3,
6, & 8. The chart indicates the
proficient in reading, writing, and math
on the benchmark exam, Spring 2001. The
data from the assessment helps parents
understand where their child is
academically, and helps teachers tailor
instruction to specific needs of the
students.
454 Commissioner Referenced Page #4. These figures
Holloway provide additional information to show
how the 2001-benchmark results compared
th
to the results from grades 3,6, & 8
students tested in the spring 2000.
520 Commissioner Noted that the Department is not seeing
Holloway any significant change in the proficiency
levels or the participation rates on the
benchmark examinations. With only two
administrations, there is not sufficient
data yet to see trends emerging, however,
the data does show that the overall
participation rate was good.
596 Commissioner Added that the department provided
Holloway individual and aggregated results to
school districts in late May, 2001 to
help schools and districts evaluate
programs and intervention efforts, to
identify students needing additional
assistance in the 2001/2002 school year
and to develop direct student
intervention programs to improve student
achievement.
608 Co-Chair Mulder Asked about the low score in the math
component for the 8th grade level, the
39% percentile.
666 Commissioner Explained that zero has been written
Holloway regarding that concern.
687 DR. ED MCLAIN, Added that concern had been noticed by
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, the State. He thought that it could be
DEPARTMENT OF in part resulted from the higher standard
EDUCATION AND EARLY established at that grade level. He
DEVELOPMENT pointed out that would be determined next
year when the new standard goes into
effect. He noted that the proficient
level has been raised, which could
account for the drops.
775 MARK LEAL, STATEWIDE Pointed out that the graph is a clear
ASSESSMENT listing of what the State's mathematical
COORDINATOR, proficiency is. What is being attempted
TEACHING AND to determine is the level of students
LEARNING SUPPORT that are capable in making that
DIVISION, DEPARTMENT proficiency. He suggested that next
OF EDUCATION & EARLY year's scores could mirror those results.
DEVELOPMENT
848 Co-Chair Mulder Requested further clarification regarding
that concern.
863 Mr. Leal Thought that there could be an
incremental increase in that number but
noted that there was not yet enough data
to make that determination.
888 Co-Chair Mulder Asked if that was a minimum proficiency
level.
899 Commissioner Explained that those numbers were not yet
Holloway established. There is room for some
change.
916 Mr. Leal Added that the benchmark consists of four
categories. What is listed is the top
level.
949 Vice-Chair Bunde Questioned if there was a correlation
between dropping levels and raised
hormone levels. He inquired about
refining and improving the assessment and
reducing the time line. Vice-Chair Bunde
referenced the value, which has been
added to the assessment.
1070 Commissioner Interjected that the improvements would
Holloway change in the high school assessment.
She noted that the Department does not
want to discuss the possibility of
lowering the standard; the refining and
refocusing should be discussed.
Commissioner Holloway stated that timing
was an issue. There are issues regarding
how quickly the results are getting into
the correct hands. The value is in
achieving the data.
1158 Commissioner Addressed the "value added" concept. She
Holloway added that the designator system should
also be addressed.
1179 Dr. McLain Indicated that the value added with the
unique identifier discussion would be
made which would allow modification of
the student's performance.
1222 Vice-Chair Bunde Commented on value added-a testing when
the child enters in and then tested again
at the end of the year. That result
would determine the value that student
has achieved.
1249 Mr. Leal Pointed out that the turn around time
currently is 9 weeks. He added that some
of the problem is getting the test
booklets in the spring. Mr. Leal
recommended that the test window could be
moved a little. Mr. Leal added that the
Department is looking at ways to make the
test more accessible to the teachers.
1300 Representative Asked if there was a difference between
Davies the junior high and high school level
test.
1342 Commissioner Replied that there was a difference
Holloway between the benchmark assessments and the
refined criteria. She questioned if the
direction of the Department is where the
State wants to go. Commissioner Holloway
spoke to review of the essential skills.
1389 Dr. McLain Stated that benchmarks provide
information regarding how the kids do in
each of the four groups. He pointed out
that the high school qualifying exams do
look similar. That test was designed to
determine the essential skills. The
refining group addresses the essential
skill ideas. He added that the standards
are above and outside of the essential
competencies. Dr. McLain stated that
concern would be addressed later in the
Department's report.
1464 REPRESENTATIVE LISA Questioned what would happen to the mass
MURKOWSKI students when they hit 8th grade. She
referenced the "CAT" testing and asked if
it would be possible to determine if
those scores would detract.
1507 Commissioner Explained that the next measure would
Holloway address that concern-Page 5. A test
items will be addressed at each test
level and the Department would be working
at the comparability level between grades
3 and 8. She pointed out that the CAT/5
was finished in 1990 and that the current
standards are higher than those done in
1990.
1571 Mr. Leal Interjected that the importance of the
norming period could not be stressed
enough. The Department continues to
administer a norm-referenced assessment,
linked to Alaska performance standards,
at grades 4, 5, 7, and 9. The norming
period would provide comparisons from
1990 to last year. He stressed that a
lot has happened in education in those
years. He acknowledged that the
assessment was more comprehensive than
the CAT/5. The battery is complete and
this is a richer assessment. He
reiterated that the new norming periods
are very important.
1644 Representative Asked if it was anticipated that this
Murkowski would tie in better with the current
system being used.
1656 Vice-Chair Bunde Recommended using a different standard to
increase the class.
1685 Commissioner Stated that the value was that the test
Holloway results would not be taken as a
percentile ranking. The test items will
be testing the kids on the standards that
the State decides that they want our kids
to be able to accomplish. If there are
big discrepancies between how well
students are doing on the benchmark and
norm records, then the Department will
need to determine the level of difficulty
of those.
1711 Mr. Leal Added that there are safe guards. This
is a national test and there are
practices, which the test contractor must
adhere to. There are studies, which will
compare the test results with the
national assessment of educational
progress.
*tape working*
1737 Commissioner Referenced Page 5- the percentage of
Holloway students performing above the national
average on State adopted norm-referenced
tests.
1755 Commissioner The chart in the middle of the page shows
Holloway how our students performed on the
California Achievement Test/Version 5, in
grades 4 & 7 in the spring of 2001.
1798 Commissioner The benchmark comparisons near the bottom
Holloway of the page provides a view of student
achievement over time. The number of
students scoring in the top quartile is
very good. During this school year, the
Department has upgraded the norm-
referenced test to the TerraNova-
California Achievement Test, version #6.
The Department is recommending
legislation that will change the
implementation date for the school
designator to mirror the 2004 effective
date for passage of the high school
graduation-qualifying exam in order to
receive a diploma. The additional time
will allow the Department to align with
the new requirements of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act to avoid
duplication, to collect the data
necessary to measure growth and to build
the capacity to effectively collect,
analyze and use the data.
1858 Representative Croft Referenced Page 5, the CAT scores, and
noticed that from math from grade 4
through grade 7, the continuum is on 5.
He asked the standard compared to the
rest of the nation noting that the State
does poorly on its own benchmarks.
1892 Commissioner Responded that the State does not know
Holloway the comparability quality. Standards are
not being tested. Some math is being
tested but the State does not know what
the relationship is to the benchmark
items. She suggested that it was
consistent between norm reference and
criterion reference.
1931 Representative Croft He stated that the State knows that our
7th & 8th graders are in the 65% in math
in the nation yet only one-third of them
are performing, as the State would like.
He commented that there is a disconnect
somewhere.
1956 Co-Chair Mulder Stated that we do not know if there is a
correlation between the two. He agreed
that Representative Croft's assessment
was correct but the answer is not known.
1971 Representative Asked why there is so much uncertainty in
Davies comparison with the nationally norm test
and if they are mirroring the State's
norm requirements. Either they match the
State's requirements or they don't.
1995 Commissioner Suggested that there is another issue and
Holloway that is what is being taught.
2006 Representative Restated the same question. Once the
Davies alignment is done, the scores should go
higher.
2019 Mr. Leal Observed that two different things were
being addressed. The standards and
whether the test measures the standards.
From that point, when looking at the
benchmark tests, the standards for that
were set by what Alaskans felt a
proficient student should be able to
know. The scores from the norm-
referenced test compare our student's
level of performance against the rest of
the students in the nation. One would
assume that what the standards cover
would be inline, however, they do not
line up. The State is attempting to
increase the standard for the students
and how our students perform compared to
students across the nation.
2093 Co-Chair Mulder Summarized the comments made by Mr. Leal.
2102 Dr. McLain Pointed out that this brings up the
highlights between criterion and records.
It indicates that the proficiency and the
records could be independent from one
another. The norm reference and the
criterion reference is a major
consideration.
2156 Vice-Chair Bunde Asked if the CAT test had been given over
a three-day period.
2168 Mr. Leal Replied that the new CAT test consists
with about five hours worth of testing.
It could be given all in the same three-
day period or it could be spread out over
a longer period of time, as long as it is
within the time for each portion.
2201 Vice-Chair Bunde Spoke to fatigue of a student with a
three-day testing period.
2208 Commissioner Referenced Page #6 - the measure of the
Holloway percentage of students who took and
passed the State high school graduation-
qualifying exam in the current school
year.
2246 Commissioner The data does show that the participation
Holloway range is good. The State is requiring
that all students take the exam for the
first time in the spring of their
sophomore year. After that, the test is
offered each fall and spring to provide
additional opportunities for students to
take the portions they have not yet
passed. The data shows that fewer
students scored as proficient in math
than in reading or writing. The
legislature was clear in passing SB 133
that the competency exam is to measure
the minimum competency essential skills
for all high school graduates. This
spring, the Department will administer a
new, refocused version of the HSGQE.
That version will contain questions
measuring the minimum competencies of
essential skills. It is important to
remember that the performance standards
are still the same. The refinement is
crucial to measuring what to expect all
high school graduates to know and be able
to do.
2311 Commissioner Because of the changes in emphasis on the
Holloway test, the Department will need to set new
passing scores in the summer of 2002.
TAPE HFC 02 - 3, Side B
001 Co-Chair Mulder Asked about the percentage of students
allowed to take the exam and that it was
both sophomores and juniors. He thought
that rates should improve by allowing
them to take it twice.
053 Commissioner Suggested that Measure #4 indicates that
Holloway with each administration of the test,
more students become proficient.
068 Vice-Chair Bunde Asked about the degree programs and the
participation rates in the tests. He
suggested an attachment to the foundation
formula regarding coming to school and
following school rules.
Commissioner Agreed that the participation rates are
319 Holloway not as high as they need to be to make
sure that every student is taking the
exam. The fourth measure addresses the
percentage of students in high school
grade level who pass the state high
school graduation-qualifying exam on a
cumulative basis.
458 Commissioner One of the largest challenges that the
Holloway State has is the ability to follow the
individual students that make up each
graduating class through the assessment
system as they move in and out of the
State and between districts, schools and
programs.
563 Commissioner This year, the State will begin to assign
Holloway a student identifier to all students in
the State. Implementation of the unique
student identifier will be the key to
monitoring and reporting achievement data
more effectively. Referenced page 9 of
the handout. The Class of 2004 will be
the first to meet the new standards.
626 Commissioner Referenced Page 12, 13, 14, & 15 includes
Holloway pages of State assessment results for the
year 2001.
685 Commissioner Pointed out that there are a number of
Holloway districts that do not have any results
reported. That is because of the federal
confidentiality requirement and the
family rights and privacy act that
prohibits the release of any personally
identifiable student information without
the consent of parents. If there are
fewer than 10 students, that law is in
effect. The practice is consistent with
the federal guidelines. Approximately
145 schools have less than 1- students at
rd
the 3 grade level.
721 Vice-Chair Bunde Asked what the intent of that.
750 Commissioner Responded that it has taken a lot of work
Holloway across the State to determine the student
identifier number. There have been good
results from doing that program.
789 Dr. McLain The identifier will be a piece of data
with the smaller districts that will be
attached to the kid's folders. That
information will be protected in the same
way as will all other information
regarding that student. The gross
numbers will not be used such as the
social security numbers. Only the
numbers generated by the State office
will be used. That information will be
used to monitor student's enrollment for
fiscal reasons.
847 Commissioner Another positive provided with that
Holloway information is that with more students &
families selecting education in a menu
fashion, so that the appropriate amount
of funds goes to the appropriate place.
879 Vice-Chair Bunde Commented on the foundation formula
verifiability.
898 Representative Croft Referenced page 8 and the reductions in
the figures for each of those years.
936 Commissioner Thanked the Committee for their time and
Holloway attention. She encouraged the
subcommittee members to work with Yvonne
Chase, Deputy Commissioner, in the Early
Development aspects.
965 Co-Chair Mulder Commented that the full Committee will go
over those measurements. He inquired
about the new federal law requirements.
994 Commissioner Replied that there will be additional
Holloway requirements. The Department will need
to work with the Committee to "shore" up
those commitments. The "devil" will be
in the implementation of those criteria
into the small schools. You stated that
there will needs to be one system to hold
the schools accountable for. She noted
that she hoped the Alaska children would
benefit from those changes.
1066 Representative Observed that it is important to improve
Davies reading in the State. He asked if it
would be fruit-full to have a briefing on
the designator concerns.
1095 Commissioner Responded that the Department would
Holloway appreciate that opportunity because there
are a group of Alaskans who have worked
hard on the issue. A lot has been
learned from other states. In all states
involved in school reform, there has been
some backtracking.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
1502 DEBORAH B. SEDWICK, Provided Committee members with a
COMMISSIONER, handout. [Copy on File]. Commissioner
DEPARTMENT OF Sedwick referenced the handout and asked
COMMUNITY AND to provide an overview of the
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Department's measurements only.
1587 Commissioner Sedwick Listed the four major goals of the
Department. She pointed out that there
are 7 divisions and 6 agencies within the
Department to accomplish the 58 measures.
The first measure highlighted is on Page
7.
1646 Commissioner Sedwick That measure will address the change in
the number of the CDQ-related jobs in the
Western Alaska. There were 1834 CDQ
related jobs created in 2000, an increase
from 1339 in 1999. The employment
includes positions on offshore factory
trawlers, onshore processing plants, CDQ
halibut and salmon plants, local halibut
fisheries and various management and
administrative jobs within the six CDQ
groups. More jobs will be created and
the program will be on target for FY03
due to the increase in CDQ ownership.
1694 Commissioner Sedwick Pointed out that the CDQ program no
longer relies on general fund monies.
Last year, the Legislature created a CDQ
fee and authorization program to pay for
running the program.
1713 Commissioner Sedwick Work on the regulatory process and relax
some of the original process. That group
needs more independence.
1737 Co-Chair Mulder Recommended that the total and net income
indicated and how it would relate to the
number of jobs.
1760 JEFF BUSH, DEPUTY Spoke to the net assets of the program
COMMISSIONER, and how to measure those. The program
DEPARTMENT OF net worth assets are $150 million
COMMUNITY AND dollars. The value of the jobs is
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT difficult to determine. The groups can
report what the average factory troller
makes. It is more difficult to explain
how the CDQ group has created a halibut-
fishing mecca. What those earnings are
cannot necessarily be reported.
1816 Co-Chair Mulder Suggested reporting the total salaries
paid out. He acknowledged that could be
difficult.
1831 Mr. Bush Replied that salaries are something that
the CDQ groups actually does but a number
of the employees are not salary related.
They are estimates by the group on how
many jobs are created annually. The
groups report differently and the numbers
are not reliable. The same groups have
been reporting the same statistics over a
long period and for comparison purposes
the numbers are accurate.
1883 Representative Asked if the statistics reflect jobs just
Hudson in that industry or all seafood related
activities.
1899 Mr. Bush Only the seafood reports related to the
industry jobs and those relative to their
CDQ communities. There are many other
jobs created by that program.
1925 Representative Are they Alaska residents in all cases or
Hudson are there imported employees for some of
the jobs.
1926 Mr. Bush The recorded numbers are for Alaskan
residents living in those communities.
1948 Commissioner Sedwick Referenced Page 11 #2- International
Trade and Marketing Development - the
increase in the number of Alaska firms
that export products and services. The
number represents a 10% increase from
1998. The target proposal is to meet or
exceed the national rate of growth of the
number of exporting companies of 7.5%
1976 Commissioner Sedwick Alaska exported about $2.5 billion
dollars worth of goods in 2000, about the
same as 1999. Alaska's export in the
first half of 2001 decreased about 15%
largely due to the change in destination
at North Slope oil now being sent to
refineries in the lower '48.
2015 Commissioner Sedwick Measure for the Division of Investments -
Page 14. The measure will determine
whether the division maintains the
proportion of commercial fishing permits
held by Alaskans at 75% of higher through
the Commercial Fishing Revolving Loan
Fund.
2060 Commissioner Sedwick In FY99 & 00, the proportion of permits
held by Alaskans was 78%. From FY96 to
FY98, the proportion of permits held by
Alaskans was 77%. The maximum loan amount
is $30,000 for each borrower with an
anticipated loan amount of $1.5 million
dollars over the two-year period.
2073 Commissioner Sedwick AIDEA - Page 18 - the number of permanent
jobs created.
2098 Commissioner Sedwick Background - the number of permanent jobs
dropped from Fy00 to FY01 primarily due
to a drop in loans funded, from $30.9
million in FY00 to $9.9 million dollars
in FY01. The drop in findings is due
primarily to a large construction
projects that AIDEA committed to but was
not able to complete. There is often a
lag time of 60 days to one year for
finishing those jobs.
2144 Commissioner Sedwick Provided examples to Committee members of
the AIDEA work jobs. There was an
11,000-foot fitness club just finished in
Homer that created 50 construction jobs
and then 30 permanent jobs. There was a
wholesale distribution restaurant and
janitorial supplies that covered north of
the Alaska Range that created 75
construction jobs and 5 permanent jobs.
2210 Representative Could any of the mentioned projects
Hudson receive funding from private sources.
2222 Commissioner Sedwick Replied that all of the entities
mentioned were bankable. It is often
times less expensive from an interest
point of view. The banks do come to the
State in partnership with the private
sector member.
2261 Representative Asked if the State assumes risk.
Hudson
2269 Commissioner Sedwick Replied that the State is participating
and sometimes has small risks. The State
is not interested in taking on a great
deal of risk but will take a little
depending on the up side of the project.
2286 Co-Chair Mulder Suggested that the banks would not be as
aggressive without AIDEA.
2301 Commissioner Sedwick Agreed. If a potential upside exists,
the Department will take a serious look
at the request.
2313 Co-Chair Mulder Asked about the loan interest rate drop.
He asked if there had been a decrease in
requests or available resources.
2340 Commissioner Sedwick Responded that it has a lot to do with
what is brought forward at any given
time. That can change substantially from
year to year. The Department tries to
take on projects that make sense and
create diversity in the State's economy.
2369 Co-Chair Mulder Pointed out that AIDEA makes money by
loaning money.
TAPE HFC 02 - 4, Side A
000 Commissioner Sedwick Spoke to the State's benefit to the
partnerships. AIDEA is not as aggressive
as a private bank would be and that is
not a part of the mission of the
Department.
053 Representative Asked if the State has the same working
Lancaster relationship with Wells Fargo as it did
with National Bank of Alaska.
086 Commissioner Sedwick Replied that there is a very good
relationship with Wells Fargo Bank. They
have been helpful in terms of the
international business.
108 Co-Chair Mulder Asked why AIDEA was needed as much with
the cheap interest rates.
139 Commissioner Sedwick Explained that if AIDEA is part of the
package, then they would be part of a
refinancing package and one could not
happen without the other.
159 Representative Thought if there was a lot of refinancing
Davies there would not a lot of new jobs being
created.
193 Commissioner Sedwick Agreed, however, jobs would be maintained
and strengthened though those businesses.
From a banking institutional stand point,
it is important for the State to do.
243 Commissioner Sedwick Referenced Page 22 - The Rural Energy
Program. The measure indicates the
number of bulk fuel storage upgrade
projects on rural energy group priority
lists compared to the number completed.
There are 171 communities listed on the
bulk fuel deficiency list. In FY01, the
Denali Commission provided a financial
assistance award to AVEC to address the
deficiencies in the communities that they
provide service. AVEC has completed one
project. AVEC's progress to address the
remaining communities is not tracked by
AEA.
319 Commissioner Sedwick AEA's bulk fuel storage database and
priority list includes information on
approximately 1100 tank farms in 171
rural communities. Most of the tanks
have serious deficiencies. Consolidation
of all tanks into one location is the
primary strategy to address the bulk fuel
needs of a community.
436 Commissioner Sedwick There are some communities that are not
in need of community-wide consolidations.
There are six communities that fall into
that category. The Department is
requesting funds to address those
projects. As much as possible, local
people are asked to do the work. The
work will need to be maintained.
476 Vice-Chair Bunde Asked the definition of a tank farm.
501 Commissioner Sedwick Replied that those are communities and
tank farms within the communities. There
may be the council; the school district-
there could be a few entities that would
have two or three facilities within a
community. The size varies based on the
size of the community. The Department is
looking for the consolidation. As they
are spread out, there is a risk of the
environmental difficulties. Having
different owners in different locations
in a community can create difficultly.
600 Representative Stated that a tank farm was anything
Lancaster regulated by the Coast Guard and/or EPA.
620 Co-Chair Williams Asked why the villages do not want to
consolidate.
634 Commissioner Sedwick Replied that is not a question of them
not wanting to but rather how the
villages have evolved in terms of
recognizing what would make sense for the
community in consolidation.
682 Commissioner Sedwick Added that costs in the village areas are
very high and anytime that that the State
can work together to address those
concerns is beneficial.
712 Representative Spoke to major problems from the past ten
Hudson years. He asked how the 1100 tank farm
costs would be next year. How many fewer
ones would be listed.
764 Commissioner Sedwick Attempted to provide some light on that
concern with information from AEA. She
stressed that had been an important goal
of the Denali Commission. The lists of
the communities have been on apriority
basis. When dealings with the federal
government has been good in that they
recognize the challenge. However, this
is a serious challenge. AEA knows much
of the data and what is supposed to be
done next year.
839 Commissioner Sedwick Alaska Science & Technology Foundation
Mission, Page 26. The measure would
determine the percentage of technology
project grantees in business because of
ASTF grants. Commissioner Sedwick stated
that ASTF develops Alaska's capacity for
science and engineering by funding
competitive science, math and technology
classroom projects for Alaska K-12
students. The projects have been highly
successful in developing students'
interest and achievement in math, science
and technology. Due to current fiscal
restraints, a downsized K-12 program of
twenty regular teacher grants and four
specialized grants targeting critically
understaffed career fields is planned for
FY02.
996 Commissioner Sedwick Referenced Page 29, Alaska Seafood
Marketing Institute and the change in
pounds of seafood sold. The mission of
ASMI is to increase worldwide consumption
of seafood, promote the quality and
superiority of Alaska seafood products
and accomplishes these marketing efforts
while maximizing ASMI staff Alaska
resident employment in Alaska. The
measure intends to increase in the
development of new markets worldwide.
1099 Co-Chair Williams Asked the amount of sold in Alaska.
1111 Commissioner Sedwick Spoke to the number of cases of canned
salmon sold in the United States.
1127 Co-Chair Williams Thought the amount was small compared to
years ago.
1135 Mr. Bush Explained that the number represent on
that directly sold through ASMI
promotion.
1174 BARBARA BELKNAP, Stated that ASMI has performance
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, agreements with their partners. Through
ALASKA SEAFOOD those agreements, they must state how
MARKETING INSTITUTE, much they move through ASMI promotions.
DEPARTMENT OF However, those figures are not reliable.
COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC She noted that they deal with large
DEVELOPMENT retailers that do not always provide the
full counts for publication. It is
difficult to get those numbers.
1246 Co-Chair Mulder Asked what could be done to get more
reliable information.
1261 Ms. Belknap Advised that the Board does ask those
questions. She assured members that
pressure is being placed on some of those
retail companies to provide the return on
marketing investment.
1309 Co-Chair Mulder Asked how it was achieved within the
federal program and yet not in the State
program.
1325 Ms. Belknap Explained that there is more weight in
the federal requirements.
1340 Ms. Belknap She added that additional pressure is not
what is needed. She pointed out that the
retailers have not "pressed" for that
information. Ms. Belknap noted that ASMI
is now applying pressure to those
retailers.
1374 Co-Chair Williams Questioned if the problem was in moving
the canned salmon product.
1386 Ms. Belknap Replied that the problem is always a
"sluggish" market. Canned salmon is a
price sensitive product. There are some
aggressive canned salmon promotions
comparing the benefits of salmon to tuna
coming this Lent.
1437 Representative Interjected that the oversea sales are
Hudson easier to account for because the State
is dealing with a unilateral system. The
U.S. market involves retail and
competition, which creates a more
difficult market.
1549 Commissioner Sedwick Referenced Page 38, #2 - Regulatory
Commission of Alaska. The mission of the
Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) is
to regulate public utilities and
pipelines in the State. The time
required to issue public notice, provide
an initial analysis and render the
initial commission determination
concerning utility and pipeline filings
and competitive offerings.
1618 Commissioner Sedwick When the Legislature created the RCA, it
tasked the commission with developing and
adhering to timeliness standards because
of public complaints about the
predecessor agency's processes. RCA has
adopted standards and are incorporating
processes to measure its progress as part
of developing and implementing the
management information system.
Commissioner Sedwick briefly addressed
the challenges of the Department, which
will be dealt with more extensively at
the subcommittee level.
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
1660 MICHELLE BROWN, Provided a handout to Committee members.
COMMISSIONER, [Copy on File]. Commissioner Brown
DEPARTMENT OF stated that Department of Environmental
ENVIRONMENTAL Conservation's mission is important to
CONSERVATION sustain the resource-based economy and to
provide assurance that the daily basics
of water, air and food are safe. To
measures has become a collaborative
effort of understanding of how the State
should be measuring. It is a work in
progress.
1690 Commissioner Brown Highlighted some of the measures, which
the Department is working on. She
referenced Page 1 of the handout. Office
of the Commissioner and the percentage of
permittees that are out of compliance
with State law or regulations.
1735 Commissioner Brown The division more than doubled the number
of audits and inspections of facilities
and vessels during the period and it more
than tripled the number of facility and
vessel drills. The result of the
increase in the monitoring resulted in an
increase in violations discovered.
1830 Commissioner Brown Referenced Page 4 - Environmental Health.
Commissioner Brown discussed the number
of boiled water notices issued, the
populati9on affected, and the duration
for the year. The number has risen. The
average number of days in place has also
increased. Good progress has been made in
reducing the number of systems that have
significant problems and violations;
however, the Department is running into a
core group of systems that cannot be
properly upgraded.
1898 Commissioner Brown Referenced Page 5 - Landfills.
Commissioner Brown reviewed the
percentage of landfills with a permit or
an alternative to a permit. The
percentage has gone down slightly since
2000 as the number of active sites has
increased. That was due to a new
landfill permitting applications as well
as a few existing sites being captured in
the database for the first time. She
stressed there exists a need to look at
other ways of resolving the solid waste
problems. The permitted facilities are
showing consistent results.
1950 Commissioner Brown Referenced Page 6. The number of
critical violations affecting food
safety. Commissioner Brown pointed out
that the number is slightly rising
possibly because there are more
inspections as legislated.
1982 Co-Chair Mulder Asked about the number of violations
affecting food safety.
1998 BARBARA FRANK, Explained that the violations refer to
DIRECTOR, DIVISION the raw numbers in comparison to the
OF ADMINISTRATIVE facility. She recommended referring back
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT to Page 1, the Commissioner's office,
OF ENVIRONMENTAL which provides the data in "raw" numbers
CONSERVATION and the critical violations. The two are
companion measures.
2018 Commissioner Brown Referenced Page 7 - Statewide Public
Services. Commissioner Brown addressed
the measure of the facility savings
resulting from the Statewide Public
Services assistance. She noted that the
savings has topped $2 million dollars.
Pollution prevention advise saves
everyone money. The recycling is an
accumulative number over approximately
five-years.
2087 Co-Chair Mulder Asked if the number was cumulative or
annual number. He recommended the need
to check savings versus cost.
2112 Commissioner Brown Responded that the recycling number was
an accumulative number. She added that
that the costs are minimal.
2120 Commissioner Brown Referenced Page 9 - Air & Water Quality.
Commissioner Brown stated that whether
the carbon monoxide standards in
Anchorage and Fairbanks meet health
standards. She noted that there is good
news to report that both have met the
standard for the past two years.
2189 Representative Asked how Fairbanks compared with
Hudson Seattle.
2200 Commissioner Brown Stated that Alaska is one of the only
states that have carbon monoxide
problems.
2214 Representative Advised that there was an effort in
Whitaker Fairbanks to identify problems and that
the monitoring station was responsible
for some of that.
2240 Commissioner Brown Referenced Page 10. The measure on the
average time taken from receipt of a
permit application to the approval. The
measure is important as it allows the
Department to determine their efficiency
and effectiveness within existing
resources. The Department has adopted
regulations to cover common activities
rather than having permit applications
beginning from scratch. Commissioner
Brown pointed out that there have been
streamline efforts for permitting. Data
management has been enhanced. They are
looking at streamlining the process with
multiple entities. The benchmark study
was contracted out. The measure is taken
in days. It takes 461 days to get an air-
operating permit. There is a large
backlog of permits.
2375 Commissioner Brown The Department is looking at how they
approach the permitting process. The
Department is attempting to determine if
the recruitment and training process is
effective.
TAPE HFC 02 - 4, Side B
018 Commissioner Brown Referenced Page 11 - Spill Prevention &
Response. She noted that the department
is notified of all spills however, they
do not respond to all spills. The number
has increased significantly. The
Division is spending a fair amount of
time on guidance to the local responders
but not a lot more time in the actual
field.
111 Co-Chair Mulder Voiced concern with the concept of
response and containing the contamination
of a spill. He asked what measurement
was attempting to achieve.
164 Commissioner Brown Interjected that all spills require a
response. The degree of the response
does vary. Not all responses require
oversight or tracking of the clean-up
process. The active response varies
according to how serious the spill is.
242 Co-Chair Mulder Suggested that the manner in which the
Department was addressing the concern was
not direct or consistent.
273 Representative Asked if a one-gallon spill was an Alaska
Hudson standard or federal requirement. He
recommended that amount was too small to
respond to.
320 Commissioner Brown Replied that was in State statute.
Commissioner Brown advised that many
people do not report the smaller spills.
408 Commissioner Brown The next measure addresses the number of
hazardous substance spills compared to
the number of hazardous substance spills
requiring response. The Department is
gearing up to concerns voiced by those
communities. That response is based on
the types of chemicals that are in the
communities. The State is not geared up
for biological threats.
479 Commissioner Brown Referenced the last measure. The average
environmental hazard per contaminated
site. The average costs for 1996 through
2000 was $6,726 per year. In 2001, the
average costs were $11,349. The goal is
to see a decreasing number of high range
sites.
583 Commissioner Brown Advised that the Department just finished
the Adak cleanup. Standards were
established with the community to
determine what was the priority, which
was important to get the community
active.
628 Representative Asked if the federal government had been
Lancaster involved.
642 Commissioner Brown Replied that they do help. They also
have other sites that are not included on
the list.
665 Commissioner Brown The numbers do include the federally
owned sites that the State wants cleaned
up.
704 Commissioner Brown Page 13 - Facility Construction and
Operations. The mission addresses the
operating costs per sanitation project.
*malfunction in the tape*
Co-Chair Mulder Voiced his appreciation to the
Department.
Co-Chair Mulder Adjourned: 4:15 p.m.
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