Legislature(2001 - 2002)
01/19/2001 01:42 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 19, 2001
1:42 PM
TAPE HFC 01 - 16, Side A
TAPE HFC 01 - 16, Side B
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Mulder called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:42 PM.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Eldon Mulder, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Williams, Co-Chair
Representative Con Bunde, Vice-Chair
Representative Eric Croft
Representative John Davies
Representative Carl Moses
Representative Richard Foster
Representative John Harris
Representative Bill Hudson
Representative Ken Lancaster
Representative Jim Whitaker
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Larry Persily, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Revenue;
Mike Maher, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Revenue; John Jenks, Chief Investment Officer,
Treasury Division, Department of Revenue.
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Marla Greenstein, Executive Director, Alaska Commission on
Judicial Conduct
GENERAL SUBJECT (S):
Review of Departments Accomplishments
Department of Revenue
Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct
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
ALASKA COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT
TAPE HFC 00 - 16
SIDE A
000 MARLA GREENSTEIN, Noted that the Commission is the smallest
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, and most limited in the judicial branch.
ALASKA COMMISSION ON The Commission operates as the ethical
JUDICIAL CONDUCT committee for judges.
263 Ms. Greenstein Noted that the Commission will have a
small supplemental for FY01 due to a case
involving incarceration of a witness.
327 Ms. Greenstein Explained that a recommendation for
discipline has been made to the state
supreme court. The judge is appealing the
decision.
364 Ms. Greenstein Added that the Commission also issues
advice to judges.
436 Representative Questioned where their budget is located.
Hudson
453 Ms. Greenstein Explained that the Commission has its own
budget but that it is generally
associated with the Alaska Court System's
budget.
488 Co-Chair Mulder Clarified that the Commission generated
general fund revenues.
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
525 LARRY PERSILY, Reviewed highlights of the department. He
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, observed that the department handles
DEPARTMENT OF 60,000 Child Support Enforcement cases.
REVENUE More than 600,000 Alaskans are served
through the permanent fund dividend. He
added that 160 municipalities receive
shared taxes.
727 Mr. Persily Discussed the Office of the Commissioner.
Dividend questions are answered within a
week. Child support cases are answered
within two weeks.
782 Mr. Persily The number of cases waiting for formal
hearings has been reduced to 70 for child
support cases and 170 for dividend
appeals.
820 Mr. Persily Noted that the state's tax laws were
developed with oil in mind, not gas.
845 Representative Clarified that child support questions
Hudson are answered in Anchorage and asked if
there is a 1-800 number.
873 Mr. Persily Clarified that the 1-800 number rings in
Anchorage but that there are offices in
Juneau, Fairbanks and other areas.
903 Mr. Persily Discussed the Division of Administrative
Services. There have been no grievances
overturned. There is one that has not
been resolved. There have been no
penalties.
937 Mr. Persily Reviewed the Tax Division; 95 percent of
assessed taxes have been collected. `
1002 Mr. Persily Discussed the merger of the Oil and Gas
and Excise Tax divisions. Concluded that
this has improved workflow.
1044 Mr. Persily Noted that the department collected more
than $440 million dollars. A BP
settlement represented the greatest
portion.
1152 Co-Chair Mulder Discussed the ability to discern the
value of the settlement. Confidential
hearings could occur to brief the
committee.
1245 Representative Pointed out the difficulty of
Whitaker establishing a definitive approach.
1260 Representative Croft Asked the disputed amount of the
settlement. Mr. Persily did not have the
number.
1281 Representative Observed that it was a long-standing
Whitaker dispute.
1334 Mr. Persily Noted that revisions to the tax division
were initiated.
1377 Mr. Persily Reviewed the Permanent Fund Division. He
noted that 97.1 percent of the estimated
payable dividends were issued. He
observed that 25 percent of the appeal
inventory exceeded six months. The goal
is to do a better job screening reviews.
Direct deposit is up to 67 percent.
Applications can now be filed on line.
Random audits will occur this year. The
intent is to pull 1,000 applications. Out
of 600,000 applications, 50,000 are
reviewed. The rest are not reviewed. When
700 applications were randomly reviewed
discrepancies were found.
1621 Representative Noted that a number of checks are sent
Hudson outside of Alaska
1644 Mr. Persily Pointed out that checks sent out of state
are already reviewed.
1659 Vice-Chair Bunde Gave the example of a constituent that is
required to be out of state 6 months of
the year for their employment. They have
a home in Alaska but are not eligible.
Military residents only need to return to
the state of Alaska for 72 hours every 2
years.
1696 Representative Asked for more information regarding
Hudson allowable absences.
1713 Mr. Persily Reviewed the Division of the Treasury.
Collections for the general fund, CBR,
Alaska Children's Trust and the Public
School Trust Fund exceeded their
benchmarks. The International Airports
Revenue Fund did not.
1800 Mr. Persily Discussed the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank
Authority. He concluded that they had a
good year.
1830 Mr. Persily PRS and TRS exceeded their benchmarks.
JOHN JENKS, CHIEF Discussed the CBR fund. There was a
INVESTMENT OFFICER, little more than a 2 percent loss.
TREASURY DIVISION, Approximately 41 percent is invested in
DEPARTMENT OF equities. He continued to discuss
REVENUE performance of equity holdings.
2017 Mr. Persily Discussed the Child Support Enforcement
Division. There was a record collection
of $85 million dollars. There is $29
dollars in collection for every state one
dollar spent.
2064 Mr. Persily There are 47.3 ongoing cases receiving
checks on time.
2096 Representative Questioned the funding source
Hudson
2126 Mr. Persily Noted that $118,000 dollars is straight
GF; GFPR (the state's share of
collections) makes up the rest of state
funding.
2172 Mr. Persily Discussed the backlog in accounting;
6,500 cases have been reduced to 2,300.
He provided additional information on
adjustments in response to a question by
Representative Croft.
2255 Vice-Chair Bunde Noted that some clients have paid ahead
and not received credit for their extra
payments.
2281 Mr. Persily Explained that extra payment amount,
under the law, is considered a gift. He
continued to discuss performance of the
Child Support Enforcement Division.
TAPE HFC 01 - 16,
Side B
39 Mr. Persily In response to a question by Vice-Chair
Bunde, discussed prosecution and
collections. He stressed the need to
retain the public's trust.
104 Vice-Chair Bunde Asked if there were additional measure
that the state could take in collecting
from self employed persons owing child
support.
236 Mr. Persily Noted that the state can require them to
apply for a permanent fund dividend but
that it is difficult to collect from
these individuals.
309 Co-Chair Mulder Observed that people will shirk their
responsibility and questioned how far
state government can go to force their
participation.
347 Representative Noted that collection has been tied to
Hudson business licenses and questioned if it
has been successful
386 Mr. Persily Stated that it has helped but that there
are individuals that continue to work
without licenses and that enforcement is
time consuming.
434 Mr. Persily There is a 3 - 4 minutes average hold
time for assistance calls. The department
is looking to options for improved phone
services that would tell the time
estimated for the hold. He noted that the
department would like to repeal sunset
laws for child support enforcement.
716 Mr. Persily Discussed the Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority.
755 Mr. Persily Reviewed the Alcoholic Beverage Control
Board. He noted that there was a cost of
$159 dollars per license. There were 100
noncompliant license cases in FY00. The
board inspected 244 licensed premises.
884 Representative Questioned if it were a local collection
Lancaster problem.
916 Representative Observed that complaints go to the
Whitaker municipality and the municipality turns
the problem over to the state.
1032 Co-Chair Mulder Noted that subcommittees will review
missions and measures and report back to
the committee their recommendations.
Discussion occurred regarding the on-line
version and the need to coordinate the
data to prevent duplication of effort.
1216 Representative Stressed the benefit of missions and
Hudson measures. He recommended coordination
between departments.
1380 Co-Chair Mulder Agreed and pointed out that there has
been an attempt to do so.
1409 Representative John Stated that it would be helpful to
Davies receive the data prior to the committee
meeting.
1427 Denny Dewitt, Staff, Explained that the intent is to work with
Co-Chair Mulder departments on the mission and measure
reports during the creation of the budget
in the fall. Subcommittee staff has been
asked to avoid rewriting and changing
measures, but were instructed to tweak
existing measures. The intent is to
address where measures do not succeed.
1577 ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:55 p.m.
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