01/18/2002 01:39 PM House FIN
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+ teleconferenced
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HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
January 18, 2002
1:39 PM
TAPE HFC 02 - 5, Side A
TAPE HFC 02 - 5, Side B
TAPE HFC 02 - 6, Side A
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Mulder called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:39 PM.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Eldon Mulder, Co-Chair
Representative Con Bunde, Vice-Chair
Representative Eric Croft
Representative Richard Foster
Representative John Harris
Representative Bill Hudson
Representative Ken Lancaster
Representative Carl Moses
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Bill Williams, Co-Chair
Representative John Davies
Representative Jim Whitaker
ALSO PRESENT
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Representative Gary Stevens; Representative Hugh Fate;
Representative Sharon Cissna; Colonel Glenn Godfrey,
Director, Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public
Safety; Del Smith, Deputy Director, Department of Public
Safety; Colonel Joel Hard, Director, Division of Fish and
Wildlife Protection; Gary Powell, Director, State Fire
Marshall, Department of Public Safety; Randy Crawford, Col.
Director, Division of Alaska State Troopers, Department of
Public Safety; Susan Scudder, Director, Council on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault, Department of Public Safety;
Frank Rue, Commissioner, Department of Fish and Game; Kevin
Brooks, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Fish and Game.
GENERAL SUBJECT(S):
#
Mission and measure reports:
Department of Public Safety
Department of Fish and Game
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
(postponed)
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 - 5 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
SIDE A
000 COLONEL GLENN Introduced his staff.
GODFREY, DIRECTOR,
ALASKA STATE
TROOPERS, DEPARTMENT
OF PUBLIC SAFETY
207 Commission Godfrey Discussed the measures for the Division
of Fish and Wildlife Protection. He noted
that the department acted on 2,729 angler
violations in FY01. There were 16,772
hunter contacts. There was a slight drop
in the second quarter, which may have
been influenced by a reduction in visits
after 9/11/01.
427 Vice-Chair Bunde Questioned the benefit of the contacts to
Alaskans.
452 COLONEL JOEL HARD, Pointed out that measures provide
DIRECTOR, DIVISION baseline statistics. They need to be
OF FISH AND WILDLIFE measured against other activities and
PROTECTION outcomes.
570 Col. Hard Agreed with Vice-Chair Bunde that other
measures may be beneficial. He explained
that they try to establish priorities and
concentrate on programs that need their
presence. Educational programs have also
been undertaken. He reiterated that
activities need to be measured against
something. Changes in enforcement
priorities make the measures difficult to
assess.
697 Representative Croft Suggested that the measures need
additional work. He was unsure if the
intent is for the contacts to go up or
down.
746 Representative Agree with Representative Croft. He noted
Hudson that the intent is to prevent violations.
815 Representative Questioned if there are regional
Lancaster statistics.
827 Col. Hard Affirmed that there are regional
statistics, but observed that the
department's presence is not distributed
evenly throughout the state.
854 Co-Chair Mulder Noted that it is an activity and not a
performance.
870 Representative Gary Noted the high number of hunter contacts
Stevens as compared to angler violations.
897 Co-Chair Mulder Pointed out that there were actual angler
violations as opposed to hunter contacts.
932 Representative Questioned if any aircraft were seized.
Foster
945 Col. Hard Thought that one aircraft and one boat
were seized in the last year. Seizures
are relatively rare. The state does not
auction seized weapons
1013 DEL SMITH, DEPUTY Noted that serviceable weapons are sold
DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT to licensed firearms operators. They are
OF PUBLIC SAFETY not destroyed unless dangerous.
1056 Commissioner Godfrey Discussed measures for fire protection.
He noted that 4.54 percent of 1,144
buildings inspected were in compliance.
The target is 30 percent. The low level
of compliance is partly due to the lack
of prior inspections, which were due to a
lack of staff.
1171 GARY POWELL, Observed that the state has not seen the
DIRECTOR, STATE FIRE results of a new policy to send
MARSHALL, DEPARTMENT information regarding inspection
OF PUBLIC SAFETY expectations to facilities prior to their
visit. He observed that there are a
number of non-profits working on fire
protection services. He could not recall
any buildings which needing to be closed.
1385 Commissioner Godfrey Observed that the Division made 15,000
contacts for fire prevention education in
FY01. Contacts in the first quarter of
FY02 were 21,337.
1448 Commissioner Godfrey Noted that the average time required to
conduct initial building plan reviews was
reduced from 78 percent to 75 percent
from FY01 to FY02.
1509 Mr. Powell Felt that the goal of 80 percent is
obtainable and noted that there were
large reviews, which increased the time
needed. The program is self-supporting.
1541 Commissioner Godfrey Noted that there were 242 inspections of
priority occupancies in FY02 compared to
158 in FY01. This is 90 percent of their
goal.
1590 Co-Chair Mulder Noted that the measure is an activity and
the intent is to measure the number of
fires prevented. He questioned how the
measure could be achieved. He observed
that risk is a big component. He
questioned if it is possible to get
closer to the performance.
1647 Representative Questioned if the state is assuming
Hudson additional liability in review of
building plans.
169 Mr. Powell Did not know if risk management covers
the department. He pointed out that the
state does not design the buildings being
inspected. The state only notes if they
met state code.
1701 Mr. Smith Observed that anyone could file a
lawsuit, but emphasized that the state's
role is to prevent offenses.
1726 Commissioner Godfrey Reviewed the Division of Alaska State
Troopers. He noted that the greater
portion of their resources is focused on
homicide cases. He noted that 14
homicides (100 percent) were solved in
FY02. There were 9 solved in FY01 (100
percent). One case was not solved in 1999
(although they believe they know the
offender.) The national rate is 69
percent.
1830 Commissioner Godfrey Noted that in FY02, 47 percent of
reported rapes were solved. In FY01, 53
percent of rape cases were solved. They
are above the national average.
1869 Vice-Chair Bunde Questioned if the crime rate affects the
solve rate. He wondered if the remaining
crimes were harder to solve.
1900 RANDY CRAWFORD, COL. Pointed out that they have a suspect, who
DIRECTOR, DIVISION is implicated, in 5 of the remaining
OF ALASKA STATE cases. This would bring the rate up to 51
TROOPERS, DEPARTMENT percent.
OF PUBLIC SAFETY
1958 Representative Questioned what constitutes solving a
Hudson case.
1969 Commissioner Godfrey Observed that a case is solved once it
has been turned over to prosecution.
Deaths of a suspect or incarceration in
another state are considered as
exceptions.
2015 Vice-Chair Bunde Suggested that it may be interesting to
have a measure comparing the solve rate
to the conviction rate.
2031 Commissioner Godfrey Noted that there were 1,272 burglaries
with a solve rate of 19 percent. The FY01
solve rate was 20 percent. The national
solve rate is 14 percent.
2083 Commissioner Godfrey Discussed the Council on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault. There is a
49 percent rate in continuing domestic
violence clients. There is a continuing
rate of 23.3 percent for sexual assault
clients.
2132 Co-Chair Mulder Questioned if there is a national
average.
2155 Commissioner Godfrey Did not have the national average.
2161 Representative Croft Observed that the goal is to reduce the
number of potential clients. He stressed
that the underlying message is that the
intent is to change the victim's conduct
not the perpetrator's.
2209 Vice-Chair Bunde Questioned the high repeat rate in sexual
assault.
2201 Mr. Smith Pointed out that the statistics refer to
victims requiring continuing contact and
are not necessarily victims of a second
assault.
2327 Mr. Smith Noted that funding to address batterers
was provided over the past two years.
There are no measures for the successful
treatment of batterers.
2383 Representative Croft Noted that it is difficult to assess the
affect of programs treating batterers.
TAPE HFC 02 - 5, Side B
010 Vice-Chair Bunde Questioned if persons seeking services
are placed in multiple categories in the
statistics.
050 SUSAN SCUDDER, Stated that they are placed in the
DIRECTOR, COUNCIL ON predominant category relating to the
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE services that are being sought.
AND SEXUAL ASSAULT,
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY
174 Representative Croft Felt that the measure should be how many
of the batterers in the program come back
with repeat offenses. He stressed that
the current measure focuses on the
victims seeking repeat services.
271 Commissioner Godfrey Noted that 38 percent of the Council's
budget was spent on prevention efforts in
FY02, compared to 45 percent in FY01. The
cost of shelter increased from $68 to
$69.83 dollars per night.
338 Commissioner Godfrey Compared the amount spent on and the
percentage of reduction in domestic
violence and sexual assault cases from
FY00 to FY01. The department anticipates
that $3,769 million dollars would be
spent in FY02, compared to $4,411 million
dollars in FY01.
412 Ms. Scudder Noted that there was a reduction in state
spending due to an increase in federal
funding.
430 Commissioner Godfrey Reviewed the percentage change in
domestic violence and sexual cases. He
noted that sexual assault cases have been
reduced but that domestic violence cases
have increased. Combined domestic
violence and sexual assault cases have
grown by 5 percent.
507 Mr. Smith Noted that the numbers are based on cases
responded to by the Department of Public
Safety.
546 Commissioner Godfrey Reviewed the incidence of reported
domestic violence and sexual assault
cases. Cases of domestic violence have
increased while cases of sexual assault
and sexual assault of a minor have
decreased.
638 Representative Asked how many of the FY01 reports were
Hudson repeated from FY00.
716 Mr. Smith Did not know how many of the FY01 cases
were repeats from FY00.
781 Commissioner Godfrey Noted that there was a -23.5 percent
change in the number of homicides from
domestic violence or sexual assault.
844 Representative Croft Pointed out that the Council has a
prevention and protection mission, which
makes the measures difficult to assess.
He noted that the Council is being
criticized for not doing enough for the
perpetrator.
974 Co-Chair Mulder Did not think it was an unhealthy
tension.
1001 Representative Croft Pointed out that victims are competing
with perpetrators for funding.
136 Co-Chair Mulder Suggested that per capita expenditures
for victims averaged by state for
treatment programs could be a measure.
1088 Vice-Chair Bunde Stressed that he would prefer to see
funding to prevent victimization as
opposed to services for recovery.
1192 Commissioner Godfrey Noted that there are approximately 85
village public safety officers (VPSO),
which are all paid with state funds.
Federal funding appropriated to the
Alaska Federation of Alaska (AFN) has not
resulted in an increase in the number of
officers.
1266 Co-Chair Mulder Observed that $15 million dollars in
federal funds were appropriated to AFN
last year and for the current year. He
pointed out that part of the funding was
directed for VPSO's in dry communities in
rural Alaska.
1275 Representative Noted that the AFN is about to receive
Stevens the federal funds for the current fiscal
year.
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
1331 FRANK RUE, He reviewed the department's mission to
COMMISSIONER, protect and maintain the fish, game
DEPARTMENT OF FISH aquatic plant resources of the state, and
AND GAME manage their use and development in the
best interest of the economy and well
being of the people of the state,
consistent with sustained yield
principles.
1603 Representative Referred to subsistence and questioned if
Hudson it would make sense to add equal
protection under the Constitution.
1637 Commissioner Rue Noted that if one provision was included
that they would all need to be included.
1664 Commissioner Rue Reviewed the number of escapement
objectives met. He noted that 86 percent
of the 166 streams and rivers actively
monitored were in or above their
escapement objective.
1724 Vice-Chair Bunde Questioned the impact of over escapement.
1736 Commissioner Rue Noted that over escapement represents a
lost opportunity. These are fish that
could have been harvested without lost to
the stock. If there are too many fish in
the system productivity can be reduced.
1810 Representative Croft How sure is the state that accounting
systems are accurate?
1829 Commissioner Rue Responded that it depends on the system.
Multiple methods are used. A number of
indicators are also used. The state is
looking at a new sonar system, which
would be more accurate. He felt that the
count was pretty accurate.
1968 Representative Hugh Questioned if the numbers are measured
Fate against historic levels, especially in
the river systems.
1988 Commissioner Rue Affirmed that historic performance and
escapement is observed.
2005 Commissioner Rue Discussed the number of allocation
objectives met. He observed that of the
15 fisheries with a regulated requirement
to actively manage the fishery to achieve
allocation goals, 60 percent fell within
10 percent of their goal.
2029 Commissioner Rue Discussed measures for the Division of
Sport Fish. He observed that the state
wants to establish river systems
allocations for the harvest of king
salmon and the number of escapements. The
goal is to have an escapement goal for
100 percent of the major king salmon
harvesting systems.
2054 Co-Chair Mulder Observed that if escarpment is not met it
could indicate that the river system is
crashing.
2079 Commissioner Rue Agreed and emphasized that the first step
is to set the goals. Progress is being
made in setting goals. The goal was not
reached in South central Alaska. He noted
that the state did well in achieving
their escapement goals.
Commissioner Rue Reviewed the number of fish licenses sold
and the total revenue generated. The
number of licenses has increased. Stated
that there was a dip in 1999.
2136 Vice-Chair Bunde Observed that licensing changes occurred
in 1999.
2242 Representative Asked if licenses are tracked by region.
Lancaster
2250 Commissioner Rue They are tracked by location of the sale
and address of the holder lives.
2261 Commissioner Rue Noted that there were a number of factors
affecting the reduction in 1999.
2272 Commissioner Rue Reviewed the percentage of Alaska
residents between the ages of 16 and 59
who purchase fishing licenses; 44 percent
of all residents purchased a sport
fishing license in 2000.
2291 Commissioner Rue Discussed measures for the Wildlife
Conservation Budget Request Unit.
Reviewed the number of big game surveys
completed for populations identified by
the Board of Game as important for
providing high levels of human
consumptive uses. Big game surveys were
done for 56 populations identified by the
Board of Game.
2323 Commissioner Rue Reviewed the number of hunting and
trapping licenses sold and the total
revenue generated. There was Dip in 1999.
2333 KEVIN BROOKS, Explained that combination licenses are
DIRECTOR, DIVISION listed under statistics for both sport
OF ADMINISTRATIVE and wildlife.
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT
OF FISH AND GAME
2350 Commissioner Rue Stressed that hunter satisfaction is
important.
2369 Vice-Chair Bunde Observed that another source of
information could be valuable.
2378 Co-Chair Mulder Referred to the amount of revenue
generated from resident versus non-
residents. He noted that non-residents
provide the majority of funds that
support the activities of sport fish and
hunting.
TAPE HFC 02 - 6, Side A
012 Commissioner Rue Noted that 28 percent of all residents
purchase hunting and trapping licenses.
He noted that the licenses could be
broken down by purchase location and the
licensee's address.
042 Commissioner Rue Observed that there were 104,000
applications for hunts and 25,000 permits
were issued. Over 500 thousand dollars
were generated for the Fish and Game
Fund.
113 Vice-Chair Bunde The number does not represent the number
of residents applying for Tier II hunts.
169 Representative Observed that there are concerns
Hudson regarding the drawn hunts near Anchorage.
There are hunters in Southeast that have
not been able to get permits for northern
hunts. He asked if they were limited to
people in that specific area.
189 Commissioner Rue Explained that the place of residence is
no longer considered in Tier II licenses.
Dependency and alternate resources are
reviewed. The Board of Game is currently
reviewing the Tier II criteria.
Applicants with historical use of the
population are given preference.
220 Commissioner Rue Reviewed measures for the Division of
Subsistence. He noted that their mission
is to gather information. The department
collects subsistence data on fisheries
and wildlife harvest.
229 Commissioner Rue Discussed measures for the Division of
Habitat. He noted that the goal is that
95 percent of the Title 16 applications
are approved or modified to protect,
minimize or mitigate habitat within an
average of 20 days. The average time was
17 days.
240 Vice-Chair Bunde Stated that it would be helpful to note
have the range of days needed.
250 Commissioner Rue Observed that 80 percent of the land use
plans reviewed resulted in consensus on
habitat related issues.
245 Commissioner Rue Observed that 92 percent of the project
reviews for industrial development, road
construction and timber harvest involving
other agencies permits were developed
within the targeted deadline of 25 days.
The average time was 17 days.
252 Representative Asked if there was a difference in the
Lancaster process time with the one-stop shopping
in the Kenai.
259 Commissioner Rue Observed that more of the project
applications are ready to go. The process
is better because all the agencies are
there.
270 Commissioner Rue The Division did not meet the goal of 100
percent for completion of third party
contracted restoration projects. He noted
that of 28 approved projects, 21 (75%)
were completed by the end of the federal
completion date. The remaining projects
should be finished in the fiscal year.
282 Commissioner Rue Discussed measures for the Limited Entry
Commission. He noted that they are doing
a good job in meeting deadlines. Measures
judge the movement of permits.
269 Vice-Chair Bunde Asked the department to work with the
Subcommittee to identify other measures
that should be included and questioned if
there have been changes in the behavior
of the public based on review of
measures.
311 Commissioner Rue Stated that he would like to adjust
allocation targets, by separating drift
nets and set nets in Bristol Bay and
sport fish versus commercial in the
Southeast King Salmon.
314 Representative Fate Asked for additional information on pages
14 and 15. He asked for identification of
statistics relating to Tier II licenses
and drawings for permits.
ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:26 PM
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