Legislature(2003 - 2004)
01/21/2004 01:43 PM House FIN
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
JOINT
HOUSE & SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
MEETING
January 21, 2004
1:43 P.M.
TAPE HFC 04 - 8, Side A
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Harris called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:43 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
HOUSE
Representative John Harris, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Williams, Co-Chair
Representative Kevin Meyer, Vice-Chair
Representative Mike Chenault
Representative Eric Croft
Representative Hugh Fate
Representative Richard Foster
Representative Mike Hawker
Representative Carl Moses
SENATE
Senator Gary Wilken, Co-Chair
Senator Fred Dyson
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Donny Olson
Senator Ben Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Reggie Joule
Representative Bill Stoltze
Senator Lyda Green, Co-Chair
Senator Con Bunde, Vice-Chair
ALSO PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens; Loren Leman, Lieutenant Governor,
State of Alaska; Jeffrey Staser, Federal Co-Chair, Denali
Commission; Yuri Morgan, Legislative Representative, Denali
Commission
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
None
GENERAL SUBJECT(S):
OVERVIEW: DENALI COMMISSION
The following overview was taken in log note format. Tapes
and handouts will be on file with the House Finance
Committee through the 23rd Legislative Session, contact 465-
2156. After the 23rd Legislative Session they will be
available through the Legislative Library at 465-3808.
LOG SPEAKER DISCUSSION
TAPE HFC 04 - 8, SIDE A
000 Co-Chair Harris Convened the Joint House and Senate
Finance Committee meeting at 1:43 P.M. to
hear the overview presented by the Denali
Commission.
DENALI COMMISSION
132 LOREN LEMAN, Provided a brief history of the Denali
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, Commission. The Governor named the Lt.
STATE OF ALASKA Governor to be the state Co-Chair of the
Denali Commission. Mr. Staser is the
counter-part as the federal Co-Chair.
There are five other commissioners
representing statewide entities in Alaska
that have significant input in dealing
with infrastructure needs. They are:
· Alaska Federation of Natives
· Associated General Contractors of
Alaska
· Alaska Municipal League
· Organized Labor
· University of Alaska.
He added that the commission was
established in 1998. In 1999, it was a
$30 million dollar program. It has grown
to the current level of $110 million
dollars. The Commission is to be a
collaborative effort between State and
federal agencies. The staff is composed
of people loaned from these other
agencies. Yuri Morgan on the Denali
Commission represents the Legislature.
423 Lieutenant Governor Continued, the investments to date have
Leman been primarily in energy projects &
primary health care facilities. The
Commission has substantial investments in
the work force training programs.
535 Lieutenant Governor The goal of the Commission is
Leman sustainability. The investments made,
need to be able to maintain themselves.
Communities need to demonstrate that they
will be able to maintain their
facilities.
602 Senator Wilken Noted that Senator Green would be late
for the meeting.
619 JEFFREY STASER, Offered to answer questions of the
FEDERAL CO-CHAIR, Committee. He applauded comments made by
DENALI COMMISSION Lieutenant Governor Leman noting that he
had captured the work of the Commission
in a "nut-shell".
704 Co-Chair Harris Pointed out that Denali Commission
projects should be self -sustainable and
able to stand on their own. He inquired
that process.
726 Mr. Staser Responded that the originally guidelines
consist of making sure that any projects
will be around for future generations.
That is the philosophy of all the work of
the Commission. Public dollars should
not be invested without some sort of
common sense & accountability in the
future.
812 Mr. Staser Elaborated on "common sense". The draft
investment policy determines what is
sustainable. Referenced projects at
Shishmaref and decided as a Commission
that it would be more problematic to
renovate an existing clinic than build a
new one. The commissioners then
discussed how the public would know that
certain projects are sustainable.
917 Mr. Staser Sustainability has been described as a
goal. That differs from affordability.
The policy includes good faith & natural
circumstance criteria that the Commission
looks at. Each project is unique and
includes those considerations.
958 Senator Wilken Asked about the future and the way in
which the Denali Commission is funded by
the federal government and is there a
system by which the Commission is
guaranteed on-going funding.
1030 Mr. Staser Responded that all agencies go through
reauthorization hearing every six years.
The Commission has recently been
reauthorized. The funding streams come
from five separate appropriations bills.
· One comes from Trans Alaska Pipeline
Liability Trust Fund
· Currently legislation pending, the
National Energy Bill, which will
endow the Commission with royalties,
received from National Petroleum
Reserve-Alaska Development, which is
the federal share of royalties and
that bill has not yet passed. The
strength of the Commission is how
credible they are with other state
and federal agencies and nationally.
1200 Mr. Staser Assessed that Alaska has a unique tale to
tell. There are unique challenges and
the program is becoming stronger.
1309 Lieutenant Governor Added that the President's proposed base
Leman budget funding is a small amount which
has always been rebuilt in the U.S.
Senate.
1354 Senator Wilken Clarified that there are four revenue-
funding streams.
· Grant funding with a maximum of six
years before reauthorized
· Pipeline Liability Fund
· 20% of the federal governments 50%
of rents and royalties from the NPRA
would accrue as long as there is a
Denali Commission
· other federal agencies that the
Denali Commission may be able to
request funds from.
1451 Representative Voiced his appreciation for all the work
Foster done by the Denali Commission in Western
Alaska. He understood that initially,
the intent of the Commission was repairs
and then switched to health and safety
and the clinics. He asked what the
Commission would concentrate on in the
next couple years.
1554 Mr. Staser Clarified that the Commission begins with
the bulk fuel storage tanks with an exit
strategy. In collaboration with the
energy program, there has been a health
program created in the last two years as
a part of health and human services.
Total funds spent, 22% have gone into
health projects. 61% have gone into
energy projects. After the two main
programs, projects drop off
significantly.
1738 Mr. Staser Anticipates that with the bills drafted
and introduced to Congress, the
Commission will be involved with
transportation in the future. The
Commission is currently staffing that
with Mr. Yuri Morgan, the State's
representative who is responsible for
designing the transportation program.
The next big item will be the access
transportation arena.
1812 Representative Fate Commented on the economic development
objectives in rural Alaska. He noted
that economy between FY99 - FY03 and that
FY04 continues to be low. He spoke to
economic activity in rural Alaska.
1901 Mr. Staser Stated that everything depends on
economic development. The private sector
is "good" at that. The government is
sometimes less effective. It is an
essential partnership and government must
create healthy infrastructure. State and
Commission responsibilities are energy
and then health and that the Commission
will be getting more involved with
economic development.
2019 Senator Ben Stevens Commented that 50 construction projects
building rural health clinics is economic
development. The health care industry is
the fastest growing business in the
State. He requested that the Denali
provide an impact statement addressing
the health care clinics and their
relationship on demand of the general
fund-spending match.
2135 Senator Ben Stevens stressed that the impacts should be known
regarding future outcomes. The proposed
project are good and yet it must be
understood the long-term effect for
Alaska.
2216 Mr. Staser Offered to provide that information.
2230 Lieutenant Governor Added that objective is important to the
Leman Administration and that unfunded
liabilities should not be created.
Instead, the health care facilities
should have the availability of better
health care without increased liability
costs to the State.
2304 Senator Ben Stevens Thought that there would be an increased
cost to the State. He asked that the
Commission demonstrate that this would be
better care and service for better value.
2332 Lieutenant Governor Commented on the dedication he attended
Leman for the new regional clinic. That clinic
has better capacity than any in the past
and provides better care without shipping
people into Anchorage. He addressed
staffing the facility.
2438 Senator Hoffman Noted the $32 million dollars earmarked
for initiatives funding. He asked how
they would be limited.
2457 Mr. Staser Responded that the earmarks are listed in
the bill. What is listed are allocations
of funds as a staff recommendation to the
Commission. Example: Teacher Housing -
recommended up to $10 million dollars and
are looking for ways to partner with the
State. The Commission does not want to
compete with other housing projects
unless to leverage added strength.
Earmarks have been made through the
congressional intent language. The
Commission has the responsibility to each
of the collective parties at the table.
2624 Senator Hoffman Asked if the allocations were required to
be spent in that fiscal year.
2640 Mr. Staser Stated that normally the bills are passed
with no-year language and authorized
until spent. The Commission attempts to
authorize the funds each year in order to
demonstrate that there is a greater need.
To date, all the money has been
obligated each year.
2703 Co-Chair Harris Asked about local hire requirements in
the rural areas.
2717 Lieutenant Governor Responded that one of the objectives is
Leman for the locals to be hired for
construction and training for on-going
operations of the facilities. The manner
in which the projects are designed will
maximize the local hire and has been
successful.
2822 Mr. Staser The reason that the Commission got
involved with training was to guarantee
that there is a local hire. Worked with
the contractors to guarantee specific
jobs.
2856 Mr. Staser Added that the University also supports
local hire. That will keep salaries in
State while maintaining services.
2930 Co-Chair Harris Acknowledged how important that is. He
noted the joint chairmanship between
federal and State government. He
questioned the amount of cooperation in
reference the State budget.
3011 Lieutenant Governor Commented that the goal is that there is
Leman "a lot of cooperation". In the past
year, it has improved greatly. At this
time, there has been a lot of cooperation
between the departments. Commissioner
Blatchford and Commissioner Gilbertson
have been supportive and they are the two
most involved with the projects.
3227 Mr. Staser The legislature has had a "hands on"
since inception. The Commission attempts
to understand and identify the
priorities. He added that the Denali
Commission has worked with the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee
(LBA). The State continues to have a
major roll in determining the priorities.
3249 Representative Reiterated his appreciation of the work
Foster done by the Commission. He pointed out
that in Western Alaska, there are only
142 State jobs. Of the 14 departments,
there are none. The most important
presence in Western Alaska is the Denali
Commission. He emphasized that without
the Denali Commission, western Alaska
would be in dire straights.
3419 Lieutenant Governor Reminded Representative Foster of the
Leman statewide presence in the Nome area. He
added that the Denali Commission does
have their annual report available on CD
and accessible through the website with
updated information on the Commission.
3521 Mr. Staser Concluded that if the Commission is
working, everyone in the State is
represented. All information is shared.
He agreed that there are not enough
people to travel statewide and that is
why the collaboration is necessary.
3619 Co-Chair Harris ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:20 P.M.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|