Legislature(2009 - 2010)HOUSE FINANCE 519
01/20/2010 01:30 PM House FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Call to Order, Introductions, Housekeeping | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
January 20, 2010
1:32 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Hawker called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Hawker, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Stoltze, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Thomas Jr., Vice-Chair
Representative Allan Austerman
Representative Mike Doogan
Representative Anna Fairclough
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Les Gara
Representative Reggie Joule
Representative Mike Kelly
Representative Woodie Salmon
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Louanne Christian, Support Staff supervisor; David Teal,
Director, Legislative Finance Division; Karen Rehfeld,
Director, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the
Governor
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
None
SUMMARY
Call to Order, Introductions, Housekeeping
1:32:19 PM
^Call to Order, Introductions, Housekeeping
Co-Chair Hawker called to order the first meeting of the
Legislative year. Co-Chair Hawker announced that the meeting
was originating from the House Finance Chambers in Juneau.
He introduced the House Finance Committee members.
1:34:06 PM
Co-Chair Hawker welcomed the two new members of the
committee, Representative Mike Doogan and Representative
Neal Foster. He also noted that Representative Gara was now
the ranking minority representative on the House Finance
Committee.
1:35:43 PM
Co-Chair Hawker paid tribute to the late Representative
Richard Foster and noted Representative Richard Foster's
son, Representative Neal Foster, would occupy his father's
seat.
1:37:09 PM
Co-Chair Hawker welcomed the committee room staff and asked
Louanne Christian to introduce her staff.
LOUANNE CHRISTIAN, SUPPORT STAFF SUPERVISOR, explained the
committee support staff setup in the House and the Senate.
She introduced the House and Senate Finance Committee
support staff.
1:41:21 PM
Co-Chair Hawker introduced and thanked the teleconference
and Gavel to Gavel staff.
1:42:22 PM
Co-Chair Hawker asked the House Finance Committee members to
introduce their staff. The committee members introduced
their staff.
2:01:24 PM
Co-Chair Hawker commented that Representative Joule was the
most tenured member of the majority caucus.
2:04:55 PM
Co-Chair Hawker welcomed the Committee members' staff and
proceeded to introduce his own staff.
2:10:27 PM
DAVID TEAL, DIRECTOR, LEGISLATIVE FINANCE DIVISION, briefly
noted the role of Legislative Finance and introduced his
staff. He remarked on his staff's experience and their
willingness to help the Committee.
Co-Chair Hawker thanked the Legislative Finance division for
their continual good working relationship with the
Committee.
2:14:51 PM
KAREN REHFELD, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET,
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR (OMB), introduced her staff and
explained some new rearrangements and delegations within her
office. Co-Chair Hawker indicated the committee's pleasure
working with the OMB staff.
2:20:25 PM
Co-Chair Hawker noted that it would be standard operating
procedure for the House Finance committee this year. He
mentioned that the operating budget subcommittee memo was
being revised and would be delivered to the committee
members. Co-Chair Hawker commented that Co-Chair Stoltze
would continue to handle the Capital Budget and the bills
while Co-Chair Hawker would handle the Operating Budget.
2:21:32 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze explained that the Capital Budget process
would be the same. He applauded the improvements in the
electronic trail of legislation and paperwork. He asked for
continued dialogue regarding various concerns. Co-Chair
Stoltze emphasized that the committee's constitutional
responsibility was to prepare the Capital and Operating
Budgets. He added there would be discussions regarding
fiscal policy.
Co-Chair Hawker remarked that the House Finance co-chairs
were concerned with the long-range fiscal responsibility of
the budget. Co-Chair Hawker wanted to create a subcommittee
to help institute fiscal planning and responsibility with
Representative Austerman as the chair. Co-Chair Hawker
indicated that any member on the House Finance Committee
would be welcome to sit on the subcommittee.
2:26:59 PM
Representative Austerman agreed that a conversation for long
term revenue resources and stabilizing the budget was a
prime concern. He encouraged all House Finance Committee
members to be involved. Representative Austerman reported
that all meetings would be open to the public.
2:28:54 PM
Co-Chair Hawker indicated another structural change would be
the budget evaluation for the University of Alaska. He noted
many past budget challenges working with the university. Co-
Chair Hawker remarked that instead of assigning a
subcommittee for the University of Alaska budget all House
Finance Committee members would be on the subcommittee.
2:32:02 PM
Co-Chair Hawker reiterated that cell phones would not be
allowed in the committee room. He stressed that meetings
would begin promptly at 1:30PM with special morning meetings
at 9:00AM.
Co-Chair Hawker reviewed the Committee quorum and voting
rules. A quorum of the majority of the Committee membership
(six members) is necessary to vote or take any Committee
action. If fewer than eleven members are present, motions to
amend may be adopted by a majority of those present, but
under no conditions will the number of votes required for
adoption of an amendment be less than five members. There
will be no teleconference voting by any committee member.
2:35:33 PM
Louanne Christian explained the technical and general
logistics of the House Finance Committee room. She addressed
the rules of bill passage and the House Finance Committee
support staff duties.
Co-Chair Stoltze emphasized that the handout document rules
must follow protocol.
2:46:46 PM
Louanne Christian relayed further information on document
distribution.
2:50:31 PM
Co-Chair Hawker reported that the next few weeks committee
time would be dedicated to budget hearings, although Co-
Chair Stoltze would be chairing important hearings on the
Endangered Species Act and Domestic Violence.
2:52:39 PM
Co-Chair Hawker asked committee members to contact the co-
chairs with any special issues to be considered. Co-Chair
Hawker indicated that the Governor's supplemental budget
would be important as there was a surplus this year. This
will drive many decisions for both FY2010 and supplemental
FY2011. He noted the closeout dates for several reports and
remarked that the House Finance Committee room can be
scheduled through his office.
2:56:23 PM
Vice-Chair Thomas encouraged subcommittee members to attend
their meetings. Co-Chair Hawker reiterated the importance of
coordinating subcommittee overviews with the Senate Finance
Committee.
2:58:16 PM
Co-Chair Hawker reviewed the upcoming meetings for the week.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:59 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| House Finance Committee Rules.doc |
HFIN 1/20/2010 1:30:00 PM |