Legislature(1997 - 1998)
02/12/1997 03:05 PM House HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
JOINT HOUSE/SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION
AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
February 12, 1997
3:05 p.m.
HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Con Bunde, Chairman
Representative Joe Green Vice Chairman
Representative Brian Porter
Representative Tom Brice
Representative Allen Kemplen
Representative Fred Dyson
HOUSE MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Al Vezey
SENATE MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Wilken, Chairman
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Jerry Ward
SENATE MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Loren Leman
Senator Johnny Ellis
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Georgianna Lincoln
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Alaska Disability Policy Summit Progress Report
WITNESS REGISTER
NANCY DODGE, Chairman
Governor's Council on Disabilities
and Special Education
3010 Davis Road, Number B16
Anchorage, Alaska 99709
Telephone: Not provided
KATHY PRIVRATSKY
Assistive Technologies of
Alaska Advisory Council
7201 Montagne Circle
Anchorage, Alaska 99507
Telephone: (907) 333-2669
JERRY KAINULAINEN
Assistive Technologies of
Alaska Advisory Council
P.O. Box 1629
Sitka, Alaska 99835
Telephone: (907) 747-4703
JENNIFER REYNOLDS
Governor's Council on Disabilities
and Special Education
1201 Brock Road
North Pole, Alaska 99705
Telephone: Not provided
SUSAN LOUDON
Governor's Council on Disabilities
and Special Education
118 Kathryn Avenue
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701
Telephone: Not provided
MARI JO PARKS
Governor's Council on Disabilities
and Special Education
P.O. Box 1683
Palmer, Alaska 99645
Telephone: (907) 745-4536
DON BRANDON, Chairman
Governor's Committee on Employment
of People with Disabilities
Office of Human Resources
P.O. Box 755140
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-5410
Telephone: (907) 451-9007
DAVID LEVY
State Independent Living Council
2634 Forest Park Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99517
Telephone: (907) 563-2984
JERIE BEST
State Independent Living Council
P.O. Box 426
Soldotna, Alaska 99669
Telephone: Not provided
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 97-12, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN GARY WILKEN called the Joint House and Senate Health,
Education and Social Services (HESS) Committees to order at 3:05
p.m. and welcomed everyone to the joint meeting.
ALASKA DISABILITY POLICY SUMMIT PROGRESS REPORT
CHAIRMAN WILKEN indicated the committees would hear the Alaska
Disability Policy Summit Progress Report.
NANCY DODGE, Chairman, Governor's Council on Disabilities and
Special Education, said that she was chosen to introduce the other
four chairmen and the groups they serve. She said all five of the
groups are established under state and federal statutes with a
specific role of advising the legislature and departments about the
issues that impact people with disabilities in their families.
MS. DODGE pointed out that the other four groups are: Governor's
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities with Don
Brandon, Chairman; State Independent Living Council with Joy Anna
Geisler, Acting Chairman; the State Rehabilitation Advisory Council
with Thor Williams, Chairman; and Assistive Technologies of Alaska
Advisory Council with Kathy Privratsky, Chairman.
MS. DODGE said yesterday, they conducted the first Alaska
disability summit focusing on public policies in the areas of
community inclusion and support, health care, education,
employment, housing and transportation.
Number 81
KATHY PRIVRATSKY, Assistive Technologies of Alaska Advisory
Council, said as long as people with disabilities remain
segregated, nondisabled people do not get to know them and continue
to believe that special training and clinical certification are
needed to support them in their communities.
MS. PRIVRATSKY said inclusion helps communities and citizens to
realize they have the capacity to be with, befriend, care about,
work along side, and learn with and from people with disabilities.
Inclusion also enables people with disabilities to be full
contributors to their communities.
MS. PRIVRATSKY explained physical accessibility and access to
transportation may be all that is needed for many persons with
disabilities to participate in their communities. Some people with
disabilities may need individualized supports such as personal
assistance services or on-the-job training and support.
MS. PRIVRATSKY said some people with disabilities may need
assistive technologies such as teletypewriters (TTYs), voice
synthesizers, grab bars or Braille keyboards to be included in
their communities. Some families of people with disabilities may
need support and resources such as respite care or in-home training
in order for the family member with a disability to continue living
at home. If community inclusion and support are in place, state
activities around health care, education, employment, housing and
transportation can address and meet the needs of people with
disabilities.
Number 111
JERRY KAINULAINEN, Assistive Technologies of Alaska Advisory
Council, noted some possible legislative solutions to the
presentation Ms. Privratsky just gave. He urged the legislature to
provide funding to ensure state compliance with the American with
Disabilities Act (ADA), to pass a lemon law for assistive
technology devices and equipment, enact puppy guide-dog
legislation, designate American sign language as a core curriculum
requirement for another language under Bachelor of Arts
requirements at all University of Alaska campuses, ensure that all
Gavel-to-Gavel broadcasts are close captioned, provide adequate
funding for services such as respite, in-home training, infant
learning, orientation and mobility for the blind, interpreters for
the deaf and personal assistance services.
REPRESENTATIVE TOM BRICE referred to the lemon law and asked if,
for instance, a wheelchair breaks down that was just purchased,
when would Medicaid buy a new chair.
MR. KAINULAINEN replied once every five years Medicaid would buy a
new wheelchair. If a piece of equipment is defective and can't be
repaired, they would not replace it for five years.
SENATOR LYDA GREEN asked him to clarify the guide-dog legislation.
MR. KAINULAINEN replied that the ADA provides for non-
discrimination for people who have service animals for entrance
into restaurant facilities, et cetera. and there has been some
problems with some of the animals in their training, especially
when they are puppies that haven't been certified.
SENATOR GREEN asked if there are universities and schools that
accept sign language as a substitute for a recognized foreign
language requirement.
MR. KAINULAINEN replied that they want to require it to be offered,
not make it a requirement.
Number 243
REPRESENTATIVE ALLEN KEMPLEN asked Mr. Kainulainen if his
organization noticed any differences about life in the far North
for people in wheelchairs, for instance, people who sometimes have
to make their way in the streets because sidewalks aren't shoveled.
MS. DODGE said she thought the Transportation Committees would be
addressing that issue. She added that you can't get onto
sidewalks, into buses, into lift vans, et cetera.
SENATOR WARD asked where the ADA falls short in reference to the
Alaskan way-of-life.
MS. DODGE replied that there are so many areas that we are not in
compliance on that it would take a long time.
SENATOR WARD noted that he has been working with the DOT/PF on the
ferry system which has new elevators on the smaller vessels and on
ports and harbors and Prince of Wales Island. Even with the lack
of regulations, he said, they are doing an excellent job of
addressing accessibility.
Number 319
MS. JENNIFER REYNOLDS, Governor's Council on Disabilities and
Special Education, said she is a parent of a child with a
disability. These are some thoughts she has collected from people
from all over the state. Alaskans with disabilities have
identified the lack of adequate health care and insurance as a
major barrier to independent living and employment. The high cost
of health insurance means that some people with disabilities go
without health insurance. Some parents have had to relinquish
custody of their children to the state to get medical coverage for
them until a Medicaid waiver can be obtained. Although many people
with disabilities have some private health insurance, few have
adequate coverage that they can depend on to meet their needs,
given preexisting condition exclusions, minimal benefit packages
and benefit caps.
MS. REYNOLDS explained the common needs of people with disabilities
for durable medical equipment, assistive technology and personal
assistance services are rarely fully covered. Many Alaskans with
disabilities depend on public sector funding for health care;
access to adequate and affordable health insurance is a major
barrier to employment, since public health insurance is generally
only available to people who are not working. Funding for
eyeglasses, hearing aids, acute dental care and occupational
therapy is not available to adults with disabilities who depend on
Medicaid for their health care needs.
SUSAN LOUDON, Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special
Education, said she has a daughter who has developmental
disabilities. She introduced some possible legislative solutions
to the problems just stated. The first is to restore Medicaid
funding for vision, hearing, acute dental and occupational therapy
services for adults.
MS. LOUDON said the second is to enact legislation for private
insurance coverage that limits preexisting condition exclusions,
improves portability and is affordable.
MS. LOUDON explained the third is to ensure that whatever health
care reform is implemented in Alaska includes the following
features: Adequate consumer information; quality standards;
adequate appeal and grievance procedures; and consumer governance.
MS. LOUDON said the forth is to re-prioritize Medicaid options list
to emphasize home and community-based services.
MS. LOUDON said the fifth is to ensure that savings from the
closure of the Harborview Developmental Center and the downsizing
of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute are reinvested in home and
community-based services for people with developmental disabilities
and/or severe mental illness.
Number 385
REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON asked if she had some model legislation
from other states that could help them get started.
MS. LOUDON said she believed there was and they would be happy to
find it for the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said he had just spoken with a person who told
him that it took about $2,000 for the state to get him a pair of
sweat pants with zippers on the outside with big enough rings so
that he could dress himself. It took seven visits with whomever it
was he had to interface with in the state in order to get a pair of
pants that cost $150. He asked if that was a typical problem and
if they could easily solve that type of problem.
MS. REYNOLDS replied that as consumers interface with state
government more, it is becoming more family friendly. She said she
would like to hear from the man he talked with to see what the
policy problems were and added that there are a number of problems
similar to that.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said he understood the Administration was
revising the purchasing procedures within the state to address
issues like this and he wanted feedback from them on it.
Number 413
REPRESENTATIVE CON BUNDE said he wanted to set the record straight
- that the legislature sets the budget and it's the
Administration's choice to take away the eyeglasses and the hearing
aids.
Number 428
SENATOR GREEN asked if the Kennedy/Kassenbaum legislation would
impact Ms. Loudon's second concern of private insurance coverage
limiting the preexisting condition exclusion.
MS. LOUDON said it should. She added that maybe the Administration
did this, but people with disabilities have no other resources and
are always working towards going forward in their lives. If their
glasses break or if they need new ones, it takes hundreds of
dollars which they don't have. She strongly urged that insurance
coverage be restored.
MS. REYNOLDS commented that the Mental Health Trust Authority put
up $1.5 million in its budget to bolster the state's part which she
thought showed very good faith.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE said he sat on the budget subcommittee under
the Hickel Administration when that happened and they had asked
what options would fall off the table if Medicaid was cut. He
wanted to clarify that it was a policy decision that was made by
the legislative budget subcommittee in the Hickel Administration
for FY95.
MARI JO PARKS, Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special
Education, said she was in attendance to speak on education and had
a 25-year old mentally retarded woman with her. She said she had
gone through the education system with enough funding so she was
able to lead a full life. As a child, she was able to get into
infant learning programs to get the kind of stimulation she needed
to enhance her skills. When she entered school at age three she
was able to get the physical and speech therapy, and other academic
assistance she needed. As she entered kindergarten, she entered
into a school district which gave her a free and appropriate public
education. The individual education plans that were written for
her, and then followed through with, helped lead her into a life
knowing how to read and write, how to speak for herself and to
interact with other students. The people who were with her learned
also. The cost incurred from the inclusionary setting she was in
was there, because the teachers needed to be trained. In fact, the
entire school system needed to learn about how to deal with her and
her disabilities. Training is a very essential part to make
inclusion work. Education was the key that changed her life and
the life of her family and society.
MS. PARKS indicated she was in attendance to ask the legislators to
support the changes to the education foundation funding formula
which would decrease the over-identification of special education
students and encourage prevention and early intervention activities
in schools. It will also begin to provide the training needed by
educators.
MS. PARKS commented that American sign language is a program they
would like to be accepted as equal curriculum standards for other
requirements such as a foreign language or an English program in
the Bachelor of Arts degrees. Learning how to communicate with one
another takes many different forms.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE asked Ms. Parks to explain "over-
identification."
MS. PARKS responded that as we have tied money to students and
identification of a disability, there have been places where people
have been able to over-identify by taking certain tests and
qualifying. The Department of Education would like to address that
problem perhaps by changing the funding formula and the process by
which the department allocates monies for special education.
Number 533
REPRESENTATIVE JOE GREEN asked if she felt that the amount of money
allocated to education is proportionately granted to the teacher
and the students themselves or may there be siphons before it gets
to them that impair the quality of education. Because teachers are
required to do more things than just teach, should there be a whole
different look given to education? Maybe teachers should educate,
but maybe something else needs to be done with all the social
problems that teachers are facing in schools.
MS. PARKS said she did feel that there is a strong need to have
administrators to deal with the regulations and paper work that
have to be monitored. Taking money away from students is a
mistake; the money has to get to the classroom and meet the needs
of every student. She thought it was important for all agencies to
work together as a unified body to enhance students' lives. She
used the COMPASS program as an example.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked how consistent were special education
programs across the state. He elaborated that the foundation
formula allows for a certain amount of money for children with
special needs. That money is built into the foundation formula and
the legislature passes that money to school districts to provide
special education programming. He asked how consistently is that
money applied to the various classrooms for special education
across the state, for instance the same for Fairbanks as the
Iditarod school district.
MS. PARKS said she couldn't answer that, but people from the
Department of Education could. She indicated she would research it
and get back to him on it.
Number 573
SENATOR GEORGIANNA LINCOLN said that she represents about 92 small
communities throughout Alaska in which she thought there were
special education needs, but not necessarily the resources to deal
with those needs. A lot of that has to do with the transportation
system and as long as people with disabilities remain segregated,
non-disabled people do not get to know them and continue to believe
that special training is required.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked Ms. Parks if she would say it is correct that
the resources are generally not there to address individual needs
of special education students.
TAPE 97-12, SIDE B
MS. PARKS replied that the resources are differently approached.
An example is the Special Education Service Agency which serves all
of Alaska rural bush areas to meet the needs of the more severely
disabled, but it's on a once a month or twice a month or to meet
the needs of the student. It is not every day contact like her
students get. So it is definitely different. She explained one of
the things the Governor's Council has looked at is trying to make
sure that in the education system through the universities that all
teachers learn how to work with kids with disabilities. This
really needs to be expanded so that kids have their needs met by
the teacher they see daily.
Number 582
MS. DODGE commented that with the closing of Harborview they are
looking at bringing people back into their home communities.
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN noted that we don't fare well compared to
other states and the country doesn't fare well when we compare our
children's scores against many other countries (the U.S. is 14th in
the world). He said clearly there has been a change over the last
couple of decades. He asked if there is a need to look at
alternate types of skills and also asked if the mainstreaming
concept is working, in her estimation. Is there a need to separate
those students who are doing well from those who aren't and then
concentrate our efforts on those who are not.
MS. PARKS replied that she has a very strong bias in favor of
public education. She has looked at our country's system as well
as others and we are getting more for our money today than most
countries get. What we are looking at, in many ways, is a different
society. We have a society now where a lot of the support at home
and the belief in education is so low that kids are not as
motivated to get education. That is a major factor that we are
facing.
MS. PARKS said that recently they looked at Japan and one of the
things that is different at the high school and junior high level
is that the students concentrate on small amounts of subjects where
our students are dealing with eight subjects a day. Just that kind
of education alone is something that educators are looking at and
asking if we are overloading our kids and that's why our test
scores are down. She said there is room for charter schools, but
we don't want to start segregating kids; we want inclusion because
everyone benefits from learning together.
MS. PARKS emphasized that school size might be an issue to look at.
Number 550
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE said he hears from parents frequently about
the difference between mental and physical disabilities. He asked
what he should say to parents that a behavioral problem takes 50
percent to 75 percent of the teacher's time while the other 20
children have settle for 25 percent of the teacher's time.
MS. PARKS replied that if that is happening, the teacher has not
had the proper training and the student is not getting the kind of
support they need to make the inclusion situation appropriate. A
teacher needs to be trained to say when she needs the help of an
aide to get the student moving along in an appropriate situation so
that everyone can learn. The parents need to be talked to and the
student has a right to be there and peer examples work. Helping
the whole classroom resolve the issue of one student taking too
much time makes a powerful society and classroom.
Number 533
DON BRANDON, Chairman, Governor's Committee on Employment of People
with Disabilities, said that first of all disability is normal.
People who experience them are normal people; it's our approach
toward dealing with disability that is abnormal. We have come a
long way in our society, but we still have some major barriers to
overcome attitudinally in responding to people with disabilities.
He said that 66 percent of Alaskans with disabilities are
unemployed or underemployed.
MR. BRANDON said he wanted the committee to remember four things
which are attitude, access, accommodation and appropriate health
care coverage. He thought if they could remember those four words,
they could address some of the employment issues of people with
disabilities. He explained that because of our separate attitude,
we build facilities that are not accessible.
MR. BRANDON said access to a working environment is denied.
However, accommodation is becoming more a more prominent issue
because of the Employment of Americans with Disabilities Act.
Eighty-eight percent of the costs for accommodating a person with
a severe disability costs less than $1,000. Fourthly, when you
look at some of the barriers to employment, you have to look at
appropriate health care coverage.
MR. BRANDON explained some legislative solutions he proposes would
be to enact legislation for private insurance coverage that limits
preexisting condition exclusions, improves the transportability and
affordability of health care coverage for people who are working;
ensure that adequate health care and long term supports, including
personal assistance services and assistive technology, are
available to people with disabilities who are employed, seeking
employment or changing jobs. Provide funding to enforce the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and establish a guaranteed
business loan program to promote entrepreneurship by people with
disabilities.
MR. BRANDON noted that special consideration was given to the state
of Alaska and the arctic wilderness environment when ADA was
passed. Title 5 of ADA requires a wilderness study looking at
parks and recreation facilities.
Number 488
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked how the degree of disability is
determined considering there is such a tremendous spectrum.
MR. BRANDON said they have based the definition of disability on
the functional limitation that a disease or impairment causes on an
individual who experiences the disability.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked how real is the loss of medical coverage
to a person with a disability as a barrier to employment.
MR. BRANDON answered that it is real significant because many times
the job the person with a disability is applying for does not come
with the health benefit coverages that are necessary to maintain a
person's existence; that is the barrier of finding the right job.
SENATOR WARD asked him to expand on loan opportunities.
MR. BRANDON said that now there is nothing available, but he
envisions a program, within state government which has been talked
about in the legislature over the last ten years. He used the
example of an electrician who had his arm blown off and had
paralysis in some lower parts of his body. When he became
medically stable and able to go to work, job opportunities would
come open and he would go and apply for them, but the jobs would be
given to people who were able-bodied. This went on for two years.
So he sat down in his garage and started thinking about what he
could do to survive and he started selling T-shirts out of his own
garage. In the last 15 years he has become the largest producer of
specialty advertising in Interior Alaska. He said that many people
with disabilities have the ability to produce a business that is
successful for them.
Number 421
REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN PORTER asked if he knew what was happening to
the bill the legislature passed last year requiring the state to
guarantee the loan programs for assistive technology.
MR. BRANDON replied that that loan program is currently available
now.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked what the legislature could do to make
government more consumer friendly.
MR. BRANDON said he didn't know that it was unfriendly, but
indicated Duane French, Director, Vocational Rehabilitation, could
give him the information.
Number 408
DAVID LEVY, State Independent Living Council, said he would be
speaking about housing issues and that people want at least two
things in life, a phone call from Ed McMann saying they won the $10
million sweepstakes and the other is access to affordable housing.
He suggested they look at fully funding the Alaska Housing Finance
Corporation, specifically to include $2.5 million in special needs
housing and $750,000 in homeless services. It has been estimated
that 40 percent of homeless individuals in the state of Alaska
experience some form of a disability.
MR. LEVY said secondly, he suggests for them to provide some
direction and support to the AHFC to provide some grant writing and
other technical skills to service providers so they can figure out
how to bring more federal dollars into the state to utilize as a
match. Thirdly, they should target state housing dollars towards
rural communities. Finally, they should amend Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation statutes and establish a down payment program
that would allow people with disabilities to own their own homes or
remain in their existing homes.
SENATOR WARD asked Mr. Levy he had taken these requests to the AHFC
Board.
MR. LEVY replied that they have had initial discussions with them
and they expressed some interest. He said they are continuing to
work with them to make a joint proposal to the legislature, both
administratively and legislatively.
REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN said in Scandinavia there is a concept of
co-housing where people join forces and pool their abilities to
support one another in a home environment and asked if our disabled
community had looked at.
MR. LEVY said he had read some material on this and he would be
happy to get more information for the committees on it and thought
it would be very interesting to explore.
Number 358
JERIE BEST, State Independent Living Council, fitting together a
piece of her wheelchair, said she wanted to illustrate that until
you have been in a wheelchair and have gone into a public restroom
in an airport or a ferry and had to take your wheelchair apart and
then get stuck and rescued - not fully clothed, you haven't really
lived. She said that people with disabilities have to make
themselves fit into a situation which isn't always the best answer.
MS. BEST pointed out accessible transportation is one of the keys
to community inclusion. She said a lot of improvement has been
made over the last five years and over the last year, substantial
improvements have been made in the transportation system. She said
that a lot of agencies have been funded to buy vans, but they only
serve their own clientele and won't stretch the rules.
MS. BEST said a minimum of four DOT/PF people came to their summit
and that was another step in the right direction. She said only a
few Alaskan communities have public transportation and even there
it's limited because they have to be within one-half of a mile of
the corridor. There are eligibility restrictions and limited hours
of service and there are very few companies that provide accessible
transportation.
MS. BEST said in addition to the elimination of physical barriers,
transportation access for people with disabilities includes the
removal of structural, communication and environmental barriers.
She mentioned that there are still a few curbs that need to be
moved.
MS. BEST explained expanded visual access such as signage,
electronic message boards and teletypewriters are needed for the
hearing impaired so they can contact a lot of the transportation
facilities. They also need auditorial detectable warnings as well
as some braille which is an easy accommodation, but they need to be
made policies and priorities.
MS. BEST said some legislative solutions were to provide additional
operating and capital funds, including flexible capital funds for
maintenance and operations, in order to expand public transit in
Alaska and to fund more accessible rural transit services and other
forms of rural transportation for both the general public and
people with disabilities.
Number 252
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked if it was easy for her to access
transportation once she arrived in Juneau.
MS. BEST replied that Juneau is really great because several
agencies have gotten together. Under ADA, you can apply for an ADA
paratransit card. This means you can go any place and ride the
paratransit system.
Number 227
REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN said there is the issue of money and being
able to fund transportation for people. Other northern communities
create quality living environments for all members of their society
and recognize it is a lot more efficient and cost effective if they
can concentrate their dollars into smaller areas. He thought it
would be a lot easier to maintain an urban environment in a
concentrated area.
MS. BEST replied that that would not be giving her free choices and
America is about free choice. If she makes the choice to live in
south Anchorage she should have the same access as downtown
Anchorage. She, as a disabled person, should not be forced to live
in an environment that is more conducive to her disability. Ms.
Best stated disabled people want to be a part of everyone else's
lives.
Number 172
SENATOR WARD noted that not all hotels were handicapped accessible.
He said about four years ago there was a special ordinance for five
cabs that were handicapped permitted and asked her if she knew
anything about it.
MS. BEST replied that she had talked with Guy (Indisc.) who owns
Alaska Cab and he has no more handicapped accessible cabs because
they had worn themselves out and he didn't have the funds available
to purchase any more.
SENATOR WARD asked if there were other places that did that.
MS. BEST said she has some demonstration projects and other
information that she would be glad to forward to him.
Number 144
MS. DODGE thanked the committee on behalf of everyone for allowing
them to speak to the committee today. She said they would be
answering their questions within the next few weeks and would
forward them a copy of yesterday's summit report. She said they
have a state number which is 269-8990.
CHAIRMAN WILKEN said that it had been a great meeting and the
legislature had a plan to balance the budget over the next four
years. He didn't want them to lose confidence in what they can do.
He said the government is not going to pass the pain down to their
customers, but send it up the ladder. He asked them to let the
legislature know if they felt they were being pinpointed to balance
the budget. He congratulated them on their summit and the way they
have presented their ideas.
ADJOURNMENT
CHAIRMAN WILKEN then adjourned the meeting at 4:40 p.m.
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