03/10/1998 03:05 PM House HES
| Audio | Topic |
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL
SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
March 10, 1998
3:05 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Con Bunde, Chairman
Representative Joe Green, Vice Chairman
Representative Brian Porter
Representative Fred Dyson
Representative J. Allen Kemplen
Representative Tom Brice
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Al Vezey
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
* HOUSE BILL NO. 459
"An Act relating to medical assistance for certain disabled
persons; relating to the priorities established for the medical
assistance program."
- PASSED CSHB 459(HES) FROM COMMITTEE
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 11(FIN)(title am)
"An Act establishing a reimbursement program for municipal bonds,
notes, or other indebtedness incurred for school construction;
relating to administrative costs of reimbursing municipal school
construction debt; relating to municipal school construction
project eligibility requirements for receiving state reimbursement;
and providing for an effective date."
- PASSED HCS CSSB 11(HES) FROM COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 169
"An Act relating to welfare to work tax credits under the Alaska
Net Income Tax Act; and providing for an effective date."
- PASSED CSHB 169(HES) FROM COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 367
"An Act relating to part-time public school students; and providing
for an effective date."
- PASSED HB 367 FROM COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 353
"An Act relating to adoption by reference in regulations; and
providing for an effective date."
- PASSED CSHB 353(HES) FROM COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 307
"An Act relating to custody of and visitation rights concerning
children; and relating to an obligor's liability to the state for
public money paid to support the obligor's children."
- BILL HEARING POSTPONED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 21
Relating to declaring March 1998 as Sobriety Awareness Month.
- BILL WAIVED OUT OF COMMITTEE
(* First public hearing)
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 459
SHORT TITLE: MEDICAID FOR LOW-INCOME DISABLED
SPONSOR(S): HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
02/20/98 2383 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
02/20/98 2384 (H) HES
03/10/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
BILL: SB 11
SHORT TITLE: SCHOOL DEBT REIMBURSEMENT
SPONSOR(S): SENATOR(S) HALFORD, Phillips, Green;
REPRESENTATIVE(S) Kohring
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
01/13/97 16 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/3/97
01/13/97 16 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
01/13/97 16 (S) HES, FIN
02/26/97 (S) HES AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH ROOM 205
02/26/97 (S) MINUTE(HES)
03/21/97 (S) HES AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH ROOM 205
03/21/97 (S) MINUTE(HES)
03/24/97 (S) MINUTE(HES)
03/24/97 831 (S) HES RPT CS 3DP 2NR SAME TITLE
03/24/97 831 (S) DP:WILKEN, GREEN, WARD; NR:ELLIS,
LEMAN
03/24/97 831 (S) ZERO FISCAL NOTE TO SB (DOE)
04/07/97 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532
04/07/97 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
04/08/97 (S) FIN AT 6:00 PM SENATE FINANCE 532
04/08/97 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
04/08/97 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
04/09/97 1048 (S) FISCAL NOTE TO CS (DOE)
04/22/97 (S) FIN AT 5:30 PM SENATE FINANCE 532
04/23/97 (S) FIN AT 8:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532
04/24/97 (S) FIN AT 8:30 AM SENATE FINANCE 532
04/24/97 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
04/24/97 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
05/02/97 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532
05/02/97 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
05/02/97 (S) MINUTE(RLS)
05/02/97 1642 (S) FIN RPT CS 2DP 3NR 2AM NEW TITLE
05/02/97 1642 (S) DP: TORGERSON, PHILLIPS; NR: PEARCE,
05/02/97 1642 (S) SHARP, ADAMS; AM: PARNELL, DONLEY
05/05/97 1678 (S) INDETERMINATE FN (DOE)
05/05/97 1677 (S) RULES TO CALENDAR 5/5/97
05/05/97 1680 (S) READ THE SECOND TIME
05/05/97 1680 (S) FIN CS ADOPTED UNAN CONSENT
05/05/97 1681 (S) ADVANCE TO THIRD READING FLD Y14 N5
E1
05/05/97 1681 (S) THIRD READING 5/6 CALENDAR
05/06/97 1726 (S) READ THE THIRD TIME CSSB 11(FIN)
05/06/97 1726 (S) TITLE AM 1 ADOPTED Y10 N8 E1 A1
05/06/97 1727 (S) PASSED Y12 N7 E1
05/06/97 1727 (S) EFFECTIVE DATE(S) ADPTD Y17 N2 E1
05/06/97 1727 (S) LINCOLN NOTICE OF RECONSIDERATION
05/06/97 1735 (S) RECON TAKEN UP SAME DAY Y14 N5 E1
05/06/97 1736 (S) PASSED ON RECONSIDERATION Y12 N7 E1
05/06/97 1736 (S) EFFECTIVE DATE(S) ADPTD Y16 N3 E1
05/06/97 1766 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
05/07/97 1594 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
05/07/97 1594 (H) HES, FINANCE
05/08/97 1703 (H) CROSS SPONSOR(S): KOHRING
02/26/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
02/26/98 (H) MINUTE(HES)
03/10/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HB 169
SHORT TITLE: WELFARE TO WORK TAX CREDITS
SPONSOR(S): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
03/05/97 543 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
03/05/97 543 (H) HES, STATE AFFAIRS, FINANCE
03/05/97 543 (H) INDETERMINATE FISCAL NOTE (DHSS)
03/05/97 543 (H) FISCAL NOTE (REV)
03/05/97 543 (H) ZERO FISCAL NOTE (LABOR)
03/05/97 543 (H) GOVERNOR'S TRANSMITTAL LETTER
05/02/97 (H) HES AT 3:30 PM CAPITOL 106
05/02/97 (H) MINUTE(HES)
05/06/97 (H) HES AT 4:00 PM CAPITOL 106
05/06/97 (H) MINUTE(HES)
02/24/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
02/24/98 (H) MINUTE(HES)
02/26/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
02/26/98 (H) MINUTE(HES)
03/10/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HB 367
SHORT TITLE: PART-TIME PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT ENROLLMEN
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVES(S) DYSON
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
01/28/98 2155 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
01/28/98 2155 (H) HES
02/12/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
02/12/98 (H) MINUTE(HES)
02/27/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
02/27/98 (H) MINUTE(HES)
03/10/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HB 353
SHORT TITLE: REFER IN HSS REGS TO OTHER DOCUMENTS
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVES(S) KELLY, Dyson
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
01/26/98 2138 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
01/26/98 2138 (H) HES
02/10/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
02/10/98 (H) MINUTE(HES)
03/10/98 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
BOB BRIGGS, Staff Attorney
Disability Law Center of Alaska
230 South Franklin, Room 209
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 586-1627
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 459.
HOWARD HEDGES
Box 779
Homer, Alaska 99603
Telephone: (907) 235-2701
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 459.
JOYANNA GEISLER
P.O. Box 2474
Homer, Alaska 99603
Telephone: (907) 235-7911
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 459.
JAMES M. SHINE, SR., Chairperson
Governor's Committee on Employment and
Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities;
and Private Attorney
15904 Glacier Highway
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 789-6166
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 459.
PATRICK REINHART, Executive Director
State Independent Living Council
1016 West 6th Avenue, Suite 205
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Telephone: (907) 269-3571
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 459.
JON SHERWOOD
Division of Medical Assistance
Department of Health & Social Services
P.O. Box 110660
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0660
Telephone: (907) 465-3355
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 459.
RON KREHER, Special Assistant
Division of Public Assistance
Department of Health & Social Services
P.O. Box 110640
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0640
Telephone: (907) 465-3349
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 459.
MILLIE RYAN, Planner
Governor's Council on Disabilities and
Special Education
Department of Health & Social Services
P.O. Box 240249
Anchorage, Alaska 99524
Telephone: (907) 269-8992
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 459.
WALTER MAJOROS, Executive Director
Alaska Mental Health Board
431 North Franklin Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 465-3071
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 459.
BRETT HUBER, Legislative Assistant
to Senator Rick Halford
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 121
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
Telephone: (907) 465-4958
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions and commented on
CSSB 11(FIN)(title am).
JOHN HOLST
Sitka School District
P.O. Box 1954
Sitka, Alaska 99835
Telephone: (907) 8622
POSITION STATEMENT: Asked questions regarding CSSB 11(FIN)
(title am).
KEVIN RITCHIE, Executive Director
Alaska Municipal League and Alaska
Conference of Mayors
217 Second Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 586-1325
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 11(FIN)(title am).
HARRIET DRUMMOND
Anchorage School District
2139 Hillcrest Place
Anchorage, Alaska 99503
Telephone: (907) 279-7722
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 11(FIN)(title am).
DIANE KELLER
P.O. Box 872611
Wasilla, Alaska 99687
Telephone: (907) 373-7171
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 11(FIN)(title am).
ROBERT LEHMAN, Superintendent
Mat-Su School District
1748 Lake Lucille Drive
Wasilla, Alaska 99654
Telephone: (907) 746-9255
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 11(FIN)(title am).
DAN BLANTON
P.O. Box 1027
Talkeetna, Alaska 99676
Telephone: (907) 733-2142
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 11(FIN)(title am).
KATHLEEN WIGHT-MURPHY, Teacher
Finger Lake Elementary School
P.O. Box 876166
Wasilla, Alaska 99687
Telephone: (907) 373-0984
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 11(FIN)(title am).
JIM NORDLUND, Director
Division of Public Assistance
Department of Health & Social Services
P.O. Box 110640
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0640
Telephone: (907) 465-2680
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 169.
BILL EHLERS, Program Coordinator
WOTC Program
Department of Labor
P.O. Box 25509
Juneau, Alaska 99802-5509
Telephone: (907) 465-5925
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 169.
REPRESENTATIVE PETE KELLY
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 411
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
Telephone: (907) 465-2327
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on HB 353.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 98-22, SIDE A
Number 0001
CHAIRMAN CON BUNDE called the House Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. Members
present at the call to order were Representatives Bunde, Porter,
Dyson and Brice. Representatives Green and Kemplen arrived at 3:06
and 3:08 p.m., respectively. Representative Vezey was absent. He
announced that HB 307 was postponed at the sponsor's request and
SCR 21 was waived out of committee.
HB 459 - MEDICAID FOR LOW-INCOME DISABLED
Number 0115
CHAIRMAN BUNDE announced the first bill on the agenda was HB 459,
"An Act relating to medical assistance for certain disabled
persons; relating to the priorities established for the medical
assistance program." He asked Mr. Briggs to come forward to
address the bill.
Number 0140
BOB BRIGGS, Staff Attorney, Disability Law Center of Alaska,
expressed his pleasure at being invited to testify on the subject
of expanding the opportunities for employment of persons with
disabilities. He handles a wide range of legal matters for persons
with disabilities and in the course of his work, he has come to
understand how frequently in a person's life, the event of becoming
disabled is a radical change in their life and in the course of
life's adventure, they focus on getting a job again. The biggest
hurdle he hears from people in the disability community is being
able to provide for their medical expenses. Medical costs are
especially high for people with disabilities. For example, his
client Dawn Pedersen, who is a driving force behind expanding the
employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, lost her
liver to lupus and received a liver transplant. To live today,
Dawn takes autoimmune suppression drugs costing about $900 per
month and has blood draws done and analyzed monthly.
Number 0289
MR. BRIGGS stated the option presented in HB 459 is for the state
to provide Medicaid buy-ins for people with disabilities who go
back to work. He said the Disability Law Center endorses the
concept in HB 459 because it accomplishes the goal of exercising
the option. House Bill 459 won't solve all the problems of people
with disabilities who are trying to get back to work; it won't
benefit all people who are currently unemployed, disabled and on
government benefits, but it's a good step in the right direction.
He urged the committee to pass HB 459.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE noted the committee needed to adopt the proposed
committee substitute as the working document. Also, there was an
amendment which needed to be addressed.
Number 0363
REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN PORTER made a motion to adopt proposed
committee substitute 0-LS1504\E, as a work draft. There being no
objection, that version was before the committee.
Number 0389
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked Mr. Briggs to speak to the amendment.
MR. BRIGGS explained the amendment was not specifically at his
request, but he would endorse it. He explained the purpose of the
amendment is that persons with disabilities, especially those with
severe disabilities, can function and become contributing members
of society with personal care attendant services. The amendment
would expand the ability for people getting personal care attendant
services to receive those services at the workplace and outside the
home. The point is that the concept of receiving personal care
attendants at the home is too restrictive and this amendment would
provide more flexibility for people with disabilities to
participate in the community, including the opportunity to work.
Number 0487
REPRESENTATIVE TOM BRICE made a motion to adopt Amendment 1 which
read:
Page 1, line 1, following ";":
Insert "relating to personal care services for recipients
of medical assistance; and"
Page 3, following line 24:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"*Sec. 3. AS 47.07.900(15) is amended to read:
(15) "personal care services in a recipient's home"
means services authorized under a service plan [PRESCRIBED BY
A PHYSICIAN] in accordance with applicable federal and state
law [THE RECIPIENT'S PLAN OF TREATMENT AND PROVIDED BY AN
INDIVIDUAL WHO IS
(A) QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES;
(B) SUPERVISED BY A REGISTERED NURSE; AND
(C) NOT A MEMBER OF THE RECIPIENT'S FAMILY;]
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked if there was any objection. Hearing none,
Amendment 1 was adopted.
Number 0502
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE referred to page 3, and said the option list
refers to services, but line 24 addresses individuals. He asked
Mr. Briggs to clarify that for the committee.
MR. BRIGGS responded that Representative Brice was pointing out a
problem with the draftsmanship of the committee substitute.
Section 2 amends AS 47.07.035 which is a list of medical assisted
services provided by the state and it sets a priority for when
those services should be withdrawn during periods of budgetary
shortfall. As Representative Brice pointed out, it's a list of
services not a list of persons, but the amendment describes a class
of persons whose Medicaid services would be withdrawn and it places
those persons at the bottom of the list which creates a very high
priority for those people. To solve the draftsmanship problem, he
suggested the language be changed to read "individuals receiving
services as described in AS 47.07.020(b)(1)" which would make the
classes the same. He did not view the defect as anything that
should slow the bill down if the committee's not inclined to amend
it as suggested.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE commented that it had been a question in his
mind and after discussing it with Legislative Legal Services, he
wanted it brought before the committee.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE viewed it as a technical adjustment that can be
rewritten. He noted there were a number of individuals waiting to
testify via teleconference. He asked Howard Hedges to present his
comments at this time.
Number 0728
HOWARD HEDGES testified via teleconference from Homer, stating his
support for HB 459 as he was directly affected by the issue of
benefits versus going back to work. He suffered a stroke in 1993
which left him disabled, but with the support of his employer and
medical people, he went back to work in 1996 for one year and used
the transitional benefits that were available. At the end of the
year, he could not secure private health care insurance that would
cover his medical needs; $1500 a month for medications in addition
to physical therapy. In June 1997, he was let go from his job
because he would have been a fiscal liability because no insurance
coverage was available for him. This past December he had an
internal defibrilator installed in his heart, which cost $8,000.
Had he not quit his job and gone back on Medicaid benefits, he
would have had no insurance coverage and he and his family would
have suffered great hardship.
Number 0835
MR. HEDGES noted there was something left out of HB 459 which is
that persons who receive supplemental security income (SSI) can
qualify for this under 1619(b) of the social security regulations.
Persons like him who receive social security disability (SSD)
insurance can't qualify because of the income level. He urged
committee members to look into this issue, because there are a lot
of disabled people who want to go back to work and would be able to
under HB 459, but individuals like himself would be left out.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Mr. Hedges for his testimony and asked
Joyanna Geisler to testify.
Number 0893
JOYANNA GEISLER testified via teleconference from Homer. She
supported HB 459 in concept because it supports the idea that
people with disabilities who are receiving SSI can return to work
and contribute to the purchase of their Medicaid services. She
believed that was important for a variety of reasons, a couple are
that not only do a lot of persons with disabilities need the
continued health care service, but they also need the ability to
contribute to their own purchase of that insurance. She fully
supports Amendment 1 to go along with the Medicaid buy-in option.
She expressed caution that while this is a good first step, it has
no impact on a number of individuals who do experience a disability
and receive SSDI and not SSI. As Mr. Hedges pointed out, SSI
recipients can currently qualify for the 1619(b) option allowing
them to keep their benefits.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Ms. Geisler for her comments and asked Jim
Shine to come forward to present his testimony.
Number 1034
JAMES M. SHINE, SR., Chairperson, Governor's Committee on
Employment and Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities and
Private Attorney, testified in support of HB 459 as amended. He
noted there are a number of legislative bills working through the
system - HB 348 is a companion bill, as is SB 253. He said, "And
of these three bills, yours I think, most adequately addresses the
needs of people experiencing disability; in particular because of
the priority you have placed on people experiencing disabilities
for those services to be removed when it's an optional service as
well as the sliding scale which you have adopted by regulation
rather than leaving it open to the possibility of a policy
determination."
Number 1106
REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON asked how well the state is doing at
employing disabled people?
MR. SHINE responded that efforts are being made. He said the
Governor's Committee on Employment and Rehabilitation of People
with Disabilities is fortunate to have Beverly Reaume, Director of
the Division of Personnel, heading up the standing employment
committee, and concerted efforts are being made to hire more people
with disabilities. The committee is presently working with the
Alaska Human Resource Investment Council to encourage employment of
people with disabilities. He, along with others in the disabled
community would certainly like to see more toward that regard. He
discussed plans for a new program under consideration whereby the
state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation loans money to an
enterprise to acquire a capital asset in exchange for which that
business agrees to hire for a period of five years a certain number
of people with disabilities. In answer to Representative Dyson's
question, he couldn't say exactly how many people with a disability
are employed in the state of Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON inquired if he could logically infer that the
state has not done as well in the past as is possible.
MR. SHINE reiterated that efforts are being made, but the state is
probably not employing as many people with disabilities as the
disabled community would like to see.
Number 1207
REPRESENTATIVE JOE GREEN asked if persons with disabilities are
displacing nonhandicapped persons, or filling a niche that needs to
be filled.
MR. SHINE replied, "We always say that you are hiring ability; you
are not hiring a disability." These are persons who are qualified
to do the work who happen to experience a disability and generally
do not displace people who are "temporarily able bodied". He said
that a disability is probably the most indiscriminate thing that
can happen to anyone. It is a pervasive condition of life in the
twentieth century.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Mr. Shine for his comments and asked Patrick
Reinhart to come forward to testify.
Number 1293
PATRICK REINHART, Executive Director, State Independent Living
Council, thanked the committee for addressing this issue and
expressed support for HB 459, particularly with the amendment. The
Independent Living Council felt the personal care attendant was
very important in terms of getting people with disabilities back to
work. With respect to Representative Dyson's question regarding
employment, he said he experiences a disability and has been helped
over the years with college classes and with the purchase of a
prostethic by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in Alaska
and in Wisconsin. Those are the type of services provided by the
vocational rehabilitation programs across the country. His
personal opinion is that Alaska does a good job in getting people
with disabilities the education and training needed to get back to
work, but there are constant barriers or disincentives to work,
such as the Medicaid issue, as well as being able to have personal
care attendants come into the office place. These are issues
every state is trying to address. Alaska is on the right track
with this legislation but there is much more to be done. A lot of
money is investment in training people with disabilities to get
back to work, but the attitudes of society that people with
disabilities can't do the job is the biggest barrier needing to be
overcome.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Mr. Reinhart for his remarks and asked Jon
Sherwood to come forward.
Number 1421
JON SHERWOOD, Division of Medical Assistance, Department of Health
& Social Services, expressed the division's support of HB 459 and
the amendment. He said, "This option for the working disabled can
include people who receive social security disability benefits as
long as their benefits are below the needs standard for the adult
public assistance program, which is a little less than twice that
of the SSI program. So, to the extent that these people would
receive Medicaid anyway while receiving the disability benefits,
they would be able to go back to work and continue to receive
Medicaid." As has been pointed out, that won't address the problem
for everybody but it will include a lot more people than are being
reached now.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked Mr. Sherwood to address the fiscal note.
MR. SHERWOOD commented the division is of the opinion this will
actually save money over time because as people go back to work,
there will be less adult public assistance payments. In the short
term, the division believes there are some people who currently are
able to go back to work and would leave Medicaid and eventually,
this option may allow them to continue Medicaid a little longer, so
there's a small amount of short term Medicaid cost associated with
it, combined with long term savings in the adult public assistance
program. The net effect is that over time the division expects the
savings will continue to grow as more people are able to go back to
work.
Number 1548
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked Mr. Sherwood if he could explain how the
250 percent federal poverty level relates to SSI and SSDI.
MR. SHERWOOD replied that supplemental security payments are right
now about $500 a month for an individual, which is about half of
what the federal poverty level is for one person. The 250 percent
of poverty for a household of four would be well in excess of
$40,000 a year.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE said, "So this would cover everybody from
$40,000 -- in excess of $40,000 on down with disabilities."
MR. SHERWOOD said that was correct, to the extent the earnings were
earned income, because earned income can be disallowed. If there
were payments from other sources, there may still be some problems.
Number 1600
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked if the disability had to be a certain
degree in order to qualify.
MR. SHERWOOD responded this category uses the social security
definition of disability, which is the inability to work for at
least one year. But it's sometimes referred to as a 100 percent
disability standard. An individual can't be able to work, although
it allows for a small amount of employment - less than $500 a
month.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Mr. Sherwood for testifying and asked Mr.
Kreher to present his comments.
Number 1645
RON KREHER, Special Assistant, Division of Public Assistance,
Department of Health & Social Services, said the division supports
HB 459. Any legislation that helps move people toward self-
sufficiency and improves the quality of life is in the best
interest of the division as well as the state. He volunteered to
answer any questions regarding the division's fiscal note.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Mr. Kreher for his comments and called on
Millie Ryan to testify.
Number 1682
MILLIE RYAN, Planner, Governor's Council on Disabilities and
Special Education, said the council had just completed the three-
year planning process and had heard from many people across the
state wanting to work, but were running into a number of
disincentives. She said the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
invests money in training and getting people to work, but when the
time comes to look for a job, the disincentives discourage them
from working. One of the biggest disincentives is the fear of
losing medical coverage, because these people need the medical
coverage in order to survive. She said HB 459 is a good beginning;
it will help get some people to work. She said the council is
reviewing some of the ways to address other disincentives, some of
which can probably be addressed at the state level. She said it's
important to remember that when people with severe disabilities go
to work, often they have expenses that are unique to their
disability. Those expenses will not go away just because they are
able to work, so it's important to have a gradual reduction in
services.
Number 1760
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN reflected while working in the oil industry
several years ago, there were a group of employees doing rather
routine jobs. He recalls having an aide with a mental handicap who
was one of the best employees because even though the work was
boring, his mind didn't wander because it was a challenge for him
and he felt he was making a contribution. He wondered if that same
attitude applied to individuals with a physical handicap.
MS. RYAN responded that most individuals want to work and are
qualified to work. She works most closely with persons with
developmental disabilities who may need a job coach to help with
the training on the job. For the most part, people with
disabilities want to work and that sort of an attitude makes a big
difference in people's performance.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Ms. Ryan for her comments and asked Walter
Majoros to come forward to testify.
Number 1834
WALTER MAJOROS, Executive Director, Alaska Mental Health Board,
testified in strong support of HB 459. He reiterated there are a
number of people with a mental illness that would like to work, but
can't work because of various impediments; the lack of health
insurance options has been identified as the biggest impediment to
keeping people with mental illnesses being able to engage in
employment. Oftentimes people with mental illness who are employed
either do not have health insurance, or if they do, it's benefits
for physical health issues with minimal mental health coverage or
no mental health coverage whatsoever. Often, the high cost of a
person's psychotropic medication alone prohibits them from
maintaining a job and pay their expenses. He noted the Alaska
Mental Health Board meets four times a year and takes testimony at
two of the meetings at least, and the single issue heard most over
the last several years, has been insurance coverage. House Bill
459 will remove some disincentives to employment for people with
mental illnesses and will allow them to choose work over welfare
and, to a greater degree, be contributing members of society.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked Mr. Briggs if he had any closing remarks.
Number 1924
MR. BRIGGS expressed his appreciation to the committee for
addressing this issue and urged the committee to pass HB 459 and
send it on to the Finance Committee.
Number 1941
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER summarized that HB 459 purports to employ
persons with disabilities or to keep them employed, allowing them
to work toward self-sufficiency for a reasonably minor investment
for the next two years which would be more than overcome by savings
in the next three or four years.
Number 1964
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER made a motion to move HB 459 as amended from
committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal
notes. There being no objection, CSHB 459(HES) moved from the
House Health, Education and Social Services Committee.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON encouraged individuals working with the
disabilities community to find a staff person for him next year.
CSSB 11(FIN)(Title am) - SCHOOL DEBT REIMBURSEMENT
Number 2024
CHAIRMAN BUNDE announced the next order of business was CS FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 11(FIN)(title am), "An Act establishing a
reimbursement program for municipal bonds, notes, or other
indebtedness incurred for school construction; relating to
administrative costs of reimbursing municipal school construction
debt; relating to municipal school construction project eligibility
requirements for receiving state reimbursement; and providing for
an effective date." The committee discussed whether the date on
page 4, line 14, should be changed from "1997" to "1998". It was
determined it should not be changed. He asked Brett Huber to come
forward to comment and answer questions.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE advised the committee had been discussing the date
on page 4, line 14, and had determined it would have an impact on
impending bond sales.
Number 2202
BRETT HUBER, Legislative Assistant to Senator Rick Halford, Alaska
State Legislature, said it was his understanding that it would
impact the bonds that will soon be going before to voters in
Anchorage.
Number 2009
CHAIRMAN BUNDE directed the committee's attention to the amendment
that would insert a new section on page 6, line 20.
Number 2216
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to delete "50" and insert "70"
on page 4, line 11.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE objected.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE said this amendment was in line with the
considerable amount of testimony the committee had received
requesting 70 percent state reimbursement.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE pointed out the proposed committee substitute needed
to be adopted.
Number 2263
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to adopt proposed committee
substitute 0-LS0151\P, Ford, 3/3/98, as a work draft. There being
no objection, that version was before the committee.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked for a roll call vote. Representatives Brice,
Dyson and Kemplen voted in favor of the amendment. Representatives
Porter, Green and Bunde voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 1
failed by a vote of 3-3.
Number 2300
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to adopt Amendment 2 which read:
*Sec. 6. Insert new section AS 14.11.100.
(n) The total amount of school construction projects
approved for reimbursement by the department under (a)(8) of
this section:
(1) May not exceed $231,000,000; and
(2) until July 1, 2003
(A) $131,000,000 shall be allocated to
projects in a municipality with a population of 200,000 or
more people;
(B) $40,000 shall be allocated to projects in
a municipality with a population of at least 70,000, but less
than 200,000;
(C) $60,000,000 shall be allocated to projects
in a municipality with less than 70,000 people.
Renumber the rest of the sections.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE pointed out there was a technical change to
the amendment in that (a)(8) should read (a)(6).
CHAIRMAN BUNDE objected to Amendment 2 for discussion purposes.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE explained the idea behind Amendment 2 is to
provide a certain amount of allocation of debt to the larger
municipalities; namely Anchorage and Fairbanks, and the small ones.
He could not tie down a specific number on 2(C) which is for
municipalities less than 70,000 people, so if anybody ....
TAPE 98-22, SIDE B
Number 0001
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE .... have more accurate numbers, he would be
agreeable to a change. He said, "I arbitrarily hit $60,000,000 -
the number I'd gotten from the department was $353,000,000 and I
figured that includes everything from Ketchikan to Barrow. I think
$60,000,000 is a relatively realistic number for municipalities
such as communities on the peninsula and in the valley to address
some. If not, you know it would be okay to increase this. But the
idea is to provide the level of allocation that the state has for
school debt to the municipalities to sort of take off the
competitive nature necessarily of getting bonds out and approved by
voters and what we've given is a five year time line for those
allocations."
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked Mr. Huber to comment on Amendment 2.
MR. HUBER said a change in (a)(6) brings it back to a section of
the bill that was actually dealing with projects that were bonded
and approved between April 30, 1993, and July 1, 1997, so the
amendment establishes a cap in a time period during which there
could not possibly be a project.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE maintained it would establish it back at
70/30.
MR. HUBER noted that language on line 2 reads, "but before July 1,
1997." He added, "But on the policy (indisc.) amendment, I did
have a change to talk with Senator Halford and he has two concerns
and you've already brought one of them up and that's if you have a
time period in which to qualify for these projects, you have $60
million allocated for basically the rest of the state with bonding
capacity, other than Anchorage and Fairbanks, who are the only two
communities that fit in the two slots, you've got Mat-Su that's
already got $51 million worth of projects that local voters said
they wanted to bond for. They've testified, I think in the
previous hearing on the bill, that they have four or five other
schools just to meet the need of unhoused students and overcapacity
students now. You've got Sitka that's got two projects that's been
approved and looking for funding. You have Ketchikan that has two
projects. You have $60 million that doesn't go far enough. And
the third, I guess, problem that the Senator sees with the proposed
amendment is it puts it back in the discretion of the Department of
Education (DOE) which projects get the $60 million because you're
going to have more people come forward than the $60 million will
serve and the DOE discretion is really the impetus behind the
entire bill in the first place. And if you look at the DOE list
for its school construction funding and major rehabilitation
funding, I think you're going to find again until you get down well
into the list, you're not going to see projects and funding for
organized tax paying areas of the state."
Number 0198
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked for a roll call vote. Representatives Brice
and Kemplen voted in favor of Amendment 2. Representatives Dyson,
Porter, Green and Bunde voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 2
failed by a vote of 2-4.
Number 0216
MR. HUBER pointed out the proposed committee substitute includes
language on page 4, line 2, which reads, "but before July 1, 1997"
which adds uniformity to the statute.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE noted there were a number of individuals wishing to
testify and called John Holst forward to present his comments.
Number 0236
JOHN HOLST, Sitka School District, asked if Sitka would fall under
the category being discussed. He wanted assurance that the vote
taken in the spring of 1996 for two renovation projects would
qualify Sitka for the school debt reimbursement.
MR. HUBER replied, "Sitka would be under the purview of this bill
in a bonding issue in the future - before July 1, 1997, at 50
percent, but what's been passed by Sitka is in the same boat as the
Mat-Su schools that (indisc.) at 70 percent (indisc.)."
MR. HOLST referred to Section 6 and said it reads 70 percent.
MR. HUBER pointed out that Section 6 has already been closed out.
MR. HOLST referred to his original question of what does Sitka
qualify for because their vote was for 70/30 bonding authority.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE understood that it came in after all the funds were
expended.
MR. HOLST said that was correct; Sitka knew the funds had been
expended. However, the intent of the voters was to indicate their
willingness to pay for the 30 percent. The municipality has done
the design development, is prepared to do the bid documents and
start construction in the spring of 1999 if they can get funding.
He said the people of Sitka are not real anxious to see the rules
change this far into the project and the voters committed at 70/30,
not 50/50.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE commented the voters committed to a program that no
longer exists.
MR. HOLST remarked the voters committed to funding at 70/30 with
anticipation that the legislature would again authorize that. He
said, "Let me back up. If I were going to start testifying, I
would come to the podium and say, I think you need to find a
bonding mechanism that will allow everyone to participate who can
afford to participate, even allowing the Rural Education Attendance
Areas (REAA) to stand on the sidelines - any municipality. At
50/50 there will be municipalities that will not be able to
participate and I think Governor Hickel's idea of having a sliding
scale made a lot of sense to a lot of people and it indicated that
everyone was to take part and participate in funding their
projects. I think that mentality should still exist and we should
still philosophically support that type of system, not one that
simply says some municipalities are going to participate and others
just won't be able to."
CHAIRMAN BUNDE said he understood Mr. Holst's point of view and he
would be willing to entertain hearing a bill if it were to be
introduced at 70/30; however, this legislation establishes the
level at 50/50 and the committee has already expressed their
unwillingness to change it to 70/30.
MR. HOLST confirmed that he would have to advise the voters that if
there's to be any funding, there would have to be another vote for
50/50. He wondered if he was the only person who saw some patently
unfairness to that.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE noted this legislation would be heard in the Finance
Committee and suggested he confer with his area representative who
sits on the Finance Committee. He called Kevin Ritchie to the
witness stand to testify.
Number 0453
KEVIN RITCHIE, Executive Director, Alaska Municipal League and
Alaska Conference of Mayors, testified in support of this
legislation, but remarked the 70/30 issue needs further discussion.
He recognized this was not the Finance Committee, but he hoped that
committee members would consider supporting the 70/30 issue on the
House Floor at some other time in that even though times are tight
on the state level, it also true at the municipal level. He said
there will be a significant difference in taxes in each
municipality that's going to build schools, and he's confident
schools will be built. The difference between a 70/30 split and a
50/50 split for the Mat-Su Valley is one mill of property tax each
year over the life of the bonds. It's a very significant issue for
taxpayers. He urged committee members to keep an open mind on a
70/30 split.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE called on Harriet Drummond to testify next.
Number 0520
HARRIET DRUMMOND, Anchorage School District, testified the
Anchorage School District is grateful to the legislature for past
support in debt reimbursement and it was her hope debt
reimbursement could be funded this year. She said that Anchorage
is growing by 500 to 1,000 new students a year, which is equivalent
to one to two new elementary schools every year to accommodate
growth with mid-level and high school construction as required.
The existing 1987 facilities require ongoing maintenance,
renovation and additions to cover growth and change in programs.
There are 140 relocatable classrooms currently in use in the
Anchorage School District, or the equivalent of five elementary
schools, and there are plans for two new high schools. This is the
third year the Anchorage School District is asking voters to fully
fund construction bonds locally, and there is a concern that voters
will be unwilling to bear that burden for much longer. The bond
language was written to take advantage of any debt reimbursement
available. She said the Anchorage School District Board encourages
the legislature to fund debt reimbursement; the preference is
70/30, but 50/50 would be acceptable.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Ms. Drummond for her comments and called on
Diane Keller to present her testimony.
Number 0603
DIANE KELLER testified via teleconference from Mat-Su. She agreed
with Mr. Holst and asked the committee to reconsider voting on the
funding of new schools at the 70/30 level because schools are
required by state law, and education should be a priority since
children are the state's future leaders. She recognizes that oil
revenues are on the decline, so her suggestion was to cut any new
programs and build new schools instead. She remarked that local
voters passed the bonding issue at the 70/30 level so decreasing it
to a 50/50 split would require going back to the voters. A 50/50
split would require $10 million or more from local residents. She
supported cuts being made to state government, but encouraged the
legislature to help fund the building of new schools at a local
level that a community can achieve.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Ms. Keller for her testimony and asked Bob
Lehman to present his comments.
Number 0669
ROBERT LEHMAN, Superintendent, Mat-Su School District, testified
the borough assembly and the school board have passed joint
resolutions in favor of the 70/30 split. He said the voters passed
the bond issue at a time when there wasn't enough money to go
around, but he felt the community should be grandfathered in at
70/30. He said, "I think another thing that needs to be considered
at looking at the 70/30 - and I know you're aware of the taxable
valuation and how it differs by pupil from one district to another,
but our taxable valuation, for example, is about half per pupil as
what it is in the Anchorage borough or the Kenai borough, so that
means of course that our voters have to pay double the millage rate
in order to raise the same amount of money." He noted the growth
in the Mat-Su district is the equivalent of about one elementary
school per year; about 3,000 students have been added to the
enrollment list since the last school was built. The district
currently has 64 portables with about a quarter of a million
dollars a year of operating monies going for rental. He said if
the state passes the 50/50 split, the issue will have to go before
the voters again for Talkeetna, Meadow Lake and (indisc.) school,
but in the meantime a new high school is needed for Houston,
another elementary school is needed in the core area, in addition
to a complete remodel of the Wasilla High School and one of the
elementary schools in the Palmer area. In addition, about $13
million worth of deferred maintenance costs has been identified.
He emphasized the needs are great in the Mat-Su School District.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked Dan Blanton to present his remarks.
Number 0774
DAN BLANTON testified via teleconference from Mat-Su echoing the
remarks of Mr. Lehman and Mr. Holst. He believed the money was
available when the voters passed the 70/30 bond issue and the
government should stand by those commitments. He said legislation
should be passed to guarantee ongoing funding for schools so it
isn't completely dependent on oil revenues. He said, "I know
you're trying, I hope, but I've been in Alaska five years now and
we've been in the same position every year and the capital
improvement list gets longer and longer. We need to do something
starting right away."
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Mr. Blanton for his testimony and called on
Kathleen Wight-Murphy to present her comments.
Number 0813
KATHLEEN WIGHT-MURPHY, Teacher, Finger Lake Elementary School,
testified via teleconference from Mat-Su. She agreed and supported
comments that had been made by community members. She said that
Finger Lake is one of the most overcrowded schools in the Mat-Su
Borough, with children being taught in converted bathrooms,
hallways and other areas of the school that should not be used for
instructional purposes. She reiterated previous comments about the
need for the construction of new schools in the borough. She urged
the committee to pass this legislation and recommended an amendment
to grandfather in those boroughs that have already voted on
existing debt reimbursement at the 70/30 level.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE thanked Ms. Wight-Murphy for testifying. He
commented on the plight of the legislature in that he frequently
has heard from people in the Mat-Su Valley who want less
government, less money and no taxes, yet even a 50/50 split will
require more state spending and a 70/30 split would take
considerable more state spending. He noted that comments and pleas
are taken very seriously, but the legislature has to deal very
realistically with the financial situation.
Number 0934
REPRESENTATIVE J. ALLEN KEMPLEN said there is an option available
to the citizens of Alaska and explained that last session the
legislature deposited $803 million into the corpus of the permanent
fund. This year the permanent fund is projected to produce over $1
billion after dividends are paid out and after inflation proofing
and legislation has been introduced to deposit the $1 billion back
into the corpus of the permanent fund. He was curious how the
residents of the Mat-Su Valley felt about part of that money being
used for education.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE inquired as to the wishes of the committee.
Number 0997
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON made a motion to move CSSB 11(FIN)(title am)
as amended from committee. There being no objection HCS CSSB
11(HES) moved from the House Health, Education and Social Services
Standing Committee.
HB 169 - WELFARE TO WORK TAX CREDITS
Number 1024
CHAIRMAN BUNDE announced the next item on the calendar was HB 169,
"An Act relating to welfare to work tax credits under the Alaska
Net Income Tax Act; and providing for an effective date."
Number 1031
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN moved to adopt proposed committee substitute
0-GH0082\E as the working document. There being no objection, that
version was before the committee.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE directed the committee's attention to Amendment 1
and asked Mr. Nordlund to speak to the amendment.
Number 1060
JIM NORDLUND, Director, Division of Public Assistance, Department
of Health & Social Services, explained this amendment should have
been incorporated in the amendment adopted at the last meeting. He
said the committee substitute before the committee states the
director of employment security needs to certify the accuracy of
the activities of a recipient in terms of number of hours being
worked and the length of time on public assistance in order for a
company to be eligible for the tax credit. He pointed out the
commissioner of the Department of Health & Social Services or the
Commissioner's designee should actually be certifying the accuracy
of this information rather than the director of employment
security.
Number 1116
REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN made a motion to adopt Amendment 1 which
reads:
Page 2, lines 13 - 14:
Delete "director of employment security appointed under
AS 23.20.030(a)"
Insert "commissioner of the Department of Health and
Social Services or the commissioner's designee"
Number 1118
CHAIRMAN BUNDE objected for discussion purposes.
Number 1121
BILL EHLERS, Program Coordinator, WOTC Program, Department of
Labor, said the language change should be on page 2, line 19,
instead of page 2, lines 13 - 14.
Discussion followed and it was agreed the amendment was drafted
properly.
Number 1191
CHAIRMAN BUNDE removed his objection to Amendment 1. Hearing no
further objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
Number 1251
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to move CSHB 169(HES) as amended
with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes from the
House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee.
There being no objection, it was so ordered.
HB 367 - PART-TIME PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT ENROLLMENT
Number 1279
CHAIRMAN BUNDE announced the next item on the agenda was HB 367,
"An Act relating to part-time public school students; and providing
for an effective date."
Number 1203
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON made a motion to move HB 367 from committee.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER asked the sponsor to explain the bill.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON explained HB 158 which passed both houses
unanimously last year clearly stated that a school district cannot
deny a part-time student unless enrollment would have been denied
to a full-time student. He read, "A governing body is not required
to allow a part-time enrollment if 1) the enrollment would have
been denied even if the enrollee were a full-time student." It
basically states that a part-time student will be treated the same
as a full-time student. His answer to concerns raised about a
senior needing the class to graduate is, if a school would indeed
discriminate against other full-time students who didn't need it,
then give it to the student needing it for graduation. He had
expected the Department of Education to quickly move to bring
regulations into conformity with HB 158, but in the meantime HB 367
clarifies that a part-time student cannot be discriminated against.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER noted his intention to support HB 367, but a
visiting educator had advised him of an unintended consequence. In
at least one school district, some otherwise full-time students
needing only one or two courses to graduate were taking advantage
of this provision and becoming part-time students which perhaps
gives students too much leisure time at the wrong time.
CHAIRMAN BUNDE asked if there was objection to the motion to move
HB 367 with attached fiscal notes from committee. Hearing none,
HB 367 passed from the House Health, Education and Social Services
Standing Committee.
HB 353 - REFER IN HSS REGS TO OTHER DOCUMENTS
Number 1752
CHAIRMAN BUNDE announced the next bill up for consideration was
HB 353, "An Act relating to adoption by reference in regulations;
and providing for an effective date." He asked Representative
Kelly, the sponsor, to explain the committee substitute.
Number 1752
REPRESENTATIVE PETE KELLY, Sponsor of HB 353, explained the drafter
was of the opinion that some of the language more appropriately
belonged in Title 44, the regulations statute, and the language
specifically relating to the Department of Health & Social Services
involvement would stay in Title 47. He said that is the only
change in the proposed committee substitute. He noted a concern
had been raised regarding a potential constitutional problem with
HB 353; however, he directed the committee's attention to a letter
from the Attorney General which advises that it is a valid concern
but in their opinion, it is defensible.
Number 1849
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER made a motion to adopt proposed committee
substitute 0-LS1395\B. There being no objection, that version was
before the committee.
Number 1886
REPRESENTATIVE KELLY said the Department of Health & Social
Services, with its Medicaid billing, is presented with a problem in
that Medicaid and other medical federal regulations change rapidly
and constantly. Each time a billing code changes, the department
is required to promulgate regulations based on those codes. House
Bill 353 allows the department to adopt by reference to the federal
regulations without having to go through the expensive and time-
consuming promulgation process.
Number 2012
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER made a motion to move CSHB 353(HES) from
committee. There being no objection, CSHB 353(HES) moved from the
House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee.
ADJOURNMENT
Number 2039
CHAIRMAN BUNDE adjourned the House Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee at 4:36 p.m.
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