02/08/2018 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HCR2 | |
| HB168 | |
| HCR10 | |
| HB224 | |
| HJR31 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HJR 31 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HCR 2 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 224 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 168 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HCR 10 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 8, 2018
3:05 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Chair
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Vice Chair
Representative Chris Tuck
Representative Adam Wool
Representative Chris Birch
Representative DeLena Johnson
Representative Gary Knopp
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Andy Josephson (alternate)
Representative Chuck Kopp (alternate)
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2
Urging Governor Bill Walker to join with the Alaska State
Legislature to respond to the public and behavioral health
epidemic of adverse childhood experiences by establishing a
statewide policy and providing programs to address this
epidemic.
- MOVED CSHCR 2(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 168
"An Act relating to regulation notice and review by the
legislature; and relating to the Administrative Regulation
Review Committee."
- MOVED HB 168 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 10
Proposing an amendment to the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State
Legislature relating to the jurisdiction of standing committees.
- MOVED HCR 10 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 224
"An Act relating to reemployment of persons who retire under the
teachers' retirement system."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 31
Urging the United States Congress to overturn the Federal
Communications Commission's order ending net neutrality.
- MOVED HJR 31 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HCR 2
SHORT TITLE: RESPOND TO ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) TARR
01/23/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/23/17 (H) HSS, STA
03/14/17 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
03/14/17 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
03/21/17 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
03/21/17 (H) Heard & Held
03/21/17 (H) MINUTE(HSS)
03/23/17 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
03/23/17 (H) Moved HCR 2 Out of Committee
03/23/17 (H) MINUTE(HSS)
03/24/17 (H) HSS RPT 6DP 1NR
03/24/17 (H) DP: JOHNSTON, TARR, EDGMON, SULLIVAN-
LEONARD, KITO, SPOHNHOLZ
03/24/17 (H) NR: EASTMAN
05/16/17 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/16/17 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
02/06/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/06/18 (H) Heard & Held
02/06/18 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/08/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 168
SHORT TITLE: REPEAL ADMIN. REG. REVIEW COMMITTEE
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) CHENAULT
03/10/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/10/17 (H) STA, FIN
02/06/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/06/18 (H) Heard & Held
02/06/18 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/08/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HCR 10
SHORT TITLE: UNIFORM RULES: REGULATION REVIEW
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) CHENAULT
03/10/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/10/17 (H) STA, FIN
02/06/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/06/18 (H) Heard & Held
02/06/18 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/08/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 224
SHORT TITLE: REEMPLOYMENT OF RETIRED TEACHERS & ADMIN
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) JOHNSTON
04/10/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/10/17 (H) STA, FIN
04/18/17 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/18/17 (H) Heard & Held
04/18/17 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/25/17 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/25/17 (H) Heard & Held
04/25/17 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/08/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HJR 31
SHORT TITLE: CONGRESS REVERSE FCC ON NET NEUTRALITY
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) KAWASAKI
01/26/18 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/26/18 (H) STA
02/06/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/06/18 (H) Heard & Held
02/06/18 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/08/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
SAMANTHA SAVAGE
Fairbanks Wellness Coalition (FWC)
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HCR 2.
ELSIE BOUDREAU
Alaska Resilience Initiative (ARI);
President, Arctic Winds Healing Winds (AWHW)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HCR 2.
JOSH ARVISTON, Director
Alaska Child Trauma Center (ACTC)
Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, Inc. (ACMHS)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HCR 2.
LAURA NORTON-CRUZ, Director
Alaska Resilience Initiative (ARI)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HCR 2.
CHARLES MCKEE
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the hearing on HCR 2.
ARICA PAQUETTE, Prevention Manager
Women in Safe Homes (WISH)
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HCR 2.
CARMEN LOWRY, Executive Director
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HCR 2.
REPRESENTATIVE JENNIFER JOHNSTON
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced HB 224, as prime sponsor.
LIZ REXFORD, Staff
Representative Jennifer Johnston
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 224 on behalf of
Representative Johnston, prime sponsor.
LISA PARADY, Executive Director
Alaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 224.
KATHY LEA, Chief Pension Officer
Division of Retirement and Benefits (DRB)
Department of Administration (DOA)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
224.
ANNMARIE O'BRIEN, PhD, Superintendent
Northwest Arctic Borough School District (NWABSD)
Kotzebue, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 224.
LEON JAIMES
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HJR 31.
TARA RICH, Legal and Policy Director
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HJR 31.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:05:27 PM
CHAIR JONATHAN KREISS-TOMKINS called the House State Affairs
Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:05 p.m.
Representatives Birch, Johnson, Knopp, and Kreiss-Tomkins were
present at the call to order. Representatives LeDoux, Tuck, and
Wool arrived as the meeting was in progress.
HCR 2-RESPOND TO ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
3:06:19 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2, Urging Governor Bill
Walker to join with the Alaska State Legislature to respond to
the public and behavioral health epidemic of adverse childhood
experiences by establishing a statewide policy and providing
programs to address this epidemic. [Before the committee,
adopted as a work draft on 2/6/18, was the committee substitute
(CS) for HCR 2, Version 30-LS0277\J, Glover, 1/17/18.]
3:06:54 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HCR 2.
3:07:08 PM
SAMANTHA SAVAGE, Fairbanks Wellness Coalition (FWC), testified
that that the mission of FWC is to foster wellness through
primary prevention advocacy. Its two current projects are
focused on suicide prevention and heroine and prescription
opioid misuse among teens and young adults. She offered that
FWC recognizes the importance of working together as a community
and as a state to prevent childhood trauma because of its
enormous impact on the issues that the coalition seeks to
prevent. She said that according to Linda Chamberlain, PhD,
Director of the Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project
(AFVPP), studies have shown that nearly two-thirds of suicide
attempts of adults can be attributed to adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs), and nearly 80 percent of suicide attempts
during childhood and adolescence are attributed to ACEs. She
stated that research gathered by the Alaska Children's Trust
(ACT) reported that a person with four or more ACEs is 12 times
more likely to attempt suicide and 10 times more likely to use
injection drugs. She relayed that FWC supports the state's
efforts to recognize childhood trauma as an important factor in
building wellness in the community.
3:08:35 PM
ELSIE BOUDREAU, Alaska Resilience Initiative (ARI); President,
Arctic Winds Healing Winds (AWHW), testified that AWHW is a non-
profit organization dedicated to bringing healing and wellness
to villages throughout Alaska. She mentioned that she is an
Alaska Native who grew up in the village of St. Mary's. She
expressed her belief that establishing statewide policy is
important considering so many Alaska Native children are in
foster care; for many, this is due to ACEs and historical
trauma. She emphasized the importance of funding to research
statewide solutions. She maintained that it is imperative at
this point in Alaska Native history that Alaska residents come
together and create effective and meaningful solutions to make a
difference in the lives of Alaska Native children so that ACEs
are no longer prevalent. She asserted that ACEs are devastating
and create havoc for all Alaskans. She urged the governor and
the committee to support HCR 2.
3:10:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked about the cultural differences as
they apply to foster children and posed two scenarios: the
first is a foster child graduating from high school after living
in a dozen different foster homes; the second is a child in
rural Alaska moving upriver or downriver with one family until
adulthood. He opined that the prevailing opinion is that a
child is always better off with his/her natural birth family, as
opposed to with a foster care family. He asked Ms. Boudreau for
her thoughts on how the state could do a better job in that
regard.
MS. BOUDREAU responded that as a social worker, she worked for
the Division of Family and Youth Services [now the Office of
Children's Services (OCS). She reported that most of the foster
care children she saw wanted to return to their families. She
maintained that children who grow up closer to their cultural
connections do better in the long run, because they are no
longer seeking "who am I in this world?"; they have a connection
to their cultures, their identities, and their origins, which is
important for all children. She opined that the state should be
more culturally "humble" when imposing foster care requirements
on rural communities. It should create safety beyond the
presentation of the home and look at other factors influencing a
child's well-being, such as cultural and spiritual factors.
3:13:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH responded that he agreed and referred to
"cultural continuation". He said that a child may be raised by
an extended family member in a nearby community; he/she stays
there; and there is no "big push" to remove that child to go
back into "what might not be a good environment."
3:14:20 PM
JOSH ARVISTON, Director, Alaska Child Trauma Center (ACTC),
Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, Inc. (ACMHS),
testified that the [original] ACE study data is now 20 years old
and has been supported by follow-up research highlighting the
links between ACEs and long-term health, mental health,
substance abuse, education, and occupational outcomes. He
expressed his belief that it is critical for Alaska to have a
systematic approach to addressing this issue; such an approach
would have financial health benefits for the State of Alaska and
for the state's residents. He stated that in the subsequent 20
years since the original research, the emerging science of
traumatic stress, how traumatic stress impacts behavior and
physiology, and brain imaging studies have directed us to
effective interventions and approaches that can help achieve
better outcomes for Alaskans.
3:16:05 PM
LAURA NORTON-CRUZ, Director, Alaska Resilience Initiative (ARI),
testified that she supports HCR 2 because as the director of
ARI, a former teacher, a mother, and a community member, she
shares the value that all of Alaska's children deserve to be
safe, to be cared for, and to have the opportunity to grow into
healthy contributing adults. She stated that as the director of
a statewide network of people who are actively addressing ACEs,
it is her job to learn about and connect people to the efforts
already occurring across Alaska. She relayed that there are
hundreds of groups using ACEs to guide their work in trauma and
have been doing so for decades. Alaska is at the forefront of
this movement and considered a national leader: it was chosen
as one of 14 pilot sites (indisc.); Alaskan tribes are doing
powerful work, including the Aleut community, St. Paul, that was
featured in today's issue of The Guardian; there is a coalition
in the Matanuska-Susitna ("Mat-Su") Valley that is leading
creative and innovative OSC (indisc.) improvements; the
Ketchikan Shipyard of the international company Vigor
[Industrial] is the safest shipyard in the entire company and is
the model for the Seattle Shipyard because of its implementation
of (indisc.) practices; and Alaska's Division of Juvenile
Justice (DJJ) is one of the first in the country to undergo
transformation to a "trauma-informed" agency.
MS. NORTON-CRUZ maintained that Alaskans are creative and
innovative. She said, "We've really taken this on and we're
running with it, and yet we have so far to go." She referred to
the many grim statistics about Alaska's child welfare system,
medical spending, and the opioid crisis. She relayed that to
make this effort work across all sectors as effectively as
possible, Alaska needs shared commitment and shared language
from the Alaska legislature and the governor to help set the
tone and set priorities.
MS. NORTON-CRUZ reported that the way Wisconsin has prioritized
ACEs and trauma-informed work at the state government level, led
by Wisconsin First Lady Tonette Walker, has allowed for trauma
and resilience work in Wisconsin to flourish across the state,
resulting in significant improvements in academic, health, and
social outcomes, as well as radical cost savings for state and
local government.
MS. NORTON-CRUZ maintained that the proposed resolution would
set the tone for new policy-makers and new commissioners and
make a statement that legislators care about this. The use of
ACEs is necessary to save the state money and to have a healthy
workforce; and it can result in improvements in the major
troublesome issues, such as the opioid epidemic and the child
welfare system. She concluded by saying, "You setting this
tone, you providing this leadership, can result in moving
towards an Alaska where values are manifested."
3:19:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH referred to ACEs, toxic stress, and
childhood trauma, and he mentioned that as a child, he was
spanked and experienced some significant events that were
traumatic. He asked for a brief explanation for how one's ACE
is measured.
MS. NORTON-CRUZ suggested that one way of thinking about it is
envisioning a teeter-totter: on one end is chronic and
persistent stress weighing a person down and having an effect on
his/her brain and body; on the other end are protective factors,
such as supportive adult relationships, meaningful work,
community engagement, and (indisc.) identity, that provide
balance, can be protective against adversity, or help build
resilience. She explained that where the fulcrum is positioned
can affect which side is weighted heavier; it may represent a
person's genetics or events that occurred during pregnancy.
MS. NORTON-CRUZ maintained that there are many factors that
determine outcomes after a person experiences adversity. She
said that the ACE study was a crude measure; it asked, "Did
these things happen to you?" and counted the number of those
things that happened. She maintained that what researchers
found was incredibly powerful epidemiology. They measured five
forms of household disfunction and five forms of child
maltreatment, abuse, and neglect; they found that the more
adversities a person had, the greater the risk of a myriad of
health and social problems. She reminded the committee that
because of the protective and environmental factors, a high ACE
score is not absolutely predictive. She stated that using the
ACE lens leads to opportunities for promoting protective factors
and preventing or reducing initial traumas.
3:22:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked whether any of the ACEs rise to the
level of being illegal, reportable, and punishable, such as
physical child abuse, or if they are lower level experiences,
such as alcoholic problems in the home. He inquired as to the
range of traumatic issues.
MS. NORTON-CRUZ responded that the original ACE study, conducted
by [health maintenance organization (HMO)] Kaiser Permanente in
California and replicated in Alaska, asks about five criminal
behaviors and five forms of household disfunction. The criminal
behaviors are: physical and emotional neglect; and physical,
sexual, and verbal abuse. The five forms of household
disfunction consist of: a household member who is incarcerated,
a household member who has mental illness or substance abuse,
domestic violence in the household, and parents who have
separated or divorced. She maintained that not all ACEs are
criminal and not all are necessarily a trauma, such as a
divorce; however, given the circumstances surrounding such an
event, it could create an environment of chronic stress for the
child. She added that there are many other forms of stress that
can affect a child's developing brain and body that are not
counted in the study, but have been identified by other
research, such as chronic bullying, chronic discrimination, or
hunger.
3:24:21 PM
CHARLES MCKEE testified that he had a traumatic experience in
Fairbanks, Alaska, when he was 14 years of age during the
Fairbanks flood [of 1967]; he was hospitalized at Bassett Army
Community Hospital, which saved his life. He relayed that later
his father hired a secretary to manage his business; the
secretary was married to an U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
agent; and she and the IRS agent set Mr. McKee's father up for a
major financial calamity. Mr. McKee's father was not aware of
what was happening until his checks started "bouncing". Mr.
McKee maintained that the IRS seized his father's account to get
him to sell the Alaska distributorship for Kirby Company of
Alaska. He summarized by saying that this situation is still
ongoing; "this structural organization is run by the Bar
Association and it's corrupt."
3:26:58 PM
ARICA PAQUETTE, Prevention Manager, Women in Safe Homes (WISH),
testified that she is a coordinator for the Revilla Island
Resilience Initiative (RIRI), which is working to prevent trauma
and promote resilience through collective action. She relayed
that the goal of her department at WISH is to prevent violence
through primary prevention strategies before it starts.
Research has shown that childhood trauma, including witnessing
domestic violence in the home, is a risk factor for violence
being experienced across the lifespan. She said that WISH's
programs typically target youth - elementary through high school
- but it often engages in primary prevention too late, because
children are being impacted by ACEs prior to entering the school
system.
MS. PAQUETTE maintained that cross sector collaboration is
instrumental in the implementation of effective strategies in
the communities; it creates a measurable reduction in both the
perpetration of violence and victimization. She offered that
through the lens of trauma-informed care, WISH can build
connections between sectors to engage in projects or implement
programs that impact multiple social problems and not just
intimate partner and sexual violence. Currently WISH is working
with the school district to support integrating a trauma-
informed approach in all the schools by helping teachers to
identify support and promote healing among the victims of
childhood trauma. Trauma is passed through generations, so that
supporting both parents and children is critical for ending the
(indisc.). She maintained that the state can further support
these efforts by officially supporting local and statewide
initiatives encouraging cross sector collaboration to prevent
all forms of childhood trauma and to build resilience in
families and communities.
3:29:09 PM
CARMEN LOWRY, Executive Director, Alaska Network on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), testified that ANDVSA is
constituted through 24 domestic violence and sexual assault
(DVSA) agencies across the state. It has been an active partner
with the Alaska State Legislature since 1980. She stated that
ANDVSA fully supports the proposed resolution and appreciates
the call to establish statewide policies that address the
devastating impacts of ACEs. She relayed that in fiscal year
2017 (FY 17), ANDVSA programs responded to about 7,700 women who
reached out for services; (indisc.) and approximately 1,800
children. She maintained that the multiple ACE studies
conducted since 2000 are clear: 1) there are substantiated
links between a child witnessing violence against his/her mother
and developing risk factors that have negative impacts for that
child's well-being as an adult; and 2) there are substantiated
correlations between (indisc.) domestic violence and the
likelihood of that child being physically abused. She asserted
that the bottom line is that a child's exposure to domestic
violence has a profound impact on that child, and that impact
reverberates into their adult lives; the impacts and
reverberations have social and physical implications for the
state.
MS. LOWRY stated that ANDVSA and the state can work together to
do the following: 1) continue to support and provide lifesaving
shelter and emergency services to victims and their children; 2)
expand and learn from community-based prevention activities; and
3) assess the state policies currently in place with an eye to
what needs to be revised or created to adequately address those
larger social factors that contribute to Alaska's current
condition, which is that 40 percent of Alaska's adult female
population, their children, their partners, and their
communities experience domestic violence. She offered full
support for HCR 2.
3:31:58 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony on HCR 2.
3:32:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK commented that he was unfamiliar with ACE
until his discussions with Representative Tarr and California
physician [Dr. Vincent Felitti], during which he was able to
learn what ACE is, how people are affected by ACE, and some
simple treatments to help people overcome the effects of ACE.
He maintained that he was amazed at the value of asking the ACE
questions during a physical exam for significantly improving a
person's health and reducing costs. He mentioned that he saw a
Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) talk on YouTube in which
a physician emphasized the importance of a full physical exam,
getting a complete history, and discovering ACEs to improve the
overall health of patients. He maintained that awareness of ACE
alone will have a significant impact on communities and
families.
3:34:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL commented that the issue is two-fold:
preventing the experiences that cause high ACE scores; and
treating people who have experienced ACEs. He agreed that
asking the ACE questions gives people the opportunity to explain
what happened to them and to understand the reasons behind the
difficulties they are having; and as a by-product, it saves on
state expenditures.
3:35:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL moved to report the CS for HCR 2, Version
30-LS0277\J, Glover, 1/17/18, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being
no objection, CSHCR 2(STA) was reported from the House State
Affairs Standing Committee.
HB 168-REPEAL ADMIN. REG. REVIEW COMMITTEE
[Contains discussion of HCR 10.]
3:35:54 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 168, "An Act relating to regulation
notice and review by the legislature; and relating to the
Administrative Regulation Review Committee."
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 168. After
ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, he
closed public testimony.
3:36:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL commented that he served on the
Administrative Regulation Review Committee (ARRC), and it never
met.
3:37:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK commented that he also served on ARRC and
related that there were two times in which it had a positive
impact. The first was when the Department of Commerce,
Community & Economic Development (DCCED) was adopting
regulations changing Alaska's marine pilots' role and the
required length for ships coming to Alaska; there was a hearing;
and the regulations were reversed. The second was regarding
real estate agent fees; the administration presented its
position; there was a hearing; and the regulation was reversed.
He maintained that there is a role for ARRC but possibly not on
a regular basis. He stated that recently regulations drafted by
the Alaska Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Board required a
costly bill to be introduced. He explained by saying that
anything that is not restricted by statute is implied to be
allowed. He said that the ABC Board created restrictions
contrary to legislative intent regardless of letters sent to the
ABC Board from the legislature. He maintained that one of the
purposes of ARRC is to ensure that the administration is writing
regulations according to legislative intent; ARRC is the
legislature's way of making the administration accountable. He
stated that he is hesitant to eliminate it in statute. He
mentioned that one of the nice things about ARRC is that it is a
joint committee of both the House and the Senate. He said that
he supports HCR 10.
3:39:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP agreed that there is a place for ARRC. He
added that since it has not been effective, he supports the
proposed legislation and HCR 10. He relayed that he hopes that
it would be reconsidered in the future and the legislature would
implement something that works.
3:40:35 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS noted that the oversight function would be
carried out in part by standing committees but added that he
appreciated Representative Tuck's point regarding the ARRC being
a joint committee of both houses.
3:40:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX moved to report HB 168 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HB 168 was reported from the
House State Affairs Standing Committee.
HCR 10-UNIFORM RULES: REGULATION REVIEW
3:41:24 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business
would be HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 10, Proposing an
amendment to the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature
relating to the jurisdiction of standing committees.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HCR 10. After
ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, he
closed public testimony.
3:41:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX moved to report HCR 10 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HCR 10 was reported from the
House State Affairs Standing Committee.
HB 224-REEMPLOYMENT OF RETIRED TEACHERS & ADMIN
3:42:21 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 224, "An Act relating to reemployment of
persons who retire under the teachers' retirement system."
3:43:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JENNIFER JOHNSTON, Alaska State Legislature,
relayed that HB 224 is an act relating to reemployment of
persons retired under the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS).
3:43:23 PM
LIZ REXFORD, Staff, Representative Jennifer Johnston, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Johnston, prime
sponsor of HB 224, relayed that the proposed legislation would
reinstate the retire rehire provision adopted in 2005 under
House Bill 161 [during the Twenty-Fourth Alaska State
Legislature, 2005-2006], which had a sunset date of 2009. She
stated that Alaska is experiencing a severe shortage of
teachers, specialists, and administrators in its school
districts throughout every region of Alaska. Attracting and
retaining quality teachers has become a critical issue facing
school districts as they work to improve education in Alaska's
public schools.
MS. REXFORD relayed that the proposed legislation would give
school districts the flexibility to rehire a retired teacher; it
would expand the pool of qualified teachers to temporarily fill
a position until a permanent teacher can be hired. She said
that currently school districts are struggling to fill vacant
positions with qualified teachers, sometimes relying on long-
term substitutes and other replacements. The proposed
legislation would provide another tool for school districts to
address this problem in the short-term, while long-term
solutions continue to be considered.
3:44:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON commented that the proposed legislation
is practical and sorely needed.
3:45:21 PM
LISA PARADY, Executive Director, Alaska Council of School
Administrators (ACSA), testified that she represents Alaska
superintendents, elementary school principals, secondary school
principals, school business officials, and other school
administrators. She mentioned that her testimony has the full
support of Norm Wooten [Executive Director, Association of
Alaska School Boards (AASB)] and noted that AASB has offered two
resolutions from its membership in support of the proposed
legislation. She stated that ACSA strongly supports HB 224 as
one tool that could help school districts at a time in which
they need immediate assistance to attract leadership talent to
the education profession. She maintained that ACSA recognizes
that this is not "a silver bullet" but could provide some
relief.
MS. PARADY relayed that HB 224 would allow for the reemployment
of retired educators to help districts fill vacancies; it is a
necessary tool to help meet school district personnel needs both
in urban and rural districts. She thanked Kathy Lea, Chief
Pension Officer for the Division of Retirement and Benefits
(DRB), Department of Administration (DOA), with whom the
sponsor's staff has worked to ensure that what is proposed
complies with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Treasury
Regulations that are supported by the Department of
Administration (DOA). She mentioned that ACSA has also worked
with the National Education Association (NEA)-Alaska, which
supports the proposed legislation but has suggested two minor
changes: that the districts show that they have tried, but were
unable, to hire a qualified teacher; and that the contract be
for one year at a time. She said that both changes can be
easily incorporated into the proposed legislation.
MS. PARADY suggested that it is a rare opportunity when all the
education partners collaborate and ask for legislative
assistance. She maintained that the issue is a basic "supply
and demand" issue, and the legislation is vital because the
shortage is critical. She said that ACSA members make the
hiring decisions in each district and deal directly with the
increasing difficulty of doing so currently. She referred to
the letters from districts, included in the committee packet.
She pointed out the "2018 Joint Position Statements" from the
organizations she represents, included in the committee packet,
and emphasized that members are very focused on preparing,
attracting, and retaining qualified educators and specifically
looking at areas of innovation and alternative pathways to
attracting teaching and leadership talent. She stated that
every one of ACSA's members voted to explore the retire rehire
provision.
3:49:12 PM
MS. PARADY relayed that Alaska reflects the national shortage of
teachers and educators but has even greater struggles due to its
remoteness coupled with its loss of competitiveness. She
continued by saying that against the backdrop of the national
educator shortage, Alaska's retirement system and wages for an
Alaska cost of living (COL) does not draw teachers from the
Lower 48 as it once did. She said that Alaska recruits most of
its teachers from the Lower 48; therefore, Alaska's problem is
worse. She mentioned that in the past, the Alaska Teacher
Placement (ATP) Job Fair held every year in Anchorage would
attract hundreds of educators from across the country; at last
year's ATP Job Fair, there were more hiring personnel than
applicants. There were 211 registrants with 172 of them from
Alaska and 39 from out of state. She reported that there were
36 districts represented at the job fair.
MS. PARADY offered the following statistics: In the 2016-2017
school year, 24 percent of districts had a new superintendent;
from 2013-2017, 72 percent of districts experienced at least one
change of superintendent during the five years. There are about
400 school principals in the state; in the 2016-2017 school
year, 26 percent of principals were new to their schools. In
the 2016-2017 school year, there were 8,010 teachers; 22 percent
were new to their schools.
3:51:40 PM
MS. PARADY delivered statistics on educator retention, as
follows: the average retention rate for teachers in Alaska
schools was 72 percent; in urban areas - Anchorage, Fairbanks,
and Juneau - the average retention rate was 83 percent; in
urban fringe areas, such as Palmer and Sitka, the average
retention rate was 76 percent; in the rural fringe, such as
Healy and Bethel, the average retention rate was 71 percent; and
in rural remote Alaska, such as Arctic Village and Yakatat, with
72 percent of the schools in the state, the average retention
rate was 57 percent. Retention is an issue in all areas of
Alaska; the remote schools, where it is the most difficult to
attract teachers, are where Alaska has its most severe retention
problems. She mentioned the letter from Deena Bishop, Ed.D.,
superintendent of the Anchorage School District, included in the
committee packet, sharing the importance of the proposed
legislation to her school district.
MS. PARADY concluded by referring to the testimony of James
Johnsen, PhD, President, University of Alaska (UA) during the
2/7/18 Joint Meeting of the House Education Standing Committee
and the Senate Education Standing Committee, because UA
recognizes this as an emergent issue and is taking specific
action to work with the school districts to create more teachers
in Alaska; he set an ambition goal of preparing 90 percent of
the annual hired teachers by 2025. Ms. Parady offered that ACSA
supports this goal, but Alaska needs the educators now, and it
will take time for Alaska to "grow its own."
MS. PARADY relayed that the most pressing issue is unfilled
vacancies at the start of the school year. She maintained that
the direct intent of the proposed legislation to help districts
that have advertised positions but are unable to fill them. She
directed the committee's attention to the document from the UA
Alaska Teacher Placement (ATP) website, included in the
committee packet, and pointed out that as of 2/7/18, there were
486 openings. She mentioned that last December, ACSA worked
with UA on an emergency special education support piece, because
Alaska had 93 vacancies in special education. She pointed out
the category, "Student Support Services," which is further
broken down to clarify the need for special education support
personnel.
3:54:44 PM
MS. PARADY stated that the [ATP] Job Bank is a "live" system on
the website; as Alaska moves into recruitment season in the next
couple months, about 800 positions will be posted. She relayed
that an individual can retire in any other state in the country,
come to Alaska, and be employed as a teacher; however, Alaska's
retired educators, who committed their careers to Alaska's
children, are currently blocked from doing the same.
MS. PARADY relayed that House Bill 161 sunset in 2009. The DOA
provided a summary of the program, as follows: In the years
2001-2010, total utilization was 325 retired rehired
individuals; average time reemployed was 18.7 months; the
shortest period of reemployment was 3 months; the longest period
of reemployment was 46 months. The employer employing the
largest number of rehires was the Lower Kuskokwim School
District (LKSD), which is the largest rural district, and the
highest number employed in one year was 181. The highest use
[of the program] was by teachers with 149 teachers rehired; 45
special education teachers were rehired; 18 superintendents were
rehired; and 22 principals were rehired.
MS. PARADAY emphasized, "This isn't opening the floodgates, this
is targeting specific positions that we are not able to fill
with potentially a retired teacher who might be in the
community, who might be willing to come in and do a one year
contract, and preserve that quality in the classroom, which I
think we're all really focused on." She concluded by saying
that the proposed legislation may help to alleviate some of the
pressure felt by districts in recruiting teachers, particularly
in high poverty and rural areas. Alaska's students benefit by
experienced leadership, experienced Alaska teachers, and
educators working with new teachers to achieve a comprehensive
learning program for all Alaska students. She asked for
committee support of HB 224.
3:57:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked whether Alaska passed a law
forbidding teachers from being rehired.
MS. PARADY replied that Alaska has a prohibition for a rehired
retired person working for the state more than .49 of a day.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked for the rationale of the
prohibition.
3:58:29 PM
KATHY LEA, Chief Pension Officer, Division of Retirement and
Benefits (DRB), Department of Administration (DOA), responded
that there is a statute prohibiting a retired member from coming
back into fulltime service or part-time service over 50 percent
of the normal work week; the statute is AS 14.25.043. She
explained that it is a standard provision in retirement plans
that once a person initiates his/her retirement benefit, he/she
does not work and receive an active salary from an employer in
the same plan from which the person retired.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked, "Besides it being standard, why do
we do it?" She asked for when the statute was enacted and the
rationale behind it.
MS. LEA replied that the statute has been in existence since the
1950s and is due to the perception of "double-dipping." She
stated that for someone who has earned a retirement but is still
working, there are IRS rules that require a bona fide
termination of employment before coming back to work for the
same employer. She relayed that mostly the reason is to protect
the retirement plan. If you have provisions for retirees to
come back into service, then there is a potential for
contribution to that plan to be lost; it precludes new enrollees
in the plan who would be paying contributions. She maintained
that in the proposed legislation, contributions would be
required; therefore, the plan would be kept whole.
4:01:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX pointed out the lack of a fiscal note and
asked whether the proposed legislation would have no fiscal
impact on the state.
MS. LEA answered that there is no fiscal note at this time
because it has not been ordered by the House and Senate
leadership; she conceded that a fiscal analysis is needed. The
proposed legislation would require the employer to pay the
employer contributions for the rehires and to offer active
employee health insurance. She maintained that these are the
two areas that would create cost. She stated that she did not
know what the fiscal note would be but offered that there are
elements in the proposed legislation addressing those cost
concerns.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked for clarification that fiscal notes
are not prepared unless requested by the leadership of the House
or Senate.
MS. LEA said that this procedure has been in effect for a couple
years; the reason is that the actuarial analysis is very costly;
it cannot be paid from the [retirement] trusts but must be paid
from the general fund (GF). She relayed that DRB gets a GF
budget every year, which is managed by the House and Senate
leadership.
4:03:06 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 4:03 p.m.
4:03:42 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS directed the committee's attention to the
fiscal note, included in the committee packet.
4:03:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH referred to the forthcoming committee
substitute (CS) for HB 224 [labeled 30-LS0759\J, Wayne, 2/6/18],
included in the committee packet, and cited page 1, lines 12-14,
which read in part: "certifies that the member and the school
district did not arrange before the member retired from the
school district for the member to be reemployed by the school
district". He asked whether the provision has a basis in the
plan.
MS. LEA replied that the provision is a requirement of IRS to
prevent what is referred to as an "in-service distribution."
She said that IRS want to ensure that when a person draws
his/her retirement benefit, that person has had a bona fide
termination of employment.
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked whether the proposed legislation
would impact the current Public Employees' Retirement System
(PERS)/TRS liability.
MS. LEA clarified her answer to Representative LeDoux's question
by saying that there is a fiscal note on HB 224 but not an
actuarial analysis. She stated that it is the actuarial
analysis which needs to be ordered by the leadership of the
House or Senate. She explained that until that analysis is
performed, the impact on the [retirement plan] fund is unknown.
She added that the analyses are performed by DRB's consulting
actuary, Conduent Inc. She said that once DRB gets an order for
a fiscal analysis, Conduent Inc. will perform the analysis to
determine the future impact of the proposed legislation on the
fund.
4:06:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH offered that typically there is a
requirement for union membership and dues for hires and asked if
that would apply to rehires.
MS. LEA stated that the question was outside of her purview.
4:07:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP suggested that double dipping might be the
reason behind the IRS provision. He relayed his experience with
local government; some administrative positions were exempted
from PERS to allow people to retire and still receive paychecks
as employees. He relayed that under the proposed legislation,
the school district would be required to make PERS contributions
for the temporary rehire, but that person would no longer be
eligible for additional benefits under PERS. He suggested that
the result of this would be a net gain for the retirement
system.
MS. LEA responded that there would not necessarily be a net gain
because if there had been a permanent teacher hired in that
position, those contributions would have been made as well. She
relayed that it is more of "a wash."
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP offered that with a permanent hire, those
contributions would be distributed in the future, but for a
temporary rehire, they would not be distributed, therefore,
would constitute a net gain to the system.
MS. LEA replied that it would be a de minimis amount.
4:09:20 PM
ANNMARIE O'BRIEN, PhD, Superintendent, Northwest Arctic Borough
School District (NWABSD), testified that there are 2,136
students in 12 schools in the 11 villages in the district; none
of the villages are accessible by road; and supplies are
delivered via air carrier. She relayed that she has been
employed by NWABSD for 18 years - 6 as director of curriculum
and instruction, 8 as assistant superintendent, and she is in
her fourth year as superintendent. She stated that she urges
legislators to pass HB 224. She declared that rural Alaska,
especially Western Alaska, is in a crisis due to the shortage of
qualified staff to teach its students; for the first time in her
years at NWABSD, school opened without full staffing. As the
district recruits for the 2018-2019 school year, the situation
is predicted to be worse. She offered that as parents and
grandparents, legislators would find this situation
unacceptable.
DR. O'BRIEN relayed that the UA System graduates a fraction of
the teachers needed to fill open positions throughout the state.
The in-state candidates are in high demand and mainly seek
positions on the road system; this further decreases the number
of candidates for rural Alaska. She said that as a result, her
district recruits in the Lower 48 at great expense. She offered
that with the entire country facing a teacher shortage, her
district must continually seek out new areas in which to
recruit. She relayed that Utah, for example, no longer allows
out-of-state recruiters to attend its major education career
fairs. Other states, such as Montana, allow in-state recruiters
to speak with their candidates first to gently discourage out-
of-state recruiting.
DR. O'BRIEN stated that in an environment of ever-shrinking
resources, her district is asking for assistance. She said that
the district is taking advantage of the technology available to
grow and expand its programs; it is trying to use staffing as
effectively as possible during this time of teacher shortage.
Using a video teleconferencing system, the district has been
able to offer electives to remote sites that do not have the
staff to support the additional courses. Currently in the
district, there are eight sites and 61 students taking these
classes. She added that there are three students from two
villages outside the school district who are involved in
Introduction to Education I, along with the students. The
education focus is the result of an active Educators Rising
program. She said that currently there are 14 students enrolled
in internships in four of the district's schools. This class
uses Canvas [Learning Management System (LMS)] as a lesson
management platform. There are 35 students enrolled in the
Introduction to Education I course this year; the course is only
offered via Bellingham Technical College (BTC) and is available
to all district sites. She maintained that the district is
doing its best to grow its own and offer its support; these are
dual credit classes.
DR. O'BRIEN relayed that the district also maintains a 40-bed
high school dormitory available to 11th and 12th grade students,
locally and statewide. She said that NWABSD houses both
fulltime students and students who come to Kotzebue for the
variable length programs. These programs, offered through the
magnet school, are designed to introduce students to careers in
health care, education, process technology, and culinary arts.
This efficiently allows the district to fill the need for
classes in these areas by offering them to students in schools
outside of Kotzebue that do not have the staffing or students to
make these courses viable. She said that NWABSD maintains
quality instruction by offering its distance delivery and magnet
school boarding program; she maintained that it is not enough.
4:13:34 PM
DR. O'BRIEN offered that HB 224 would favorably impact district
finances by reducing costs associated with recruitment efforts
in the Lower 48 and would favorably impact students by having
fulltime temporary teachers for their classes. She urged all
legislators to assist school districts struggling with
maintaining qualified staff for students in rural Alaska; she
asked for passage of HB 224.
4:14:52 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that HB 224 would be held over.
HJR 31-CONGRESS REVERSE FCC ON NET NEUTRALITY
4:16:45 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the final order of business
would be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 31, Urging the United States
Congress to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's
order ending net neutrality.
4:16:47 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HJR 31.
4:17:15 PM
LEON JAIMES testified that he has enjoyed a career of nearly 20
years in the field of information technology (IT); he currently
works as an information security consultant; he related various
work experiences in the IT field. He said that as both a
business and individual customer of internet service providers
(ISPs), he has watched ISPs capitalize on consumer demand in the
form of data caps, long-term contracts, termination fees, and at
times manipulation of internet traffic, as was seen with Comcast
Corporation ("Comcast") throttling (indisc.) traffic in 2008.
He said that he has an expert understanding of the network
architectures and technologies that allow ISPs to accomplish
these feats, as well as direct knowledge of technical
configurations used by ISPs to configure their provider
networks.
MR. JAIMES maintained that neutrality and open and free access
to the internet is fundamental to democracy; net neutrality
ensures a level playing field for small business, individual
entrepreneurs, and private citizens. He expressed his belief
that net neutrality is vital to ensuring that the ability to
limit free speech is not something available to ISPs. He
further asserted that Alaska is unique in that innovation
utilizing network connectivity to the global economy is a vital
and untapped resource that can fuel economic growth in Alaska;
net neutrality facilitates and protects that opportunity for
Alaskans.
MR. JAIMES relayed that across the board, one thing that most
networks with which he has worked have in common is the
inability to keep pace with information security threats. He
added, "It's not even close." He opined that the lack of
information security controls often borders on negligence and is
truly alarming. He mentioned that his biggest concern with net
neutrality is that it opens the door to ISPs capturing more
sensitive and personal data about consumers; currently an ISP
can capture data under the auspices of troubleshooting. He
related that his phone call to testify is one of those pieces of
data. It is (indisc.) and transmitted via the standard ISP
networks, and the data package that comprises phone calls, text
messages, and multimedia Short Message Service (SMS) messages
are very likely being captured for troubleshooting purposes.
MR. JAIMES concluded by saying that his concern is that the ISPs
do not have the capability to secure the data that they would
capture if net neutrality is left [repealed]. More data can be
collected on consumers; data that is collected can be stolen;
and once it is stolen, there is no way to recover it.
4:20:54 PM
TARA RICH, Legal and Policy Director, American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) of Alaska, testified that the primary concern of
ACLU is the censorship that ISPs can have on internet users,
which is already occurring throughout the country. She relayed
examples of this, as follows: American Telephone & Telegraph
(AT&T) Inc. censored a live Pearl Jam concert stream in response
to criticisms of [then] President George W. Bush by the band's
lead singer, Eddie Vedder; in 2007, Verizon Wireless ("Verizon")
blocked text messages from the pro-choice advocacy group,
National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL)
Pro-Choice America because Verizon deemed them to be
"controversial"; Telus Corporation, a Canadian Telecom company,
blocked the website of a union with which it was engaged in a
labor dispute. She said that there are numerous other examples
of telecom companies using mechanisms that would have been
regulated under net neutrality. These mechanisms include:
using tools to block certain websites; engaging in what is
called "throttling" or intentionally slowing down access to
data; and paid prioritization for certain websites.
MS. RICH maintained that ACLU has very serious concerns about
inhibiting free speech through the internet. The internet plays
a special role for free speech: it is decentralized; it is
neutral; it is non-discriminatory; it relays information from
source to destination; and it promotes open discourse. She
added that it allows people from their homes to have an equal
chance to be seen and heard. She said that the U.S. Supreme
Court has recognized that anyone with a phone line can become a
"town crier" with a voice that resonates farther than from any
(indesc.). She emphasized that the internet has changed the way
people communicate and receive information.
4:23:28 PM
MS. RICH stated that the two ISPs in Alaska have indicated that
they don't intend to violate net neutrality rules; however,
Alaskans may be at the mercy of what other ISPs - Comcast,
Verizon, or Time Warner, Inc. - would do, because Alaska uses
the networks its two ISPs use throughout the Lower 48 and,
therefore, has no control.
4:24:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH stated that Ms. Rich mentioned two ISPs and
asked for confirmation that nationally there are multiple ISPs
and service options for consumers.
MS. RICH answered that's correct and added that the two ISPs she
referenced to are the main two providers for internet service in
Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH stated that he does not support HJR 31; he
has faith in the commercial markets and competition. He
offered, "If you're unhappy with a level of service from a
provider ... you move on to a competitor"; therefore, the public
is protected. He relayed that he served on an electric utility
board for nine years; everyone has electricity coming into their
home but is charged differently according to use. He said he
struggles with Alaska immersing itself in the commercial market.
4:26:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP stated that he supports HJR 31; he has
received communication opposing the proposed legislation based
on the belief that every state should not adopt its own net
neutrality laws - the same issue as came up with Uber
Technologies Inc. He mentioned that it was brought to his
attention that without net neutrality, an ISP provider with a
good relationship with Netflix, Inc. but not with another
entertainment company, might slow down the one company in favor
of the other.
4:27:20 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony on HJR 31.
4:27:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK stated that he supports HJR 31 as a good
consumer bill; infrastructure, such as power and
telecommunications, must be for the common good and regulated,
because the public relies on that infrastructure for advancing
society, making progress, and making sure its business and
economy are thriving. He maintained that the internet is a
vital resource for economic opportunities. He said that when he
uses a great deal of data on his cell phone, he gets charged for
it; when he uses a great deal of electricity, he gets charged
for it; with net neutrality, he can access anything he wants on
the "information highway."
4:28:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL moved to report HJR 31 out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH objected.
4:29:03 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Wool, LeDoux, Tuck,
Knopp, and Kreiss-Tomkins voted in favor of reporting HJR 31 out
of committee. Representative Birch voted against it.
Therefore, HJR 31 was reported from the House State Affairs
Standing Committee by a vote of 5-1.
4:30:05 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 4:30
p.m.