05/01/2023 06:00 PM House WAYS & MEANS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB45 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 45 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
May 1, 2023
6:02 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Ben Carpenter, Chair
Representative Jamie Allard
Representative Tom McKay
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Cathy Tilton
Representative Andrew Gray
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Cliff Groh
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 45
"An Act relating to contributions from permanent fund dividends
to the general and permanent funds."
- MOVED CSHB 45(W&M) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 45
SHORT TITLE: PFD CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL FUND AND PF
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) PRAX
01/25/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/25/23 (H) W&M, FIN
02/08/23 (H) W&M AT 6:00 PM DAVIS 106
02/08/23 (H) Heard & Held
02/08/23 (H) MINUTE(W&M)
02/13/23 (H) W&M AT 6:00 PM DAVIS 106
02/13/23 (H) Heard & Held
02/13/23 (H) MINUTE(W&M)
04/10/23 (H) W&M AT 6:00 PM DAVIS 106
04/10/23 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/12/23 (H) W&M AT 6:00 PM DAVIS 106
04/12/23 (H) Scheduled but Not Heard
05/01/23 (H) W&M AT 6:00 PM DAVIS 106
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PRAX
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, answered questions on the
amendments to HB 45.
ACTION NARRATIVE
6:02:45 PM
CHAIR BEN CARPENTER called the House Special Committee on Ways
and Means meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Representatives Tilton,
McKay, McCabe, Allard, Gray, and Carpenter were present at the
call to order.
HB 45-PFD CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL FUND AND PF
6:03:30 PM
CHAIR CARPENTER announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 45, "An Act relating to contributions from
permanent fund dividends to the general and permanent funds."
6:04:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE moved to adopt Amendment 2 to HB 45,
labeled, 33-LS0309\A.4, Nauman, 2/17/23, which read as follows:
Page 1, line 10:
Delete "$25 or more, in increments of $25"
Insert "10 percent of the amount of the dividend or
more, in increments of 10 percent"
CHAIR CARPENTER objected for the purpose of discussion.
6:05:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PRAX, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, explained Amendment 2. He said the amount of the
permanent fund dividend (PFD) is currently unknown; therefore,
using $3,700 as an example amount, Amendment 2 would provide
that a person could give $3,000 of his/her PFD to various
agencies or return it to the state. He explained if the PFD is
less than $3,000, the PFD would not be enough to transfer. He
said that, if a PFD is given in percentages, each recipient
would receive the same percentage. He expressed the opinion
that this system would be practical, given that the amount of
the PFD is unknown when applications are completed.
6:06:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON asked if the PFD donation would be
administered through the "Point.Click.Give." program. She
questioned whether the program is set up for donations using
percentages rather than dollar amounts.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX responded that the fund is set up so
individuals can make discrete donations when applying for the
PFD. He said that in the current version of the legislation the
program would be administered through "Point.Click.Give." He
expressed the opinion that no matter the changes to the program,
it would still make sense to have percentage contributions
rather than discreet amounts.
6:07:58 PM
CHAIR CARPENTER removed his objection. There being no other
objection, Amendment 2 was adopted.
6:08:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY moved Amendment 3, to HB 45, as amended,
labeled, 33-LS0309\A.5, Nauman, 2/17/23, which read as follows:
Page 2, lines 1-5:
Delete "The electronic application must include notice
that seven percent of the money contributed to the
state general fund or the principal of the permanent
fund will be used for administrative costs incurred in
implementing this subsection and that money from the
dividend fund will not be used for that purpose."
Insert "Money from a contribution under this
subsection or from the dividend fund may not be used
for administrative costs incurred in implementing this
subsection."
CHAIR CARPENTER objected for the purpose of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY explained that Amendment 3 would take away
the 7 percent administrative charge on "Point.Click.Give."
items.
6:09:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY questioned whether Representative Prax
supports Amendment 3.
6:09:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX responded in the affirmative. He explained
that the "Pick.Click.Give." program is administered by a third
party, hence, the 7 percent fee. He stated that, per the
proposed legislation, the donation would go into the general
fund automatically, and this would entail minimal administrative
fees.
6:10:52 PM
CHAIR CARPENTER removed his objection. There being no further
objection, Amendment 3 was adopted.
6:11:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE moved to adopt Amendment 4 to HB 45, as
amended, labeled, 33-LS0309\A.6, Nauman, 2/20/23, which read as
follows:
Page 1, lines 1 - 2:
Delete "from permanent fund dividends to the general
and permanent funds"
Insert "and donations from permanent fund dividends"
Page 1, following line 3:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Section 1. AS 43.23.055 is amended to read:
Sec. 43.23.055. Duties of the department. The
department shall
(1) annually pay permanent fund dividends from the
dividend fund;
(2) subject to AS 43.23.011 and (8) of this section,
adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative
Procedure Act) that establish procedures and time
limits for claiming a permanent fund dividend; the
department shall determine the number of eligible
applicants by October 1 of the year for which the
dividend is declared and pay the dividends by December
31 of that year;
(3) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative
Procedure Act) that establish procedures and time
limits for an individual upon emancipation or upon
reaching majority to apply for permanent fund
dividends not received during minority because the
parent, guardian, or other authorized representative
did not apply on behalf of the individual;
(4) assist residents of the state, particularly in
rural areas, who, because of language, disability, or
inaccessibility to public transportation, need
assistance to establish eligibility and to apply for
permanent fund dividends;
(5) use a list of individuals ineligible for a
dividend under AS 43.23.005(d) provided annually by
the Department of Corrections and the Department of
Public Safety to determine the number and identity of
those individuals;
(6) adopt regulations that are necessary to implement
AS 43.23.005(d) and 43.23.048;
(7) adopt regulations that establish procedures for
the parent, guardian, or other authorized
representative of a disabled individual to apply for
prior year permanent fund dividends not received by
the disabled individual because no application was
submitted on behalf of the individual;
(8) adopt regulations that establish procedures for
an individual to apply to have a dividend disbursement
under AS 37.25.050(a)(2) reissued if it is not
collected within two years after the date of its
issuance; however, the department may not establish a
time limit within which an application to have a
disbursement reissued must be filed;
(9) provide any information, upon request, contained
in permanent fund dividend records to the child
support services agency created in AS 25.27.010, or
the child support enforcement agency of another state,
for child support purposes authorized under law; if
the information is contained in an electronic data
base, the department shall provide the requesting
agency with either
(A) access to the data base; or
(B) a copy of the information in the data base and a
statement certifying its contents;
(10) establish a fraud investigation unit for the
purpose of assisting the
(A) Department of Law in the prosecution of
individuals who apply for or obtain a permanent fund
dividend in violation of a provision in AS 11, by
detecting and investigating those crimes; and
(B) commissioner to detect and investigate the
claiming or paying of permanent fund dividends that
should not have been claimed by or paid to an
individual and to impose the penalties and enforcement
provisions under AS 43.23.270;
(11) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative
Procedure Act) so that, [CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER AS
43.23.130 ARE GIVEN A PRIORITY OVER DONATIONS UNDER AS
43.23.230] if the total amount of contributions and
donations elected by an applicant exceeds the amount
of the permanent fund dividend that the applicant is
entitled to receive, contributions and donations are
given the following priority order:
(A) contributions under AS 43.23.130;
(B) donations under AS 43.23.230;
(C) contributions under AS 43.23.135."
Page 1, line 4:
Delete "Section 1"
Insert "Sec. 2"
Page 1, line 13, following "AS 43.23.130":
Insert "and donations under AS 43.23.230"
Page 1, line 14, following "AS 43.23.130":
Insert "and donations under AS 43.23.230"
CHAIR CARPENTER objected for the purpose of discussion.
6:11:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX explained that Amendment 4 would establish a
priority order. He laid out that the first priority would be
the PFD education raffle, followed by "Pick.Click.Give.," and
then the general fund.
6:12:21 PM
CHAIR CARPENTER removed his objection. There being no further
objection, Amendment 4 was adopted.
6:12:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX commented that an amendment is being
considered to address the tax obligation that HB 45 would
generate. In other words, if the money goes to the person and
then goes to the state, there would be a tax liability. He
expressed the opinion that fixing this is doable, but it is
complicated. He expressed the opinion that, in the interest of
time, it makes sense to move with the general idea and give
people the opportunity to give the money back to the general
fund, and the tax liability could be fixed later.
CHAIR CARPENTER asked whether the process would still function
if Alaskans gave a PFD back to the government with a tax
liability.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX responded in the affirmative. He reiterated
the belief that the tax liability aspect could be fixed.
CHAIR CARPENTER further asked whether the process would still be
in place if individuals did not want the tax liability. He
commented that in this case fewer people would use it.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX said that this is correct.
CHAIR CARPENTER questioned whether the tax liability could be
implemented at some point between the proposed legislation being
adopted, or after.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX answered yes and said that such a change
would improve the idea going forward.
6:15:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE moved to report HB 45, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 45(W&M) was
reported out of the House Special Committee on Ways and Means.
6:16:03 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 6:16 p.m. to 6:18 p.m.
6:18:56 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Ways and Means meeting was adjourned at
6:18 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 45 Amendment 1.pdf |
HW&M 5/1/2023 6:00:00 PM |
HB 45 |
| HB 45 Amendment 2.pdf |
HW&M 5/1/2023 6:00:00 PM |
HB 45 |
| HB 45 Amendment 3.pdf |
HW&M 5/1/2023 6:00:00 PM |
HB 45 |
| HB 45 Amendment 4.pdf |
HW&M 5/1/2023 6:00:00 PM |
HB 45 |