Legislature(2023 - 2024)BUTROVICH 205
03/28/2023 03:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s) | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
March 28, 2023
3:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator David Wilson, Chair
Senator James Kaufman, Vice Chair
Senator Löki Tobin
Senator Forrest Dunbar
Senator Cathy Giessel
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH TRUST AUTHORITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Anita Halterman - Eagle River
Dr. John Morris - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATIONS ADVANCED
STATE MEDICAL BOARD
Dr. David Paulson - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
DR. JOHN MORRIS, Governor Appointee
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees
Department of Revenue (DOR)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as a governor appointee to the
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees.
ANITA HALTERMAN, Governor Appointee
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees
Department of Revenue (DOR)
Eagle River, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified for reappointment to the Alaska
Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees.
DR. DAVID PAULSON, Governor Appointee
State Medical Board
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as a governor appointee to the
State Medical Board.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:30:55 PM
CHAIR DAVID WILSON called the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Present at the
call to order were Senators Tobin, Kaufman, Giessel, Dunbar, and
Chair Wilson.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH TRUST AUTHORITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
3:31:47 PM
CHAIR WILSON announced the consideration of the confirmation of
the governor appointee Dr. John Morris to the Alaska Mental
Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees.
3:32:08 PM
DR. JOHN MORRIS, Governor Appointee, Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority Board of Trustees, Department of Revenue (DOR),
Anchorage, Alaska, stated he has lived in Alaska for seven
years. He shared his personal background, education, and work
experience. He said he had published research papers on cancer,
blood management, and pain management in children. He has
authored a chapter in a nationally recognized textbook on the
conduct of anesthesia in patients with neuropsychiatric disease.
He worked briefly as a financial analyst and then returned to
the active practice of medicine. He purchased a 64-acre farm and
learned aspects of land management such as property rights,
environmental impacts, and working with corporations. He stated
that he has experience working with trust beneficiaries as a
doctor. He said he has experience with people close to him
suffering from various mental illnesses and addictions. He
opined that motivation would be his greatest asset to the
position. Alaskans care for each other, and the Alaska Mental
Health Trust is uniquely Alaskan. Serving on the board would be
a privilege.
3:37:39 PM
SENATOR TOBIN asked what dates he was employed by the
Municipality of Anchorage.
DR. MORRIS replied his employment was from July 1, 2021 to mid-
October 2021.
3:38:04 PM
SENATOR TOBIN asked whether the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA)
received money from the Mental Health Trust while he was
employed by the municipality.
DR. MORRIS replied not that he was aware of. He shared that when
he met with the CEO of the Mental Health Trust, he was told that
the trust "did not do" homelessness.
3:38:37 PM
SENATOR TOBIN repeated the question and then cited [AS
44.25.210(c)(2)]. She read:
(c) A member of the board appointed by the governor
under (b) of this section may not
(2) within the preceding two years or during the
member's term of office have an interest in, served on
the governing board of, or been employed by an
organization that has received, during that same
period, money from the mental health trust settlement
income account under a grant or contract for services.
3:39:24 PM
DR. MORRIS responded that the sources MOA received funds from
was beyond his scope of knowledge.
CHAIR TOBIN opined that the committee should follow up to ensure
that MOA received no funds from the trust during Dr. Morris's
tenure.
CHAIR WILSON suggested that the follow-up could take place in
the Senate Finance Committee.
CHAIR WILSON asked Dr. Morris if had attended a Mental Health
Trust Board meeting since he was appointed.
DR. MORRIS replied he was not aware of a meeting since he was
appointed but he had reviewed the minutes from the January
meeting. He added that he was unaware that he had a meeting with
the Senate Finance Committee.
CHAIR WILSON clarified that there was a confirmation hearing
tomorrow for a trustee. He didn't know if Dr. Morris was on the
schedule but he would check.
3:41:05 PM
CHAIR TOBIN asked Dr. Morris if a panel identified under the
statute she mentioned put his name forward.
3:41:21 PM
DR. MORRIS replied he did not know.
SENATOR TOBIN suggested the committee follow-up to ensure the
appointment complies with the statute.
3:41:47 PM
CHAIR WILSON advised that the confirmation hearing in the Senate
Finance Committee was for someone other than Dr. Morris.
3:42:16 PM
At ease.
3:43:17 PM
CHAIR WILSON reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of the governor appointee Anita Halterman to the
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees.
3:43:47 PM
ANITA HALTERMAN, Governor Appointee, Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority Board of Trustees, Department of Revenue (DOR), Eagle
River, Alaska, said she had been a public servant for most of
her career. She stated that this would be a renewal of her
current appointment, which began in 2019 as a fill-in for a
member who stepped down. She said her employer asked her to seek
appointments to boards and commissions for business interests to
risk management solutions. After joining the board, she held
several leadership roles and became Chair in January 2022. She
observed that serving on the board has been an enlightening and
powerful journey in expanding her knowledge of mental health
needs, budgets, and programs offered in Alaska. She enjoys
giving back to the community by helping to provide meaningful
reform for mental health programs. She looks forward to
continuing to work with the legislature. She stated that as a
child, she witnessed mental health issues firsthand. She said
she was abused, put in foster care, joined the military after
high school, met her husband, and came to Alaska. She stated she
has a master's degree in business administration. She worked
extensively for the Department of Health and Social Services and
found it rewarding to improve programs and systems so they offer
better services to program beneficiaries. Since beginning her
work on the board, she no longer works for an information
technology company but has worked for a media production
company. She said she is familiar with budgeting and hopes to
use her experience to help Alaska's programs. She desires to
work with stakeholders to build innovative and comprehensive
mental health programs for the Alaska Mental Health Trust
beneficiaries.
3:51:26 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL expressed appreciation for Ms. Halterman's
service.
3:51:57 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked if any entity she has worked for in the
last two years received any funding from the trust.
3:52:33 PM
MS. HALTERMAN replied no.
3:53:10 PM
At ease.
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
STATE MEDICAL BOARD
3:54:20 PM
CHAIR WILSON reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of the governor appointee Dr. David Paulson to the
State Medical Board.
3:55:01 PM
DR. DAVID PAULSON, Governor Appointee, State Medical Board,
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
(DCCED), Anchorage, Alaska, stated he moved from Texas in 2017
to be a private practice neurosurgeon in Alaska. He described
his educational background and said he would like to be on the
board to embrace Alaska. He has three sons and he volunteers as
a Boy Scout leader; now he would now like to serve on the State
Medical Board as it is an area fit for him and it fulfills his
desire to serve the community. He opined that having a varied
background and good critical thinking skills will help him as a
board member to protect fellow Alaskans and the practice of
medicine.
3:58:51 PM
SENATOR TOBIN noted that Dr. Paulson's application indicated
that he was unwilling to disclose personal financial data. She
asked if he would provide financial data and, if not, why.
DR. PAULSON replied he must have misread the question. He had no
reason to object to full disclosure, and he was willing to
addend his application.
SENATOR GIESSEL stated that financial disclosure is not relevant
to the medical board.
CHAIR WILSON stated Dr. Paulson's answer was noted.
4:00:42 PM
SENATOR TOBIN recalled misinformation surrounding the pandemic.
She asked Dr. Paulson if he had any reservations about sharing
CDC information regarding the efficacy of vaccinations or any
medically accurate information.
4:01:34 PM
DR. PAULSON replied that it would not be an issue.
4:01:40 PM
CHAIR WILSON opened public testimony on the governor appointees;
finding none, he closed public testimony.
4:02:10 PM
CHAIR WILSON stated he researched the Alaska Mental Health Trust
grants that are issued quarterly. He read the names of the
grantees during Dr. Morris's time of employment with the
Municipality of Anchorage. He found no grant history to the
Municipality of Anchorage for that time period.
4:04:10 PM
SENATOR KAUFMAN stated that in accordance with AS 39.05.080, the
Senate Health and Social Services Standing Committee reviewed
the following and recommends the appointments be forwarded to a
joint session for consideration:
ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH TRUST AUTHORITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Anita Halterman - Eagle River
Dr. John Morris - Anchorage
STATE MEDICAL BOARD
Dr. David Paulson - Anchorage
Signing the reports regarding appointments to boards and
commissions in no way reflects individual members' approval or
disapproval of the appointees; the nominations are merely
forwarded to the full legislature for confirmation or rejection.
4:04:34 PM
CHAIR WILSON found no objection and stated that the names would
be forward.
4:05:02 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Wilson adjourned the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting at 4:05 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 1.31.23 David Paulson Med Resume_Redacted.pdf |
SHSS 3/28/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Governor |
| 1.31.23 David Paulson Med App_Redacted.pdf |
SHSS 3/28/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Governor's Appointee State Medical Board - Paulson |
| 3.1.23 Anita Halterman AMHTA resume_redacted.pdf |
SHSS 3/28/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Governor's Appointee AMHTA BOT - Halterman |
| 3.8.23 John Morris AMHTA App_Redacted.pdf |
SHSS 3/28/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Governor's Appointee - AMHTA BOT - Morris |
| 3.8.23 John Morris AMHTA Resume_Redacted.pdf |
SHSS 3/28/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Governor's Appointee - AMHTA BOT - Morris |