HOUSE BILL NO. 266 "An Act making appropriations for the operating and loan program expenses of state government and for certain programs, capitalizing funds, and making reappropriations; making appropriations under art. IX, sec. 17(c), Constitution of the State of Alaska, from the constitutional budget reserve fund." HOUSE BILL NO. 267 "An Act making appropriations for the operating and capital expenses of the state's integrated comprehensive mental health program." 9:07:13 AM Co-Chair Stoltze MOVED to REPORT CSHB 266(FIN), 28-GH2671\Y out of committee with individual recommendations. Co-Chair Austerman OBJECTED for discussion. Representative Gara discussed an amendment he had submitted the prior day that had failed. The amendment related to cuts to substance abuse treatment. He pointed to high drug addiction rates in Alaska. He relayed that the state had a massive shortage of residential treatment options for heroin addiction treatment in the state. He elaborated that people with major drug addictions were only willing to seek treatment for a short period of time and that treatment should be available when the addict was ready. He stated that heroin users committed felonies. He shared that not a single male had been treated in the Anchorage methadone clinic in the past year. The cuts would cause increased agony, child abuse, prosecutor costs, jail costs, domestic violence, court costs, and other problems. Waiting lists in the treatment centers had already been lengthy; the cuts would increase the wait. Representative Gara stressed that $1 million should not be taken from residential treatment and put in outpatient treatment. Those needing residential treatment had severe addictions; outpatient treatment would not be successful for the individuals. He understood the pressure on the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) subcommittee chair to make cuts with the least damage possible, but he could not support the cuts. He believed the past three years of cuts should be reversed. Representative Guttenberg discussed that he and his colleague had offered multiple amendments the prior day that had failed. He relayed that the state needed to invest in its children who would become the future of the state. He stated that Alaska continued to be a rich state with resources in oil, gas, mining, timber, and fisheries. He stressed that the committee had a big responsibility and needed to take its job seriously. He thought that the committee should examine the repercussions of budget cuts to services such as drug treatment centers to determine whether it impacted the Department of Corrections budget. He believed the legislature needed to address problems holistically. He spoke about the success of the therapeutic court programs. Society set the agenda and the legislators had to address the issues. He acknowledged the difficulty of the issues and believed that the dialogue needed to continue. 9:20:14 AM Representative Costello thanked the committee for its hard work on the budget. She voiced that by the time current kindergarteners were in high school most of the state's savings will have been spent on Medicaid and education spending. Co-Chair Stoltze followed on Representative Costello's comments. He stated that the budget reality was sobering. He detailed that, if the budget was all consumed by Medicaid and education expenditures there would be no other budget options. He discussed efforts to curtail budget growth. The process had been painful and the state was looking at unsustainable budgets for the future. Reducing the budget below the governor's level had been a source of angst for the committee. Co-Chair Austerman thanked committee members for their work on the budget. He understood how difficult it had been to make budget cut recommendations. Given the current financial situation the decisions were pertinent to future goals. He thanked the departments for their work. He expected the budget decisions to get harder in the future. Co-Chair Austerman WITHDREW his OBJECTION. There being NO further OBJECTION CSHB 266(FIN) was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation. Co-Chair Stoltze MOVED to REPORT CSHB 267(FIN), 28-GH2673\O out of committee with individual recommendations. There being NO OBJECTION CSHB 267(FIN) was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation. 9:27:21 AM AT EASE 9:29:42 AM RECONVENED