SENATE BILL NO. 137 "An Act extending the termination date of the Alaska Seismic Hazards Safety Commission; and providing for an effective date." 8:55:06 AM BRITTANY HUTCHINSON, STAFF, SENATOR CLICK BISHOP, read from a sponsor statement: Alaska has more earthquakes than any other region in the U.S. and is one of the most seismically active areas in the world. In fact, we are approaching the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful in recorded North American history. Given the historical record and inevitable potential of future earthquake activity, Alaska needs the Alaska Seismic Hazards Safety Commission. The ASHSC is statutorily designated as an advisory body for seismic hazard safety mitigation. The ASHSC's overarching purpose is to analyze and disseminate information, review predictions and proposed warnings, and to provide recommendations for seismic safety mitigation. I would like to see the termination date of the Alaska Seismic Hazards Safety Commission (ASHSC) extended from June 30, 2014 to June 30, 2020. According to the Division of Legislative Audit, the commission has a demonstrated public need and therefore the termination date should be extended. The public need is proven and the public interest is served in the following ways: 1) The commission assists with seismic hazard safety training efforts. For example, in 2011 and 2012, the ASHSC coordinated with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to facilitate training workshops for volunteer first responders who would respond after a severe earthquake. 2) They hope to significantly improve school safety by collaborating with the Department of Education and Early Development on seismic issues concerning school construction and renovations. Seismic hazard mitigation efforts for schools are an important commission priority, as schools are critical infrastructure. 3) The ASHSC served the public's interest by making seismic hazards mitigation recommendations to the governor, legislature and private entities through annual reports. 4) The commission helps facilitate collaboration amongst agencies with related missions and private sector entities on seismic hazard mitigation. KRIS CURTIS, LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR, ALASKA DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AUDIT, relayed that the division had conducted a sunset review of the commission which was documented in report form Legislative Audit (copy on file). She said that an audit of the commission had last been conducted in 2011 and at that time it had been recommended that the commission be extended for 4 years; the commission had been extended for 2 years at that time. She related that the division had concluded that the commission operating in the public's interest and recommended that the commission be extended 6 years until the year 2020. She stated that the audit had identified 4 areas for operational improvements, which could be found on Page 9 of the report: The commission should improve prioritization and accountability within its strategic planning documents. Ms. Curtis relayed that the prior sunset audit had found that the commission lacked a clear strategy for prioritizing and monitoring its efforts. The commission had made progress in resolving the finding by developing a strategic plan that identified objectives and strategies that correlated with the commissions mandated powers and duties. She shared that the division recommended the following additions to help the commission more fully focus its efforts: 1. Clearly prioritizing tasks - while each of the tasks in the strategic plan is assigned a priority, 27 of the 29 tasks are listed as "important." The commission goals and action lists do not contain priorities; 2. Consistently identifying the person or subcommittee responsible for task completion; and 3. Associating goals and action lists with the commission's overarching strategic plan objectives and consistently identifying a specific outcome. Ms. Curtis said that by approving accountability and prioritization the commission could improve their ability to serve the public. She pointed out to the committee that on Page 12 of the report the division had found that recommendations issues by the commission had not consistently identified the organization responsible for implementing their recommendation; additionally, not all recommendations adequately identified the action to be performed, and at times the commission was uncertain about where to direct their recommendations. She relayed that the division recommended that the commission ensure that their recommendations clearly identified the organization responsible for implementing an action and the action to be performed. Additionally, the commission should seek assistance from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) management and identify the appropriate organization responsible for implementing recommendations. She spoke to two housekeeping recommendations, one directing the commission to replace chronically absent commission members, and another to the commission and the Office of the Governor to work together to fill vacant positions in a timely manner. Vice-Chair Neuman asked how many vacant positions the commission had and how long, on average, did they remain vacant. Ms. Curtis replied that recommendation 3 on Page 11 identified the number of positions and the duration of the vacancies. She said that it was an 11 member commission and that vacancies were expected given the number of positions. She stated that when evaluating how material the vacancies were the division weighed the effect the absence of those members had on commission business. She mentioned that during FY12-FY13 there had been a Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) seat that was vacant for 10 months; there had been a delayed appointment due to unclear guidance about appointment procedures which lead to a lack of quorum. Vice-Chair Neuman felt that there were a lot of members on the commission. He wondered if one of the recommendations had been to reduce the number of members. 9:01:17 AM Ms. Curtis replied in the negative. She believed 6 to 8 years ago the commission's membership had been expanded by the legislature. She stated that given the past policy decision the audit did not consider changing the number of positions. Co-Chair Stoltze noted that in 2011 the legislature had spent an inordinate amount of time on the issue. Many members of the business community had come out in support of the commission. Co-Chair Stoltze OPENED public testimony. Co-Chair Stoltze CLOSED public testimony. He pointed to the fiscal impact note from the Department of Natural Resources. Vice-Chair Neuman MOVED to REPORT SB 137 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. SB 137 was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation and with one previously published fiscal impact note: FN1 (DNR). 9:04:00 AM AT EASE 9:04:48 AM RECONVENED