HB 30: HUMAN SERVICES MATCHING GRANTS REP. TOM BRICE spoke as PRIME SPONSOR of HB 30. He said the bill would allow second-class boroughs over 65,000 population participate in human services community matching block grant programs, and disqualifies from such programs cities which lie within boroughs that do participate in such programs. The effect of the bill would be to allow the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) to get into the community matching block grant program if the borough's voters voted to assume human services responsibilities for the borough. Number 161 CHAIR BUNDE asked if Rep. Brice had received support from the city and the borough. REP. BRICE said the bill packets included resolutions of support from the governments of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole. Number 170 REP. VEZEY said he disagreed with Rep. Brice. He said the citizens of the FNSB have long resisted increasing government responsibility and attendant taxes. He called the bill an effort by the governments to use the chance for matching grant money to entice voters into accepting human services responsibilities. CHAIR BUNDE asked Rep. Vezey's reaction to the resolutions of support for HB 30. Number 200 REP. VEZEY responded that the FNSB had changed its position several times on the issue over the past 10 years, and that voters have more than once declined to pay more fees for more services. The city of North Pole was not really involved because it was not their tax base, he said. He stated that the city of Fairbanks was probably eager to have the FNSB remove the possibility that the city might have to assume human services responsibilities. REP. BRICE agreed that only those whose taxes paid for a service should be allowed to use it. He said the bill made it possible for the FNSB to receive matching grant funds if it chose to accept health care responsibilities, but did not mandate the borough take such responsibilities on. He said the bill would not raise the cost to the borough much, as the changes to the definition of the term "municipality" would allow many nonprofit corporations, when making applications to the federal government, to cite the entire borough as their service areas. Number 252 CHAIR BUNDE said he did not want to get entangled in the issue of imposition of services. He said he would feel more comfortable by having a teleconference to gather public testimony before making a decision. He announced his intention to hold the bill for a week so that a teleconference could be arranged. REP. B. DAVIS asked whether the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee (CRA) had had a teleconferenced hearing on HB 30. AN UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN'S VOICE answered that CRA had not had a teleconferenced hearing on HB 30. Number 272 CHAIR BUNDE announced his intention not to hold the bill indefinitely, but until there had been time for a teleconference to be arranged. REP. BRICE asked if the bill was held to a time certain, but he was not answered. CHAIR BUNDE then ADJOURNED the meeting a second time, at 4:53 p.m.