HB 226-EXTEND ALASKA COMMISSION ON AGING  3:06:32 PM CHAIR SEATON announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 226, "An Act extending the termination date of the Alaska Commission on Aging; and providing for an effective date." 3:06:49 PM REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER, Alaska State Legislature, explained that HB 226 would extend the sunset date of the Alaska Commission on Aging. He pointed out that these board extensions were an administerial job of the Alaska State Legislature, as it offered an opportunity to review and examine the performance of the board in accordance with the statutes which authorized them and its relevance and importance to the state. The review of the boards and commissions is performed by the state auditor and the state audit group, which produce an audit with recommendations. Upon completion of its recent sunset review, April 10, 2015, the state auditors recommended extension of the Alaska Commission on Aging for eight years, through June 30, 2024, as also requested in proposed HB 226. He stated that the Alaska Commission on Aging was a bit different than most commissions, as it was necessitated by the federal Older Americans Act (OAA). He explained that to receive the federal funding of $11 million to various programs for the benefit of seniors, there must be a council in the state, comprised of older individuals who are eligible to participate in OAA funded programs. He further defined that this entity must be the "state agency regarding aging issues and make recommendations to our state agency that handles these programs," which was the Department of Health and Social Services in Alaska. He pointed out that the Commission on Aging developed the state plan for senior services. He declared that this board "actually does something," that it had an important mission and it developed policy. He pointed out that the Commission was necessary in order to continue to qualify for federal funding to senior programs. He reported that auditors had noticed two issues that the commission needed to rectify: better advance noticing of meetings, of which the commission had agreed and taken steps to rectify; and to better monitor the legislative watch list, as there were bills listed that were not relevant. He suggested that the commission served an important purpose, and that it leveraged a relatively small amount of state money to bring in more than $11 million to support programs for senior Alaskans. 3:14:00 PM DENISE DANIELLO, Executive Director, Alaska Commission on Aging, Division of Senior and Disabilities Services, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), stated that she supported the legislative audit to extend the termination date for the Commission on Aging. She offered a brief overview of the work by the commission and its role in state government. She explained that the mission was "to ensure the dignity and independence of all older Alaskans and to assist them to lead useful and meaningful lives through planning, advocacy, education, and inter agency cooperation." She declared that the State of Alaska was unique, in comparison with other states, as it constituted a single planning and service area for its provision of services for seniors; whereas, other states had numerous area agencies to administer funding, programs, and services for seniors. In Alaska, the Department of Health and Social Services was the sole state agency on aging, and the responsibilities were carried out jointly by the Division of Senior and Disabilities Services, which administered the majority of federal and state funding for senior programs, and the Alaska Commission on Aging, which developed the state plan for senior services and provided advocacy, outreach, and education, as specified under the OAA. She reiterated that Alaska received about $11 million of federal funding annually for senior programs and services. She noted that this was also extended to Alaska Native Tribal providers, through the Department of Labor & Workforce Development. She reported that the commission had been formed in 1981, and was originally called the Older Alaskans Commission. She relayed that the commitment was to ensure that seniors gained access to appropriate and quality services, and to maintain their health and independence to allow them to remain in their own community, living independently, for as long as possible. She stated that this work was now more important than ever, as the senior population continued to grow, from its current estimate of 120,444 Alaskans over 60 years of age, at a 4.2 percent annual increase. She shared that this comprised 16 percent of the state population, and was the fastest growing age demographic in Alaska. She added that for the sixth consecutive year Alaska was the state with the fastest growing senior population per capita. 3:19:18 PM MS. DANIELLO shared that the commission was charged with formulating a four year comprehensive Alaska state plan for senior services for approval by the Department of Health and Social Services in order to satisfy the federal requirement for all states to have a state plan when receiving funding through the OAA. She relayed that, since FY08, the commission, working collaboratively with many agencies as well as seniors, had developed three state plans for senior services. The current state plan for FY16 - FY19 included 6 goals, with 28 strategic objectives, and 48 performance measures, as well as a formula that directed the distribution of federal and state funding for senior programs and services: the nutrition and transportation support services program, and the senior in home services program. She reported that the commission also provided the senior snapshot published in the annual report, which is an annual statistical analysis of senior demographics, use of programs and services, and reports on indicators related to senior health, senior safety, senior housing, and economic security. The commission also provided annual budget and policy recommendations to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority concerning the needs of older Alaskans living with Alzheimer's and related dementia. She offered a conservative estimate that there were 6,600 Alaskans aged 65 years or older with Alzheimer's, which did not include early onset or related dementias. She pointed out that the commission provided information quarterly to the Trust and collaboratively published Alaska's roadmap to address Alzheimer's and related dementia, which was the first state plan to address the challenges and complexity of issues for these diseases. She noted that the commission also made recommendations to the governor and the legislature with respect to legislation, regulations, and appropriations for programs and services that benefit older Alaskans, including the Medicaid adult dental program, the Alaska senior benefits program, and the statewide alert system for vulnerable adults, the silver alert. She pointed out that the commission actively encouraged public participation for policy and budget recommendations, and conducted regular community forums and bi-weekly statewide legislative teleconferences for discussion on legislation relevant to seniors. 3:24:32 PM MS. DANIELLO reported that, in recent years, the commission had made efforts to recognize the many issues facing Alaskan seniors, by coordinating the power of aging symposium, and encouraging seniors to participate in civic engagement. She relayed that the commission had collaborated in the coordination of the senior housing summit, and the senior fall prevention coalition, as falls were the number one cause of hospitalization and death for seniors aged 75 and older. She mentioned the Healthy Body, Healthy Brain campaign, which raised awareness of risk factors and protective factors promoting cognitive health. The commission had called attention to the fact that seniors were a $3 billion industry in Alaska, which did not include the countless hours of volunteer and care giving work. She declared that seniors appreciated the programs and services to strengthen their health and ability to live independently in their communities. She referenced the audit findings, which required public online postings for all the commission board and committee meetings, as well as review and approval of the legislative watch list by the commission chair prior to its distribution. She expressed the commission's approval for these findings, noting the updated policies and procedures, and reported that the new practices had been implemented. She declared support for HB 226. 3:27:03 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked how the issue for the shortage of affordable housing was being addressed outside urban areas. MS. DANIELLO replied that the commission had participated in the governor's housing summit in January, which included eight breakout sessions, one of which was a session for senior housing. During this session, a problem statement was defined which declared that Alaska had a shortage of accessible, affordable housing for people to age in place, and a list of recommendations was provided. These recommendations included the implementation of strategies identified in the Alaska road map for addressing Alzheimer's disease. She expressed a desire to read the report from this housing summit, and "a large need to continue this conversation with these recommendations from the senior housing breakout session to provide the platform for continuing that discussion and further work." She expressed her desire to create a partnership with the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. Referencing housing outside urban areas, she opined that it was important to identify ways to improve accessibility in the home so that people would not have to leave their homes. 3:30:30 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked whether the four full time employees listed on the fiscal note were enough to do the job. She asked if the current travel freeze would impact the commission. MS. DANIELLO, in response to Representative Tarr, stated that the commission budget had been reduced by $3000, mainly for travel, so the commission will be having more meetings by audio and video conference. She relayed that, as the commission was required by statute to have four board meetings each year, they would try to limit this to one face to face meeting. 3:32:00 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked if this would compromise the work of the commission. MS. DANIELLO expressed her agreement that this was a valid concern, sharing that an on-site rural outreach commission meeting was invaluable, but expensive. 3:34:08 PM KRISTIN CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Division of Legislative Audit, Alaska State Legislature, reported that the division had conducted a sunset review and the main points had been presented by Representative Hawker. She stated that she was available for questions. 3:35:08 PM MARIE DARLIN, Coordinator, AARP Capital City Task Force, Commission on Aging, referenced her earlier letter of support to HB 226 from AARP to the committee [Included in members' packet]. She pointed out that over the years AARP had worked closely with the commission on many different projects, as the two groups were faced with many of the same issues. She stated that the two groups had a very good working relationship. She acknowledged that the commission had successfully addressed the issues on the audit, and had been updated on senior housing issues and the restructuring of fund distribution through Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. 3:38:46 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked if AARP and other groups were coordinating to consider the net impact on seniors if there were changes, and whether the commission be involved. MS. DARLIN replied that this was already happening, especially for the concerns and impacts in the outlying areas. 3:41:25 PM CHARLES MCKEE read from a letter he wrote to U.S. Representative Paul Ryan regarding the welfare of senior citizens. CHAIR SEATON asked that Mr. McKee focus his comments directly on proposed HB 226 and the Alaska Commission on Aging. 3:45:07 PM MARY SHIELDS, Chair, Alaska Commission on Aging, stated that the senior population was the fastest growing demographic in Alaska, while contributing about $3 billion annually to the state economy. She relayed that the commission members were the eyes and ears for the senior community, especially for the older, vulnerable Alaskans. The commission brought these messages back to the policy makers, noting that a lot of information came from the rural outreach meetings. She pointed out that the commission also contacted the state ombudsman to ensure any wrongdoings directed at seniors were properly addressed. She lauded the central positioning of the commission, and she declared support for HB 226. 3:48:09 PM GORDON GLASER, Alaska Commission on Aging, shared that he was also on the board of the Anchorage Senior Activities Center. He relayed that the commission looked at broad policy as well as individual cases, as their mission was to determine what was going on and what needed to be changed, then making recommendations to the legislature, the state agencies, and the governor. He stated support of HB 226, adding that the aging population was a resource, with vital, active leadership and involvement in the community. 3:50:57 PM PETER ZUYUS directed attention to his letter in support of the commission [Included in members' packets] and pointed out that, although the Kenai Peninsula Borough had more than 18,000 senior citizens, growing at 16 percent annually, it did not have any representation on the commission. He asked that the proposed bill contain an amendment to include a member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough on the commission. 3:53:03 PM DAVID LEVY, Senior Services Coordinator, Anchorage Senior Advisory Commission, testified that the Anchorage Senior Advisory Commission supported HB 226. He reported that the commission looked at issues of concern for seniors in the Anchorage area. He shared that the Anchorage Senior Advisory Commission had worked closely with the Alaska Commission on Aging. 3:54:45 PM CHAIR SEATON closed public testimony. REPRESENTATIVE STUTES offered anecdotal testimony regarding the Kodiak Senior Center, and how well all the services interact. 3:56:32 PM CHAIR SEATON offered his comments on the Alzheimer's conference in Anchorage, and suggested that committee members try to attend any future meetings. 3:57:16 PM REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER directed attention to the fiscal note, noting that it needed a correction, as the revenues line on page 1 should reflect the $11 million dollars in federal revenue. 3:58:13 PM CHAIR SEATON declared that HB 226 would be held over.