HB 123-EXTEND SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL [Contains discussion of SB 35.] 8:06:33 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that the first order of business was HOUSE BILL NO. 123, "An Act extending the termination date of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council; and providing for an effective date." 8:06:58 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 123, Version 26-0500\R, Bullard, 3/24/09, as a work draft. There being no objection, Version R was before the committee. CHAIR LYNN noted that HB 123 mirrors a companion bill, [SB 35]. 8:07:40 AM CRYSTAL KOENEMAN, Staff, Representative Anna Fairclough, Alaska State Legislature, outlined the changes proposed in Version R. She said Section 1 would change the number of members on the council from 15 to 16, by adding one public member. Furthermore, the two members appointed by the Senate and the two members appointed by the House would be nonvoting members. Version R would change the number of members appointed by the governor from 11 to 12. One of the members would represent the Department of Health & Social Services (DHSS), while another would represent the Department of Education & Early Development (DEED). MS. KOENEMAN reminded the committee that the requirement that one of the council members must be a counselor of a secondary school was problematic, and she said Version R proposes to change that requirement so that the position could be filled by any employee of a secondary school. The requirement that one member must be an adult who is active in a statewide youth organization would be changed to require a person active in a youth organization. Finally, Ms. Koeneman noted that previously there was a requirement that one member must be under the age of 18; however, Version R proposes that that person would need to be enrolled in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12 of a secondary school in the state. 8:09:45 AM MS. KOENEMAN, in response to a question from Representative Johnson regarding tie votes in an even-numbered council, offered her understanding that someone from the Department of Health & Social Services was present and could respond to that concern. She recollected that [the council] had expressed that it had no concern regarding the issue. In response to Chair Lynn, she indicated that there is a provision whereby the chair of the council could abstain from voting. 8:10:51 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON directed attention to the use of the word "minority" on page 1, lines 11 and 14. He indicated that in "a number of statutes," the phrase, "from each major political party" is used. He asked Ms. Koeneman if she could explain the reason for the changed wording. MS. KOENEMAN responded that this wording mirrors the Senate bill; however, she said she would not anticipate a problem with an amendment to change the wording. 8:11:57 AM REPRESENTATIVE WILSON suggested that the wording is such because of the current make-up of the Senate. CHAIR LYNN remarked that the Minority in the Senate is comprised of Republicans, while the Majority party affiliation is a "mixed bag." He said, "It makes things interesting." REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said, "The Minority doesn't have voting for committee rights, since there's less than twenty-five percent Minority." He said that is "the questionable part." 8:13:11 AM PAT DAVIDSON, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Audit Division, Legislative Agencies and Offices, in response to Representative Seaton, said the division did not make specific recommendations regarding changes to HB 123, but recognized the requirements that needed to be incorporated. She indicated that [Version R] would accomplish two critical points. First, it would establish legislators as nonvoting members, which would mean their presence would not be essential to making a quorum. Second, it would broaden the criteria. She remarked that in four years' time, [the council] will be reviewed once more to determine "how it works." 8:14:33 AM MS. DAVIDSON, in response to Representative Gruenberg, explained that the reason for the four-year extension is that the council does not have grant-making authority or a lot of specific authority or the funding to allow for implementation. The council is an advisory board; therefore, the interval between reviews is kept shorter to keep the council "under the gun" to demonstrate that it is being effective. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked if it is the policy of the division to review boards with funding capabilities every eight years and entities without funding capabilities every four years. 8:16:31 AM MS. DAVIDSON responded that it is not a policy. She said the division looks at the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council as an advisory body because of its statutory responsibilities. It is an active body, which is why the division recommended it for an extension. She stated, "These bodies need to demonstrate that they are serving a public purpose." The council is an exception to other boards and councils that are involved in very structured activity, she remarked. In response to a follow-up question from Representative Gruenberg, she said an extension of less than eight years could be assigned to, for example, an occupational board working on substantive statutory changes to mirror what is happening in the profession. Also, if a board is not operating effectively, the division may recommend a shorter time period between audits. She stated, "The criteria that we use in evaluating these boards are set out in statute, and each of those is considered and addressed during the audit. And at the completion of the audit, the audit team makes a recommendations for an extension." 8:19:37 AM CHAIR LYNN closed public testimony. 8:19:45 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON returned to discussion of the aforementioned language on page 1, lines 11 and 14. He said he wants to know if a member of the Minority means the official Minority, so that "if there's less than 25 percent of the body, there's just not a member." Another possibility would be that [the council] "might end up with both Republicans from the other body," since the President of the Senate is a Republican and because "we have all of the minority members who are Republican." 8:20:50 AM MS. KOENEMAN said [the bill drafter] chose the language. She suggested that a change could be made now, or she could research the issue, which could then be addressed in the House Finance Committee. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON opined that the House State Affairs Standing Committee should address the issue, since it pertains to policy. 8:21:34 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted that the language on page 1, lines 11-14, is current language. He asked the members to look at page 3 of [a legislative audit, control number 06-20055-08, included in the committee packet], which shows the current council members as of the last legislature. The report shows that the two members of the Senate were both members of the Majority, although they were Democrats, because "they were members of the working group." The two members in the House were both members of the Minority, and they were both Democrats. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG suggested an amendment be adopted to allow the Senate President to appoint two members of the Senate and the Speaker of the House to appoint two members of the House, irrespective of party affiliation. He explained, "They're not following this anyway, and I think they have a tough time, probably, getting members who are interested in doing this." REPRESENTATIVE SEATON observed, "I think that looking at the current membership and looking at the nonpolitical nature of this, ... that would be a good idea." 8:23:28 AM REPRESENTATIVE WILSON pointed out that if a change is made to Version R, it would no longer mirror SB 35. 8:24:21 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt Amendment 1 to Version R, as follows: On page 1, beginning on line 10: Between "senate" and ";" Delete ", one of whom shall be a member of the majority and one of whom shall be a member of the minority" REPRESENTATIVE WILSON objected. She said she thinks the current language in Version R has been crafted thus for a reason. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG told Representative Wilson that "the only changes they made in this ... section are on line 8." REPRESENTATIVE WILSON maintained her objection. 8:26:13 AM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Seaton, Johnson, and Gruenberg voted in favor of Amendment 1 to Version R. Representatives Wilson and Lynn voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 1 to Version R was adopted by a vote of 3-2. 8:26:51 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to report CSHB 123, Version 26- LS0500\R, Bullard, 3/24/09, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 123(STA) was reported from the House State Affairs Standing Committee.