CSHB 322(FIN) GRANTS FOR HOUSING FOR DISASTER VICTIMS  SENATOR TORGERSON brought CSHB 322(FIN) before the committee and noted it was the committee's second hearing on the legislation. GEORGE DOZIER, staff to the House Military & Veterans Affairs Committee, explained the legislation was sponsored by the committee at the request of the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs. Under existing law, when the governor proclaims a disaster emergency, the Division of Emergency Services has the statutory authority to arrange temporary housing for individuals that have been displaced by the emergency. However, this presents an administrative burden because the department only has the ability to secure the housing rather then making housing grants and allowing individuals to secure their own housing. HB 322 would permit the department to get out of the business of being a landlord by allowing individuals who have suffered displacement to make their own housing arrangements through grants. Number 165 CAROL CARROLL, Director, Administrative & Support Services Division, Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, explained the current process used by the department when a disaster is proclaimed by the governor. She then outlined the process that will be used if HB 322 passes. The division will go into a community and after doing an analysis of the current rental market, an amount will be set which will be provided to people who qualify. Those individuals would then go out and find their own housing. The department will require proper documentation to make sure the individuals have actually rented something and are not being provided housing by someone else. SENATOR KELLY said several years ago, when he was on the Finance Committee, a provision was added to the statute that required reimbursement back to the state if individuals were covered by insurance, and he wondered if that requirement was being met. MS. CARROLL said it was her understanding that people at the Division of Emergency Services do match the insurance returns to any cost that the state has in that regard. SENATOR KELLY commented he has some trepidation about the whole statute because there is no control over how much money will be spent on an emergency, and it makes him nervous to have that open liability to the state of Alaska out there. He is also concerned that the legislation doesn't provide oversight on what kind of housing individuals can get. MS. CARROLL said the department would limit the amount given to individuals that qualified to a medium on the rental scale. If individuals choose to stay in a rental unit that is at the top of the line, they would have to pay the difference between what the medium rental amount was and that increase. SENATOR KELLY suggested adding language to the legislation which would require that the costs of housing not covered under temporary housing assistance be pre-approved by the department. Number 300 SENATOR ZHAROFF said he agreed with Senator Kelly's concern, but he pointed out that if there is a major disaster in an area that already has a tight rental market, it makes it difficult finding suitable temporary housing. Number 315 SENATOR TORGERSON asked if there currently is a cap on how much is spent per person. MS. CARROLL answered there is a cap for the individual family grant, but for temporary housing the cap is not a monetary cap, it is a time-sensitive cap. For people who have been renters beforehand, there is a limit of three months. For homeowners who have had severe damage, there is a limit of 18 months. SENATOR TORGERSON expressed his frustration with the appropriation process in covering these disasters because when the money is not there, the cities have to go in and obligate their funds to make all this happen. Number 400 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asked Senator Hoffman if homeowner insurance was hard to obtain in his district. SENATOR HOFFMAN responded that it wasn't in the larger communities like Bethel, but he believes it is a problem in some of the smaller communities where many of the homes are non-conforming and the communities lack adequate fire systems to deal with these situations. SENATOR KELLY asked if Ms. Carroll could provide the committee with the total reimbursement amount that the state has received from private insurance under this program, and MS. CARROLL acknowledged that she would. Number 455 SENATOR TORGERSON stated HB 322 would be held so that a committee substitute addressing the committee's concerns could be drafted.