CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 129(FIN) "An Act relating to providing a death certificate for a deceased veteran without charge." 9:33:10 AM REPRESENTATIVE MAX GRUENBERG, introduced HB 129 and stated that the bill provided four certified copies of a deceased veteran's death certificate without cost to the requestor. He explained that the legislation would enable the estate of a deceased veteran to obtain benefits; the term benefit was not limited to governmental benefits, but could involve benefits such as life insurance. He noted that the bill was modeled on an Arizona law and that it would help Alaska's veterans. On page 3 of the bill, a veteran was defined as an individual who was on active duty at the time of his or her death, or someone who had received an honorable or general discharge from a branch of the armed services; the individual must have also been an Alaska resident at the time of their death. He added that service branches such as the National Guard, the Alaska Scouts, the Alaska Territorial Guard, and the Alaska Naval Militia were included in the legislation. Co-Chair Stedman discussed the fiscal note in the packet. 9:35:19 AM PHILLIP MITCHELL, SECTION CHIEF, BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES, relayed that his intent was to explain the fiscal note attached to HB 129 and that administration had no position on the bill. He related that on average, five copies of certificates were requested for each death; approximately 30 percent of the death certificates per year were for veterans. Assuming that three to four copies would be issued per person and free of charge, the expected impact was 3,000 to 4,000 copies per year. The department currently charged $25 for the first certificate and $20 for each additional copy. The department estimated that the bill would reduce the fees collected by the bureau by up to $75,000 the first year and to $100,000 by year five. He stated that 3 percent of the bureau's budget was based on general funds and that the remainder of the budget was fee- based and was built in. The fiscal note was submitted for the purpose of covering the cost of the decreased program receipts. He related that the fiscal note was a fund change and that it did have a zero net cost. He furthered that in order to maintain current service and staffing levels, the lost receipts would need to be replaced with general funds. 9:37:14 AM MARIE DARLIN, ALASKA ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED PERSONS, testified in support of the legislation. She related that Alaska had the highest per capita number of veterans in the United States and that the bill was another way to recognize a veteran's service. 9:38:37 AM Senator Olson queried whether the legislation included the Alaska Naval Militia as recipients of the benefits. Representative Gruenberg responded that the group was well established in statute. He furthered that the militia was mainly active during Alaska's territorial days and that they were mostly very elderly individuals. Senator Olson referenced a rogue militia situation in Fairbanks and expressed concerns regarding how a militia was defined under the legislation. Representative Gruenberg responded that the Alaska Scouts, the Alaska Territorial Guard, and the Alaska Naval Militia were specifically set forth in statute and that they were nothing like the "patriot militia." He concluded that the groups that were included in the bill were all statutorily recognized and that the legislation was crafted to include all legitimate veterans. CSHB 129(FIN) was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration.