SENATE BILL NO. 119 "An Act making appropriations, including capital appropriations and other appropriations; making appropriations to capitalize funds." 8:04:04 AM ^FY 15 GOVERNOR'S BUDGET OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 8:04:51 AM DAN SPENCER, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, discussed the budget for Department of Public Safety (DPS). He outlined each request by reference number. RN 6121  Aircraft and Vessel Repair and Maintenance  FY2015 Request: $1,000,000    Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This annual project provides repair and maintenance for the Department of Public Safety's 44 aircraft and 41 vessels. These assets are crucial tools used to achieve the department's mission to ensure public safety and enforce fish and wildlife laws. These funds are used to rebuild vessel and aircraft engines and components when they r each the limits of safe useful life. 8:05:21 AM RN 37774  Alaska State Troopers Law Enforcement Equipment  FY2015 Request: $500,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This annual project provides various types of law enforcement equipment that is deemed mission critical. The Alaska State Troopers rely upon capital improvement funding for equipment purchases for day-to-day operations in order to meet t he department's mission of ensuring public safety and enforcing state laws by protecting lives, property and public peace. RN 45300  Alaska Wildlife Troopers Law Enforcement Equipment  FY2015 Request: $500,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This annual project provides new and replacement law enforcement equipment for use by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers. The Alaska Wildlife Troopers rely upon capital improvement project funding for purchase of equipment used for day-to-day operations in order to meet the department's mission of ensuring public safety and enforcing state laws by protecting lives, public peace, and wildlife resources. RN 51707  Village Public Safety Officer Equipment  FY2015 Request: $500,000 Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This annual project provides equipment replacement to support the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program. The Department of Public Safety supports the VPSO program through grants to non-profit organizations and local governments. The VPSOs rely upon capital improvement project funding for equipment purchases for day-to-day operations in order to meet the department's mission of public safety and enforcing state laws by protecting lives, property, and public peace in rural communities. RN 35825  Marine Fisheries Patrol Improvements  FY2015 Request: $1,200,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This annual project is part of a joint enforcement agreement (JEA) with the National Marine Fisheries Service. The project is for federal fiscal year 2014 JEA. The JEA federal funding has historically been part of the capital budget since it primarily funds equipment, but it also currently funds three positions. Federally regulated marine fisheries occur on a year-round basis in the coastal and offshore waters of Alaska. Both the federal and state governments share an interest in ensuring these fisheries are protected. This project will help the department achieve its mission to ensure public safety and enforce fish and wild life laws and protecting wildlife resources. 8:06:45 AM RN 35688  Statewide Domestic Violence Shelter Improvements  FY2015 Request: $2,000,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This project provides state funds to leverage matching funds from the Rasmuson Foundation, and possibly other entities, to provide deferred maintenance improvements for domestic violence shelters statewide. All domestic violence shelters have deferred maintenance needs such as roof repairs, window replacements, kitchen upgrades, flooring/carpeting, furnishings, etc. 8:07:23 AM Senator Hoffman requested a list of improvements made to shelters in the previous fiscal year and which shelter would benefit from the FY2015 funds. Mr. Spencer said that he would provide the information. 8:07:50 AM Vice-Chair Fairclough explained that Standing Together Against Rape (STAR) would send a contractor out to each shelter in order to determine the needs for each entity. She wondered if the funding request would be enough to support the 26 different programs across the state that provided shelter for women and children facing in-home violence. Mr. Spencer relayed that a statewide assessment would be done on all domestic violence shelters in the state and then the necessary repairs and improvements would be prioritized. The repairs and upgrades would then be handled by a statewide group rather than turning the funding directly over to the shelters. He understood that there was potentially an amount of additional private funds that could be added to the appropriation. 8:09:46 AM Vice-Chair Fairclough understood that the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in coordination with the Rasmuson Foundation would be providing the allocation and not the state. She said that the state was trying to fortify the shelter and was going to let the appropriation be managed by the council. Mr. Spencer replied that that was correct. He continued to list the budget requests. 8:11:44 AM RN 41788  Deferred Maintenance, Renewal, Repair and Equipment  FY2015 Request: $1,350,000    Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This annual project allows the Department of Public Safety to address some of the deferred maintenance needed in buildings throughout Alaska. The department occupies various facilities in 66 locations with a number of electrical/mechanical code issues, as well as energy and security improvements that need to be addressed. Storing evidence, protecting department-owned equipment, and providing employees with safe working conditions allows the department to meet its mission. The following requests were allocations under this appropriation: RN 58735  Anchorage - Alaska Bureau of Investigation Headquarters  Roof Repair  FY2015 Request: $100,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This project will allow for the Alaska Bureau of Investigation building roof repairs. RN 58736  Bethel - Trooper Office Improvements and Hangar Energy  Repairs  FY2015 Request: $500,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: The State Trooper office and hangar in Bethel are in need of improvements that were identified by a survey and energy audit done in 2011. Identified issues include repairs to the hangar foundation, aircraft door, and ventilation system. The office needs improvements such as energy efficiency upgrades and windows replacement. RN 58738  Soldotna - Trooper Post Facility Repairs  FY2015 Request: $150,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: The Soldotna Alaska State Trooper office building is in need of repair and renovations. This project will provide separate public restrooms, exit signs, heating and ventilation improvements, and safety and building repairs and renovations for the Soldotna Trooper Post facility. RN 58737  Fairbanks - Facility and Energy Repairs  FY2015 Request: $400,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: The Fairbanks facility is in need of code and energy repairs. This project will provide upgrades such as replacing in-wall wiring, circuit breaker panels, helipad renovations, and other building energy efficiencies or electrical code or safety issues. RN 58740  Statewide Facility Security Renovations and Electrical  Upgrades  FY2015 Request: $200,000    Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This project will upgrade and secure office entrances to protect staff and provide electric system upgrades statewide. 8:12:38 AM Senator Olson looked at RN 6121: Aircraft Vessel Repair and Maintenance. He asked for more information regarding moving the P/V Stimson from Dutch Harbor to Kodiak. Mr. Spencer responded that the items listed on the P/V Stimson were routine and were not dependent on where the vessel was based. He noted that there was a proposal in the Operating Budget to move the vessel from its base in Dutch Harbor to Kodiak, but the move would not affect Capital Projects. 8:13:59 AM Senator Olson spoke to RN 45300: Alaska Wildlife Troopers Law Enforcement Equipment. He asked how much of the equipment replacement and repairs was related to the number of airplane accidents over the past few seasons. Mr. Spencer did not believe that any of the repairs were specifically related to accidents. He said that in the past year, aside from one helicopter crash, there had been two incidents with aircraft booth of which had involved prop strikes. Senator Olson asked whether the pilots of the prop strike incidents had been given additional training or disciplined in any way. Mr. Spencer responded that he would look into the situation and get back to the committee. 8:15:25 AM Senator Olson wondered if the troopers were still signed up with the Medallion Program. Mr. Spencer agreed to provide the information at a later date. 8:15:43 AM Vice-Chair Fairclough noticed that many appropriations were for maintenance. She asked how much money the department was sitting on and whether they expended each of the funds each year. Mr. Spencer responded no. He elaborated that the department often found itself in the situation where there was either not enough funding in one particular year and other years when there was additional funding. He said that the department needed to have an amount of money available at any particular point in time during any particular year. He gave an example from years past. Co-Chair Meyer handed the gavel to Vice-Chair Fairclough. 8:16:59 AM AT EASE 8:18:08 AM RECONVENED ^FY 15 GOVERNOR'S BUDGET OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION 8:18:16 AM THOMAS CHERIAN, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, discussed the FY15 Capital Budget requests for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). He noted that the total departmental request for RY15 was $69.3 million, 61 percent of which was funded by federal agencies. He said that 5 percent came from other sources and 34 percent was unrestricted general funds. He spoke to the projects by reference number. RN 41376  Village Safe Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Projects  FY2015 Request: $51,500,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This project provides financial and technical assistance to rural communities to plan, design, and construct water and sewer system improvements. 60% of the funding will provide first-time service to communities while 40% will be used for expansion, upgrade, and replacement of existing service. Mr. Cherian said that the appropriation would be allocated to the following projects: RN 497848  First Time Service Projects  FY2015 Request: $30,900,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This project provides funding for first time service grants to communities to plan, design, and construct drinking water and sanitation facilities. RN 49749  Expansion, Upgrade, and Replacement of Existing Service  FY2015 Request: $20,600,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This project provides grant funding for expansion, upgrade, and replacement of existing service to communities to plan, design and construct drinking water and sanitation facilities. 8:20:49 AM Senator Dunleavy queried the number of different approaches to clean water and sanitation in rural areas of the state. BILL GRIFFITH, FACILITY PROGRAMS DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF WATER, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, explained that there were standard designs for a number of major system components like sewage lift stations and different treatment processes, but there were other parts if the systems that could not be standardized because of the variation in the environment of different communities. He said that the typical design life of the systems was 30 years and some of the existing systems had surpassed that and were in need of an upgrade. He added that sometimes systems did not last as long as they were expected, did not work as well and intended, and faced environmental challenges such as flooding. 8:22:17 AM Senator Dunleavy asked how many communities were without minimal water and sewer facilities. Mr. Griffith replied that there were 34 communities that were without running water and sewer; the department had ongoing construction projects in four of the communities to provide running water and sewer to homes, but the department did not have current funding to bring water and sewer to the remaining 30 communities. 8:23:02 AM Senator Dunleavy asked whether the population of a community was a determining factor for the department when choosing projects. Mr. Griffith replied that under the Village Safe Water Act there was a definition of eligibility. The minimum number of people in a community to make that community eligible was 25. He added that it was not always feasible or sustainable to construct a community water and sewer system in a community larger than 25. 8:24:06 AM Senator Olson wondered if communities with partial water and sewer facilities were included in the 34 communities cited. Mr. Griffith responded that the department defined a community that did not have running water and sewer as fewer than 55 percent of the homes had running water and sewer. He said that in the 30 that he mentioned, none of the homes had water and sewer. He said that there were many communities where more than 55 percent, but less than 100 percent, of the homes had running water and sewer. 8:25:02 AM Senator Olson asked for the list of projects in priority of spending. Mr. Griffith agreed to provide a multi-year priority list of the projects. He added that in addition to state funds projects were funded every year through the Indian Health Service some of which were administered by the department and some by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. 8:25:39 AM Senator Olson asked how the projects played into the Village Safe Water Act projects. Mr. Griffith responded that the department worked closely with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Indian Health Service to identify projects; all three groups used the same data base to identify necessary projects. A scoring system was used for state funded projects and a different set-up criteria was used for Indian Health Service projects. 8:26:08 AM Senator Dunleavy requested a list of projected annual maintenance costs for the projects statewide. Mr. Griffith agreed to provide the information. 8:27:08 AM Mr. Cherian continued to discuss the budget requests. RN 49697  Drinking Water Capitalization Grant - Subsidy Funding  FY2015 Request: $2,526,300  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: The federal Drinking Water Capitalization Grant requires states to issue 30% of the funding as subsidies (a loan forgiveness process). This program functioned strictly as a loan program until FY2011 when this provision was added to the federal budget. In order to implement this provision, an appropriation is necessary to properly record the loan forgiveness payment as an expense in the Alaska Drinking Water Fund. Future requests will remain at 30% of capitalization grants. 8:28:07 AM   RN 49698  Clean Water Capitalization Grant - Subsidy Funding  FY2015 Request: $563,200  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: The federal Clean Water Capitalization Grant requires states to issue subsidies (a loan forgiveness process). The subsidy amount required was identified under the grant terms the Environmental Protection Agency has identified for Alaska. This program functioned strictly as a loan program until FY2011 when this provision was added to the federal budget. In order to implement this provision, an appropriation is necessary to properly record the loan forgiveness payment as an expense in the Alaska Clean Water Fund. Future funding requests will remain at a set percentage of each year's capitalization grant. RN 46714  Municipal Water, Sewage, and Solid Waste Facilities Grants  (AS 46.03.030)  FY2015 Request: $14,558,203  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This project provides funding for grants to larger communities to plan, design, and construct drinking water and sanitation facilities and the associated operating costs of the Facility Construction component within the Division of Water. RN 54566  Deferred Maintenance, Renewal, Repair and Equipment  FY2015 Request: $200,000  Brief Summary and Statement of Need: This project will address deferred maintenance items in the state Environmental Health Laboratory Building. Examples of immediate deferred maintenance needs in the lab include water main back- flow backup, autoclave, door locks, and window blast films. SB 119 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. 8:30:28 AM AT EASE 8:32:16 AM RECONVENED