HB 28-FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES  7:44:37 AM CHAIR DUNLEAVY reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of HB 28. "An Act exempting solicitations or voluntary agreements to provide ambulance, emergency, or fire department services from regulation as insurance." This was the first hearing. 7:44:42 AM REPRESENTATIVE ERIC FEIGE, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of HB 28, introduced the bill stating the following: HB 28 addresses an issue important to many organizations: money. Capital grants from the State of Alaska and other entities help many emergency service organizations exist. Unfortunately, money is often available for projects such as buying new equipment or repairing a building, but money is very rarely available for operating expenses. House Bill 28 provides a mechanism to help emergency service agencies maintain sustainability. Fire departments, ambulance services and other emergency service organizations often struggle to keep the doors open. In some communities, the power to levy taxes provides sufficient funding to operate these departments. In others, it is not an option. When sufficient funds are not available, organizations turn to other sources for money. Sometimes it is a pancake supper or a fish fry. Maybe it's a bake sale or some other project. Maybe BINGO. In different communities, different things work. The problem with these types of activities is that they take even more of the emergency volunteer's time. Time they need to spend training and responding to other emergencies. Donations also are very helpful, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to convince people to give money to an organization. People have come to expect the government to provide these services. One alternative to entice people to provide donations to help support fire and EMS services in the community is to offer a "no charge" policy to those that give to the organization. Unfortunately, such a simple concept is considered insurance in Alaska and subject to numerous laws and regulation. An ambulance service can become a health services corporation and become exempt from many of the insurance laws. To do so requires the organization to put up a minimum bond of $100,000 along with other requirements. Hardly feasible for a few people in a remote village who want to create a service to take those that are sick or injured to the local clinic. The alternative [is to] hope someone comes along that can take the injured or sick person because no organized local ambulance service exists. If you just charge the individual for the service, it's no problem. But if you ask for money up front to keep gas in the ambulance and to keep the fire station heated in exchange for not charging the longtime donor if you come to assist them, it falls under the category of insurance and is subject to all the regulations of the Division of Insurance. In a similar situation, a community that has no fire department might want to start one. Often organizations charge if they have to come to help you. Others ask for donations. You might hear it referred to as a subscription fire department. In a subscription department, you pay in advance to receive the service and then receive a discount on costs if you have to use the service. The State of Alaska considers this insurance. This bill does only one thing. It exempts municipalities and community-based nonprofit organizations engaged in emergency services from the insurance regulations for donations received that result in a production of fees charged. CHAIR DUNLEAVY requested a synopsis of what the bill does. REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE said it removes subscription-type emergency organizations from the regulations of the Division of Insurance. CHAIR DUNLEAVY observed that it would help rural areas of the state. REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE agreed. SENATOR MICCICHE commented that the bill essentially calls insurance something else. REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE clarified that it establishes that subscription services are not insurance. SENATOR OLSON asked if the Division of Insurance is in favor of the bill. 7:50:26 AM MARTY HESTER, Deputy Director, Division of Insurance, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), stated that the division does not oppose HB 28. It is similar to legislation that was carved out for the air ambulance industry. HB 28 would carve out for municipalities and community-based nonprofits to offer similar subscription services. SENATOR OLSON admonished the division for taking a neutral stance on legislation that obviously would help emergency services in rural Alaska. He asked if it's true that the division has a negative view of people that provide these subscription-type services. MR. HESTER replied it is not true. He said the division has to enforce insurance statutes and it's been opined that these types of subscription memberships are insurance. HB 28 would remove municipalities and community-based nonprofits from regulation by the division. SENATOR OLSON asked if he had lived in rural Alaska. MR. HESTER answered no. CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked if he sees any harm resulting from the bill. MR. HESTER answered no. SENATOR MICCICHE said he supports the bill because emergency services are an appropriate application, but it shouldn't grow beyond that. CHAIR DUNLEAVY opened and closed public testimony. 7:53:17 AM SENATOR MICCICHE moved to report HB 28 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). CHAIR DUNLEAVY announced that without objection, HB 28 moved from the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.