SCR 16-EDUCATION FUNDING/COST FACTOR COMMISSION    CHAIR STEVENS announced consideration of SCR 16. TIM LAMKIN, staff, Senator Stevens, presented SCR 16 Establishing and relating to the Education Funding District Cost Factor Commission. He said this bill is a direct result of the task force that met over the summer. SENATOR HUGGINS moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) to SCR 16, labeled 25-LS1347/C, Mischel, as the working document of the committee. There being no objection, the motion carried. MR. LAMKIN explained the changes in this committee substitute. He said one recommendation from the task force stated the commission should have adequate financial resources to engage professionals experienced with numbers. On Page 2, lines 14-16 would establish a relationship with the legislative council to contract out services. According to the drafters, Legislative Council is the only committee that has the authority to enter into contracts of that nature and to do that with this commission would require a bill in statute. CHAIR STEVENS clarified that without this resolve establishing a relationship with Legislative Council, they would have to have a bill instead of the resolution before them. 8:33:00 AM SENATOR WILKEN said it's important to understand that they are not trying to measure the actual costs but the changes in relative costs. He reminded them that wages and benefits account for about 80 percent of the budget, so it is the other 20 percent they are really measuring. To illustrate, he said if insurance in Fort Yukon is 30 percent higher than in Fairbanks; as time goes by, Fairbanks may go up in insurance but so will Fort Yukon, so what they're trying to measure is not that dollar amount but the relationship between them. That is a quantifiable and measurable difference. On page 1, line 10 he asked that they strike "1998" and say "prior to 1983." On page 11, insert after the word "conducted," "1983-1985, 1998, 2002 and 2004." He commented that on page 2, lines 3-6, there's a recipe for failure. Those 4 lines should give them pause; because if they do this, they'll be doing just what they've done in the past. 8:36:48 AM SENATOR WILKEN proposed the chair ask Mr. Jeans to be more definitive on lines 14-15 when it says "shall submit a report of its findings and proposed legislative changes;" it would be helpful if the deliverables were a little more precise. He suggested bulleting 3 or 4 items that this legislature wants to see 3 or 4 years from now. CHAIR STEVENS asked Senator Wilken what specifics he was talking about. SENATOR WILKEN listed examples such as whether they want just a table of district cost factors or a model that is updatable and durable and what format it should be in; something to give guidance to this commission on what they're supposed to deliver back to the legislature. 8:39:06 AM MR. JEANS said the issue raised by Senator Wilken is addressed on page 1, line 15 through page 2, line 2, where it directs the commission to create a durable and updatable model to accurately reflect the costs. He said that the education funding task force that met this past summer was the first of its kind and was able to bring in experts from different areas enabling the committee to deliberate various components of the funding formula. He said that to have a similar task force specifically focused on cost differentials could have an equally positive outcome. He said expected participants would include the Department of Education, Alaska school business officials and administrators, and school boards. He said the administration supports the resolution. CHAIR STEVENS asked if the commission would be recurring or would it disappear like the Education Funding Task Force. MR. JEANS said the resolution calls for the commission to terminate December 31, 2010. The intention is to develop a model that is updatable that would be adopted in statute. He said he could envision statutory requirements that would be added to the model. 8:42:12 AM CHAIR STEVENS asked the committee members to let him know their thoughts on the measure and when to move it forward.