HB 129-DECEASED VETERAN DEATH CERTIFICATE  9:50:05 AM CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI announced that HB 129 was before the committee. The bill would give family members of deceased veterans up to four certified copies of a death certificate for that veteran. REPRESENTATIVE MAX GRUENBERG, sponsor of HB 129, introduced the bill. He stated that the bill provides that upon the death of a veteran, who is defined in the bill as a person who was on active duty at the time of their death, or had received an honorable or general discharge from the armed services, and was a resident of Alaska at the time of the individual's death. That person's estate would be entitled, at the time of death, to request, without charge, that the Bureau of Vital Statistics issue up to four certified copies of the death certificate for the purpose of establishing an eligibility requirement for a benefit related to the veteran. He noted the bill has been around for four legislatures and has had no objection. There is a small fiscal note and the bill goes on to the Senate Finance Committee after this committee. He explained that the definition of "benefit" is not limited to a governmental benefit and suggested it could be a life insurance policy. He stressed the importance of the estate having access to certified copies of the death certificate. He called four copies a modest number. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted that the House Finance Committee changed the number of copies to four, but neglected to change the title to match. The title change amendment would say "providing copies of" instead of "a copy", and there is also a draft Senate Concurrent Resolution pending. 9:54:06 AM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what the cost of a death certificate is. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG thought it was $25. PHILLIP MITCHELL, Section Chief, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Division of Public Health, Department of Health and Social Services, provided information related to HB 129. He agreed that the intent of the bill is to provide a public service for deceased veterans. It is similar to a bill previously introduced in the legislature. He explained that the administration has no position regarding the bill. He related that the impact of the bill would be mostly financial and would be expected to grow as more people became aware of the new law. There has been a request by an estate for 40 or more death certificates, but the average number of requests is about five. He reported that 30 percent of Alaskans are veterans and there are about 1,000 veteran deaths per year. The fee for the first copy of a death certificate is $25, but it is $20 for each subsequent copy. Assuming that three or four copies are issued per death, the impact would be that between 3,000 and 4,000 copies would be offered at no charge. He pointed out that the department is not clear on what a "person" means in the resolution. He questioned if "a person" means only one individual, or if it means the wife, the brother, and the children. The fiscal note could change substantially, based on that definition. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked which line Mr. Mitchell was referring to. MR. MITCHELL said line 23 on page 2. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked if a wife could request four copies, and then a brother could also request four copies. MR. MITCHELL continued to say that the department estimates that the bill will reduce fees usually collected by the Bureau of Vital Statistics for death certificates from about $75,000 the first year and up to $100,000 in the fifth year. About three percent of the Bureau's budget is based on general fund (GF) and the remainder of the budget is from fee-based, with the fees being built into the budget. The department submitted a fiscal note to cover the costs of the decreased program receipts, which would need to be replaced by GF. 9:57:50 AM SENATOR KOOKESH asked about requests from honorably discharged veterans. MR. MITCHELL explained that those requests would require proof, such as a copy of the DD-214 or a military ID. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI added a driver's license to the examples, if HB 180 passes. SENATOR KOOKESH asked how long it would take to get the certificates. MR. MITCHELL replied that the Bureau would accept the person's military documentation, and it would take a very short amount of processing time, about ten minutes in person, and about two weeks to be mailed out. 9:59:04 AM CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI gave an example of an out-of-state veteran based in Alaska and killed in Afghanistan. He inquired if Alaska would issue the death certificate in that case. MR. MITCHELL clarified that deaths are registered where they occur. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked if it has to be a death that occurs in Alaska. MR. MITCHELL said yes. SENATOR MEYER asked if any of the certificates are free. MR. MITCHELL responded that there was a fee for each certificate. SENATOR MEYER asked if a family could request up to 10 death certificates. MR. MITCHELL said they did receive a request once for 100 certificates, but average is about 5. The bill limits it to four. SENATOR MEYER restated a concern about the number of certificates per person. MR. MITCHELL said he agreed with Senator Meyer's conclusion. 10:01:15 AM MARIE DARLIN, AARP, testified in support of HB 129. She related that Alaska has the highest per capita number of veterans in the U.S. She agreed that this bill was one more way to thank veterans for their service. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked for clarification of the definition of "person". REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted that it is the first time "person" has been questioned. He said the intent is a total of four certificates per death, regardless of how many requests there were. He offered to clear up the ambiguity of the language. He thought the other aspect under question was who would be entitled to claim the certificate. He asked Mr. Mitchell if the Division of Public Health has the authority to promulgate regulations. MR. MITCHELL said yes. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG wanted to let the division determine who could claim the certificate. MR. MITCHELL agreed that it would work to clarify what was meant by a "person". SENATOR KOOKESH suggested amending the bill in committee. He offered a Conceptual Amendment: That upon request and without charge, the Bureau shall issue up to four copies of a death certificate for the death of a veteran. Take out "to a person". CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI voiced approval of the suggestion. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG agreed. 10:06:00 AM SENATOR MEYER questioned what the right number of certificates was. He wondered if there was research as to how other states handle this issue. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG explained that HB 129 was modeled after Arizona's law. He left the number up to the committee. SENATOR MEYER stated he was fine with four. SENATOR KOOKESH concluded that a person could get four free certificates, but any more would incur a cost. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said yes. 10:08:04 AM SENATOR GIESSEL requested clarification of who could receive the certificate. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG clarified that the bill is directed to the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics, not to other states. He emphasized that the death has to occur in Alaska and the veteran must be an Alaska resident. MR. MITCHELL added a scenario where out-of-state veterans would not qualify even if they died in Alaska. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI said HB 129 would be set aside.