SB 145-VETS' RETIREMENT/LOANS/HOUSING/EMPLOYMENT  CHAIR DYSON announced the consideration of SB 145. 9:05:06 AM MIKE BARNHILL, Deputy Commissioner, Alaska Department of Administration, Juneau, Alaska, introduced the Governor's veteran update bill. He said the bill does a handful of things to update Alaska's laws with respect to treatment of veterans. He specified that the hiring preference in the state's personnel code updates the definition of veteran to include recent conflicts that followed the Vietnam War; that update also applies to Department of Commerce veterans' loans as well as Alaska Housing Finance Corporation access to housing projects. He added that the bill also updates Alaska pension law to comply with the Heroes Earnings Assistance Relief Tax (HEART) Act of 2008. He explained that the HEART Act was enacted by Congress to address active employees of employers that participate in the Public Employee Retirement System, Teachers Retirement System, or Judicial Retirement System. He specified that an employee who is called into service and killed while performing qualified military service that their last day of employment will be deemed the date of death for purposes of pension benefits that the survivors would receive such as accelerated vesting or insularly life insurance benefits. He added that to comply with the HEART Act, the wage differential is defined as the difference between the wage that the employee receives in public employment versus the wage that they receive from the military; that is the differential wage that will be construed under federal law as W-2 wages and the employer will include that as wages paid to the employee for tax purposes. 9:07:55 AM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI addressed page 4, lines 14-18 regarding qualifications for loans. He asked what would be the last date of Operation Iraqi Freedom and time periods that will be listed in 5 United States Code (USC) 2108(1). MR. BARNHILL replied that the last date will be defined by the federal government. He stated that he did not know when the date will be. He said the federal statute is a statute that defines veteran in much the same way that Alaska's statute does. He explained that federal laws update conflicts on a more regular basis and Alaska has not updated its veteran definition statutes since the Vietnam War. He specified that the federal statute include the initial Iraqi Conflict from 1990-1992 and Operation Iraqi Freedom will be added. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if people deployed in Afghanistan or other parts of the world would be covered. MR. BARNHILL specified that the bill covers all service rendered during specific time periods wherever in the world that service occurs, examples would include San Francisco, Iraq, and Afghanistan. 9:09:47 AM MCHUGH PIERRE, Deputy Commissioner, Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson, Richardson, Alaska, said he had addressed the service rendered issue with Mr. Barnhill and noted working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which includes Afghanistan, is included in the definition, but not specified until the conflict is completely finished. He said OEF is expected to draw-down by sometime in 2015. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if coverage for service rendered is time or location based. MR. PIERRE replied that coverage is dependent on a person's job title and what the person is doing. For example, an individual flying Unmanned Arial Vehicle (UAV) missions in Nevada would be included as a combat veteran. He added that every veteran's DD- 214 document will have a combat identifier. SENATOR COGHILL noted that he has a DD-214 document when he separated from the military. CHAIR DYSON asked if the committee should consider putting wording in the bill that whenever the federal government changes their classifications on a new conflict that Alaska's statutes would follow that. 9:12:01 AM MR. BARNHILL answered that was exactly what the bill proposes to do by incorporating reference to 5 USC 2108. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if there were other situations where the state would not want to be bound by the federal government's definition. MR. PIERRE replied that following the federal code for the definition of combat veteran should be safe. He advised that the state follow the federal code. SENATOR COGHILL remarked that he usually is not a fan of tying statutes to federal code, but agrees with the proposal because Alaskan veterans will benefit due to the state's slower statute changes. 9:13:47 AM CHAIR DYSON opened the hearing to public testimony. 9:14:00 AM MARK SAN SOUCI, Northwest Regional State Liaison, Defense State Liaison Office, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Tacoma, Washington, stated that he will address Senator Wielechowski's proposed amendment. 9:14:25 AM CARY BOLLING, Sales Marketing Manager, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska, said he was available for questioning. 9:14:40 AM BOB PAWLOWSKI, representing himself, Anchorage, Alaska, pointed out that he is a retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) commissioned officer and a federally recognized veteran with service connected to injuries. He read the following statement: I appreciate your attention to the importance that our veterans bring to our nation and our state and revealing this bill as an update to the Alaskan veteran's laws, which appears, listening to Deputy Commissioner Barnhill, has not been updated since the Vietnam era. I ask you to consider bringing consistency between the present U.S. code definitions and the Alaska statutes associated with Veterans Armed Forces, Military Service, and Uniformed Services. Specifically I am referring to: Title 10 USC, which is the Armed Forces' title; Title 37 USC, which is pay and allowances; and Title 38 USC, which is Veteran's Benefits as they apply to the definitions of active duty, military service, and uniformed services. I respect the difference of combat veterans, combat service, and armed service versus active duty military uniformed services as it pertains to the lower parts of the statute in front of you. I fully support the eras and the conflict. I am just asking that the veteran's language be brought consistent with federal code. MR. PAWLOWSKI noted his work background work as a state employee and his inability to claim to be a service disabled veteran. He called attention to the inconsistencies in statutes. CHAIR DYSON asked Mr. Pierre to comment on Mr. Pawlowski's testimony. 9:18:51 AM MR. PIERRE noted that Mr. Pawlowski has some valid points and his department can take a hard look at all of the locations of "veteran" separate from what is a combat veteran and then what is a veteran in general. He said he did not know if SB 145 is the vehicle, but added that he can address Mr. Pawlowski's points and provide a recommendation. CHAIR DYSON asked where SB 145 goes next. He inquired if SB 145 had a Senate Finance Committee referral. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI revealed that SB 145 goes to the Senate Floor. CHAIR DYSON addressed Mr. Pierre and noted that he thinks Public Health Service and NOAA are not considered to be military veterans. MR. PIERRE replied that Chair Dyson's assumption is not entirely correct. He specified that individuals that separate from NOAA receive a DD-214 document that provides for veteran status determination. He said Mr. Pawlowski is an example of someone who is a service connected veteran who the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) says is a veteran, so the question where we have some discrepancies in the state's programs that might not require to be fixed through statute and could be fixed through regulation that specifies in personnel hiring to include veterans recognized by the VA. 9:20:49 AM CHAIR DYSON announced that the committee will stand at ease. 9:22:15 AM CHAIR DYSON called the committee back to order. 9:22:57 AM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI offered Amendment 1 to the committee. CHAIR DYSON objected for the purposes of discussion. 9:23:23 AM MONICA SOUTHWORTH, Staff, Senator Wielechowski, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, said the amendment before the committee deals with Medicaid waivers and the wait list for military families. She explained that the issue arose out of a survey that was done by a national organization called Specialized Training of Military Parents (STOMP,) which works with military families that have special needs children. She said often times the Tricare Echo Program, which is a supplemental insurance program to Tricare Standard and Tricare Prime, does not always fulfill all of the families' needs and requires families to apply for a Medicaid waiver. She related that many comments from the STOMP survey revolved around respite care not being enough and the only option for a family was Medicaid. She set forth situations where families apply for Medicaid waivers and are then stationed outside of Alaska. She revealed that Alaska's average Medicaid waiver wait list is approximately four years for home and community based care. She said families are removed from the waiver wait list when they leave the state. She set forth that the amendment proposes that families remain on the state's waiting list and maintain their priority as long as they intend to return to Alaska within 18 months of separation. She specified that services will not follow families out of the state. She said the amendment will benefit families at Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), but only if families return to the state. She revealed that Mr. San Souci is available for comment and noted that allowing service members to retain their Medicaid waiver priority is listed as a top ten issue for the DOD Legislative Liaison Office. 9:25:34 AM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI mentioned that Amendment 1 has a zero fiscal note, does not cost anything to do, and specifically preserves a service member's place on a waiting list. He specified that service members will not lose their wait list position as long as they intend to come back and permanently reside in Alaska. MR. SAN SOUCI detailed that preserving the place on a waiting list consistently becomes a key issue for special needs families that move out of state and are required to start over from square one. He specified that in some states the wait is two to eight years with service families that move to another state having to start over. He explained that the thought for the easiest solution is to just have the legal residence of a state apply during active duty and stay in the queue for future military coverage. He specified that the request is not asking for a new entitlement or to bump anyone else off a list. He noted that family dependency will be reevaluated due to potential medical change. He noted service wait list legislation has passed in other states with zero fiscal notes. CHAIR DYSON asked Mr. Barnhill for the Administration's position on Amendment 1. MR. BARNHILL replied that the question pertains to the Department of Health and Social Services and DOD priorities. 9:28:30 AM JON SHERWOOD, Deputy Director, Division of Senior & Disabilities Services (DSDS), Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Juneau, Alaska, said DSDS oversees the Medicaid Home and Community Care Waivers (MHCCW). He explained that Medicaid waivers are alternatives to institutional care that must meet institutional care standards for qualification. He said Alaska currently operates four Medicaid waivers. He explained that unlike the rest of the Medicaid program which could be called a pure entitlement, states are allowed to limit the number of people who are served on their waivers. Three of the state's four waivers do not operate with waiting lists and provide for immediate eligibility. MR. SHERWOOD said the MHCCW wait list is approximately 600 people at any given time. He explained that people on the MHCCW wait list are ranked according to need-score with approximately 20 people per month moved off of the wait list. He noted that people who return to the state with a high need-score would be ranked high on the registry list. He asserted that the amendment will not have a substantial impact on the wait list. CHAIR DYSON asked if there is a downside to Amendment 1. MR. SHERWOOD replied that Amendment 1 would minimally impact MHCCW. 9:31:27 AM CHAIR DYSON noted that the Permanent Dividend Fund addresses state residency. He asked if residency verification would be an issue for DSDS. MR. SHERWOOD answered that he did not think so. He said DSDS would probably give people the benefit of the doubt if they provided a reasonable case. He noted that candidates still have to go through a thorough application process to be determined for Medicaid qualification. SENATOR COGHILL surmised that the speed of the qualification process is slow. He noted his support for those who want to come back to Alaska. He asked if Amendment 1 would "tip the scales" in favor of a military family. MR. SHERWOOD explained that DSDS draws people based on a numeric score and people with similar scores would be drawn at the same time. SENATOR COGHILL set forth that MHCCW is generally services that are the last best hope for families to help them survive. He asserted that the state provides some pretty good services even though the MHCCW wait list is long. He noted that many communities are stepping up. He asked if Amendment 1 would act as a draw or a convenience for military families. 9:35:06 AM MR. SHERWOOD answered that he did not know. He noted that multiple support services are available to Alaska residents beyond MHCCW. He noted his concern that people do not know how the MHCCW wait list works. He specified that the wait list is not time based and people do not start back at the beginning. He noted that a quarter of the people on the wait list have the lowest possible score in terms of ranking and do not identify for immediate needs. He added that lower ranked families have access to other services. 9:37:01 AM SENATOR COGHILL expressed his concern for individuals who are waiting for the most intensive services. He said he did not want individuals to think that people are going to be moved in and individuals with intensive needs are going to be bumped off. He specified that the wait list is based on need. He said with all due respect to the military, the intent should be to assimilate military families and help them everywhere the state can; however, there are individuals with needs that must be treated as fairly and equitably as possible. CHAIR DYSON addressed Mr. Pierre and asked to clarify that DMVA does not have a position on Amendment 1. MR. PIERRE replied that DMVA has done a tremendous job to identify all of the top ten priorities as Senator Wielechowski has pointed out. He asserted that SB 145 deals with specific cleanup language and Amendment 1 is not in line with what the bill is trying to accomplish. He stated that Amendment 1 has good merit and stands on its own, but does align with SB 145. CHAIR DYSON asked Senator Wielechowski if Amendment 1 fits within the title of SB 145. 9:39:18 AM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI replied that he thinks Amendment 1 does fit within the bill's title and noted its intent was proposed as sort of a military omnibus bill. He noted being careful not to include the intent from Amendment 1 in a number of his military bills that have fiscal notes. He stated his belief that the intent in SB 145 was to make Alaska more attractive for active duty and veterans to honor their services with Amendment 1 addressing the same intent. He reiterated that Amendment 1 holds a spot as long as the service family returns within 17 months and avoids an added three years of waiting. CHAIR DYSON asked if Senator Wielechowski had Legislative Legal's analysis on whether Amendment 1 fits under SB 145. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI answered yes and explained as follows: It's not a bill that came from the House, there's not a title change and it fits within the title. You have to insert a provision and that's what we do on page 1 of the amendment to slightly change the title, it's within the subject, so there is no constitutional issue. SENATOR GIESSEL pointed out that the Key Coalition of Alaska was recently at the Capitol. She said she had meetings with multiple parents talking about the wait list and how heart breaking it was for them to persevere through the wait list until their opportunity came up. She remarked that while the amendment may have merit for the military folks and may not substantially change who moves up on the wait list, she shared a concern that her desperately waiting constituents may perceive being pushed aside by someone else. She set forth that she will be a no vote on Amendment 1. 9:42:25 AM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI replied that he certainly respects Senator Giessel's opinion. He pointed out that the people affected by his amendment are Alaska residents who are being required by the government to go out of state. He asserted that his intent is to specify the important distinction. He pointed out legislation from last year that allows the Permanent Dividend Fund to grant exemptions when an Alaska resident is forced to be out of state by the government. He asserted that the intent of Amendment 1 is similar to what is done with the Permanent Dividend Fund. SENATOR COGHILL asked to address DSDS and noted that it is his understanding that it is based on need and not on time. He stated that at this point it is not a matter of holding a place. He asked if a family that returns to the state would have to go through the reapplication process and would Amendment 1 help them receive their waiver more quickly. MR. SHERWOOD replied that Amendment 1 will do nothing about accelerating Medicaid eligibility and will not materially affect an individual's score. He reiterated that individuals will have to reapply when they return to the state. He noted that the reapplication registry process may be sped up. He revealed that the registry process takes approximately 30 days. 9:45:27 AM SENATOR COGHILL verified that individuals would have to apply for the Medicaid waiver because that is a state run program with federal partnership. MR. SHERWOOD answered correct. He explained that waiver services are not portable and do not follow a family if they move out of state. SENATOR COGHILL commented that Amendment 1 may assist a military family to quickly reestablish waiver eligibility. He said he did not see any great material benefit from Amendment 1 and noted that eligibility is qualification-based rather than time-based. He asserted that verbiage in the amendment that a place is held does not help. He inquired if Amendment 1's timelines adds complexity for individuals who do not fall within its parameters. MR. SHERWOOD answered that DSDS would have to add some degree of verification if timelines are involved. He added that Amendment 1 would not give an individual a particular qualification advantage. He said people who did not meet a timeline restriction would proceed through the registry process and essentially compete with others on the wait list based on score. He stated that Amendment 1 would not have a detrimental impact on people who did not meet its timelines. 9:48:03 AM CHAIR DYSON announced that he will maintain his objection and asked for a roll call vote. Senators Wielechowski and Dyson voted yea; Senators Giessel and Coghill voted nay; therefore Amendment 1 fails. 9:48:31 AM CHAIR DYSON announced the committee would stand at ease. 9:48:35 AM CHAIR DYSON called the committee back to order. CHAIR DYSON announced that Amendment 1 fails and asked for a motion. 9:48:51 AM SENATOR GIESSEL moved to report SB 145, labeled 28-GS2585\A from committee with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. 9:49:05 AM CHAIR DYSON announced that without objection, SB 145 passes out of the Senate State Affairs Standing Committee.