HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE January 20, 2010 1:32 p.m. CALL TO ORDER Co-Chair Hawker called the House Finance Committee meeting to order at 1:32 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Mike Hawker, Co-Chair Representative Bill Stoltze, Co-Chair Representative Bill Thomas Jr., Vice-Chair Representative Allan Austerman Representative Mike Doogan Representative Anna Fairclough Representative Neal Foster Representative Les Gara Representative Reggie Joule Representative Mike Kelly Representative Woodie Salmon MEMBERS ABSENT None ALSO PRESENT Louanne Christian, Support Staff supervisor; David Teal, Director, Legislative Finance Division; Karen Rehfeld, Director, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Governor PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE None SUMMARY Call to Order, Introductions, Housekeeping 1:32:19 PM ^Call to Order, Introductions, Housekeeping Co-Chair Hawker called to order the first meeting of the Legislative year. Co-Chair Hawker announced that the meeting was originating from the House Finance Chambers in Juneau. He introduced the House Finance Committee members. 1:34:06 PM Co-Chair Hawker welcomed the two new members of the committee, Representative Mike Doogan and Representative Neal Foster. He also noted that Representative Gara was now the ranking minority representative on the House Finance Committee. 1:35:43 PM Co-Chair Hawker paid tribute to the late Representative Richard Foster and noted Representative Richard Foster's son, Representative Neal Foster, would occupy his father's seat. 1:37:09 PM Co-Chair Hawker welcomed the committee room staff and asked Louanne Christian to introduce her staff. LOUANNE CHRISTIAN, SUPPORT STAFF SUPERVISOR, explained the committee support staff setup in the House and the Senate. She introduced the House and Senate Finance Committee support staff. 1:41:21 PM Co-Chair Hawker introduced and thanked the teleconference and Gavel to Gavel staff. 1:42:22 PM Co-Chair Hawker asked the House Finance Committee members to introduce their staff. The committee members introduced their staff. 2:01:24 PM Co-Chair Hawker commented that Representative Joule was the most tenured member of the majority caucus. 2:04:55 PM Co-Chair Hawker welcomed the Committee members' staff and proceeded to introduce his own staff. 2:10:27 PM DAVID TEAL, DIRECTOR, LEGISLATIVE FINANCE DIVISION, briefly noted the role of Legislative Finance and introduced his staff. He remarked on his staff's experience and their willingness to help the Committee. Co-Chair Hawker thanked the Legislative Finance division for their continual good working relationship with the Committee. 2:14:51 PM KAREN REHFELD, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR (OMB), introduced her staff and explained some new rearrangements and delegations within her office. Co-Chair Hawker indicated the committee's pleasure working with the OMB staff. 2:20:25 PM Co-Chair Hawker noted that it would be standard operating procedure for the House Finance committee this year. He mentioned that the operating budget subcommittee memo was being revised and would be delivered to the committee members. Co-Chair Hawker commented that Co-Chair Stoltze would continue to handle the Capital Budget and the bills while Co-Chair Hawker would handle the Operating Budget. 2:21:32 PM Co-Chair Stoltze explained that the Capital Budget process would be the same. He applauded the improvements in the electronic trail of legislation and paperwork. He asked for continued dialogue regarding various concerns. Co-Chair Stoltze emphasized that the committee's constitutional responsibility was to prepare the Capital and Operating Budgets. He added there would be discussions regarding fiscal policy. Co-Chair Hawker remarked that the House Finance co-chairs were concerned with the long-range fiscal responsibility of the budget. Co-Chair Hawker wanted to create a subcommittee to help institute fiscal planning and responsibility with Representative Austerman as the chair. Co-Chair Hawker indicated that any member on the House Finance Committee would be welcome to sit on the subcommittee. 2:26:59 PM Representative Austerman agreed that a conversation for long term revenue resources and stabilizing the budget was a prime concern. He encouraged all House Finance Committee members to be involved. Representative Austerman reported that all meetings would be open to the public. 2:28:54 PM Co-Chair Hawker indicated another structural change would be the budget evaluation for the University of Alaska. He noted many past budget challenges working with the university. Co- Chair Hawker remarked that instead of assigning a subcommittee for the University of Alaska budget all House Finance Committee members would be on the subcommittee. 2:32:02 PM Co-Chair Hawker reiterated that cell phones would not be allowed in the committee room. He stressed that meetings would begin promptly at 1:30PM with special morning meetings at 9:00AM. Co-Chair Hawker reviewed the Committee quorum and voting rules. A quorum of the majority of the Committee membership (six members) is necessary to vote or take any Committee action. If fewer than eleven members are present, motions to amend may be adopted by a majority of those present, but under no conditions will the number of votes required for adoption of an amendment be less than five members. There will be no teleconference voting by any committee member. 2:35:33 PM Louanne Christian explained the technical and general logistics of the House Finance Committee room. She addressed the rules of bill passage and the House Finance Committee support staff duties. Co-Chair Stoltze emphasized that the handout document rules must follow protocol. 2:46:46 PM Louanne Christian relayed further information on document distribution. 2:50:31 PM Co-Chair Hawker reported that the next few weeks committee time would be dedicated to budget hearings, although Co- Chair Stoltze would be chairing important hearings on the Endangered Species Act and Domestic Violence. 2:52:39 PM Co-Chair Hawker asked committee members to contact the co- chairs with any special issues to be considered. Co-Chair Hawker indicated that the Governor's supplemental budget would be important as there was a surplus this year. This will drive many decisions for both FY2010 and supplemental FY2011. He noted the closeout dates for several reports and remarked that the House Finance Committee room can be scheduled through his office. 2:56:23 PM Vice-Chair Thomas encouraged subcommittee members to attend their meetings. Co-Chair Hawker reiterated the importance of coordinating subcommittee overviews with the Senate Finance Committee. 2:58:16 PM Co-Chair Hawker reviewed the upcoming meetings for the week. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:59 PM