HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE April 30, 1998 8:05 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Ivan Ivan, Vice Chairman Representative Ethan Berkowitz Representative Joe Ryan Representative Kim Elton Representative Mark Hodgins MEMBERS ABSENT Representative Jeannette James, Chair Representative Al Vezey COMMITTEE CALENDAR CONFIRMATION HEARING: Alaska Public Offices Commission Mark Rowland - Anchorage - CONFIRMATION ADVANCED * HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 45 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to a biennial state budget, to the appropriation limit, and to appropriations from the budget reserve fund. - MOVED HJR 45 OUT OF COMMITTEE * HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 35 Establishing a Joint Task Force on the Census and Redistricting. - MOVED HCR 35(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE * HOUSE BILL 303 "An Act extending the termination date of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; and providing for an effective date." - MOVED HB 303 OUT OF COMMITTEE (* First public hearing) PREVIOUS ACTION BILL: HJR 45 SHORT TITLE: BIENNIAL STATE BUDGET SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVES(S) PHILLIPS, Green Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 1/12/98 2020 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S) 1/12/98 2020 (H) STA, JUDICIARY, FINANCE 1/23/98 2121 (H) COSPONSOR(S): GREEN 4/30/98 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 102 4/30/98 3355 (H) STA RPT 1DP 3NR 4/30/98 3356 (H) DP: HODGINS; NR: ELTON, IVAN, RYAN 4/30/98 3356 (H) FISCAL NOTE (GOV) 4/30/98 3356 (H) REFERRED TO JUDICIARY BILL: HCR 35 SHORT TITLE: ESTAB JT. TASK FORCE CENSUS/REDISTRICTING SPONSOR(S): RULES Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 4/23/98 3213 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S) 4/23/98 3213 (H) STATE AFFAIRS 4/30/98 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 102 BILL: HB 303 SHORT TITLE: EXTEND COUNCIL ON DOM.VIOL. & SEX.ASSAULT SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVES(S) ELTON, Davies, Hudson, Hodgins Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 1/12/98 2024 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/2/98 1/12/98 2024 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S) 1/12/98 2024 (H) STATE AFFAIRS, JUDICIARY 4/23/98 3231 (H) COSPONSOR(S): HUDSON 4/29/98 3344 (H) COSPONSOR(S): HODGINS 4/30/98 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 102 WITNESS REGISTER MARK ROWLAND, Appointee Alaska Public Offices Commission (Address not provided) Anchorage, Alaska Telephone: (907) 522-5185 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the APOC. GAIL PHILLIPS, Representative Alaska State Legislature Capitol Building, Room 208 Juneau, Alaska 99801 Telephone: (907) 465-2689 POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HJR 45. KAREN COWART, General Manager Alaska Support Industry Alliance 4220 B Street, Suite 200 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Telephone: (907) 563-2226 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in Support of HJR 45. CHERYL FRASCA, Consultant Government Relations Alaska State Chamber 2415 La Honda Anchorage, Alaska 99517 Telephone: (907) 258-1226 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in Support of HJR 45. BRAD PIERCE, Senior Policy Analyst Office of Management and Budget Office of the Governor P.O. Box 110020 Juneau, Alaska 99811-0020 Telephone: (907) 465-4677 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HJR 45. JOHN MANLY, Legislative Assistant to Representative Martin Alaska State Legislature Capitol Building, Room 502 Juneau, Alaska 99801 Telephone: (907) 465-3783 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on behalf of Representative Martin, sponsor of HJR 35. CHRIS MILLER, Chief of Research and Analysis Division of Administrative Services Department of Labor P.O. Box 21149 Juneau, Alaska 99802 Telephone: (907) 465-4500 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HJR 35. JAYNE ANDREEN, Executive Director Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Department of Public Safety P.O. Box 111200 Juneau, Alaska 99811 Telephone: (907) 465-4356 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 303. JODY JOHNSTON Women's Resource and Crisis Center 325 South Spruce Kenai, Alaska 99611 Telephone: (907) 283-9479 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 303. DIANA BUFFINGTON, President and State Coordinator Children's Rights Council Chairman, Alaska Task Force on Family Law Reform 317 Maple Street Kodiak, Alaska 99615 Telephone: (907) 486-2290 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 303. ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 98-57, SIDE A Number 0001 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN IVAN called the House State Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. Members present at the call to order were Representatives Ivan, Ryan, Elton, and Hodgins. Representative Berkowitz arrived at approximately 8:15 a.m. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN informed the committee that this is their last business day unless the chairman calls them back in on Saturday. CONFIRMATION HEARING Number 0009 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN announced the first order of business is the appointment of Mr. Rowland to the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC). Number 0012 MARK ROWLAND, Appointee to the Alaska Public Offices Commission testified via teleconference. He believes his resume sums up his interest in serving. Mr. Rowland mentioned he was a superior court judge in Anchorage for many years and is now retired - doing some mediation. He has lived in Alaska since 1965, a significant portion of that time he's lived here, he's served the state in one capacity or another - as attorney general, an assistant district attorney and a superior court judge. MR. ROWLAND said he was subject to the jurisdiction of the APOC when he was a superior court judge and because of that, over the years he's had occasion to think about what they were doing and how they were doing it. He mentioned he has no reforms in mind or anything like that, it's really a matter of public service. He thought he would like to continue to contribute in some way to the state and this was a way to do it, when the opportunity arose. Number 0026 REPRESENTATIVE MARK HODGINS made a motion to advance Mr. Rowland through the confirmation hearing. There being no objections, Mr. Rowland was advanced. HJR 45 - BIENNIAL STATE BUDGET Number 0032 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN announced the next order of business is HJR 45, Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to a biennial state budget, to the appropriation limit, and to appropriations from the budget reserve fund, sponsored by Representative Phillips. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN took an at-ease for approximately five minutes. Number 0035 REPRESENTATIVE GAIL PHILLIPS, Alaska State Legislature presented HJR 45 said she has a proposal for Alaska to start thinking about implementing a biennial budget system. Many other states in the nation do have biennial budgets, and this would have to be a constitutional amendment. She indicated she looks at it as a way not only for us to be able to save a lot of money in state government, because she would anticipate that in a two-year cycle, the second year when they're not doing the budget could be reduced to about half-time, to 60 days. Number 0040 REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS pointed out that, not only would it save a lot of money, but also it gives the agencies an opportunity to do long-range planning which they don't have the ability to do now - they spend so much time of every year of just doing budget work. She thinks it would be a major benefit to the agencies. She also thinks it's something the people of Alaska are ready to look at, to explore, to see if it would be beneficial. It works in other states and she thinks that we could make it work here. Number 0047 REPRESENTATIVE KIM ELTON said the only hesitation he has is, because so much of our budget is based on one source of revenue, and that source of revenue has been extremely volatile (going from $24 to $10 and back-and-forth) that he is concerned that the second year, or the nonbudget year, we'd be spending an awful lot of time making readjustments to the budget because of those fluctuations. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS replied this legislation before you is just calling to put the question to the people, whether or not they want to pursue this. In your statutes, when you would adjust statutes to the biennial budget process then you could put in a formula there for adjusting to the differences in the price of oil. She believes that could be handled in the statutory process. Number 0058 KAREN COWART, General Manager, Alaska Support Industry Alliance, testified via teleconference in support of HJR 45. She said the Alaska Support Industry Alliance is a non-profit trade organization representing over 350 members engaged in business within the oil, gas, and mining industries. Collectively, their members employ 25,000 people. Their mission is to foster and promote the safe and environmentally sound development of Alaska's natural resources. MS. COWART stated they believe state government should do business like a business and investigate ways to do more with less, to be more efficient and more effective in planning and executing our state budget. Budget efficiencies would send a message to potential investors that we have a solid and sound fiscal plan and our "House is in order, a good place to do business." Number 0068 MS. COWART said the Alliance believes a two-year budget cycle could result in the following: An opportunity for agency planning. One that would be proactive spending habits instead of reactive spending dialog. We also believe we would have the opportunity to analyze state programs based on performance and results prior to budget appropriations. We believe there may be a potential for a shortened legislative session, thereby saving state dollars and resources. And finally, we believe that there would be a greater utilization of all 60 legislators and their expertise. Traditionally the Senate and House Finance Committees are made up of the senior members of both bodies. These members (indisc.) a majority of their time on budget matters during a legislative session and their wisdom and experience in a two- year process could be available for legislative work due to freed-up time. But supplemental requirements. We believe a biennial budget process would not preclude supplemental budget considerations due to circumstances of needs. These could be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Nevertheless, the process would free-up legislators to focus attention, one year on budget, one year on legislation. Twenty other states have already adopted a biennial budget process. That's a good indication that other states are thinking outside the "old box." We believe Alaska needs to develop a new way of thinking. We must look at new and innovative ways to conduct business and we encourage the dialogue on biennial budgeting to continue. Number 0086 CHERYL FRASCA, Consultant, Government Relations Issues, Alaska State Chamber, was next to testify in support of HJR 45 via teleconference. She said she works for the Alaska State Chamber in monitoring and reporting on Alaska budget issues. Based on 17 years of experience she has worked for the legislature as well as with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as Director of the Budget Division for three years under the last administration. Based on this experience, she said she wants to lend support to the idea of going to a biennial budget. MS. FRASCA mentioned the sponsor's statement recognizes the legislature's time that it spends on budget issues. She reiterated she gained a real appreciation for the time that the executive branch spends in preparing a budget to meet your December submission date. In fact, just as the governor is signing into law one budget, the agencies are immediately clamoring for when is OMB going to issue the budget instructions so they can get going on preparing the documentation for the next year. If we change that, so that it only happens every other year, she believes that it would definitely free-up time for program managers and policy- makers in the executive branch to actually manage their programs. And for which, you then can hold them accountable for the results that they may lead to. Number 0099 MS. FRASCA stated, "And I think the biennial budget process would also blend in very well with the results-based government framework that the legislature has worked on this session. It would give them time to actually manage the results, as opposed to reacting to how much money they didn't get. And then, even more important, it would give you the legislature the opportunity to exercise your oversights - responsibilities by focusing on how well they are, the return on the investments that you've given them in terms of services that they're supposed to be providing." Number 0104 MS. FRASCA noted arguments in the past against going to a biennial budget has been the volatility of Alaska's revenues. That worked when we had lots of money and waiting for the April forecast was more of a matter of "how much money does the legislature get to spend." Now the issue is really more "how much money will be spent from the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR)." So she doesn't think that is as valid as it used to be as a reason not to go to a biennial budget. MS. FRASCA addressed the issue of supplementals, she said her observation is that, for the most part you can anticipate supplementals. It's just more a question of not knowing what the final dollar amount is going to be. So, it's not that there's unanticipated events for the most part, it's that no one wants to pony-up the full cost ahead of time without knowing what it's going to be. As Ms. Corwart pointed out, there is a trend with the 20 states, and even at the federal level, to going to a biennial budget. It's not suggested that the federal government, not that they're the model for budgeting, however, even Republicans and Democrats - the Clinton Administration have supported a biennial budget approach. She urged the committee's dialog on this issue. Number 0199 BRAD PIERCE, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Governor, was next to testify. He stated the governor is very interested in this and has been interested for a couple of years in going to biennial budgeting for all the reasons that have been stated. He indicated he would like to work with the sponsor of this to see if they can come up with a reasonable approach. He indicated the governor is generally supportive. Number 0128 REPRESENTATIVE HODGINS made a motion to move HJR 45, with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note. There being no objections, HJR 45 moved from the House State Affairs Standing Committee. HCR 35 - ESTAB JT. TASK FORCE CENSUS/REDISTRICTING Number 0135 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN announced the next order of business is HCR 35, Establishing a Joint Task Force on the Census and Redistricting, sponsored by Representative Martin. Number 0139 JOHN MANLY, Legislative Assistant to Representative Martin, Alaska State Legislature, came before the committee. He explained the resolution would set up a relatively informal task force of four members, two each from the House and Senate (those being appointed by the speaker of the House and president of the Senate), one member from each caucus - the minority caucus and the majority caucus. Number 0145 MR. MANLY said the main purpose of the task force would be to track information related to the census and to the upcoming redistricting efforts that will be taking place over the next three or four years and to report that to the general membership to keep them well informed of the process and the relatively large volume of information that will be coming their way. MR. MANLY stated the main reason they proposed this task force is because of the two events that are coming up, the census of 2000 will be taking place, generally for the country, in April 2000. However, the Federal Census Bureau as he understands it will have a special census count in February 2000 for Rural Alaska because so many of the people in the villages out there are not there in April when the Census Bureau would normally come around. The second event of course is the redistricting of the legislature and whether that continues in the purview of the governor or if it changes under the constitutional amendment that's been proposed to have the legislature under the supreme court chief justice appoint the members to that board. Either way, the legislature needs to know what's going on to stay abreast of it. Number 0158 MR. MANLY explained "The main idea behind what the task force would do would be to track this evolving census data. There's a number of sources where it will be coming to us from, including the Census Bureau - they have an ongoing program of course of working with the states and local governments to try to get the best numbers they possibly can out of the census. We'll be working with the Department of Labor, the Research and Analysis folks there, and we have a couple of them with us here today to speak about what they're doing. And of course the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) - has an ongoing task force there of which Representative Martin is the co-chairman." Number 0165 MR. MANLY noted most legislatures in other states actually do the redistricting themselves, Alaska is only one of two states where the governor does it himself. So NCSL has developed a real body of expert knowledge in that area. He stressed they would like to keep the legislators informed and believes the task force can also act as a liaison between the whole process of the census and redistricting and the communities of Alaska. Number 0171 MR. MANLY pointed out the Census Bureau is interested in getting accurate information of course in their census counts and the better liaison they have between themselves, and the people that they're counting, the better counts they can get. Not only is it important to get good numbers for the redistricting process but, as you're probably aware, virtually everything we get from the federal government in terms of revenue sharing programs depends on the numbers that they get in the census. So you have to get accurate numbers there. MR. MANLY mentioned another thing the Census Bureau would like us to do is to help them identify qualified workers that could work temporarily on the census. It was pointed out at a meeting in Seattle that the Census Bureau could hire every unemployed person in the country, at least for a short time, because they just have a short census. But they do need to put a lot of people to work. Number 0182 MR. MANLY concluded that whether the redistricting process stays with the governor, or whether it goes somewhere else - to the legislature and so forth, legislators really need keep themselves well informed. He said, "It's a little bit like going to a place where you don't speak the language and if you don't speak the language you can't understand what they're saying, or it will take quite a while to the point where you do understand what they're saying." So if at least some folks in the legislature spent some, over the next couple of years, learning to speak the language, then when the redistricting process happens, then they'll be in better shape. Number 0191 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN stated he has been on the receiving end, he speaks two languages and has constituents that don't speak the English language. He indicated, even if he did speak English, it was difficult for him to understand what was going on in the census and redistricting process. He said he's glad to see a proposal like this. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN noted Mr. Manly would interact or provide information to the voters of Alaska. He asked Mr. Manly how he would interact with the Reapportionment Board. Number 0198 MR. MANLY replied this task force probably wouldn't necessarily have a formal relationship with the Reapportionment Board. However, if HJR 44 passes the legislature, legislators would be involved in appointing the Reapportionment Board so they would have a fairly direct relationship there. Other than that it would be to keep the legislature and the people of Alaska, as they see fit, informed of the process so they can - when the Reapportionment Board starts holding hearing they'll be better informed to be able to speak at those hearings and to give their input into the process. So it's pretty much an informational thing. Number 0207 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN said he assumes they will work with nonprofits that disseminate information. MR. MANLY replied absolutely, the Census Bureau has made it very clear, for their part, they want to work with as many different types of governmental entities as they can whether it's state government, the local government, Native corporations, tribal governments, etcetera, because they want to get the best information that they can possibly get for the census. Number 0214 REPRESENTATIVE ELTON said he doesn't think this is a bad idea. He said, "I guess the problem is with this time line, we've got a task force that is going to end right here when there's all this out here." He asked Mr. Manly how this task force is to be carried beyond - into the Twenty-first Legislature. MR. MANLY replied he thinks it would be incumbent upon the incoming legislature next year to renew the task force with either the same members or new members. The value of starting it now is that you can get six months worth of work done and to show the value of having such a task force. Number 0222 REPRESENTATIVE ELTON stated there is no requirement to actually to report to the legislature. He offered a proposed amendment, page 2, line 16, after the word "legislature" insert: and report to the legislature by January 1, 1999. MR. MANLY said he didn't think the sponsor would have a problem with that. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked Representative Elton to repeat his amendment. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON reiterated just to add a reporting requirement, after legislature, add: and to report to the legislature by January 1, 1999 MR. MANLY asked January 1 or the day session starts - it doesn't matter. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON replied the session is starting too, although that's the day the task force is dissolved. MR. MANLY said it seems reasonable to him to include that. Number 0232 REPRESENTATIVE ELTON made a motion to move the proposed amendment. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked if there were any objections, there being none, the amendment was adopted. Number 0237 REPRESENTATIVE ETHAN BERKOWITZ asked if the Division of Elections have a similar tracking arrangement. MR. MANLY replied he's not aware of what the division is doing in this regard. The liaison basically with the Census Bureau in the state is with the Department of Labor and Kathryn Lizik will speak to what she does for them. In terms of the redistricting process, his experience in the Hickel Administration, was there wasn't anybody that really followed that on an ongoing basis. As he recalls, the Department of Labor provided all the technical support that the Redistricting Board used. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ expressed one of his concerns he has is this task force only exists for a year for the duration of a legislature and this is a problem that spans several legislatures. He believes the best way of tracking and assisting the census taking would be for us to mandate that a permanent department or division track and assist rather than requiring all time citizen legislators to weigh in periodically. He thinks the better way of (indisc.) continuity and ensuring full accounting is to have a permanent liaison and this doesn't constitute a permanent liaison. Number 0251 MR. MANLY replied that's not exactly the idea of this task force. There is a mandate that the Department of Labor do exactly what you're suggesting, in fact the state demographer, Doctor Williams is the Census Bureau's designated liaison. The idea of this task force is that these members, of the House and Senate, would provide a liaison and information to the legislature themselves and to their constituents. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ said, "It seems that the demographer then should be required to report to the legislature. Most of us are fairly capable of making our own evaluations of the numbers that are given to us. And I've seen the task forces usually don't get much consideration at all, and I appreciate that a lot of folks like to get appointed to them and like to travel around with them. I just don't see this as contributing anything to ensure that Alaska gets a full count in the census." Number 0264 CHRIS MILLER, Chief of Research and Analysis, Division of Administrative Services, Department of Labor, came before the committee, at the request of Representative Martin, to review what they will be doing. He pointed out a time line was distributed to the committee by year [TimeLine of Census and Redistricting Events, State of Alaska - 1998-2002, Representative Martin]. The time line basically shows the major activities as far as the census 2000 preparation that they will be doing. MR. MILLER stated in 1997 they began the first phase of (indisc.) 2000. Although, if you were to talk to the Census Bureau, they have a time line that is a 15-year time line. The Block Boundary Suggestion Program (BBSP) is where they then review actual geography of the maps, the detail, and correct where there are inaccuracies and pretty much do a massive cleanup effort of the detailed geography that the Census Bureau has in its electronic file knows as TIGER. TIGER will be used a lot, it is essentially an electronic data base for electronic geographic plotting. It is the data base that is used then to build all of these various maps that the Census Bureau uses. Number 0278 MR. MILLER said they finished that process in July 1998, at least going through the review, and at that time, there were approximately 30,000 census blocks - which is the smallest geographic unit that the Census Bureau looks at in Alaska. The Census Bureau than began digitizing that information. That process was a manual process, where Ms. Lizik had about a half a dozen different colored pencils on maps spread out all over her office correcting. He noted the rest of 1997 was primarily working with the Census Bureau, in a back-and-forth basis making sure that they understood the corrections and notations that were made. MR. MILLER stated at the beginning of this year they began the Boundary Annexation Survey (BAS), that is where they contact all the cities in the state and ask them if there have been any legal boundary changes. They verify with the cities and compare that with what the Census Bureau has and make necessary changes. He said that process is ongoing now and will happen each year up until the census so that they ensure that all legal boundaries are correct as far as the Census Bureau is concerned. Number 0290 MR. MILLER mentioned they will begin this April, actually they hope to receive in the next week or so "verification maps" from the work they began in 1997, the Block Boundary Suggestion Program. He indicated they will have about 90 days to review that information, this process will then be completed, they'll have a second go- around of a review. In January 1999 this information will then have a second review "Voting District Project" that will begin in February 1999. That will be the last point where they will have a detailed review of geography. They will also be reviewing the address list for the Census Bureau in 1999, this is back-and-forth with them, making sure that the Census Bureau has the best list that they can come up with as far as addresses to contact people. MR. MILLER said the census will take place in April 2000, as mentioned earlier, and the census will actually start in Rural Alaska in February. The results of the census will then be submitted to the president in December 2000, and will then be submitted to the states between January and April 2001. The redistricting process would occur after (indisc.) when the census has arrived here. Number 0307 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked Mr. Miller to provide a summary of highlights to the legislature. MR. MILLER agreed to do that. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON asked, if there is a legislative task force, is any of the process confidential. MR. MILLER replied it's not confidential. Number 0314 REPRESENTATIVE JOE RYAN said legislators were recently given a long and personally invasive form from the census Bureau wanting to know all kinds of information that some people may consider is none of their affair. He asked if the state tracks that same information and establishes a database with it. MR. MILLER responded they will not duplicate the Census Bureau's efforts, that data will be collected by the Census Bureau only. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked if they had access to that information. MR. MILLER replied summary data. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ remarked summary data, meaning not broken down by individuals. MR. MILLER stressed that information is very confidential, they cannot look at details - responded information, that is confidential. Number 0319 MR. MANLY added that the Census Bureau keeps that information confidential for 70 years, and that in the year 2000 you'll be able to find out information, names and addresses of people in the 1930 census. So you don't need to worry about that information that's on that long form. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked if there were any other questions. Number 0326 REPRESENTATIVE HODGINS made a motion to move HCR 35 as amended with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. Number 0327 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ objected for discussion purposes and will then withdraw his objection. He said, "We go around creating task forces all the time and then we promptly proceed to ignore them. So, in the interest of creating smaller government, I'm not sure how this fits in. In fact, I think it tends to work in the opposite direction. But if it makes people feel good, I guess it's a positive all by itself, saying that, I will withdraw my objection." Number 0331 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN noted some small communities are not yet hooked up to computers or abilities like that. He said they appreciate this type of task force and they hope to see them on the ground in his area, wherever possible to provide them with the information. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON jokingly said Representative Berkowitz has blown any chance he's ever had of getting on the task force. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ replied it was deliberate. Number 0335 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked if there were any other objections. There being none, CSHCR 35(STA) moved from the House State Affairs Standing Committee. HB 303 - EXTEND COUNCIL ON DOM.VIOL. & SEX.ASSAULT Number 0338 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN announced the last item on the agenda is HB 303, "An Act extending the termination date of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; and providing for an effective date," sponsored by Representative Elton. Number 0340 REPRESENTATIVE ELTON first noted the executive director of the council and two members are available to answer any questions. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON said this bill simply extends the termination date of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault for four years to June 30, 2002, from June 30, 1998. The council was established in 1981 and their statutory responsibilities are: To develop, implement, maintain and monitor domestic violence, sexual assault and crisis intervention and prevention programs, including educational programs and school curricula; To coordinate services provided by the Department of Law, Education, Public Safety, Health and Social Services, as well as other state agencies and community groups dealing with domestic violence and sexual assault; To provide technical assistance to state and local agencies and community groups, as requested; To develop and implement a standardized data collection system on domestic violence and sexual assault, and crisis intervention and prevention; Number 0348 To receive and dispense state and federal money and award grants and contracts to qualified local community entities for domestic violence, sexual assault, and crisis intervention and prevention programs; To oversee and audit the domestic violence and sexual assault programs which receive federal and state dollars; To consult with the Department of Health and Social Services in the formulation of standards and procedures for the delivery of services to victims of domestic violence by health care facilities and practitioners; To consult with the Alaska Police Standards Council and other police training programs to develop training programs regarding domestic violence for police officers and for correction, probation, and parole officers; To consult with public employers, school districts, the Alaska Supreme Court and prosecuting authorities who are required to provide continuing education courses in domestic violence to employees; To make an annual report to the governor on the activities of the council, including recommendations for legislation. Number 0350 The council's role and responsibilities have grown significantly since 1996. The state has imposed additional responsibilities and federal funding has increased substantially. This expansion of responsibilities is a reflection of a broadened understanding of the financial and social costs of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska communities. Those costs accrue in health care, corrections, police and court, as well as the long-term, negative effect on children who witness violence at home. The 1997 legislative audit of the council found that the council serves a public need and operates in the public interest and recommended that the council be reauthorized and its termination date extended to June 30, 2002 which is what this bill does. Number 0358 REPRESENTATIVE RYAN said he is intrigued by the federal money that's flowing into the state. He asked what is the state match since we've increased it and where is the money going. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON deferred the question to the executive director. Number 0361 JAYNE ANDREEN, Executive Director, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Department of Public Safety, came before the committee in support of HB 303. She replied they have a number of federal grants which she uses in a variety of ways. Two of their federal grants are specifically pass-through grants from the council to locally-based programs to provide services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. She noted there are matching requirements for both of those, those matching requirements are passed on to the local grantees - it's not the council's responsibility, it's something they incorporate into their grant process. REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked who are the local grantees - who won the grant awards. MS. ANDREEN said she doesn't have the spreadsheet with her on whom actually gets that. What they do is they issue one RFP [Request for Proposals] that combines both the state and the federal money. And through that RFP process, the application process, they can determine who would be eligible for the different pieces of the federal money. It's the Victims of Crime Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Service Act. Once the council determines what the total award will be, council staff goes through and determines how much will be federal versus state. REPRESENTATIVE RYAN stated he just wanted to make sure Anchorage gets its share. MS. ANDREEN assured Representative Ryan that Anchorage gets a significant part. REPRESENTATIVE HODGINS remarked unfortunately there is a tremendous amount of domestic violence. That's a pretty sad state of affairs. Number 0375 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ attempted to make a motion to move HB 303. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN said he appreciated Representative Berkowitz' eagerness to move the bill out. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN indicated he was somewhat confused in the budget subcommittee's process. He said, "We do have several safe shelters out in the area that I come from and there was some concern when, I believe some of the funds that normally go to the safe shelters were in danger of being pulled out and directed toward, I believe the 'rehab.' program for barterers, was that the case. Can you explain what happened? The funds that the safe shelters were concerned of -- they've been operating quite successfully out there. They've taken care of the victims and the children." He asked will we see that next year and noted he received a lot of feedback and wasn't prepared for that reaction. Number 0386 MS. ANDREEN replied she assumes what he is talking about is what happened in the House Finance Subcommittee for the Department of Public Safety. The council has long felt that it's important that if batterer's programs be funded, they should not be funded at the expense of victims services. We need to make sure that women and children are protected and have safe places to go. What happened with the subcommittee is the original "cut-sheet" that they put forward, reflected a reduction basically of the council's regular budget by $300,000, $100,000 of that was supposed to be federal money, $200,000 of general fund money. It did not designate where in the council's budget the money would come from, just that it would be moved into a separate BRU [Budget Review Unit], specifically for batterer's program(s). MS. ANDREEN noted because the council only has approximately $380,000 in administrative money, the rest of their money goes out in terms of grants and contracts for local services. They didn't see any place or way that they would be able to make that cut without some kind of reduction coming from the grant line. She thinks that's what people were reacting to. MS. ANDREEN reported what the subcommittee ended up doing was replacing that projected $300,000 cut with new permanent fund dividends (PFD) fund and placed that in a separate BRU. So the council's grant line for victims' services, as far as the state funds go, remains the same for FY 99. And then there is new money in the House version for increased grants to batterer's programs. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked if the council will be looking for alternative funding this year. Number 0403 MS. ANDREEN replied they are always looking for additional funding. There are also several federal grants that are not specifically for grant lines to victim services but are for special projects and those are all... TAPE 98-57, SIDE B Number 0002 MS. ANDREEN replied to a question asked by Representative Ryan which was not recorded. She stated it depends on what the grant program is. With the STOP [Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors] grants under the federal Violence Against Women Act, it's basically a 25 percent match except for services in the subgrants that are devoted to victims services. With the Rural Domestic Violence Child Victimization Grant and the Mandatory Arrest grant, there is no matching requirement for those two. With the two grants that fund ongoing services, both the Victim's of Crime Act grant and the Family Violence and Prevention and Service Act, it varies depending on how long a program has been in place but it's approximately 25 percent - it starts with 25 and goes up. Number 0008 REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked how does the permanent fund money work. Is it the incarcerated people's money? MS. ANDREEN replied that's the incarcerated people's money. The council is one of the three designated agencies to receive PFD money. JODY JOHNSTON, Women's Resource and Crisis Center, testified via teleconference from Kenai. She stated, as we heard Ms. Andreen identify this that, not only are there both state and federal funds, one of the things she wants to highlight is that other states recognize the value of our state council and the uniqueness of it, that we have a government arm that in fact provides a focus for victims - both women and children, and that we can provide a congruency throughout the state of our services. She encouraged the committee to pass this bill and bring it to the floor and pass it quickly so that the council can focus on what it does well and that is coordinating services and monitoring throughout the state to help assure that the elimination of domestic violence in our state can continue to progress. Number 0025 DIANA BUFFINGTON, President and State Coordinator for the Children's Rights Council and also the Chairman of the Alaska Task Force on Family Law Reform testified via teleconference from Kodiak in opposition to HB 303. She said, "I'm asking you that you turn down the request for extension of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Gentlemen, in 1971, 72, I was involved in a domestic violent relationship. ... On May 5, 1985 I was sexually assaulted in Houston, Texas, and I came out of both of those incidences as a better person and I did it solely without the councils on domestic violence, without women's resource centers and things like that. I am concerned that the Council on Domestic Violence has become a gender-biased organization, they improperly report federal statistics, like the U.S. Justice Department's statistics that came out on the 1996 report. Our council recently said that 95 percent of women are the victims of domestic violence that is false. According to U.S. statistics, 205,000 women were treated by emergency room hospitals, 16,000 men were treated by emergency room hospitals for domestic violence." Number 0042 MS. BUFFINGTON discussed other statistics on domestic violence and sexual assault, the trend in male-bashing, and women's shelters that educate and encourage their employees in assisting women in filling out restraining orders. She also accused the council of encouraging false allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault of children as a means of controlling custody. She indicated, in states where mandatory mediation and divorce education are in place, you'll find domestic violence numbers, false allegations and child abuse and sexual assault going down. Ms. Buffington doesn't believe the council spends wisely and encouraged the members to defeat HB 303. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked if there was anyone else who wanted to testify. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER said they support the bill but don't want to hold the bill up. Number 0093 REPRESENTATIVE RYAN made the motion to move HB 303 from committee, with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. There being no objections, HB 303 moved from the House State Affairs Standing Committee. ADJOURNMENT Number 0099 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN adjourned the House State Affairs Standing Committee at 9:00 a.m.