Legislature grapples with senior care benefits, energy, school funding

LYMAN HOFFMAN

March 07, 2008 at 11:13AM AKST

For The Tundra Drums

It’s that time of year – the monkey is in the barrel of money and coming up with both fists full.

The Senate Finance Committee recently met and discussed the state Supplemental Budget – Senate Bill 256. One of the most important items in the bill is funding for the Senior Care Benefits Program at $18.5 million.

Additional items in the bill include $1 billion savings into the statutory budget reserve account and $2.6 billion into the constitutional budget reserve account.

With this deposit, the Legislature will be paying back 50 percent of the amount owed. Another important item is a deposit of $150 million to capitalize the revenue-sharing fund. This will ensure future revenue sharing appropriations to our communities – this deposit is contingent on passage of Senate Bill 72.

Also, last week, House Bill 273, Education Funding was debated on the Senate floor during its second reading. The House Finance Committee considered Senate Bill 72, Community Revenue Sharing.

The House and Senate Conference Committee discussed Senate Bill 125: PERS/TERS Contributions and Unfunded Liability.

The bills under debate are some big-ticket items. And we still have the FY 09 operating and capital budgets to consider.

My energy bill, Senate Bill 289: Home Energy Conservation, was scheduled to be heard in the Senate Labor and Commerce committee on Tuesday, March 4.

The bill intends to help as many people as possible with weatherization projects to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

SB 289 expands the median income from 60 percent to 100 percent to include an estimated 50,000 people in the Alaska Home Finance Corp. program to make repairs and improvements to homes and lower heating costs.

SB 289 also addresses the Home Energy Rating Rebate program, which provides rebates to homeowners who improve their home energy star ratings.’a0Rebates will range from $2,500 to $5,000 and are not dependent on income.

To send comments or testify, contact the office of Sen. Johnny Ellis, chairman of Labor and Commerce, at (907) 465-3704.

House Bill 273, Education Funding implements five recommendations from the Task Force, which met extensively this past interim. As follows:

• Declining enrollment "step-down". If a school’s average daily minimum count decreases 5 percent or more in one fiscal year, resulting funding decrease will be spread over next three fiscal years.

• Raises intensive needs student funding. Currently, intensive needs students are funded five times the base student allocation. Over the next three fiscal years, this would rise.

• District cost factor. Phases in implementation of the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research study recommendations with 50 percent in place in FY09, the remaining 50 percent spread over the next four years.

• Base student allocation is currently $5,380. Would raise this by $100 per year over next three fiscal years.

• Pupil transportation: Recalibrates the funding based on the most recent audits by the Department of Education and Early Development. Amounts will be adjusted according to the consumer price index for Anchorage. The adjustment will sunset in 2011.

Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, represents District S in the Alaska Senate.