Dan Sullivan House Judiciary Confirmation Hearing

Itʻs hard to be purely a reporter (in the literal sense) and not to add shading on the confirmation hearing for Dan Sullivan. In fact, simply presenting the cold facts would hardly convey the very warm reception Sullivan received. Committee Chair Jay Ramras did everything but blow kisses at the nominee and his in-laws (former Fairbanks Rep. Hugh ʻBudʻ Fate and former UA Regent Mary Jane Fate) who were in attendance.  He constantly called him "General" instead of "Attorney General."*  He looked at him like a kid staring at his new puppy. [If you question my interpretation, you can listen to the hearing yourself on Gavel to Gavel. NOTE: old hearings tend to disappear and this link is no longer good.]

And Sullivanʻs resume is very impressive - Harvard undergrad, George Washington law school, Marines, White House Fellow, Assistant Secretary of State ...

He presents his strong qualifications on this first video clip.




In his opening remarks Sullivan outlined four key areas of focus:

1. Protecting Alaskans first, in the criminal side, and he cited Gov. Parnellʻs sexual assault initiative and second in "the many other areas in the work that we do."
2. Support Economic Opportunity - which he acknowledged was not something you associate usually with an attorney-generalʻs office.  He specifically mentioned intervening in Endangered Species cases and Outer Continental Shelf cases, "anywhere the stateʻs economic interests are focused."
3. Protecting the Stateʻs fiscal integrity - collecting monies owed the state or fighting law suits against the state.  
4. Promoting good government and making sure our state operates within the parameters of the Constitution of the state.

Then he added "the challenges of improving the life in rural Alaska." (His mother-in-law is a Koyukon Athabascan who was born in Rampart.)

While most of the committee members continued the effusive tone the Chair set, Rep. Herron, from Bethel, did question him closely about the stateʻs apparent challenging of federally recognized tribal sovereignty for Alaskaʻs Native peoples in the Kaltag case.  He seemed to sidestep the question whether the state is trying to take over tribal jurisdiction in custody cases by talking about areas of cooperation with Native organizations and by emphasizing concern about sovereignty over non-Natives. Hereʻs part of the Herron-Sullivan exchange:



Again, you can listen to the hearing on Gavel to Gavel.

One might get a little concerned when a Judiciary chair suggests to an Attorney General nominee that he try a little civil disobedience and become the Rosa Parks of Attorneys General and defy the feds in their interference in stateʻs rights through the Endangered Species Act and through Environmental Protection Act.  To the attorney-general nomineeʻs credit, he deflected that role and spoke of other strategies, such as getting other attorneys-general to see that Alaska was just one of the first and that it was in their own interest to support Alaska now, because this was ʻcoming soon to a theater near you.ʻ

Clearly, the Judiciary Chairʻs rapture over this nominee was not simply related to his resume.  Ideology, which included a strong anti-federal government stance on environmental issues (and to a lesser extent tribal sovereignty,) was clearly an important part of this based on the chairʻs explicit support of this stance.  One would hope there would be at least a symbolic acknowledgment that there are many Alaskans who do not share this perspective.   The sense portrayed was of black and white with no suggestion that while there may well be serious problems with the implementation of federal policies in Alaska, that there is some merit to the intent of the laws and regulations.  Only Herron raised a contrary idea on a central issue.

Again, though, the attorney-generalʻs experience in Washington DC - as White House Fellow, as an aide to Condeleezza Rice, and as an Assistant Secretary of State - showed when he said that we shouldnʻt view Washington as a monolith, that there are a number of different factions, and heʻs lobbying many beyond the first line agencies such as Interior.

The fact that Dan Sullivan has been in the job as Attorney-General for eight months now also reraises the question raised when Wayne Anthony Ross was rejected for Attorney-General.  While Ross is, as far as I know, the only Attorney-General not to be approved, it does raise questions about the Legislatureʻs Constitutional powers to approve cabinet appointments, if they start serving when appointed and - in this case - for eight months and counting, before they are approved. On the other hand, this is probably preferable to the long delays at the Federal level when the Senate delays confirmation hearings and nominees wait months, even years, to be confirmed.

And I wouldnʻt be surprised to see Mr. Sullivan running for Governor or Senator sometime.  How about a Republican primary with Mayor Dan Sullivan running against AG Dan Sullivan?

*See Virginia protocol , US State Dept. Protocol for the Modern Diplomat.

Legislator and Staffers Play the Alaskan Bar

I think that public folks deserve a little privacy and I have no intention of posting pictures of legislators drinking in bars.  But I think this is not in that category. I learned Wednesday that there would be a legislator and two staffers on stage. 

I do have to warn you the sound does not reflect how well all three of these singers performed.  In the bar, the sound was good and they all were more than respectable.   

I first found out about Paul Labolleʻs musical side when I stopped by Rep. Fosterʻs office and saw Paulʻs guitars.  

Like Taking a Drink From a Fire Hose

Iʻm sitting in the public lounge sort of overwhelmed with left over photos, videos, and notes from meetings and other things since Monday (and beyond.)  Someone yesterday mentioned the old quote about drinking from a fire hose to describe being in the legislature.  It may be worse, because with the fire hose, you know youʻre being hit.  Here, much of what is hitting you, may be invisible and you donʻt even know itʻs happening.  The previous post on the prayer was something I thought I could throw out there quickly while I catch my breath.

Things I havenʻt posted yet:

1.  Progress of HB 289 amending the ethics laws to incorporate the changes the AG wrote into regulations but with changes to clarify and limit somewhat. This was discussed Tuesday at State Affairs and today passed out of committee. There are two parts:

1. Paying the legal fees of executive branch employees charged but later exonerated on ethics charges.
2. Clarifying when spouses and other Governor and Lt. Gov. family members travel can be reimbursed by the state. (I use the word ʻclarifyʻ broadly.)
   
   The audio for the Tuesday session is here.  It includes at the beginning discussion of authorizing bonds for housing loans for veterans.  They are state bonds, but using a federal program that only five states took advantage of.
   
   
   
   
   

[Rep. Gruenberg and staffer presenting amendments 

to HB 289 to State Affairs Committee]

2.  Discussion of the Fish and Game Budget at the House Finance Fish and Game Subcommittee meeting, Monday I think.  I hadnʻt been to one of their meetings before and the decorum was a little looser than most meetings Iʻve been to.  Commissioner Denby Lloyd and two of his staff took pointed questions from the panel. My sense was that some of the Representatives were frustrated about how the department allocates resources around the state.  I really have no context to say a whole lot more other than people I asked afterwards said, "There are less fish to allocate and everyone is frustrated."  Thatʻs pretty simplistic, but I donʻt have time to gain expertise on every issue and all the personalities.  You can listen to this one here. 

3.  The Supreme Court Chief Justice met with legislators yesterday at lunch to bridge communication issues.  Justice Carpeneti spoke about the meaning of ʻlegislative intentʻ and how judges determine it.  He also asked the committee whether his belief that sometimes legislators, on the losing side of a debate, make speeches on the floor about the intent in hopes of influencing future court decisions even though their position was not the prevailing intent.  The legislators there agreed.  This audio is worth listening to.  This was the first meeting as I understand it where the Supreme Court and the Legislature are trying to work on cross-branch communications.  This was sponsored by the House Education Committee.

Hō mai ka ʻike

From the House Journal, we learn that yesterday's session was opened with a Hawaiian prayer.  

The invocation was offered by the Chaplain, Pastor Judy Shook of Aldersgate United Methodist Church. Representative P. Wilson moved and asked unanimous consent that the invocation be spread on the journal. There being no objection, it was so ordered. I was in ministry for 6 years in Hawaii prior to moving to Juneau. This prayer is a Hawaiian chant written by Kumu Keala Ching:

[For the fanatically curious, the printed journal had the whole prayer in Hawaiian, but the online version only had the first and last lines of Hawaiian. I tried to find the way to write the letters with the ¯ (I learned this is called a macron) over them. I found the ¯ but couldn't figure out how to put the letter under it and after ten minutes of searching online, decided to just take a picture of the printed text. But then I wanted to type the title in Hawaiian so I looked again. By going into Apple system preferences, then to language and text, then go down the list and choose Hawaiian. If you have the language symbol - the flag - on your top bar - the one with the File, Edit, View, etc. - click on it and change to the Hawaiian flag. Then, if you want the macron above the letter, hit option+letter. I decided to just leave the photo of the poem instead of retyping.]

Rep. Joule Explains Budget Cuts to Bring the Kids Home Program

Yesterday I discussed concerns that the Bring the Kids Home program as proposed by the Governor would see major cuts. This morning I sat in on that hearing and blogged it live, or at least as much as I could keep up with. After that I got Mental Health Trust Director Jeff Jesse's response to the cuts, because his agency had committed funds on the assumption that the State would have a significant match. He said they'd have to cut back their funding. And here is Finance Subcommittee on Health and Social Services Chair Rep. Regie Joule's explanation of how they chose to make the cuts.

Mental Health Trust Head Jessee on Cuts to Gov's Budget

I spoke to Mental Health Trust Authority Chief Executive Officer* Jeff Jessee after the House Finance Sub Committee on Health and Social Services approved "99.6% of the Governor's budget" but not a key program of interest to the Trust - The Bring the Kids Home program that is funding community mental health programs so that kids that are now institutionalized outside of Alaska can be brought home and get treatment here.  Jessee said that not only does this have obvious benefits to the families and kids, it also will save the state considerable money.

*I've got Jessee's position mislabeled and his name mispelled in the video and I'll get that fixed when I get more time.

I'll put up a video comment from Finance Subcommittee Chair Joule as soon as I can.

Finance Subcommittee on Health Social Services Live

NOTE:  THESE ARE MY VERY ROUGH AS THE MEETING WAS GOING NOTES.  I'll try to clean them up a bit.  Basically, Chair Joule said that 99.6% of the Gov's proposed budget was approved.  I'll try to highlight the parts that were not.  I'm also working to put up an interview I did with Mental Health Trust Executive Director  Jeff Jesse which I'll get up as soon as I can.

I went to the wrong room this morning.  But fortunately the Education committee started on time and now I'm up at the House Finance Committee room and this meeting hasn't begun yet at 8:15am.

(H)HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES		FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE *
Feb 24 Wednesday 8:00 AM		HOUSE FINANCE 519
+		Final Closeout	TELECONFERENCED

Opening at 8:15 by Rep. Joule.
Joule: Anyone do Facebook? Invited to Mike's Place - Island Pub - met with First Alaska Fellows. Then see pony tail waving at me. Here was Willie Hensley sporting a pony tail as long as mine. Where Facebook comes in, be careful, we both had our pictures taken with hair out to sides and within seconds, it hit Facebook.

Ask Virginia to go through the packets. Then we'll entertain the Gov's amendments, then we'll discuss, and move it out. I think we can do this in short order.

Virginia: Technical changes but numbers didn't.

1. Fully funded medicaid - health, line 4, line 56, line 89, Gov. Amendments ??
Alcohol and Sub Abuse program - line 2 of spreadsheet. Therapeutic Case management, Clitheroe, Palmer Therapeutic Court, Substance abuse for pregnant women. one more I missed

[Numbers refer to lines on the budget spreadsheet]

Stimulus Funding
OCS line 51
Health Care Service 63 69
Public Assistance 77 81
Public Health 86

Gov Amend 1, 5, 7

Formula Programs
76 Enrollment growth
78 Burial costs
79 Sr. Ben enrollment

All 39 Emtar [MHTAAR] requests Fully funded
Beh Health Office of Child Service
Public Health
Div of S???

[MHTAAR = Mental Health Trust Authority Authorized Receipts]

Also Tobacco Prevention fully funded

Accepted all interagency transactions

Bring the Kids Home - fully funded 13 of MHTAAR requests and 2 of the

Reductions of Tribal, ok on transfer , but not postion

Did not accept money for new grants, but there is 2.3 million in base

Reduced increment by 50% ???

Foster Parent Training - reduced by 50%

Fully funded
Probation line 73 ???
Public health nursing grantees 82
Med examiner office line 87
Traumatic Brain injury and Senior Dis 91?
Rev. Collection cleanup

Did not make final decision on school based admin claims

Nor increments to tech services components - need to be made at full Finance commitee level - complicated and have leg technicalities. pass these on up to Full finance commitee

Did not fund new programs

12 Phd Internship program

20 Forensic ?? Team

Look at spreadsheet row 332 Funding multiplier determines if funded it has a 1, if it has a 0= not funded .5= 50%

[I'm going to post this and then keep going.]

Rep. Cissna: Are we cutting Bring the Kids Home in the Community area?
Virginia: Only cutting increments.
Joule: We continue funding, just not accepting the full amount. 99.6% of the increments  in this budget have been approved.
Cissna: I know this was a hard budget to take on and deal with. But we continue to not look at outcomes right next to our goals are. I have no idea what my complaint is. So that next year we have a much better understanding of what is at risk.

Joule: We aren't going to have much of a choice not to do that. House Subcommittee is just the first step before going to Finance committee. I truly appreciate your comments. If we are going to do this in a meaningful way, we'll have to look at more than just increments.

Five Amendments: By myself- behavioral health -

Amendment #1.  Peer Navigators $200K - this is one of those programs, not intimate with all these, but did see this one. I've had people who have been touched by this program after insurance has run out. People took the time, because of their own life experience, they were the people who had some of these issues. On the road to recovery and education, got into this line of work and they offer hope in a way others can't. Just reminded me how fragile we might all be. How close to the edge maybe some of us are. And after today's budget I may be calling...no that's a joke. I believe this has MHTAAR of $175K, not something new.

  Foster Care Special needs - request for $50K, on reassignment of homes try to keep in normalcy with schools, so this is bussing to old school. One time funding to see how it works. Will revisit.

 $300K General Fund Mental Health - Beh Health for detox. $518K ask. They have 9 emergency beds and 8 were being used for detox. Not a sexy act, it's reality. Will help community address those issues. Will take the pressure of the hospital and takes them to facility where they can get the treatment they need.

Keller: I want to commend you on the second one. Good use. Thank you.

Amendment is adopted.

Amendment #2: Rep. Dahlstrom and Joule - One time request Dept HSS primary eye care and vision in rural AK communities that don't have access. Lions Int. AK Optometrists, and ?? they are offering matching funds. They came up with pared down numbers, nothing extra they are asking. Children will be able to see so they can learn.

Joule: Comments? Adopted.

Amendment 3A:
Keller: Decrement in calendar abortions performed in AK 6.2% increase 1000+ received abortions or services $600K none qualifie under Hyde Amendment, confirms not money psent based on Federal rqts. Should I read it?

Joule: No. I will maintain objections

Dahl. yes. Keller yes Miller yes Heron no Cissnoa no Holmes no Joule no.

4=3 fails

Amendment 3B: Keller: Increment to Com Health centers to cover differential on per person bases on grant for senior services. Increase 23% so $51K reps ....
Cissna: I would like to support this incremental increase, because we have had huge problem with this population.
Adopted

Amendment #4: Cissna. I would like to recommend we have addition here for Sateria ??? House operating in AK now - wonderful outcomes since July 2009. nationally has record of non-institutional - get people out of institutions into community and succeeding in their lives. one of the steps we need to make. They are also geting mental???
Dahlstrom: One time request?
Cissna: Yes. Just started last year and doing a number of different community and working with Alaska Public Housing Finance.
Dahlstrom: p. 2 says supported by AK Mental Health Turst. Will this cover the extra? Have they applied for other grants?
Cissna: Yes. This is for this year. Annually they need $250K for increased capacity and um. I don't know enough to say that faithfully.
Joule: I will maintain object

Keller no Millet no heron no Cissna yes Holmes yes Joule no Dahlstrom no

5-2 no

Amendment #5.
Rep. Holmes: We've heard on childhood obesity. 27% of High Svhool students. Half showing signs onf increased risk of blood pressure and cholesterol. This will do continuation funding for ongoing programs in six diff communities, so Statewide, with goals even more so.
Heron: We visited this last year at same kind of meeting. Failed in subcommittee and put back in Full Committee. Did something change?
Joule: Yes, Fed funding went away. Last year found $475K of fed money, That money is going away but the probelm isn't.
Cissna: Probably in terms of all the issues, one of the most severe is what is happening to our children. Obesity rate increasing, but to get programs that are in place used, we have to give them some funding. The obesity rise puts the kids in harms way for things like diabetes. It's right there ahead of them. Future increases in costs for the state with our youth having future diabetes. We need to think of future costs. Remove objection.
Amendment adopted.

I move to move the budget out of the committee.

Dahlstrom:

Keller: I think it's a mistake to pass out a budget... without the amendment to exclude funding for abortion.

Joule: yes Dahlstrom yes Keller no Millet yes Cissna yes Herron yes Holmes yes
6-1 adopted

Joule: As you know Gov. has initiative on sexual assault, will be addressed at full Finance committee meeting.

Lunch with the Chief Justice Today

This looks like one of the most promising options today.  For people in Juneau, it's at noon.  For people out side, it's being teleconferenced.

(H)EDUCATION		STANDING COMMITTEE *
Feb 24 Wednesday 12:00 PM		CAPITOL 106
		-- Please Note Time Change --
+		Lunch and Educational Interaction with	TELECONFERENCED
		Alaska Supreme Court Justice Carpeneti
		Presentation: "Legislative Intent: What
		Does it Mean to the Courts, and How Do
		We Make it Clear?"
		A light lunch will be served

The Gavel to Gavel Schedules still baffle me. I think partly it's because they can't have a link until it's time to watch or listen. You can click to the schedule here. This is what it says now:

12:00 pm
House Education Committee
Capitol 106
Audio stream will be available when the meeting starts.
-- Please Note Time Change -- Lunch and Educational Interaction with Alaska Supreme Court Justice Carpeneti Presentation: "Legislative Intent: What Does it Mean to the Courts, and How Do We Make it Clear?"
(TV coverage is planned)

Cloudy, Icy, Sunny - Juneau has weather for everyone

Our gate goes out to a very steep sidewalk.  Once I hit the sidewalk this morning I started sliding down.  Fortunately, there's a picket fence all the way down to the corner.  (We're on the top corner.)  So I skateboarded (without a skateboard) down the street.  I met our neighbor who was coming out and said, "I'll let you slide by" as I passed her keeping my balance with the picket fence.  It was grey and slightly drizzly.

I went to the State Affairs committee meeting at 8am - I'll try to get something up on that - first new bonding for Veteran Housing Loans and second a bill to put into law what the AG had written in regulation about ethics complaint reimbursements and travel for the Governor's family members - though with changes to plug loopholes and make it clearer (at least that was the intent.)

 

 Someone lent me a car - the first time I've driven since we got here Jan. 13 - and I took J out to the airport where the sun was shining.  She'll be in Anchorage for a week.  This post is just an excuse to put up more pictures of Juneau.  It's also first time since our first weekend here, that I've been out of the downtown area in the daylight when I could see things.  And I realize we need to go exploring a bit.  As nice as downtown is, there's a whole spectacular bunch of worlds down the road too. 

This one I took almost without looking as I slowed down before getting on the highway from the airport road. I think the dark in front is mudflats. 

Bring Our Kids Home - Maybe Not

Here's a part of a story I found sticking out somewhere. That's to say, parts of the story were visible and parts still aren't.  I'm going to write about it, but take this as a 'present fiction.' Sort of like historical fiction, present fiction is based on bits and pieces of 'truth' but the rest of the 'truth' isn't known. What I'm going to do here is take some the fragments of 'truth' I found and try to make sense out of them. I'll try to let you know what is 'real' and what I'm sketching on my own.

I know a little about budget processes in government. Agencies in the executive branch have programs they want funded by the legislative branch. So each agency makes a list of their programs and how much each is going to cost. If they do it really well, they can link the money they are requesting with the outputs that money will 'buy.' 

"This $400,000 will buy one public transit buse that will carry 500 passengers a day, taking 40 cars off the road and emptying 40 parking spaces, and carrying 300 people who can't afford a car to work, who otherwise would be unemployed."  Of course, we can't know the outcomes so precisely, but it gives you the idea.     

[double click to enlarge photos]

First these budgets are (or should be) scrutinized inside of the executive branch. Then those programs that survive that process are sent to the legislature for approval. The legislators' job is to review these and find inefficient, ineffective, or unnecessary programs and cut them out. Legislators look good when they axe wasteful programs. Assuming, of course, that anyone notices and knows enough to understand what they have done.

Earlier, when I first got here, I started reading the budget documents for Health and Social Services. Some are written reasonably well with clear descriptions of outcomes. But it's pretty hard for outsiders to understand a program from pieces of paper. The programs that tend to get funded are the ones that have the best advocates - their descriptions get written well and/or people speaking for them are convincing to the funders. Selling programs isn't the same as operating them. The sales people could be much better than the programs they sell. And good programs may not have great salespersons.

The Bring the Kids Home program, it seems does not have good salespeople. This is a program, as I understand it - and I'm getting on shaky ground here - that is intended to set up networks around the state to provide community services for kids who have been institutionalized Outside (of Alaska, for non-Alaskan readers). The agencies that got money to implement this last year have been busy putting together programs and requests for proposals (RFP's) for agencies and businesses outside of government to run these programs. Apparently they are just about at the implementation stage and the money has been committed to the organizations that won various contracts to provide services.

The FY11 DHSS Budget (That's Fiscal Year 2011 Department of Health and Social Services) page 103 [I have a hard copy, couldn't find a matching link on line] has a section that mentions Bring the Kids Home:

Funding will assist in establishing serious emotional disturbance (SED) children's services in rural areas.  Almost 40% of youth experiencing SED in Residential Psychiatric Treatment Centers (RPTCs) out of state are Alaska Native.  This funding will develop services and strategies specific to tribal systems and improve funding mechanisms, such as Medicaid at 100% FMAP.  The funding will support tribes to expand health service delivery, as reommended by Senate Bill 61 (Ch 10, SLA 2007) (Medicaid Reform report).  Funding may support technical assistance and training from state staff or from contractors and/or adding additional staff functions to DHSS tribabl programs. . .

Another project in the budget (p. 105) includes:

...funding expands multiple grants to community behavioral health centers, to enhance outpatient services with innovative programs/training so as to reduce the need for residental level services for youth experiencing serious emotional disturbance (SED).  It will also emphasize special populations, such as Fetal Alchohol Syndrome, birth to six years, etc.  This increase in outpatient care assists in treating youth at the home and community-based level, and aoids utilizing costly residenatal care...

So, this is where the legislators and the sales pitches collide. Apparently, members of the House Finance Health and Social Services subcommittee, the committee that looks at the HSS budget, have found money that was allocated last year (or the year before) that hasn't been spent yet. This probably deserves them some kudos for looking closely enough to find these funds. Or perhaps there were people in the agency that tipped them off. I have no idea. I'm just listing possible ways this kind of thing could happen. And so, fulfilling their role as vigilant legislators cutting the fat out of the budget, so I'm told, consideration is being given to cutting that unspent money out of the budget. Not an insignificant amount I've been told. I've heard different numbers but one figure was about $750,000.

But, finding such unspent money is one thing. Understanding why it is there is another.  From what was explained to me, the money is unspent at the moment because of the planning and grant requesting and awarding process which has now taken place.  So the kinds of things outlined in those two quotes from the budget above, which were approved of last year and budgeted, have been worked on and the money has been promised to various contractors to provide services to keep kids with mental health issues in their communities where their family can visit them.  It just hasn't been spent yet.

So, because it hasn't actually been spent, it looks to people combing the budget for extra funds like an unnecessary expenditure.


At least that is the scenario that I understood.  The people who explained to to me might not recognize this version, so don't get too worked up.  The reason I'm not waiting until tomorrow to pass it by them is because at 8:00 am, there is a committee meeting where all this will be hashed out. 


We have reality television that is REAL and the stories directly affect our lives.  It's called Gavel to Gavel and you can see it live an unedited.  This post is the backstory for tomorrow's show.

Gavel to Gavel comes to you in different ways.  Try this link.
.  But these pages keep changing.  The live audio link won't be there until tomorrow and then this page will change.  But try it and see what you can find.

Here's the main Gavel to Gavel page.   Right now it says the House Finance - Health and Social Services Subcommittee will be live audio streamed tomorrow. But this page changes all the time as time passes. 

Here's the page that tells you where you can watch on television in your area.

Here's where you can get live feeds of the broadcasts on your computer.


I've given you one version of what may be happening with the Bring Home the Kids budget. 

I'm told there could be real drama at this meeting tomorrow as the Department of Health and Social Services works to get the committee members to understand that this is not unused money.  That this money is still there because it takes a certain amount of time to spend it well.  (And I'm not saying they are or are not going to spend it well because I can't judge that.  I can only convey what others have told me.) 

You can watch or listen to it live at 8am or you can listen to the archived audio after the meeting.  I've found they are usually pretty quick about getting that up.