Mending & Mismanagement Mending & Mismanagement March 3, 2023 Dear Friends and Neighbors, OK. We've had enough snow to last me for a bit. You? I'm rushing to get the newsletter out in time to have some First Friday fun. I hope you'll do the same. But before I hit send, I just want to mark the date: today would have been Dennis Egan's 76th birthday. He put his all into serving Alaska—Southeast in particular. And he was a good friend. I miss him. Last weekend I had the honor of administering the oaths of office to the Filipino Community, Inc. board of directors. New Pension Bill Introduced This week, Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel introduced a new pension bill, Senate Bill 88. While my bill is the ideal answer, SB 88 is pretty good. Sen. Giessel's bill looks like it has the support to move forward. And I've had a couple of conversations with her about the strengths of, and some adjustments to, her bill. I've never cared whose name is on a good idea, as long as we're solving problems. SB 88 gets back to a real pension program for newly hired public employees, just like my bill. And those currently in the defined contribution system can switch to the new one. That's another key similarity. Unlike my bill, it keeps the harder-to-get, covers-less retiree health benefits of today's DC plan. And it doesn't offer new hires the choice between the new pension and the current defined contribution account that my bill does. Still, I was happy to sit at the table with Senator Giessel for her press conference and support the bill. We both want to ensure public employees can retire with a pension check they can count on for the rest of their lives in exchange for hard work throughout their careers. We both want to build a stable, predictable system so the state knows how much cash to put in on the front end so we can pay the benefits on the back end. We both want to save money compared to the current defined contribution plan. SB 88 will put Alaska public employers on a competitive playing field with the feds, with Outside school districts, and with other states so we can deliver the services Alaskans need. Some of the University of Alaska Coalition of Student Leaders came to talk UA. These bright young people would give anyone hope for our state! SNAP SNAFU You’ve probably seen reporting on the fiasco with processing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called food stamps) renewals. Alaskans are starving and food banks are overrun because the state isn’t able to get the work done timely. What caused this? The problems date back to a 2018 Ombudsman's report, and they're mostly about understaffing and elderly computer systems. They got briefly better but by 2019 a new governor started cutting staff. During the pandemic, the feds kept more people on benefits without paperwork, and as renewals ramped back up, all the problems compounded at once. But there were no surprises. The Division of Public Assistance, which process these applications, has been behind the ball for years. The department put essential tech upgrades on the back burner and didn't recruit nearly enough employees to do the work. As delays got longer, hungry people sometimes got desperate, or angry with workers, and the combination of tears and shouting led a lot of workers to go elsewhere. The computer upgrades the department repeatedly told the legislature would solve the problem turned out to be years away on their internal IT work lists. And when I met with folks in the then-commissioner's office about the snowballing problems, little or nothing got done. Where are we now? There are signs of improvement on processing SNAP applications. They’ve hired some more people and have a dedicated team working on the backlog. They’re also experimenting with some automatic renewals for people whose information they can get electronically. And they've moved the computer system upgrade from the mid-20s on the department's IT priority list to #1. (Those things will make a much bigger difference than the recently-ballyhooed step of diverting some Fish & Game funds to put $1.6 million worth of food on food bank shelves. Don't get me wrong—food helps. But that's what a few days worth of food stamps buys statewide.) What comes next? Medicaid renewals. It turns out SNAP renewals are just the start of this process. Every single Alaskan who gets Medicaid has to have their eligibility renewed starting in April. And we’re not ready. The Division’s ramp-up plan just doesn’t look adequate to meet the coming need. They have more than 50 vacant positions, but as of yesterday they’re advertising to hire three eligibility technicians. It takes two years to fully train an eligibility tech. The department also let a contract to send some of the call center work to an Outside company. The notion is that they'll put all the state workers on processing applications. But they’re violating the state's contract with workers by shipping their jobs out of state without so much as a feasibility study. When April's Medicaid renewals start to spin up, DPA will need at least three people's annual output per month. Just for Medicaid. And there's no reason to think they won't still need all hands on deck for the SNAP benefits backlog at the same time. What can we do? The Legislature can hold oversight hearings and ask questions. We have. But we don’t run Executive branch agencies. We do give them money, though. As Sen. Stedman reminded the newly appointed Health commissioner in committee this week: we can only do that when they tell us what they actually need. Last year the department kept insisting the computer system was almost ready so they didn’t need more people. Now we know better. This year the department needs to come all the way clean so the legislature can make sure we don’t have this kind of systemwide failure again. Principal David Nogg was in the Capitol last week. We grew up together in Anchorage. It was great to catch up and hear more about the amazing work he's doing as principal of Goldenview Elementary School. All my best, Did someone forward you this newsletter? Did you fall into it through the series of tubes? Want more? SUBSCRIBE Events & Happenings Around District B Skagway Story Time Remember story time with Ms. Anna! It's perfect for kids up to age 3—a fun romp with songs, books, and more. Each Wednesday at the library, 10:30am. Skagway Late Night Library Friday nights at 6pm, come to the library for a different activity each week! Crafts, games, and more for ages 10-18! Haines “Backstage Stories” Seven speakers, seven stories, seven minutes, at 7 o’clock, and for only seven dollars! All these sevens at the Chilkat Center for the Arts on March 16! Juneau Hockey Tournament The State Tournament for 12 and under hockey teams runs March 17-20 at Treadwell Arena! Haines Crafters' Hall Hone old craft skills and learn new ones with others in these workshops! Every 3rd Saturday at 1pm in Harriett Hall! Juneau 19th Annual 12x12 Art Contemplate art under the theme of “opposites” at the City Museum! The exhibit will be on display until April 15. Haines Story Time Stories and songs for children and the young-at-heart! Every Monday and Friday in the library at 11:00 am. Skagway Buckwheat Ski Classic Experience “Pure Ski-magination” on March 11! Ski, enter the costume contest... it's the Buckwheat! Registration closes Friday, March 10! Gustavus “The Incredibles” Come watch a great family film March 12 at the Community Center! Doors open at 3pm! Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email! Snail Mail? Alaska State Capitol Room 419 Juneau, AK 99801 Call: 800 550 4947 907 465 4947 Email Me! ‌ ‌ ‌ Contact My Staff, the people who power the work: Aurora Hauke 907 465 5051 [email protected] Caleb Yabes 907 465 4947 [email protected] Ella Adkison 907 465 6419 [email protected] Cathy Schlingheyde 907 465 6827 [email protected] Senator Jesse Kiehl | Alaska State Capitol, Rm. 419, 4th Avenue & Main Street, Juneau, AK 99801 Unsubscribe [email protected] Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]