CSSB 105(FIN) AM: "An Act relating to legislative and executive branch ethics; relating to campaign finances for candidates for state office; relating to the conduct and regulation of lobbyists with respect to public officials; relating to the filing of disclosures by certain state employees and officials; making a conforming amendment to the definition of `public official' for employment security statutes; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 105(FIN) am 01 "An Act relating to legislative and executive branch ethics; relating to campaign 02 finances for candidates for state office; relating to the conduct and regulation of 03 lobbyists with respect to public officials; relating to the filing of disclosures by 04 certain state employees and officials; making a conforming amendment to the 05 definition of `public official' for employment security statutes; and providing for 06 an effective date." 07 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 * Section 1. AS 15.13.072(d) is amended to read: 09 (d) A candidate or an individual who has filed with the commission the 10 document necessary to permit that individual to incur election-related expenses under 11 AS 15.13.100 for election or reelection to state office may not solicit or accept a 12 contribution if the legislature is convened in a regular or special legislative session [, 13 AND THE CANDIDATE OR INDIVIDUAL IS A MEMBER OF THE 14 LEGISLATURE, OR EMPLOYED AS A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATOR'S
01 STAFF OR AS A MEMBER OF THE STAFF OF A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE]. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 15.13.074(c) is amended to read: 03 (c) A person or group may not make a contribution 04 (1) to a candidate for governor or lieutenant governor or an individual 05 who files with the commission the document necessary to permit that individual to 06 incur certain election-related expenses as authorized by AS 15.13.100 for governor or 07 lieutenant governor, when the office is to be filled at a general election, before the 08 later of the following dates: 09 (A) the date the individual 10 (i) becomes a candidate; or 11 (ii) files with the commission the document necessary 12 to permit the individual to incur certain election-related expenses as 13 authorized by AS 15.13.100; or 14 (B) January 1 of the year of the general election; 15 (2) to a candidate for state office [THE STATE LEGISLATURE] or 16 an individual who files with the commission the document necessary to permit that 17 individual to incur certain election-related expenses as authorized by AS 15.13.100 for 18 state office [THE STATE LEGISLATURE], when the office is to be filled at a general 19 election, while the legislature is convened in its regular legislative session and before 20 the later of the following dates: 21 (A) the date the individual 22 (i) becomes a candidate; or 23 (ii) files with the commission the document necessary 24 to permit the individual to incur certain election-related expenses as 25 authorized by AS 15.13.100; or 26 (B) January 1 of the year of the general election; 27 (3) to a candidate or an individual who files with the commission the 28 document necessary to permit that individual to incur certain election-related expenses 29 as authorized by AS 15.13.100 for an office that is to be filled at a special election or 30 municipal election before the later of the following dates: 31 (A) the date the individual
01 (i) becomes a candidate; or 02 (ii) files with the commission the document necessary 03 to permit that individual to incur certain election-related expenses as 04 authorized by AS 15.13.100; 05 (B) is nine months before the date of the general or regular 06 municipal election or that is before the date of the proclamation of the special 07 election at which the candidate or individual seeks election to public office; or 08 (4) to any candidate later than the 45th day 09 (A) after the date of a primary election if the candidate 10 (i) has been nominated at the primary election or is 11 running as a write-in candidate; and 12 (ii) is not opposed at the general election; 13 (B) after the date of the primary election if the candidate was not 14 nominated at the primary election; or 15 (C) after the date of the general election, or after the date of a 16 municipal or municipal runoff election, if the candidate was opposed at the 17 general, municipal, or municipal runoff election. 18 * Sec. 3. AS 15.13.116(a) is amended to read: 19 (a) A candidate who, after the date of the general, special, municipal, or 20 municipal runoff election or after the date the candidate withdraws as a candidate, 21 whichever comes first, holds unused campaign contributions shall distribute the amount 22 held within 90 days. The distribution may only be made to 23 (1) pay bills incurred for expenditures reasonably related to the 24 campaign and the winding up of the affairs of the campaign, and to pay expenditures 25 associated with post-election fund raising that may be needed to raise funds to pay off 26 campaign debts; 27 (2) pay for a victory or a thank you party costing less than $500, or to 28 give a thank you gift of a value of less than $50 to a campaign employee or volunteer; 29 (3) make donations, without condition, to 30 (A) a political party; 31 (B) the state's general fund;
01 (C) a municipality of the state; or 02 (D) the federal government; 03 (4) make donations, without condition, to organizations qualified as 04 charitable organizations under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), provided the organization is not 05 controlled by the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family; 06 (5) repay loans from the candidate to the candidate's own campaign 07 under AS 15.13.078(b); 08 (6) repay contributions to contributors, but only if repayment of the 09 contribution is made pro rata in approximate proportion to the contributions made 10 using one of the following, as the candidate determines: 11 (A) to all contributors; 12 (B) to contributors who have contributed most recently; or 13 (C) to contributors who have made larger contributions; 14 (7) establish a fund for, and from that fund to pay, attorney fees or 15 costs incurred in the prosecution or defense of an administrative or civil judicial action 16 that directly concerns a challenge to the victory or defeat of the candidate in the 17 election; 18 (8) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to an 19 account for a future election campaign; a transfer under this paragraph is limited to 20 (A) $50,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for governor 21 or lieutenant governor; 22 (B) $10,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 23 senate; 24 (C) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 25 house of representatives; and 26 (D) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for an office 27 not described in (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 28 (9) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 29 legislative office account or to an office account reserve in accordance with (d) of 30 this section; a transfer under this paragraph is subject to the following: 31 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are
01 elected to the state legislature; 02 (B) the legislative office account established under this 03 paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 04 serving as a member of the legislature; 05 (C) all amounts expended from the legislative office account 06 shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); and 07 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $5,000 08 multiplied by the number of years in the term to which the candidate is elected; 09 and 10 (10) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to 11 a municipal office account; a transfer under this paragraph is subject to the following: 12 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are 13 elected to municipal office, including a municipal school board; 14 (B) the municipal office account established under this 15 paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 16 serving as mayor or as a member of the assembly, city council, or school 17 board; 18 (C) all amounts expended from the municipal office account 19 shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); and 20 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $5,000. 21 * Sec. 4. AS 15.13.116 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 22 (d) After a general or special election, a candidate for the state legislature who 23 has been elected to the state legislature in that election may, from the amount retained 24 in the office account reserve under this subsection, transfer to a legislative office 25 account not more than $5,000 each calendar year for use only for expenses associated 26 with the candidate's serving as a member of the legislature. A candidate for the senate 27 may transfer up to $20,000 from unused campaign contributions to a legislative office 28 account reserve. A candidate for the house of representatives may transfer up to 29 $10,000 from unused campaign contributions to a legislative office account reserve. 30 The office account reserve may only be used to make transfers to the legislative office 31 account. At the end of the candidate's term of office, a balance in the office account
01 reserve must be disposed of as provided in (a)(1) - (8) of this section. All amounts 02 expended under this subsection shall be annually accounted for under 03 AS 15.13.110(a)(4). 04 * Sec. 5. AS 15.13.400 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 05 (12) "state office" includes the office of governor, lieutenant governor, 06 member of the legislature, or similar state office. 07 * Sec. 6. AS 23.20.526(d) is amended to read: 08 (d) For the purposes of AS 23.20.525(a)(4) - (6) and (14), the term 09 "employment" does not apply to service performed 10 (1) by a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church 11 in the exercise of the person's ministry or by a member of a religious order in the 12 exercise of duties required by the order; 13 (2) in a facility conducted for the purpose of carrying out a program 14 of rehabilitation for individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by age or physical 15 or mental deficiency or injury or providing remunerative work for individuals who, 16 because of their impaired physical or mental capacity, cannot be readily absorbed in 17 the competitive labor market by an individual receiving the rehabilitation or 18 remunerative work; 19 (3) as part of an unemployment work-relief or work-training program 20 assisted or financed in whole or in part by any federal agency or any agency of a state 21 or political subdivision of the state, by an individual receiving work relief or work 22 training; 23 (4) for a state hospital by an inmate of a prison or correctional 24 institution; 25 (5) in the employ of a school, college, or university [,] if the service 26 is performed by a student who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes at the 27 school, college, or university; 28 (6) by an individual under the age of 22 who is enrolled at a nonprofit 29 or public educational institution that [WHICH] normally maintains a regular faculty 30 and curriculum and normally has a regularly organized body of students in attendance 31 at the place where its educational activities are carried on as a student in a full-time
01 program, taken for credit at the institution, that [WHICH] combines academic 02 instruction with work experience, if the service is an integral part of the program, and 03 the institution has so certified to the employer, except that this paragraph does not 04 apply to service performed in a program established for or on behalf of an employer 05 or group of employers; 06 (7) in the employ of a hospital, if the service is performed by a patient 07 of the hospital, as defined in AS 23.20.520; 08 (8) in the employ of the state or a political subdivision of the state if 09 the service is performed by an individual in the exercise of duties 10 (A) as a judicial officer, the governor, the lieutenant 11 governor, a person hired or appointed as the head or deputy head of a 12 department in the executive branch, a person hired or appointed as the 13 director of a division of a department in the executive branch, an assistant 14 to the governor, a chair or member of a state commission or board, state 15 investment officers and the state comptroller in the Department of 16 Revenue, the executive director of the Alaska Tourism Marketing Council, 17 an appointed or elected municipal officer ["PUBLIC OFFICIAL" 18 AS DEFINED IN AS 39.50.200(a)], any other elected official, the fiscal analyst 19 of the legislative finance division, the legislative auditor of the legislative audit 20 division, the executive director of the Legislative Affairs Agency, and the 21 directors of the divisions within the Legislative Affairs Agency; 22 (B) as a member of the Alaska Army National Guard or Alaska 23 Air National Guard or Alaska Naval Militia; or 24 (C) as an employee serving on only a temporary basis in case 25 of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or similar emergency; 26 (9) in the employ of 27 (A) a church or a convention or association of churches; or 28 (B) an organization that [WHICH] is operated primarily for 29 religious purposes and that [WHICH] is operated, supervised, controlled, or 30 principally supported by a church or a convention or association of churches. 31 * Sec. 7. AS 24.25.010(e) is amended to read:
01 (e) This section does not apply to the legislative council, the Select 02 Committee on Legislative Ethics, or [NOR TO] the Legislative Budget and Audit 03 Committee. 04 * Sec. 8. AS 24.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Sec. 24.45.165. Spouses and cohabitants of legislators. (a) A spouse of or 06 a person cohabiting with a legislator may not engage in lobbying the executive branch 07 of state government or the legislature during the legislator's term of office. 08 (b) In this section, 09 (1) "engage in lobbying" means to act as a lobbyist; 10 (2) "person cohabiting with" means a person who is cohabiting with 11 another person in a conjugal relationship that is not a legal marriage. 12 * Sec. 9. AS 24.45.171(12) is amended to read: 13 (12) "public official" or "public officer" means a 14 (A) public official as defined in AS 39.50.200(a) but does not 15 include a judicial officer or an elected or appointed municipal officer; 16 (B) [,] a member of the legislature; [,] or 17 (C) a legislative director or another legislative employee who 18 is subject to disclosure as defined in AS 24.60.990(a) [; HOWEVER, IT 19 DOES NOT INCLUDE A JUDICIAL OFFICER OR AN ELECTED OR 20 APPOINTED MUNICIPAL OFFICER]. 21 * Sec. 10. AS 24.60.030(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 23 (1) solicit, agree to accept, or accept a benefit other than official 24 compensation for the performance of public duties; this paragraph may not be 25 construed to prohibit lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign contributions 26 or the acceptance of a lawful gratuity under AS 24.60.080; 27 (2) use public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another 28 government asset or resource for a nongovernmental purpose or for the private benefit 29 of either the legislator, legislative employee, or another person; this paragraph does not 30 prohibit 31 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal
01 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 02 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 03 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 04 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 05 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general public 06 for nongovernmental purposes; or 07 (C) telephone or facsimile use that does not carry a special 08 charge; 09 (3) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds 10 for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection 11 with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel 12 allowances from public funds; 13 (4) require a legislative employee to perform services for the private 14 benefit of the legislator or employee at any time, or allow a legislative employee to 15 perform services for the private benefit of a legislator or employee on government 16 time; it is not a violation of this paragraph if the services were performed in an 17 unusual or infrequent situation and the person's services were reasonably necessary to 18 permit the legislator or legislative employee to perform official duties; 19 (5) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, 20 services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund 21 raising or campaigning; this paragraph does not prohibit 22 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 23 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 24 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 25 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 26 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 27 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general public 28 for nongovernmental purposes; [OR] 29 (C) telephone or facsimile use that does not carry a special 30 charge; or 31 (D) storing or maintaining, consistent with (b) of this
01 section, election campaign records in a legislator's office. 02 * Sec. 11. AS 24.60.030(c) is repealed and reenacted to read: 03 (c) Unless approved by the committee, during a campaign period for an 04 election in which the legislator or legislative employee is a candidate, a legislator or 05 legislative employee may not use or permit another to use state funds, other than funds 06 to which the legislator is entitled as an office allowance, to print or distribute a 07 political mass mailing to individuals eligible to vote for the candidate. In this 08 subsection, 09 (1) a "campaign period" is the period that 10 (A) begins 90 days before the date of an election to the board 11 of an electric or telephone cooperative organized under AS 10.25, a municipal 12 election, or a primary election, or that begins on the date of the governor's 13 proclamation calling a special election; and 14 (B) ends the day after the cooperative election, municipal 15 election, or general or special election; 16 (2) a mass mailing is considered to be political if it is from or about 17 a legislator, legislative employee, or another person who is a candidate for election or 18 reelection to the legislature or another federal, state, or municipal office or to the board 19 of an electric or telephone cooperative. 20 * Sec. 12. AS 24.60.030(d) is amended to read: 21 (d) A legislator, legislative employee, or another person on behalf of the 22 legislator or legislative employee, or a campaign committee of the legislator or 23 legislative employee, may not distribute or post campaign literature, placards, posters, 24 fund-raising notices, or other communications intended to influence the election of 25 a candidate in an election in public areas in a facility ordinarily used to conduct state 26 government business. This prohibition applies whether or not the election has been 27 concluded. However, a legislator may post, in the legislator's private office, 28 communications related to an election that has been concluded. 29 * Sec. 13. AS 24.60.030(f) is amended to read: 30 (f) A legislative employee may not serve in a position that requires 31 confirmation by the legislature. A legislator or legislative employee may serve on a
01 board of an organization, including a governmental entity, that regularly has a 02 substantial interest in the legislative activities of the legislator or employee [,] if the 03 legislator or employee discloses the board membership to the committee. A legislator 04 or legislative employee who is required to make a disclosure under this subsection 05 shall file the disclosure with the committee by the deadlines set out in 06 AS 24.60.105 stating the name of each organization on whose board the person 07 serves. The committee shall maintain a public record of the disclosure and 08 forward the disclosure to the appropriate house for inclusion in the journal. This 09 subsection does not require a legislator or legislative employee who is appointed 10 to a board by the presiding officer to make a disclosure of the appointment to the 11 committee if the appointment has been published in the appropriate legislative 12 journal during the calendar year. 13 * Sec. 14. AS 24.60.030(g) is repealed and reenacted to read: 14 (g) A legislator or legislative employee who has a substantial financial interest 15 that may be affected by official action may not take official action on the matter unless 16 the financial interest has been disclosed as required by this subsection. In the case of 17 a matter that is before a legislative committee or a house of the legislature, the 18 legislator or legislative employee shall orally disclose the financial interest to the 19 legislative committee or to the legislative house, as appropriate. The disclosure must 20 be reported in the journal or in the committee minutes, as appropriate. In the case of 21 a matter that is not before a legislative committee or a house of the legislature, the 22 legislator or legislative employee shall disclose the financial interest to the ethics 23 committee in writing, to be received by the committee within seven days after the 24 legislator or legislative employee takes the action. This written disclosure is a public 25 document. The committee shall promptly forward the disclosure to the clerk of the 26 house or the senate secretary for publication in the journal. A disclosure under this 27 subsection, whether written or oral, must include the nature of the financial interest and 28 a short description of how the action taken affects the interest. In this subsection, 29 (1) "financial interest" includes 30 (A) an equity or ownership interest in a business, investment, 31 real property, lease, or other enterprise if the effect of the action on that interest
01 is greater than the effect on a substantial class of persons to which the 02 legislator or legislative employee belongs as a member of a profession, 03 occupation, industry, or region; 04 (B) an interest based on employment of the legislator or 05 legislative employee or the spouse, spousal equivalent, or dependent child of 06 the legislator or legislative employee; 07 (C) an interest based on a contract, including a personal services 08 contract, in which the legislator or legislative employee or the spouse, spousal 09 equivalent, or dependent child of the legislator or legislative employee is 10 entitled to receive a benefit from a business or other entity; 11 (D) an interest created by membership on the board of directors 12 of a corporation regardless of whether the effect of the action on that interest 13 is greater than the effect on a substantial class of persons to which the 14 legislator or legislative employee belongs as a member of a profession, 15 occupation, industry, or region; 16 (2) "official action" includes legislative, administrative, and political 17 action. 18 * Sec. 15. AS 24.60.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 (h) In this section, when determining whether an employee is considered to be 20 performing a task on government time, the committee shall consider the employee's 21 work schedule as set by the employee's immediate supervisor. An employee who 22 engages in political campaign activities other than incidental campaign activities as 23 described in this subsection during the employee's work day shall take leave for the 24 period of campaigning. Political campaign activities while on government time are 25 permissible if the activities are part of the normal legislative duties of the employee, 26 including answering telephone calls and handling incoming correspondence. 27 * Sec. 16. AS 24.60.031(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 29 (1) on a day when either house of [WHILE] the legislature is in 30 regular or special session, solicit or accept a contribution or a promise or pledge to 31 make a contribution for a campaign for state office [STATE LEGISLATIVE
01 CAMPAIGN]; 02 (2) accept money from an event held on a day when either house of 03 the legislature is in regular or special [DURING A LEGISLATIVE] session if a 04 substantial purpose of the event is [EITHER] to raise money on behalf of the member 05 or legislative employee for [CAMPAIGN PURPOSES OR TO RAISE MONEY FOR] 06 state office [LEGISLATIVE] political purposes; or 07 (3) expend money in a campaign for state office [STATE 08 LEGISLATIVE CAMPAIGN] that was raised by or on behalf of a legislator on a day 09 when either house of the legislature was in [DURING] a legislative session under 10 a declaration of candidacy or a general letter of intent to become a candidate for 11 public office. 12 * Sec. 17. AS 24.60.039 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (b) If a person files a complaint with the committee under AS 24.60.170 14 alleging a violation of this section, the committee may refer the complainant to the 15 State Commission for Human Rights and may defer its consideration of the complaint 16 until after the complainant establishes to the satisfaction of the committee that the 17 commission has completed its proceedings in the matter. 18 * Sec. 18. AS 24.60.040(a) is amended to read: 19 (a) A legislator or legislative employee, or a member of the immediate family 20 of a legislator or legislative employee, may not be a party to or have an interest in a 21 state contract or lease unless the contract or lease is let [THROUGH COMPETITIVE 22 SEALED BIDDING] under AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code) or, for agencies that 23 are not subject to AS 36.30, under similar procedures, or the total annual amount 24 of the state contract or lease is $5,000 [$1,000] or less, or is a standardized contract 25 or lease that was developed under publicly established guidelines and is generally 26 available to the public at large, members of a profession, occupation, or group. A 27 person has an interest in a state contract or lease under this section if the person 28 receives direct or indirect financial benefits. A legislator or legislative employee who 29 participates in, or who knows or reasonably should know that a family member 30 is participating in, a state contract or lease that has an annual value of $5,000 or 31 more shall disclose the participation to the committee by the date required under
01 AS 24.60.105. The legislator or legislative employee shall also disclose the 02 renegotiation of a state contract or lease if the original had to be disclosed under 03 this section or if, as a result of renegotiation, disclosure is required under this 04 section. The disclosure must state the amount of the contract or lease and the 05 name of the state agency issuing the contract or lease and must identify the 06 procedures under which the contract or lease was issued. If the disclosure 07 concerns a contract or lease in which a family member of the discloser is 08 participating, the disclosure must identify the relationship between the participant 09 and the discloser. 10 * Sec. 19. AS 24.60.040 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 11 (c) This section does not apply to a contract or lease issued under a state 12 program or loan that is subject to AS 24.60.050. A grant that results in a contract but 13 that is not subject to AS 24.60.050 is subject to this section. 14 * Sec. 20. AS 24.60.050(c) is amended to read: 15 (c) A legislator or legislative employee who participates in a program or 16 receives a loan that is not exempt from disclosure under (a) of this section shall file 17 a written report with the committee by the date required under AS 24.60.105 18 [FEBRUARY 15 OF EACH YEAR] stating the amounts of the loans outstanding or 19 benefits received during the preceding calendar year from nonqualifying programs. If 20 the committee requests additional information necessary to determine the propriety of 21 participating in the program or receiving the loan, it shall be promptly provided. The 22 committee shall promptly compile a list of the statements indicating the loans and 23 programs and amounts and send it to the presiding officer of each house who shall 24 have it published in the supplemental journals within three weeks after [OF] the filing 25 date. A legislator or legislative employee who believes that disclosure of 26 participation in a program would be an invasion of the participant's right to 27 privacy under the state constitution may request the committee to keep the 28 disclosure confidential. If the committee finds that publication would constitute 29 an invasion of privacy, the committee shall publish only the fact that a person has 30 participated in the program and the amount of benefit that the unnamed person 31 received. The committee shall maintain the disclosure of the name of the person
01 as confidential and may only use the disclosure in a proceeding under 02 AS 24.60.170. If the disclosure becomes part of the record of a proceeding under 03 AS 24.60.170, the disclosure may be made public as provided in that section. 04 * Sec. 21. AS 24.60.060 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 05 (b) A legislator or legislative employee who is the subject of a complaint 06 under AS 24.60.170 violates this section if the legislator or legislative employee 07 violates a protective order issued under AS 24.60.170(i). 08 * Sec. 22. AS 24.60.070(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) A legislator or legislative employee required to make a disclosure 10 under this section shall make a disclosure by the date set under AS 24.60.105 of 11 the legislator's or legislative employee's close economic associations then in 12 existence. A disclosure under this section must be sufficiently detailed that a reader 13 of the disclosure can ascertain the nature of the association. 14 * Sec. 23. AS 24.60.070 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 15 (d) When making a disclosure under (a) of this section concerning a 16 relationship with a lobbyist to whom the legislative employee is married or who is the 17 legislative employee's spousal equivalent, the legislative employee shall also disclose 18 the name and address of each employer of the lobbyist and the total monetary value 19 received from the lobbyist's employer. The legislative employee shall report changes 20 in the employer of the spouse or spousal equivalent within 48 hours after the change. 21 In this subsection, "employer of the lobbyist" means the person from whom the 22 lobbyist received amounts or things of value for engaging in lobbying on behalf of the 23 person. 24 * Sec. 24. AS 24.60.080(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a [A] legislator or 26 legislative employee may not solicit, accept, or receive, directly or indirectly, a gift 27 worth $250 [$100] or more, whether in the form of money, services, a loan, travel, 28 entertainment, hospitality, promise, or other form, or gifts from the same person worth 29 less than $250 [$100] that in a calendar year aggregate to $250 [$100] or more in 30 value. Except for food or beverage for immediate consumption, a legislator or 31 legislative employee [, AND] may not solicit, accept, or receive during a legislative
01 session a gift with any monetary value from a lobbyist or a person acting on behalf 02 of a lobbyist. 03 * Sec. 25. AS 24.60.080(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, it is not a violation of this section for 05 a legislator or legislative employee to accept 06 (1) hospitality, other than hospitality described in (4) of this subsection, 07 (A) with incidental transportation at the residence of a person; 08 however, a vacation home located outside the state is not considered a 09 residence for the purposes of this subparagraph; or 10 (B) at a social event or meal; 11 (2) discounts that are available 12 (A) generally to the public or to a large class of persons to 13 which the person belongs; or 14 (B) when on official state business, but only if receipt of the 15 discount benefits the state; 16 (3) food or foodstuffs indigenous to the state that are shared generally 17 as a cultural or social norm; 18 (4) travel and hospitality primarily for the purpose of obtaining 19 information on matters of legislative concern; 20 (5) gifts from the immediate family of the person; [OR] 21 (6) gifts that are not connected with the recipient's legislative status; 22 or 23 (7) a discount for all or part of a legislative session, including time 24 immediately preceding or following the session, or other gift to welcome a 25 legislator or legislative employee who is employed on the personal staff of a 26 legislator or by a standing or special committee to the capital city or in 27 recognition of the beginning of a legislative session if the gift or discount is 28 available generally to all legislators and the personal staff of legislators and staff 29 of standing and special committees; this paragraph does not apply to legislative 30 employees who are employed by the Legislative Affairs Agency, the office of the 31 chief clerk, the office of the senate secretary, the legislative budget and audit
01 committee, or the office of the ombudsman. 02 * Sec. 26. AS 24.60.080(d) is amended to read: 03 (d) A legislator or legislative employee who accepts a gift under (c)(4) [OR 04 (6)] of this section shall disclose the gift if it has a value of $250 [$100] or more; the 05 [. THE] disclosure must include the name and occupation of the person making the 06 gift, [AND] the approximate value of the gift, and [. A GIFT UNDER (c)(4) OF 07 THIS SECTION REQUIRED TO BE DISCLOSED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION] 08 shall be disclosed to the committee within 30 days after [OF] the receipt of the gift. 09 Except as provided in (i) of this section, a gift [TO THE COMMITTEE. GIFTS] 10 under (c)(6) of this section that has a value of $250 or more shall be disclosed to the 11 committee annually on or before February 15 [APRIL 15] of the following calendar 12 year; the [AND THE] disclosure needs to include only a description of the gift and 13 the identity of the donor [THE VALUE ONLY IF THE VALUE OF THE GIFT 14 EXCEEDS $250]. The committee shall maintain a public record of the disclosure it 15 receives relating to gifts under (c)(4) of this section and shall forward the disclosure 16 to the appropriate house for inclusion in the journal. Disclosures relating to gifts under 17 (c)(6) of this section shall be maintained, but are confidential and may only be used 18 by the committee and its employees and contractors in the investigation of a possible 19 violation of this section or in a proceeding under AS 24.60.170. If the disclosures 20 become part of the record of a proceeding under AS 24.60.170, the confidentiality 21 provisions of that section apply to the disclosures. The committee shall forward to 22 the Alaska Public Offices Commission copies of the disclosures concerning gifts 23 under (c)(4) of this section that it receives from legislative employees who are 24 required to file financial disclosure statements under AS 24.60.200 and from 25 legislators. 26 * Sec. 27. AS 24.60.080(e) is amended to read: 27 (e) A political contribution [THAT IS REPORTED UNDER AS 15.13.040] is 28 not a gift under this section if it is reported under AS 15.13.040 or is exempt from 29 the reporting requirement under AS 15.13.040(g). 30 * Sec. 28. AS 24.60.080(f) is amended to read: 31 (f) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a legislator or legislative employee may
01 accept a gift of property worth $250 [$100] or more, other than money, from a foreign 02 government or from the government of the United States or another state or from 03 an official of a foreign government or of the government of the United States or 04 another state if the person accepts the gift on behalf of the legislature. The person 05 shall, within 60 days after [OF] receiving the gift, deliver the gift to the legislative 06 council, which shall determine the appropriate disposition of the gift. 07 * Sec. 29. AS 24.60.080(g) is amended to read: 08 (g) In this section, "immediate family" or "family member" means 09 (1) the spouse of the person; 10 (2) the person's spousal equivalent; 11 (3) a child, including a stepchild and an adoptive child, of the 12 person or of the person's spousal equivalent; 13 (4) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the person; and 14 (5) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the person's 15 spouse or the person's spousal equivalent [HAS THE MEANING GIVEN IN 16 AS 24.60.990(a)(5) AND INCLUDES THE GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS, AND 17 UNCLES OF A PERSON, AND ALSO INCLUDES A PERSON DESCRIBED IN 18 THIS SUBSECTION OR AS 24.60.990(a)(5) WHO IS RELATED TO THE PERSON 19 BY MARRIAGE]. 20 * Sec. 30. AS 24.60.080 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 21 (h) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a legislator or legislative employee may 22 solicit, accept, or receive a gift on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable 23 organization in accordance with guidelines adopted by the committee. 24 (i) A legislator or legislative employee who receives an inheritance worth $250 25 or more from a person other than a family member shall disclose the fact of the receipt 26 of an inheritance and the identity of the decedent to the committee by the deadline set 27 out in AS 24.60.105. The committee shall maintain a public record of the disclosure. 28 This subsection does not require disclosure of the value of the inheritance. 29 (j) A legislator, a legislative committee other than the Select Committee on 30 Legislative Ethics, or a legislative agency may accept (1) a gift of volunteer services 31 for legislative purposes so long as the person making the gift of services is not
01 receiving compensation from another source for the services or (2) a gift of the 02 services of a trainee who is participating in an educational program approved by the 03 committee if the services are used for legislative purposes. The committee shall 04 approve training under a program of the University of Alaska and training under 29 05 U.S.C. 1501 - 1792b (Job Training Partnership Act). A legislative volunteer or 06 educational trainee shall be considered to be a legislative employee for purposes of 07 compliance with AS 24.60.030 - 24.60.039, 24.60.060, 24.60.080, 24.60.085, 24.60.158 08 - 24.60.170, 24.60.176, and 24.60.178. If a person believes that a legislative volunteer 09 or educational trainee has violated the provisions of one of those sections, the person 10 may file a complaint under AS 24.60.170. The provisions of AS 24.60.170 apply to 11 the proceeding. This subsection does not permit a legislator or legislative employee 12 to accept a gift of services for nonlegislative purposes. 13 (k) A legislator or legislative employee who knows or reasonably should know 14 that a family member has received a gift because of the family member's connection 15 with the legislator or legislative employee shall report the receipt of the gift by the 16 family member to the committee if the gift would have to be reported under this 17 section if it had been received by the legislator or legislative employee or if receipt of 18 the gift by a legislator or legislative employee would be prohibited under this section. 19 (l) In this section, the value of a gift shall be determined by the fair market 20 value of the gift to the extent that the fair market value can be determined. 21 * Sec. 31. AS 24.60.085(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 23 (1) seek or accept compensation for personal services that is 24 significantly greater than the value of [INVOLVES PAYMENTS THAT ARE NOT 25 COMMENSURATE WITH] the services rendered taking into account the higher rates 26 generally charged by specialists in a profession; or 27 (2) accept a payment of anything of value, except for actual and 28 necessarily incurred travel expenses, for an appearance or speech by the legislator or 29 legislative employee; this paragraph does not apply to the salary paid to a legislator 30 or legislative employee for making an appearance or speech as part of the legislator's 31 or legislative employee's normal course of employment.
01 * Sec. 32. AS 24.60.100 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 24.60.100. Representation. A legislator or legislative employee who 03 represents another person for compensation before an agency, board, or commission 04 of the state shall disclose the name of the person represented, the subject matter of the 05 representation, and the body before which the representation is to take place to the 06 committee. The disclosure shall be made by the deadlines set out in AS 24.60.105. 07 The committee shall maintain a public record of a [THE] disclosure under this section 08 and forward the disclosure to the respective house for inclusion in the journal. A 09 legislator or legislative employee may not represent another person for compensation 10 before an agency, committee, or other entity of the legislative branch. 11 * Sec. 33. AS 24.60 is amended by adding a new section to read: 12 Sec. 24.60.105. Deadlines for filing disclosures. (a) When a legislator or 13 legislative employee is required to file a disclosure under this chapter and a date by 14 which the disclosure must be filed is not otherwise set by statute, the deadlines set out 15 in this section shall apply. For disclosure of a matter or an interest that began or was 16 acquired during the interim between regular legislative sessions, whether or not the 17 regular session is extended or there is a special session, or during the last 30 days of 18 a regular session, the legislator or legislative employee shall disclose the matter by 19 February 15. For disclosure of a matter or an interest that began or was acquired 20 during a regular legislative session, but not during the last 30 days of the regular 21 session, the disclosure must be made within 30 days after the commencement of the 22 interest or representation. 23 (b) Disclosures under the following statutes are subject to the deadlines set out 24 in this section: 25 (1) service on the board of an organization as set out in 26 AS 24.60.030(f); 27 (2) an interest in a state contract or lease under AS 24.60.040 and the 28 renegotiation of the terms of a state contract or lease that materially affect the 29 obligations of either party; 30 (3) participation in a state program or receipt of a state loan under 31 AS 24.60.050 and the renegotiation of the terms of the program or loan if the
01 renegotiation materially affects the obligations of either party; 02 (4) formation or maintenance of a close economic association under 03 AS 24.60.070; 04 (5) receipt of an inheritance under AS 24.60.080(i); 05 (6) representation of a client under AS 24.60.100. 06 * Sec. 34. AS 24.60.130(f) is amended to read: 07 (f) The committee may contract for professional services and may employ staff 08 as it considers necessary. A committee employee, including a person who provides 09 personal services under a contract with the committee, may not be a legislator, an 10 elected or appointed official of a state or local governmental entity, an officer of a 11 political party, a candidate for public office, or a registered lobbyist. The legislative 12 council shall provide office space, equipment, and additional staff support for the 13 committee. The committee shall submit a budget for each fiscal year to the finance 14 committees of the legislature and shall annually submit an estimated budget to the 15 governor for information purposes in preparation of the state operating budget. Public 16 members of the committee serve without compensation for their services, but are 17 entitled to per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions 18 under AS 39.20.180. 19 * Sec. 35. AS 24.60.130(h) is amended to read: 20 (h) A member is disqualified from participating as a member in any 21 proceeding before the committee involving a complaint against the member or an 22 employee whose work is supervised by the member or an advisory opinion 23 requested by the member. If a regular legislative member of the committee is 24 disqualified under this subsection from participating in a proceeding involving a 25 complaint, an alternate shall be appointed under (o) of this section [THE 26 LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION WHEN A LEGISLATIVE MEMBER IS 27 DISQUALIFIED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION, THE PRESIDING OFFICER OF 28 THAT MEMBER'S HOUSE SHALL, WITH THE CONCURRENCE BY ROLL 29 CALL VOTE OF TWO-THIRDS OF THE FULL MEMBERSHIP OF THAT HOUSE, 30 APPOINT ANOTHER MEMBER FROM THAT HOUSE TO ACT AS A MEMBER 31 OF THE COMMITTEE IN THE PROCEEDING. IF THE LEGISLATURE IS NOT
01 IN SESSION WHEN A LEGISLATIVE MEMBER IS DISQUALIFIED, THE 02 PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE HOUSE OF WHICH THE DISQUALIFIED 03 LEGISLATOR IS A MEMBER SHALL APPOINT ANOTHER MEMBER FROM 04 THAT HOUSE, WITH A RECORDED CONCURRENCE OF A MAJORITY VOTE 05 OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THAT HOUSE, TO ACT AS A MEMBER OF THE 06 COMMITTEE IN THE PROCEEDING]. 07 * Sec. 36. AS 24.60.130 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 08 (o) When appointing members of the legislature to serve on the committee, the 09 speaker of the house or the president of the senate, as appropriate, shall appoint an 10 alternate member for each regular member. An alternate must have the same 11 qualifications as the regular member for whom the alternate stands as alternate and is 12 subject to confirmation as required for the regular member. If a regular legislative 13 member of the committee or a subcommittee is disqualified under (h) of this section 14 from serving on the committee or the subcommittee concerning a proceeding under 15 AS 24.60.170, the chair of the committee or a subcommittee shall designate the regular 16 member's alternate to serve in place of the regular member in the proceeding unless 17 the alternate is also disqualified from serving. The designation shall be treated as 18 confidential to the same extent that the identity of the subject of a complaint is 19 required to be kept confidential. 20 * Sec. 37. AS 24.60.134(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) Except as provided in (c) of this section, in [IN] addition to complying 22 with the requirements of this chapter, a public member of the committee, an employee 23 of the committee, or a person under contract to provide personal services to the 24 committee may not, during the person's term of office or employment or during 25 the life of the contract, participate in 26 (1) [PARTICIPATE IN] political management or in a political 27 campaign for a candidate for election to federal, state, or local office, regardless 28 of whether the campaign is partisan or nonpartisan, or for passage or defeat of 29 a ballot measure of any type [DURING THE PERSON'S TERM OF OFFICE, 30 EMPLOYMENT, OR CONTRACT]; 31 (2) [PARTICIPATE IN] the campaign of, attend campaign fund-raising
01 events for, or make a financial contribution to 02 (A) a candidate for the legislature; 03 (B) an incumbent legislator or legislative employee who is a 04 candidate for another public office; or 05 (C) a person running for another office against an incumbent 06 legislator or legislative employee; [OR] 07 (3) a fund-raising event held on behalf of a political party or attend 08 a political party fund-raising event; or 09 (4) [PARTICIPATE IN] lobbying activities that would require the 10 person to register as a lobbyist except as required to inform the legislature concerning 11 legislation requested by the committee or other matters related to the committee. 12 * Sec. 38. AS 24.60.134 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (c) A person under contract to provide personal services to the committee who 14 is part of a corporation or partnership that includes individuals who will not be 15 participating directly in the work performed by the entity for the committee may 16 request the committee to exclude members of the entity from some or all of the 17 provisions of this section. The committee may grant the request if it finds that doing 18 so will not lead to the appearance that the committee is subject to undue political 19 influence and if there is no appearance of impropriety. 20 * Sec. 39. AS 24.60.150(b) is amended to read: 21 (b) The committee may 22 (1) recommend [LEGISLATION] to the legislature legislation that the 23 committee considers desirable or necessary to promote and maintain high standards of 24 ethical conduct in government; 25 (2) subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and take testimony relating 26 to matters before the committee, and may require the production for examination of 27 any books or papers relating to any matter under investigation before the committee; 28 (3) adopt guidelines to implement this chapter; in adopting 29 guidelines, the committee shall provide notice of its intended action and an 30 opportunity for public comment; the committee may not penalize a person who 31 reasonably relies on a guideline adopted by the committee for having violated a
01 conflicting provision of this chapter. 02 * Sec. 40. AS 24.60.160 is amended to read: 03 Sec. 24.60.160. Advisory opinions. (a) On the request of a person to 04 whom this chapter applies or who has been newly elected to the legislature, the 05 [THE] committee shall issue an advisory opinion within 60 [30] days [ON THE 06 REQUEST OF A PERSON TO WHOM THE CHAPTER APPLIES OR A PERSON 07 ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE WHO AT THE TIME OF ELECTION IS NOT 08 A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE] as to whether the facts and circumstances of 09 a particular case constitute a violation of ethical standards. If it finds that it is 10 advisable to do so, the committee may issue an opinion under this section on the 11 request of a person who reasonably expects to become subject to this chapter 12 within the next 45 days. The 60-day [30-DAY] period for issuing an opinion may 13 be extended by the committee if the person requesting the opinion consents. 14 (b) An [THE] opinion issued under this section is binding on the committee 15 in any subsequent proceedings concerning the facts and circumstances of the particular 16 case unless material facts were omitted or misstated in the request for the advisory 17 opinion. Except as provided in this chapter, an advisory opinion is confidential but 18 shall be made public if a written request by the person who requested the opinion is 19 filed with the committee. A person who requested an opinion, including a 20 legislator, may not require admittance to an executive session of the committee 21 when it is deliberating concerning the advisory opinion. 22 * Sec. 41. AS 24.60.170(a) is amended to read: 23 (a) The committee shall consider a complaint alleging a violation of this 24 chapter if the alleged violation occurred within five years before [OF] the date that the 25 complaint is filed with the committee and, when the subject of the complaint is a 26 former member of the legislature, the complaint is filed within one year after [OF] the 27 subject's departure from the legislature. The committee may not consider a complaint 28 filed against all members of the legislature, against all members of one house of 29 the legislature, or against a person employed by the legislative branch of government 30 after the person has terminated legislative service. However, the committee may 31 reinstitute proceedings concerning a complaint that was closed because a former
01 employee terminated legislative service or because a legislator left the legislature 02 if the former employee or legislator resumes legislative service, whether as an 03 employee or a legislator, within five years after the alleged violation. The 04 committee may also initiate complaints on its own motion, subject to the same time 05 limitations. The time limitations of this subsection do not bar proceedings against a 06 person who intentionally prevents discovery of a violation of this chapter. 07 * Sec. 42. AS 24.60.170(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) A complaint may be initiated by any person. The complaint must be in 09 writing and signed under oath by the person making the complaint and must contain 10 a statement that the complainant has reason to believe that a violation of this 11 chapter has occurred and describe any facts known to the complainant to support 12 that belief. The committee shall upon request provide a form for a complaint to a 13 person wishing to file a complaint. Upon receiving a complaint, the committee shall 14 advise the complainant that the committee or the subject of the complaint may 15 ask the complainant to testify at any stage of the proceeding as to the 16 complainant's belief that the subject of the complaint has violated this chapter. 17 The committee shall immediately provide a copy of the complaint to the person who 18 is the subject of the complaint. 19 * Sec. 43. AS 24.60.170(c) is amended to read: 20 (c) When the committee receives a complaint under (a) of this section, it may 21 assign the complaint to a staff person. The staff person shall conduct a 22 preliminary examination of the complaint and advise the committee whether the 23 allegations of the complaint, if true, constitute a violation of this chapter and 24 whether there is credible information to indicate that a further investigation and 25 proceeding is warranted. The staff recommendation shall be based on the 26 information and evidence contained in the complaint as supplemented by the 27 complainant and by the subject of the complaint, if requested to do so by the staff 28 member. The committee shall consider the recommendation of the staff member, 29 if any, and shall determine whether the allegations of the complaint, if true, constitute 30 a violation of this chapter. If the committee determines that the allegations, if proven, 31 would not give rise to a violation, that the complaint is frivolous on its face, that
01 there is insufficient credible information that can be uncovered to warrant further 02 investigation by the committee, or that [IF] the committee's lack of jurisdiction is 03 apparent on the face of the complaint, the committee shall dismiss the complaint [,] 04 and shall notify the complainant and the subject of the complaint of the dismissal. 05 The committee may ask the complainant to provide clarification or additional 06 information before it makes a decision under this subsection and may request 07 information concerning the matter from the subject of the complaint. Neither the 08 complainant nor the subject of a complaint is obligated to provide the 09 information. A proceeding conducted under this subsection, documents that are 10 part of a proceeding, and a dismissal under this subsection are confidential as 11 provided in (l) of this section unless the subject of the complaint waives 12 confidentiality as provided in that subsection. 13 * Sec. 44. AS 24.60.170(f) is amended to read: 14 (f) If the committee determines after investigation that there is not probable 15 cause to believe that the subject of the complaint has violated this chapter, the 16 committee shall dismiss the complaint. The committee may also dismiss portions of 17 a complaint if it finds no probable cause to believe that the subject of the complaint 18 has violated this chapter as alleged in those portions. The committee shall issue a 19 decision explaining its dismissal. Committee deliberations and vote on the 20 dismissal order and decision are not open to the public or to the subject of the 21 complaint. A copy of the dismissal order and decision shall be sent to the 22 complainant and to the subject of the complaint. Notwithstanding (l) of this section, 23 a dismissal order and decision is open to inspection and copying by the public. 24 * Sec. 45. AS 24.60.170(g) is amended to read: 25 (g) If the committee investigation determines that a probable violation of this 26 chapter exists that may be corrected by action of the subject of the complaint and that 27 does not warrant sanctions other than correction, the committee may issue an opinion 28 recommending corrective action. This opinion shall be provided to the complainant 29 and to the subject of the complaint, and is open to inspection by the public. The 30 subject of the complaint may comply with the opinion or may request a hearing before 31 the committee under (j) of this section. After the hearing, the committee may amend
01 or affirm the opinion. If the subject of the complaint agrees to comply with the 02 opinion but later fails to complete the corrective action in a timely manner, the 03 committee may formally charge the person as provided in (h) of this section or 04 may refer the matter to the appropriate house of the legislature, in the case of a 05 legislator, or, in the case of a legislative employee, to the employee's appointing 06 authority. The appropriate house of the legislature or the appointing authority, 07 as appropriate, may take action to enforce the corrective action or may decline 08 to take action and refer the matter to the committee. In either case, the 09 committee may formally charge the person under (h) of this section. 10 * Sec. 46. AS 24.60.170(h) is amended to read: 11 (h) If the subject of a complaint fails to comply with an opinion and the 12 committee decides [ISSUED] under (g) of this section to charge the person, or if the 13 committee determines after investigation that there is probable cause to believe that the 14 subject of the complaint has committed a violation of this chapter that may require 15 sanctions instead of or in addition to corrective action, the committee shall formally 16 charge the person. The charge shall be served on the person charged, in a manner 17 consistent with the service of summons under the rules of civil procedure, and a copy 18 of the charge shall be sent to the complainant. The person charged may file a 19 responsive pleading to the committee admitting or denying some or all of the 20 allegations of the charge. 21 * Sec. 47. AS 24.60.170(i) is amended to read: 22 (i) A person charged under (h) [(b)] of this section may engage in discovery 23 in a manner consistent with the Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure. The committee may 24 adopt procedures that 25 (1) impose reasonable restrictions on the time for this discovery and on 26 the materials that may be discovered; 27 (2) permit a person who is the subject of a complaint to engage in 28 discovery at an earlier stage of the proceedings; 29 (3) impose reasonable restrictions on the release of information that 30 the subject of a complaint acquires from the committee in the course of discovery, 31 or on information obtained by use of the committee's authority, in order to
01 protect the privacy of persons not under investigation to whom the information 02 pertains; however, the committee may not impose restrictions on the release of 03 information by the subject of the complaint unless the complainant has agreed to 04 be bound by similar restrictions and has not made public the information 05 contained in the complaint, information about the complaint, or the fact of filing 06 the complaint. 07 * Sec. 48. AS 24.60.170(l) is amended to read: 08 (l) Proceedings of the committee relating to complaints before it are 09 confidential until the committee determines that there is probable cause to believe that 10 a violation of this chapter has occurred. The complaint and all documents produced 11 or disclosed as a result of the committee investigation are confidential and not subject 12 to inspection by the public. If in the course of an investigation or probable cause 13 determination the committee finds evidence of probable criminal activity, the 14 committee shall transmit a statement and factual findings limited to that activity to the 15 appropriate law enforcement agency. If the committee finds evidence of a probable 16 violation of AS 15.13, the committee shall transmit a statement to that effect and 17 factual findings limited to the probable violation to the Alaska Public Offices 18 Commission. All meetings of the committee before the determination of probable 19 cause are closed to the public and to legislators who are not members of the 20 committee. However, the committee may permit the subject of the complaint to 21 attend a meeting other than the deliberations on probable cause. The 22 confidentiality provisions of this subsection may be waived by the subject of the 23 complaint, except that the subject of the complaint may not waive the 24 confidentiality duty the committee owes to others and may not require the 25 committee to deliberate in public. 26 * Sec. 49. AS 24.60.174(a) is amended to read: 27 (a) If the person found to have violated this chapter is or was a member of the 28 legislature, the committee's recommendations shall be forwarded by the chair of the 29 committee to the presiding officer of the appropriate house of the legislature. If the 30 committee recommends sanctions other than expulsion from the legislature, the 31 committee recommendation
01 (1) must include a suggested timetable for the compliance reports 02 required under (e) of this section, if any; and 03 (2) may include recommended fines that the legislature may impose 04 if the legislator who was found to have violated this chapter does not comply with 05 the sanctions imposed by the legislature in a timely manner. 06 * Sec. 50. AS 24.60.174 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 07 (e) When a house of the legislature imposes a sanction other than expulsion 08 on a member or former member, it shall advise the committee at the time of imposing 09 the sanction of the terms it has imposed and of the timetable for compliance adopted 10 with the sanctions. A legislator or former legislator on whom sanctions other than 11 expulsion have been imposed shall report to the committee as required by the 12 timetable. If the committee determines that the legislator or former legislator has not 13 complied fully and in a timely manner with the sanctions imposed by the legislature, 14 the committee may recommend that the legislature impose a fine or additional 15 sanctions. 16 * Sec. 51. AS 24.60.176 is amended to read: 17 Sec. 24.60.176. Recommendations where violator is a legislative employee. 18 If the person found to have violated this chapter is or was a legislative employee, the 19 committee's recommendations shall be forwarded to the appropriate appointing 20 authority which shall, as soon as is reasonably possible, determine the sanctions, if 21 any, to be imposed. The appointing authority may not question the committee's 22 findings of fact. The appointing authority shall assume the validity of the committee's 23 findings [,] and determine and impose the appropriate sanctions. The appointing 24 authority has the power to impose a sanction recommended by the committee or 25 to impose a different sanction. The appointing authority shall enforce the 26 sanction and shall report to the committee at a time specified by the committee 27 concerning the employee's compliance with the sanction. 28 * Sec. 52. AS 24.60.176 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 29 (b) In this section, "appointing authority" means 30 (1) the legislative council for employees of the Legislative Affairs 31 Agency and of the legislative council and for legislative employees not otherwise
01 covered under this subsection; 02 (2) the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee for the legislative 03 fiscal analyst and employees of the division of legislative finance, the legislative 04 auditor and employees of the division of legislative audit, and employees of the 05 Legislative Budget and Audit Committee; 06 (3) the appropriate finance committee for employees of the senate or 07 house finance committees; 08 (4) the appropriate rules committee for employees of standing 09 committees of the legislature, other than the finance committees, and employees of the 10 senate secretary's office and the office of the chief clerk of the house of 11 representatives; 12 (5) the legislator who made the hiring decision for employees of 13 individual legislators; however, the legislator may request the appropriate rules 14 committee to act in the legislator's stead; 15 (6) the ombudsman for employees of the office of the ombudsman, 16 other than the ombudsman; 17 (7) the legislature for the ombudsman. 18 * Sec. 53. AS 24.60 is amended by adding a new section to read: 19 Sec. 24.60.178. Recommended sanctions. (a) When the committee finds that 20 a person has violated this chapter, the committee may recommend appropriate 21 sanctions, including sanctions set out in (b) of this section. 22 (b) The sanctions that the committee may recommend include 23 (1) imposition of a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each 24 offense or twice the amount improperly gained, whichever is greater; 25 (2) divestiture of specified assets or withdrawal from specified 26 associations; 27 (3) additional, detailed disclosure, either as a public disclosure or as a 28 confidential disclosure to the committee; 29 (4) in the case of a legislative employee, suspension of employment 30 with or without pay for a stated period of time or until stated conditions are met, or 31 termination from legislative employment;
01 (5) restitution of property or reimbursement of improperly received 02 benefits; 03 (6) public or private written reprimand; 04 (7) censure, including, in the case of a legislator, removal from a 05 leadership position or committee membership and a determination that the legislator 06 will not be appointed to serve in a leadership position or on a committee during the 07 remainder of that legislature; 08 (8) placing the person on probationary status; 09 (9) in the case of a legislator, expulsion from the house of the 10 legislature; 11 (10) any other appropriate measure. 12 (c) In addition to or in place of a sanction recommended under (b) of this 13 section, the committee may recommend that the subject of a complaint be required to 14 pay all or a portion of the costs related to the investigation and adjudication of a 15 complaint. 16 * Sec. 54. AS 24.60.200 is amended to read: 17 Sec. 24.60.200. Financial disclosure by legislators, [AND] legislative 18 directors, public members of the committee, and certain legislative employees. A 19 legislator, [AND A] legislative director, public member of the committee and 20 legislative employee who is required to disclose shall file a disclosure statement, 21 under oath and on penalty of perjury, with the Alaska Public Offices Commission 22 giving the following information about the income received by the person filing the 23 disclosure, the person's spouse or spousal equivalent, the person's [THEM, THEIR 24 SPOUSES, THEIR] dependent children, and the person's [THEIR] nondependent 25 children who are living with the discloser [THEM]: 26 (1) the information that a public official is required to report under 27 AS 39.50.030; however, a person subject to disclosure requirements is not 28 required to report any gifts [, EXCEPT THAT SOURCES OF INCOME OTHER 29 THAN GIFTS OF $1,000 OR LESS, AND LOANS OF $1,000 OR LESS NEED NOT 30 BE REPORTED]; 31 (2) as to income in excess of $1,000 received as compensation for
01 personal services, the name and address of the source of the income, and a statement 02 describing the nature of the services performed; if the source of income is known or 03 reasonably should be known to have a substantial interest in legislative, administrative, 04 or political action and the recipient of the income is a person subject to disclosure 05 requirements [LEGISLATOR OR A LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR], the amount of 06 income received from the source shall be disclosed; 07 (3) as to each loan or loan guarantee over $1,000 from a source with 08 a substantial interest in legislative, administrative, or political action, the name and 09 address of the person making the loan or guarantee, the amount of the loan, the terms 10 and conditions under which the loan or guarantee was given, the amount outstanding 11 at the time of filing, and whether or not a written loan agreement exists [; 12 (4) THE SOURCE OF A GIFT, OTHER THAN AN INHERITANCE, 13 RECEIVED DURING THE PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR BY THE PERSON, 14 THE PERSON'S SPOUSE OR DEPENDENT CHILD, OR A NONDEPENDENT 15 CHILD OF THE PERSON WHO IS LIVING WITH THE PERSON, IF THE 16 AMOUNT OF THE GIFT EXCEEDS $100 AND IS RECEIVED FROM A PERSON 17 WHO IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE RECIPIENT'S FAMILY]. 18 * Sec. 55. AS 24.60.210 is amended to read: 19 Sec. 24.60.210. Deadlines for filing of disclosure statements. A person 20 subject to disclosure requirements [LEGISLATOR AND A LEGISLATIVE 21 DIRECTOR] shall file an annual report with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, 22 covering the previous calendar year, containing the disclosures required by 23 AS 24.60.200, on or before February [APRIL] 15 of each year. However, a 24 legislative employee who is required to disclose who was first appointed to a 25 position compensated at Range 19 or above on or after January 1 of the calendar 26 year in which the report is to be filed is required to file the report on or before 27 the 60th day after the employee was hired into the position. 28 * Sec. 56. AS 24.60.240 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 24.60.240. Civil penalty for late filing. A person subject to disclosure 30 requirements [LEGISLATOR OR A LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR] who fails to file 31 a properly completed report under AS 24.60.200 is subject to a civil penalty of not
01 more than $10 a day for each day the delinquency continues as the Alaska Public 02 Offices Commission determines, subject to appeal to the superior court. An affidavit 03 stating facts in mitigation may be submitted to the Alaska Public Offices Commission 04 by the person against whom the civil penalty is assessed. However, the imposition of 05 the penalties prescribed in this section does not excuse the person from filing reports 06 required by AS 24.60.200. 07 * Sec. 57. AS 24.60.250 is amended to read: 08 Sec. 24.60.250. Effect of failure to file by legislative candidate. In addition 09 to the sanctions described in AS 24.60.260, if the Alaska Public Offices Commission 10 finds that a candidate for the legislature who is a person subject to disclosure 11 requirements [AN INCUMBENT LEGISLATOR OR A LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR] 12 has failed or refused to file a report under AS 24.60.200 by a deadline established in 13 AS 24.60.210, it shall notify the lieutenant governor. The candidate shall forfeit 14 nomination to office and may not be seated in office. The lieutenant governor may 15 not certify the person's nomination for office or election to office, and nomination to 16 the office shall be certified as provided in AS 39.50.060(b). 17 * Sec. 58. AS 24.60.260(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) A person required to make a disclosure under this chapter may not 19 knowingly make a false or deliberately misleading or incomplete disclosure to the 20 committee or to the Alaska Public Offices Commission. A person who files [, OR 21 FILE] a disclosure after a deadline set by this chapter or by a regulation adopted by 22 the committee or by the Alaska Public Offices Commission has violated this chapter 23 and may be subject to imposition of a fine as provided in (c) of this section or 24 AS 24.60.240. 25 * Sec. 59. AS 24.60.260 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 26 (c) The committee may impose a fine on a person who files a disclosure after 27 a deadline set by this chapter. The amount of the fine imposed under this subsection 28 may not exceed $2 for each day to a maximum of $100 for each disclosure for a late 29 disclosure. However, if the committee finds that a late filing was inadvertent, the 30 maximum fine the committee may impose under this subsection is $25. 31 * Sec. 60. AS 24.60.990(a)(5) is amended to read:
01 (5) "immediate family" means 02 (A) the spouse or spousal equivalent of the person; or 03 (B) a parent, child [, PARENTS, CHILDREN], including a 04 stepchild and an adoptive child, and sibling [SIBLINGS] of a person if the 05 parent, child, or sibling resides with the person, is financially dependent 06 on the person, or shares a substantial financial interest with the person; 07 * Sec. 61. AS 24.60.990(a) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 08 (15) "legislative employee who is required to disclose" means a 09 legislative employee, other than a legislator or a legislative director, who is 10 compensated at Range 19 or above of the state salary schedule under AS 39.27.011; 11 (16) "person subject to disclosure requirements" means a legislator, 12 legislative director, public member of the committee, or legislative employee who is 13 required to disclose; 14 (17) "spousal equivalent" means a person who is cohabiting with 15 another person in a relationship that is like a marriage but that is not a legal marriage; 16 (18) "state office" includes the office of governor, lieutenant governor, 17 member of the legislature, or similar state office. 18 * Sec. 62. AS 39.25.070 is amended to read: 19 Sec. 39.25.070. Powers and duties of personnel board. In addition to the 20 other duties imposed by this chapter, the personnel board shall 21 (1) approve or disapprove amendments to the personnel rules in 22 accordance with AS 39.25.140; 23 (2) consider and act upon recommendations for the extension of the 24 partially exempt service and the classified service as provided in AS 39.25.130; 25 (3) hear and determine appeals by employees in the classified service 26 as provided in AS 39.25.170; 27 (4) establish its own rules of procedure; two members constitute a 28 quorum for the transaction of business and two affirmative votes are required for final 29 action on matters acted upon by the board; 30 (5) elect a chair [CHAIRMAN] from its membership; 31 (6) have the power to administer oaths, subpoena witnesses, and compel
01 the production of books and papers pertinent to a hearing authorized by this chapter; 02 (7) employ staff members, who shall be in the classified service; 03 (8) carry out its powers and duties under AS 39.52 [RETAIN 04 INDEPENDENT COUNSEL IN ACCORDANCE WITH AS 39.52.310(c); 05 (9) APPOINT, AND REVIEW THE FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, 06 AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF, HEARING OFFICERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH 07 AS 39.52.350(c), 39.52.360, AND 39.52.370; 08 (10) ISSUE FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND DECISIONS 09 REGARDING VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE OF ETHICS IN AS 39.52.110 - 10 39.52.190; AND 11 (11) IMPOSE THE PENALTIES DESCRIBED IN AS 39.52.410, 12 39.52.440, AND 39.52.450]. 13 * Sec. 63. AS 39.25.160 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 14 (j) A state employee, whether in the classified, partially exempt, or exempt 15 service, may not campaign on behalf of a political candidate on government time. 16 This subsection does not prohibit the employees of the division of elections from 17 carrying out duties related to elections or the members and employees of the 18 commission on judicial conduct from carrying out duties relating to the evaluation of 19 justices and judges. 20 * Sec. 64. AS 39.50.020 is amended to read: 21 Sec. 39.50.020. Report of financial and business interests. (a) A public 22 official as defined in AS 39.50.200 other than the governor or the lieutenant 23 governor [JUDICIAL OFFICER, COMMISSIONER, CHAIR OR MEMBER OF A 24 STATE COMMISSION OR BOARD SPECIFIED IN AS 39.50.200(b), A PERSON 25 HIRED OR APPOINTED AS HEAD OR DEPUTY HEAD OF, OR DIRECTOR OF 26 A DIVISION WITHIN, A DEPARTMENT IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH, A 27 PERSON APPOINTED AS ASSISTANT TO THE GOVERNOR, A STATE 28 INVESTMENT OFFICER AND THE STATE COMPTROLLER IN THE 29 DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, AND A MUNICIPAL OFFICER] shall file a 30 statement giving income sources and business interests, under oath and on penalty of 31 perjury, within 30 days after taking office as a public official. Candidates for state
01 elective office other than a candidate who is subject to AS 24.60 shall file the [SUCH 02 A] statement with the director of elections at the time of filing a declaration of 03 candidacy or a nominating petition [,] or [WITHIN 30 DAYS OF] becoming a 04 candidate by any other means. Candidates for elective municipal office shall file the 05 [SUCH A] statement at the time of filing a nominating petition, declaration of 06 candidacy, or other required filing for the elective municipal office. Refusal or failure 07 to file within the time prescribed shall require that the candidate's filing fees, if any, 08 and filing for office be refused or that a previously accepted filing fee be returned and 09 the candidate's name removed from the filing records. A statement shall also be filed 10 by public officials no later than April 15 or 15 days after the person files a federal 11 income tax return in each following year, whichever comes first. Persons who are 12 members of boards or commissions not named in AS 39.50.200(b) are not required to 13 file financial statements. 14 (b) A public official other than an elected or appointed municipal officer 15 [THE GOVERNOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, JUDICIAL OFFICERS, EACH 16 COMMISSIONER, HEAD OR DEPUTY HEAD OF, OR DIRECTOR OF A 17 DIVISION WITHIN, A DEPARTMENT IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH, 18 ASSISTANT TO THE GOVERNOR, STATE INVESTMENT OFFICERS AND THE 19 STATE COMPTROLLER IN THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, OR CHAIR OR 20 MEMBER OF A COMMISSION OR BOARD REQUIRED TO REPORT UNDER 21 THIS CHAPTER,] shall file the statement with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. 22 Candidates for the office of governor and lieutenant governor and, if the candidate is 23 not subject to AS 24.60, the legislature shall file the statement under AS 15.25.030 or 24 15.25.180. Municipal officers, and candidates for elective municipal office, shall file 25 with the municipal clerk or other municipal official designated to receive their filing 26 for office. All statements required to be filed under this chapter are public records. 27 * Sec. 65. AS 39.50.030(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) Each statement must [SHALL] be an accurate representation of the 29 financial affairs of the public official or candidate and must [SHALL] contain the 30 same information for each member of the person's family, as specified in (b) and (d) 31 of this section, to the extent that it is ascertainable by the public official or candidate.
01 [AN ASSET OR LIABILITY UNDER $500, HOUSEHOLD GOODS, AND 02 PERSONAL EFFECTS NEED NOT BE IDENTIFIED.] 03 * Sec. 66. AS 39.50.030(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) Each statement filed by a public official or candidate under this chapter 05 must [SHALL] include the following: 06 (1) the source of all income over $1,000 [$100] during the preceding 07 calendar year, including taxable and nontaxable capital gains, received by the person, 08 the person's spouse or dependent child, or a nondependent child of the person who is 09 living with that person, except that a source of income that is a gift must be 10 included if the value of the gift exceeds $250; 11 (2) the identity, by name and address, of each business in which the 12 person, the person's spouse or dependent child, or a nondependent child of the person 13 who is living with that person was a stockholder, owner, officer, director, partner, 14 proprietor, or employee during the preceding calendar year; 15 (3) the identity and nature of each interest owned in any business 16 during the preceding calendar year by the person, the person's spouse or dependent 17 child, or a nondependent child of the person who is living with that person; 18 (4) the identity and nature of each interest in real property, including 19 an option to buy, owned at any time during the preceding calendar year by the person, 20 the person's spouse or dependent child, or a nondependent child of the person who is 21 living with that person; 22 (5) the identity of each trust or other fiduciary relation in which the 23 person, the person's spouse or dependent child, or a nondependent child of the person 24 who is living with that person held a beneficial interest exceeding $1,000 during the 25 preceding calendar year, a description and identification of the property contained in 26 each trust or relation, and the nature and extent of the beneficial interest in it; 27 (6) any loan or loan guarantee of more than $1,000 made to the 28 person, the person's spouse or dependent child, or a nondependent child of the person 29 who is living with that person, and the identity of the maker of the loan or loan 30 guarantor and the identity of each creditor to whom the person, the person's spouse or 31 dependent child, or a nondependent child of the person who lives with that person
01 owed more than $1,000; this paragraph requires disclosure of a loan, loan 02 guarantee, or indebtedness only if the loan or guarantee was made, or the 03 indebtedness incurred, during the preceding calendar year, or if the amount still 04 owing on the loan, loan guarantee, or indebtedness was more than $1,000 at any 05 time during the preceding calendar year [$500 OR MORE]; 06 (7) a list of all contracts and offers to contract with the state or an 07 instrumentality of the state during the preceding calendar year held, bid, or offered by 08 the person, the person's spouse or dependent child, a nondependent child of the person 09 who is living with that person, a partnership or professional corporation of which 10 the person is a member [THE PERSON'S MOTHER OR FATHER], or a corporation 11 in which the person or the person's spouse or children, or a combination of them, hold 12 a controlling interest; and 13 (8) a list of all mineral, timber, oil, or any other natural resource lease 14 held, or lease offer made, during the preceding calendar year by the person, the 15 person's spouse or dependent child, a nondependent child of the person who is living 16 with that person, [THE PERSON'S MOTHER OR FATHER,] a partnership or 17 professional corporation of which the person is a member, or a corporation in which 18 the person or the person's spouse or children, or a combination of them, holds a 19 controlling interest. 20 * Sec. 67. AS 39.50.030 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 21 (d) In addition to the requirements of (b) of this section, each statement filed 22 by a state official under this chapter must include a disclosure of the formation or 23 maintenance of a close economic association involving a substantial financial matter 24 as required by this subsection. The disclosure must be sufficiently detailed that a 25 reader can ascertain the nature of the association. A state official shall disclose a close 26 economic association with 27 (1) a supervisor who is not a public officer who has responsibility or 28 authority either directly or indirectly over the person's employment, including 29 preparing or reviewing performance evaluations, or granting or approving pay raises 30 or promotions; 31 (2) a legislator;
01 (3) a public official who is not an appointed or elected municipal 02 officer; or 03 (4) a public officer if the person required to make the disclosure is the 04 governor or the lieutenant governor. 05 (e) If a state official forms a close economic association after the date on 06 which the official files the financial disclosure statement required by (a) of this section, 07 disclosure of the association must be made to the official's designated supervisor 08 within 60 days after the formation of the association. 09 (f) In this section, 10 (1) "close economic association" means a financial relationship that 11 exists between a state official and some other person or entity, including a relationship 12 where the state official serves as a consultant or advisor to, is a member or 13 representative of, or has a financial interest in an association, partnership, business, or 14 corporation; 15 (2) "designated supervisor" has the meaning given in AS 39.52.960; 16 (3) "public officer" has the meaning given in AS 39.52.960; 17 (4) "state official" has the meaning given in AS 39.52.960. 18 * Sec. 68. AS 39.50.070 is amended to read: 19 Sec. 39.50.070. Failure to report by certain state employees 20 [DEPARTMENT, DIVISION, OR DEPUTY DEPARTMENT HEADS]. A person 21 hired or appointed as the head or deputy head of, or director of a division within, a 22 department in the executive branch or another state employee subject to this chapter 23 who refuses or fails to file a report of financial interests required under this chapter 24 when due may not hold office, and the person's name may not be submitted to the 25 legislature for confirmation, until the person complies. The person may not be 26 confirmed, hired, or appointed, and the person forfeits and may not be paid any salary, 27 per diem, or travel expenses, until the person complies. If, after installation as the 28 head or deputy head of, or director of a division within, a department, or, for other 29 state employees, after beginning employment in the position subject to this 30 chapter, the person refuses or fails to file the required statement when due, the person 31 is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is punishable by a fine of not less than
01 $100 nor more than $1,000 and shall be removed from office if compliance is not 02 made within 30 days after the due date of the report. 03 * Sec. 69. AS 39.50.080 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 39.50.080. Failure to report by a commission or board chair 05 [CHAIRMAN] or member. A person hired or appointed as a commissioner, chair, 06 [CHAIRMAN] or member of a state commission or board specified in 07 AS 39.50.200(b), including the executive director of the Alaska Tourism Marketing 08 Council, who fails to file a report of financial interests required under this chapter 09 when due may not hold office, and the person's name may not be submitted to the 10 legislature until the person complies. The person may not be confirmed, and the 11 person forfeits and may not be paid any salary, per diem or travel expenses, until the 12 person complies. If, after being seated as commissioner, chair, [CHAIRMAN] or 13 member of the [SUCH A] commission or board the person refuses or fails to file the 14 required statement when due, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon 15 conviction is punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and 16 shall be removed from office if compliance is not made within 30 days after the due 17 date. 18 * Sec. 70. AS 39.50.200(a)(8) is amended to read: 19 (8) "public official" means a judicial officer, the governor, the 20 lieutenant governor, a person hired or appointed as the head or deputy head of [, OR 21 DIRECTOR OF A DIVISION,] a department in the executive branch or as the 22 director of a division in a department in the executive branch, [AN ASSISTANT 23 TO THE GOVERNOR,] chair or member of a state commission or board, [STATE 24 INVESTMENT OFFICERS AND THE STATE COMPTROLLER IN THE 25 DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE,] the executive director of the Alaska Tourism 26 Marketing Council, another state employee subject to this chapter, and each 27 appointed or elected municipal officer; 28 * Sec. 71. AS 39.50.200(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 29 (10) "another state employee subject to this chapter" 30 (A) means a state employee who is employed in a position in 31 the executive branch of state government in the exempt or partially exempt
01 service and who is compensated at Range 19 or above on the state salary 02 schedule under AS 39.27.011 or at more than $4,200 per month; and 03 (B) means an assistant to the governor, an assistant to the 04 lieutenant governor, a state investment officer, and the state comptroller in the 05 Department of Revenue; but 06 (C) does not include a state officer or employee who is 07 otherwise included in the definition of "public official" under this section; and 08 (D) does not include an employee who is a member of a 09 collective bargaining unit. 10 * Sec. 72. AS 39.52.010(a) is amended to read: 11 (a) It is declared that 12 (1) [THAT] high moral and ethical standards among public officers in 13 the executive branch are essential to assure the trust, respect, and confidence of the 14 people of this state; [TO THE CONDUCT OF FREE GOVERNMENT; AND] 15 (2) [THAT THE LEGISLATURE BELIEVES THAT] a code of ethics 16 for the guidance of public officers will 17 (A) discourage those officers from acting upon personal or 18 financial interests in the performance of their public responsibilities; 19 (B) [, WILL] improve standards of public service; and 20 (C) [, AND WILL] promote and strengthen the faith and 21 confidence of the people of this state in their public officers; 22 (3) [. IT IS FURTHER DECLARED THAT] holding public office or 23 employment is a public trust and that as one safeguard of that trust, the people require 24 public officers to adhere to a code of ethics; 25 (4) a fair and open government requires that executive branch 26 public officers conduct the public's business in a manner that preserves the 27 integrity of the governmental process and avoids conflicts of interest or even 28 appearances of conflicts of interest; 29 (5) in order for the rules governing conduct to be respected both 30 during and after leaving public service, the code of ethics must be administered 31 fairly without bias or favoritism;
01 (6) no code of conduct, however comprehensive, can anticipate all 02 situations in which violations may occur nor can it prescribe behaviors that are 03 appropriate to every situation; in addition, laws and regulations regarding ethical 04 responsibilities cannot legislate morality, eradicate corruption, or eliminate bad 05 judgment; and 06 (7) compliance with a code of ethics is an individual responsibility; 07 thus all who serve the state have a solemn responsibility to avoid improper 08 conduct and prevent improper behavior by colleagues and subordinates. 09 * Sec. 73. AS 39.52.110(c) is amended to read: 10 (c) Designated [THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, DESIGNATED] supervisors, 11 hearing officers, and the personnel board must be guided by this section when issuing 12 opinions and reaching decisions. 13 * Sec. 74. AS 39.52.120(b) is amended to read: 14 (b) A public officer may not 15 (1) seek other employment or contracts through the use or attempted 16 use of official position; 17 (2) accept, receive, or solicit compensation for the performance of 18 official duties or responsibilities from a person other than the state; this paragraph 19 may not be construed to prohibit the governor or the lieutenant governor from 20 the lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign contributions or a public 21 officer from the acceptance of a lawful gift, other than a campaign contribution, 22 under AS 39.52.130; 23 (3) use state time, property, equipment, or other facilities to benefit 24 personal or financial interests; 25 (4) take or withhold official action in order to affect a matter in which 26 the public officer has a personal or financial interest; or 27 (5) attempt to benefit a personal or financial interest through coercion 28 of a subordinate. 29 * Sec. 75. AS 39.52 is amended by adding a new section to read: 30 Sec. 39.52.125. Misuse of official position by state officials. (a) In addition 31 to the prohibitions under AS 39.52.120, a state official may not
01 (1) take or withhold official action or exert official influence that could 02 substantially benefit or harm the financial interest of a person with whom the state 03 official is negotiating for employment; 04 (2) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds 05 for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection 06 with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel 07 allowances from public funds; 08 (3) require another public officer to perform services for the private 09 benefit of the state official at any time, or allow a public officer to perform services 10 for the private benefit of the state official on government time; or 11 (4) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, 12 services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund 13 raising or campaigning. 14 (b) Except for the governor and the lieutenant governor, a state official may 15 not on government time assist in political party or candidate activities, campaigning, 16 or fund raising. A state official, including the governor and the lieutenant governor, 17 may not require another public officer to perform an act in violation of this subsection. 18 (c) Unless approved by the personnel board, during a campaign period for an 19 election in which the state official is a candidate, a state official may not use or permit 20 another to use state funds to print or distribute a political mass mailing to individuals 21 eligible to vote for the candidate. In this subsection, 22 (1) a "campaign period" is the period that 23 (A) begins 90 days before an election to the board of an electric 24 or telephone cooperative organized under AS 10.25, a municipal election, or 25 a primary election or that begins on the date of the governor's proclamation 26 calling a special election; and 27 (B) ends the day after the cooperative election, municipal 28 election, or the general or special election; 29 (2) a mass mailing is considered to be political if it is from or about 30 a 31 (A) state official who is a candidate for election to a federal,
01 state, or municipal elective office or to the board of a telephone or electric 02 cooperative; 03 (B) another person who is a candidate for election to a federal, 04 state, or municipal elective office or to the board of a telephone or electric 05 cooperative. 06 (d) A state official, or another person on behalf of the official, or a campaign 07 committee of the official, may not distribute or post campaign literature, placards, 08 posters, fund-raising notices, or other communications intended to influence the 09 election of a candidate in an election in public areas in a facility ordinarily used to 10 conduct state government business. 11 (e) A state official may not directly, or by authorizing another to act on the 12 official's behalf, 13 (1) agree to, threaten to, or state or imply that the official will take or 14 withhold an official action as a result of a person's decision to provide or not provide 15 a political contribution, donate or not donate to a cause favored by the official, or 16 provide or not provide a thing of value; or 17 (2) state or imply that the official will perform or refrain from 18 performing a lawful governmental service as a result of a person's decision to provide 19 or not provide a political contribution, donate or not donate to a cause favored by the 20 official or provide or not provide a thing of value. 21 (f) A state official may serve on a board of an organization, including a 22 governmental entity, that regularly has a substantial interest in the official actions of 23 the official, if the official discloses the board membership to the personnel board. 24 (g) In this section, when determining whether a state official is considered to 25 be performing a task on government time, the personnel board shall consider the 26 official's work schedule as set by the official's immediate supervisor, if any. An 27 official other than the governor and lieutenant governor who engages in political 28 campaign activities other than incidental campaign activities as described in this 29 subsection during the work day shall take leave for the period of campaigning. 30 Political campaign activities while on government time are permissible if the activities 31 are part of the normal governmental duties of the official, including answering
01 telephone calls and handling of incoming correspondence. 02 * Sec. 76. AS 39.52.130(c) is amended to read: 03 (c) In accordance with AS 39.52.240, a designated supervisor or a state 04 official may request guidance from the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] 05 concerning whether acceptance of a particular gift is prohibited. 06 * Sec. 77. AS 39.52.130 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 07 (e) In addition to the requirements of (a) and (b) of this section, and except 08 as provided in (f) - (n) of this section, a state official may not solicit, accept, or 09 receive, directly or indirectly, a gift worth $250 or more, whether in the form of 10 money, service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, employment, promise, or in any 11 other form, or gifts from the same person worth less than $250 that in a calendar year 12 aggregate to $250 or more in value. Except for food or beverage for immediate 13 consumption, a state official may not solicit, accept, or receive during a legislative 14 session a gift with any monetary value from a lobbyist or a person acting on behalf 15 of a lobbyist. 16 (f) A state official who accepts a gift under (g)(4) of this section shall disclose 17 the gift if it has a value in excess of $250, including the name and occupation of the 18 giver and a description of the gift and its approximate value, to the personnel board 19 within 30 days after the date of its receipt. Except as provided in (j) of this section, 20 a gift under (g)(6) of this section that has a value of $250 or more shall be disclosed 21 to the personnel board annually on or before February 15 of the following calendar 22 year; the disclosure must include only a description of the gift and the identity of the 23 donor. The personnel board shall maintain a public record of the disclosures received 24 of gifts under (g)(4) of this section. Disclosures relating to gifts under (g)(6) of this 25 section shall be maintained but are confidential and may only be used by the attorney 26 general or the personnel board and its employees and contractors in the investigation 27 of a possible violation of this section or in a proceeding under AS 39.52.310 - 28 39.52.390. If the disclosures become part of the record of a proceeding under 29 AS 39.52.310 - 39.52.390, the confidentiality provisions in AS 39.52.340 apply to the 30 disclosures. The personnel board shall forward disclosures it receives from a state 31 official concerning gifts under (g)(4) of this section to the Alaska Public Offices
01 Commission. 02 (g) Notwithstanding (e) of this section, it is not a violation of this section for 03 a state official to accept 04 (1) hospitality, other than hospitality described in (4) of this subsection 05 (A) with incidental transportation at the residence of a person; 06 however, a vacation home located outside the state is not considered a 07 residence for the purposes of this subparagraph; or 08 (B) at a social event or meal; 09 (2) discounts that are available 10 (A) generally to the public or to a large class of persons to 11 which the person belongs; or 12 (B) when on state business; 13 (3) food or foodstuffs indigenous to the state that are shared generally 14 as a cultural or social norm; 15 (4) travel and hospitality primarily for the purpose of obtaining 16 information on matters of governmental concern; 17 (5) gifts from the immediate family of the person; or 18 (6) gifts that are not connected with the recipient's governmental status. 19 (h) Notwithstanding (e) of this section, a state official may accept a gift of 20 property worth $250 or more, other than money, from a foreign government or from 21 the government of the United States or another state or from an official of a foreign 22 government or of the government of the United States or another state if the person 23 accepts the gift on behalf of the state. The person shall, within 60 days after receiving 24 the gift, deliver the gift to the Office of the Governor, which shall determine the 25 appropriate disposition of the gift. 26 (i) Notwithstanding (e) of this section, a state official may solicit, accept, or 27 receive a gift on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable organization in 28 accordance with guidelines adopted by the personnel board. 29 (j) A state official who receives an inheritance from a person other than a 30 family member shall disclose the fact of the receipt of an inheritance and the identity 31 of the person from whom it was received to the personnel board within 60 days after
01 receiving notice of the inheritance. The personnel board shall maintain a public record 02 of the disclosure. This subsection does not require disclosure of the value of the 03 inheritance. 04 (k) A state official or public agency may accept (1) a gift of volunteer services 05 for governmental purposes so long as the person making the gift of services is not 06 receiving compensation from another source for the services or (2) a gift of the 07 services of a trainee who is participating in an educational program approved by the 08 personnel board if the services are used for governmental purposes. The personnel 09 board shall approve training under a program of the University of Alaska and training 10 under 29 U.S.C. 1501 - 1792b (Job Training Partnership Act). A governmental 11 volunteer or educational trainee shall be considered to be a public employee for 12 purposes of compliance with this chapter other than AS 39.52.150, 39.52.155, and 13 39.52.160. If a person believes that a governmental volunteer or educational trainee 14 has violated the provisions of one of those sections, the person may file a complaint 15 under AS 39.52.310. The provisions of AS 39.52.310 - 39.52.390 apply to the 16 proceeding. This subsection does not permit a state official to accept a gift of services 17 for nongovernmental purposes. 18 (l) A state official who knows or reasonably ought to know that a family 19 member has received a gift because of the family member's connection with the 20 official's public office shall report the receipt of the gift by the family member to the 21 personnel board if the gift would have to be reported under this section if it had been 22 received by the public officer or if receipt of the gift by a public officer would be 23 prohibited under this section. 24 (m) In this section, the value of a gift shall be determined by the fair market 25 value of the gift to the extent that the fair market value can be determined. 26 (n) In this section, "immediate family" or "family member" means 27 (1) the spouse of the person; 28 (2) another person cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship 29 that is not a legal marriage; 30 (3) a child, including a stepchild and an adoptive child, of the person; 31 (4) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the person; and
01 (5) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the person's spouse. 02 * Sec. 78. AS 39.52 is amended by adding new sections to read: 03 Sec. 39.52.132. Restrictions on fund raising. (a) A state official, including 04 the governor and the lieutenant governor, may not 05 (1) on a day when either house of the legislature is in regular or special 06 session, solicit or accept a contribution or a promise or pledge to make a contribution 07 for a candidate for state office; 08 (2) accept money from an event held on a day when either house of the 09 legislature is in regular or special session if a substantial purpose of the event is to 10 raise money on behalf of the state official for a campaign for state office; or 11 (3) expend money in a campaign for state office that was raised by or 12 on behalf of a state official on a day when either house of the legislature was in a 13 legislative session under a declaration of candidacy or general letter of intent to 14 become a candidate for public office. 15 (b) In this section, "contribution" has the meaning given in AS 15.13.400. 16 Sec. 39.52.134. Restrictions on employee candidacies. A state official, other 17 than the governor and the lieutenant governor, may not file a letter of intent to become 18 a candidate or file a declaration of candidacy for the legislature. 19 Sec. 39.52.136. Open meetings law. State officials shall abide by the open 20 meetings law under AS 44.62.310 - 44.62.312. 21 * Sec. 79. AS 39.52.150(d) is amended to read: 22 (d) A public officer shall report in writing to the personnel board and the 23 designated supervisor a personal or financial interest held by the officer, or an 24 immediate family member, in a state grant, contract, lease, or loan that is awarded, 25 executed, or administered by the agency the officer serves. 26 * Sec. 80. AS 39.52 is amended by adding a new section to read: 27 Sec. 39.52.155. Disclosure of close economic associations. (a) A state 28 official shall disclose to the official's designated supervisor and to the Alaska Public 29 Offices Commission, which shall maintain a public record of the disclosure, the 30 formation or maintenance of a close economic association involving a substantial 31 financial matter with
01 (1) a supervisor who is not a public officer who has responsibility or 02 authority, either directly or indirectly, over the person's employment, including 03 preparing or reviewing performance evaluations, or granting or approving pay raises 04 or promotions; 05 (2) legislators; 06 (3) a public official who is required to file a financial disclosure 07 statement under AS 39.50 and is not an appointed municipal officer; 08 (4) a registered lobbyist; or 09 (5) a public officer if the person required to make the disclosure is the 10 governor or the lieutenant governor. 11 (b) A state official required to make a disclosure under this section shall make 12 an annual disclosure no later than February 15 of each year of the individual's close 13 economic associations then in existence. If the official forms a close economic 14 association after that date, the disclosure must be made within 60 days after forming 15 the association. A disclosure under this section must be sufficiently detailed that a 16 reader of the disclosure can ascertain the nature of the association. 17 (c) When making a disclosure under (a) of this section concerning a 18 relationship with a lobbyist to whom the state official is married or who is the 19 official's spousal equivalent, the state official shall also disclose the name and address 20 of each employer of the lobbyist and the total monetary value received from the 21 lobbyist's employer. The state official shall report changes in the employer of the 22 spouse or spousal equivalent within 48 hours after the change. In this subsection, 23 (1) "employer of the lobbyist" means the person from whom the 24 lobbyist received amounts or things of value for engaging in lobbying on behalf of 25 the person; 26 (2) "spousal equivalent" means a person cohabiting with the state 27 official in a conjugal relationship that is not a legal marriage. 28 (d) In this section, "close economic association" means a financial relationship 29 that exists between a state official and some other person or entity, including but not 30 limited to relationships where the state official serves as a consultant or advisor to, is 31 a member or representative of, or has a financial interest in, any association,
01 partnership, business, or corporation. 02 * Sec. 81. AS 39.52.170 is amended to read: 03 Sec. 39.52.170. Outside employment restricted. (a) A public employee may 04 not render services to benefit a personal or financial interest or engage in or accept 05 employment outside the agency which the employee serves, if the outside employment 06 or service is incompatible or in conflict with the proper discharge of official duties or, 07 in the case of a state official, if the compensation sought or accepted for the 08 personal services is significantly greater than the value of the services rendered, 09 taking into account the higher rates generally charged by specialists in a 10 profession. 11 (b) A public employee rendering services for compensation, or engaging in 12 employment outside the employee's agency, shall report by July 1 of each year the 13 outside services or employment to the personnel board and to the employee's 14 designated supervisor. During the year, any change in an employee's outside service 15 or employment activity must be reported to the designated supervisor as it occurs. 16 * Sec. 82. AS 39.52.170 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 17 (c) A state official may not accept a payment of anything of value, except for 18 actual and necessarily incurred travel expenses, for an appearance or speech by the 19 state official; this subsection does not apply to the salary paid to a state official for 20 making an appearance or speech as part of the official's normal course of employment. 21 * Sec. 83. AS 39.52.180(b) is amended to read: 22 (b) Except as provided in (d) of this section, this [THIS] section does not 23 prohibit an agency from contracting with a former public officer to act on a matter on 24 behalf of the state. 25 * Sec. 84. AS 39.52.180(c) is amended to read: 26 (c) Except as provided in (d) of this section, and, in the case of a state 27 official, only after the elapse of one year from the date the state official left state 28 service, the [THE] head of an agency may waive application of (a) of this section 29 after determining that representation by a former public officer is not adverse to the 30 public interest. The waiver must be in writing and a copy of the waiver must be 31 provided to the attorney general for approval or disapproval.
01 * Sec. 85. AS 39.52.180 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 02 (d) An agency may not enter into a contract with a state official who has left 03 state service and the head of an agency may not waive application of (a) of this section 04 if the purpose of the proposed contract or representation includes lobbying before a 05 state agency or the state legislature. 06 * Sec. 86. AS 39.52.210 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 39.52.210. Declaration of potential violations by public employees. (a) 08 A public employee who is involved in a matter that may result in a violation of 09 AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190 shall 10 (1) refrain from taking any official action relating to the matter until 11 a determination is made under this section; and 12 (2) immediately disclose the matter in writing to the designated 13 supervisor and the personnel board. 14 (b) A public employee's designated supervisor shall make a written 15 determination whether an employee's involvement violates AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190 16 and shall provide a copy of the written determination to the public employee and 17 to the personnel board. If the supervisor determines that a violation could exist or 18 will occur, the supervisor shall, 19 (1) reassign duties to cure the employee's potential violation, if feasible; 20 or 21 (2) direct the divestiture or removal by the employee of the personal 22 or financial interests that give rise to the potential violation. 23 (c) A state official or a designated supervisor may request guidance from the 24 personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL], in accordance with AS 39.52.240, when 25 determining whether a public employee is involved in a matter that may result in a 26 violation of AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190. 27 * Sec. 87. AS 39.52.220 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 39.52.220. Declaration of potential violations by members of boards 29 or commissions. (a) A member of a board or commission who is involved in a 30 matter that may result in a violation of AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190 shall disclose the 31 matter on the public record and in writing to the designated supervisor and to the
01 personnel board. The supervisor shall determine whether the member's involvement 02 violates AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190 and shall provide a copy of the written 03 determination to the board or commission member and to the personnel board. 04 If a member of the board or commission objects to the ruling of the supervisor, or if 05 the supervisor discloses an involvement requiring a determination, the members present 06 at a meeting, excluding the involved member, shall vote on the matter. If the 07 supervisor or a majority of the members voting determine that a violation will exist 08 if the member continues to participate, the member shall refrain from voting, 09 deliberating, or participating in the matter. 10 (b) The member of the board or commission, the designated supervisor, or 11 the board or commission may request guidance from the personnel board 12 [ATTORNEY GENERAL], in accordance with AS 39.52.240, when determining 13 whether a member of a board or commission is involved in a matter that may result 14 in a violation of AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190. 15 * Sec. 88. AS 39.52.230 is amended to read: 16 Sec. 39.52.230. Reporting of potential violations. A person may report to 17 a public officer's designated supervisor, under oath and in writing, a potential violation 18 of AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190 by the public officer. The supervisor shall provide a 19 copy of the report to the officer who is the subject of the report and to the personnel 20 board, and shall review the report to determine whether a violation may exist. The 21 supervisor shall act in accordance with AS 39.52.210 or 39.52.220 if the supervisor 22 determines that the matter may result in a violation of AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190. 23 * Sec. 89. AS 39.52.240(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) Upon the written request of a state official, designated supervisor, or a 25 board or commission, the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall issue 26 opinions interpreting this chapter. The requester must supply any additional 27 information requested by the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] in order to 28 issue the opinion. Within 60 days after receiving a complete request, the personnel 29 board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall issue an advisory opinion on the question. 30 * Sec. 90. AS 39.52.240(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] may offer oral advice if
01 delay would cause substantial inconvenience or detriment to the requesting party. 02 * Sec. 91. AS 39.52.240(c) is amended to read: 03 (c) In the case of a request for advice from a designated supervisor or a 04 board or commission, the [THE] designated supervisor or the [A] board or 05 commission shall make a written determination based on the advice of the personnel 06 board [ATTORNEY GENERAL]. If the advice [OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL] 07 provides more than one way for a public officer to avoid or correct a problem found 08 under AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190, the designated supervisor or the board or commission 09 shall, after consultation with the officer, determine the alternative that is most 10 appropriate and advise the officer of any action required of the officer to avoid or 11 correct the problem. 12 * Sec. 92. AS 39.52.240(e) is amended to read: 13 (e) The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] may reconsider, revoke, 14 or modify an advisory opinion at any time, including upon a showing that material 15 facts were omitted or misstated in the request for the opinion. 16 * Sec. 93. AS 39.52.240(h) is amended to read: 17 (h) The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall publish in the 18 Alaska Administrative Journal, with sufficient deletions to prevent disclosure of the 19 persons whose identities are confidential under (g) of this section, the advisory 20 opinions issued under this section that the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] 21 determines to be of major import because of their general applicability to executive 22 branch officers. 23 * Sec. 94. AS 39.52.250 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 39.52.250. Advice to former public officers. (a) A former public 25 officer may request, in writing, an opinion from the personnel board [ATTORNEY 26 GENERAL] interpreting this chapter. The personnel board [ATTORNEY 27 GENERAL] shall give advice in accordance with AS 39.52.240(a) or (b) and publish 28 opinions in accordance with AS 39.52.240(h). 29 (b) A former public officer is not liable under this chapter for any action 30 carried out in accordance with the advice of the personnel board [ATTORNEY 31 GENERAL] issued under this section, if the public officer fully disclosed all relevant
01 facts reasonably necessary to the issuance of the advice. 02 * Sec. 95. AS 39.52.260 is amended to read: 03 Sec. 39.52.260. Designated supervisor's report and personnel board 04 [ATTORNEY GENERAL] review. (a) A designated supervisor shall quarterly 05 submit a report to the personnel board that [ATTORNEY GENERAL WHICH] states 06 the facts, circumstances, and disposition of any disclosure made under AS 39.52.210 - 07 39.52.240. 08 (b) The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall review 09 determinations reported under this section. The personnel board [ATTORNEY 10 GENERAL] may request additional information from a supervisor concerning a 11 specific disclosure and its disposition. 12 (c) The report prepared under this section is confidential and not available for 13 public inspection unless formal proceedings under AS 39.52.350 are initiated based on 14 the report. If formal proceedings are initiated, the relevant portions of the report are 15 public documents open to inspection. The personnel board [ATTORNEY 16 GENERAL] shall, however, make available to the public a summary of the reports 17 received under this section, with sufficient deletions to prevent disclosure of a person's 18 identity. 19 * Sec. 96. AS 39.52.310(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] may initiate a complaint, 21 or elect to treat as a complaint, any matter disclosed under AS 39.52.210, 39.52.220, 22 39.52.250, or 39.52.260. 23 * Sec. 97. AS 39.52.310(b) is amended to read: 24 (b) A person may file a complaint with the personnel board [ATTORNEY 25 GENERAL] regarding the conduct of a current or former public officer. A complaint 26 must be in writing, be signed under oath, and contain a clear statement of the details 27 of the alleged violation. 28 * Sec. 98. AS 39.52.310(c) is amended to read: 29 (c) If a complaint alleges a violation of AS 39.52.110 - 39.52.190 by the 30 governor, lieutenant governor, or the attorney general, the [MATTER SHALL BE 31 REFERRED TO THE PERSONNEL BOARD. THE] personnel board shall retain
01 independent counsel who shall act in the place of the attorney general under 02 AS 39.52.350 [(d) - (i) OF THIS SECTION, AS 39.52.320 - 39.52.350,] and 03 39.52.360(c) and (d). 04 * Sec. 99. AS 39.52.310(d) is amended to read: 05 (d) The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall review each 06 complaint filed, to determine whether it is properly completed and contains allegations 07 which, if true, would constitute conduct in violation of this chapter. The personnel 08 board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] may require the complainant to provide additional 09 information before accepting the complaint. If the personnel board [ATTORNEY 10 GENERAL] determines that the allegations in the complaint do not warrant an 11 investigation, the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall dismiss the 12 complaint with notice to the complainant and the subject of the complaint. 13 * Sec. 100. AS 39.52.310(e) is amended to read: 14 (e) The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] may refer a complaint 15 to the subject's designated supervisor for resolution under AS 39.52.210 or 39.52.220. 16 * Sec. 101. AS 39.52.310(f) is amended to read: 17 (f) If the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] accepts a complaint for 18 investigation, the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall serve a copy of 19 the complaint upon the subject of the complaint, for a response. The personnel board 20 [ATTORNEY GENERAL] may require the subject to provide, within 20 days after 21 service, full and fair disclosure in writing of all facts and circumstances pertaining to 22 the alleged violation. Misrepresentation of a material fact in a response to the 23 personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] is a violation of this chapter. Failure to 24 answer within the prescribed time, or within any additional time period that may be 25 granted in writing by the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL], may be 26 considered an admission of the allegations in the complaint. 27 * Sec. 102. AS 39.52.310(g) is amended to read: 28 (g) If a complaint is accepted under (f) of this section, the personnel board 29 [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall investigate to determine whether a violation of this 30 chapter has occurred. At any stage of an investigation or review, the personnel board 31 [ATTORNEY GENERAL] may issue a subpoena under AS 39.52.380.
01 * Sec. 103. AS 39.52.320 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 39.52.320. Dismissal before formal proceedings. If, after investigation, 03 it appears that there is no probable cause to believe that a violation of this chapter has 04 occurred, the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall dismiss the complaint 05 and [PREPARE AND FILE A CONFIDENTIAL SUMMARY WITH THE 06 PERSONNEL BOARD. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall communicate 07 disposition of the matter promptly to the complainant and to the subject of the 08 complaint. 09 * Sec. 104. AS 39.52.330 is amended to read: 10 Sec. 39.52.330. Corrective or preventive action. After determining that the 11 conduct of the subject of a complaint does not warrant a hearing under AS 39.52.360, 12 the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall recommend action to correct or 13 prevent a violation of this chapter. The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] 14 shall communicate the recommended action to the complainant and the subject of the 15 complaint. The subject of the complaint shall comply with the personnel board's 16 [ATTORNEY GENERAL'S] recommendation. 17 * Sec. 105. AS 39.52.340(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) Before the initiation of formal proceedings under AS 39.52.350, 19 information regarding an investigation conducted under this chapter, or obtained by the 20 personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] during the investigation, is confidential. 21 The personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL] and all persons contacted during the 22 course of an investigation shall maintain confidentiality regarding the existence of the 23 investigation. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 24 * Sec. 106. AS 39.52.350 is amended to read: 25 Sec. 39.52.350. Probable cause for hearing. (a) If the personnel board 26 [ATTORNEY GENERAL] determines that there is probable cause to believe that a 27 knowing violation of this chapter or a violation that cannot be corrected under 28 AS 39.52.330 has occurred, or that the subject of a complaint failed to comply with 29 a recommendation for corrective or preventive action, the personnel board 30 [ATTORNEY GENERAL] shall initiate formal proceedings by requesting the 31 attorney general to serve [SERVING] a copy of an accusation upon the subject of
01 the accusation. The accusation shall specifically set out the alleged violation. After 02 service, the accusation is a public document open to inspection. Except as provided 03 in AS 39.52.370(c), all subsequent proceedings are open to the public. 04 (b) The subject of the accusation shall file an answer with the personnel 05 board and the attorney general within 20 days after service of the accusation, or at 06 a later time specified by the personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL]. If the 07 subject of the accusation fails to timely answer, the allegations are considered 08 admitted. 09 (c) If the subject of the accusation denies that a violation of this chapter has 10 occurred, the [ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL REFER THE MATTER TO THE] 11 personnel board [, WHICH] shall appoint a hearing officer to conduct a hearing. 12 (d) If the subject of the accusation admits a violation of this chapter, the 13 [ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL REFER THE MATTER TO THE] personnel board 14 shall [TO] impose penalties under AS 39.52.410, 39.52.440, and 39.52.450, as 15 appropriate. 16 * Sec. 107. AS 39.52.920 is amended to read: 17 Sec. 39.52.920. Agency policies. Subject to the review and approval of the 18 personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL], an agency may adopt a written policy 19 that, in addition to the requirements of this chapter, limits the extent to which a public 20 officer in the agency or an administrative unit of the agency may 21 (1) acquire a personal interest in an organization or a financial interest 22 in a business or undertaking that may benefit from official action taken or withheld by 23 the agency or unit; 24 (2) have a personal or financial interest in a state grant, contract, lease, 25 or loan administered by the agency or unit; or 26 (3) accept a gift. 27 * Sec. 108. AS 39.52.950 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 39.52.950. Regulations. The attorney general may adopt regulations 29 under AS 44.62 ( [THE] Administrative Procedure Act) necessary to interpret and 30 implement the provisions concerning complaints under this chapter. The personnel 31 board may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act)
01 necessary to interpret and implement the other provisions of this chapter. 02 * Sec. 109. AS 39.52.960(11) is amended to read: 03 (11) "immediate family member" means 04 (A) the spouse of the person; 05 (B) another person cohabiting with the person in a conjugal 06 relationship that is not a legal marriage; or 07 (C) a parent, child including a stepchild and an adoptive 08 child, and sibling of a person if the parent, child, or sibling resides with 09 the person, is financially dependent on the person, or shares a substantial 10 financial interest with the person [A PUBLIC OFFICER'S SPOUSE, A 11 RELATION BY BLOOD WITHIN AND INCLUDING THE SECOND 12 DEGREE OF KINDRED, AND A REGULAR MEMBER OF THE OFFICER'S 13 HOUSEHOLD]; 14 * Sec. 110. AS 39.52.960 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 15 (23) "state official" means the governor, the lieutenant governor, a 16 person hired or appointed as the head or deputy head of a department in the executive 17 branch or as the director of a division in a department in the executive branch, the 18 chair or member of a state commission or board, as defined in AS 39.50.200(b), the 19 executive director of the Alaska Tourism Marketing Council, an assistant to the 20 governor or the lieutenant governor, a state investment officer, the state comptroller 21 in the Department of Revenue, and a state employee who is not otherwise listed in this 22 definition who is employed by an agency in the executive branch of state government 23 in the exempt or partially exempt service and who is compensated at Range 19A or 24 above on the state salary schedule under AS 39.27.011 or at more than $4,200 per 25 month; however, "state official" does not include an employee who is a member of a 26 collective bargaining unit. 27 * Sec. 111. AS 44.62.175(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) The lieutenant governor shall publish or contract for the publication of the 29 Alaska Administrative Journal. The journal shall be published weekly. The journal 30 must include 31 (1) notices of proposed actions given under AS 44.62.190(a);
01 (2) notices of state agency meetings required under AS 44.62.310(e), 02 even if the meeting has been held; 03 (3) notices of solicitations to bid issued under AS 36.30.130; 04 (4) notices of state agency requests for proposals issued under 05 AS 18.55.255, 18.55.320; AS 36.30.210; AS 37.05.316; AS 38.05.120; and 06 AS 43.40.010; 07 (5) executive orders and administrative orders issued by the governor; 08 (6) written delegations of authority made by the governor or the head 09 of a principal department under AS 44.17.010; 10 (7) the text or a summary of the text of a regulation or order of repeal 11 of a regulation for which notice is given under AS 44.62.190(a), including an 12 emergency regulation or repeal whether or not it has taken effect; 13 (8) a summary of the text of recently issued formal opinions and 14 memoranda of advice of the attorney general; 15 (9) a list of vacancies on boards, commissions, and other bodies whose 16 members are appointed by the governor; and 17 (10) in accordance with AS 39.52.240(h), advisory opinions of the 18 personnel board [ATTORNEY GENERAL]. 19 * Sec. 112. RELIANCE ON ADVISORY OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 20 Notwithstanding the amendments made to AS 39.52.240 - 39.52.250 by secs. 89 - 94 of this 21 Act, a public officer or a former public officer may rely on an advisory opinion given by the 22 attorney general under AS 39.52.240 - 39.52.250 before the effective date of this bill section 23 to the same extent that the public officer or former public officer could have relied on the 24 opinion if those sections had not been amended by this Act. 25 * Sec. 113. PROVISIONS MADE SPECIFICALLY APPLICABLE TO INCUMBENT 26 LEGISLATORS. Notwithstanding any other provision of AS 15.13, the provisions of 27 AS 15.13.116(d), added by sec. 4 of this Act, apply to authorize a legislator holding office 28 in the legislature during the First Regular Session of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature 29 who, under sec. 32, ch. 48, SLA 1996, retains unused campaign contributions in the 30 candidate's election campaign account, to transfer to a legislative office account as permitted 31 under AS 15.13.116(d), enacted by sec. 4 of this Act. All amounts expended under this
01 section shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4). 02 * Sec. 114. Sections 3, 4, and 113 of this Act are retroactive to December 31, 1996. 03 * Sec. 115. Sections 3, 4, 113, and 114 of this Act take effect immediately under 04 AS 01.10.070(c). 05 * Sec. 116. Sections 1, 2, and 5 - 112 of this Act take effect January 1, 1998.