00                             HOUSE BILL NO. 72                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to legislative open meetings guidelines."                                                              
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  AS 24.60.037(c) is amended to read:                                                                  
04            (c)  Legislators may meet in a closed caucus [OR IN A PRIVATE,                                               
05       INFORMAL] meeting to discuss and deliberate on political strategy.  A closed caucus                           
06       meeting is [THOSE MEETINGS ARE] exempt from the legislative open meetings                                     
07       guidelines.  Notwithstanding (e) of this section, a closed meeting under this                                 
08       subsection may only be held after being initially convened as a public meeting,                               
09       and the question of closing the meeting shall be determined by a majority vote of                             
10       the caucus.  Notwithstanding (e) of this section, the motion to have a closed                                 
11       political strategy session must clearly and with specificity describe the subject of                          
12       the proposed political strategy session without defeating the purpose of                                      
13       addressing the subject in private.  For purposes of this subsection, "political                               
14       strategy" includes organization of the houses, assignment of committee membership,                                
15       scheduling of bills, vehicles for adoptions, house-senate relations, other procedural                             

01       matters, caucus operations, meetings between majority and minority caucus leaders,                                
02       meetings between majority and minority caucus leaders of both houses, meetings with                               
03       the governor, deliberations with regard to political strategy, and discussions of issues                          
04       in the context of political strategy.                                                                             
05    * Sec. 2.  AS 24.60.037 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                             
06            (h)  A legislator may not enter into a written agreement with another person to                              
07       vote for a measure before hearing the debate and reviewing the final version of the                               
08       measure on the floor of the house of representatives or senate.  A legislator may                                 
09       express general agreement with the subject matter of a measure before it reaches the                              
10       floor of the appropriate body but may not commit in writing to vote for the measure,                              
11       whether the agreement to vote for the measure is legally binding or not.