HB 200: "An Act relating to the Alaska Judicial Council and to judicial retention elections."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 200 01 "An Act relating to the Alaska Judicial Council and to judicial retention elections." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 15.13.145(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this section, each of the following may 05 not use money held by the entity to influence the outcome of the election of a 06 candidate to a state or municipal office or to make a recommendation relating to a 07 judge or justice seeking retention: 08 (1) the state, its agencies, and its corporations; 09 (2) the University of Alaska and its Board of Regents; 10 (3) municipalities, school districts, and regional educational attendance 11 areas, or another political subdivision of the state; [AND] 12 (4) the Alaska Judicial Council; and 13 (5) an officer or employee of an entity identified in (1) - (4) [(3)] of 14 this subsection. 15 * Sec. 2. AS 15.58.020(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) Each general election pamphlet must contain 02 (1) photographs and campaign statements submitted by eligible 03 candidates for elective office in the region; 04 (2) information [AND RECOMMENDATIONS] filed under 05 AS 15.58.050 on judicial officers subject to a retention election in the region; 06 (3) a map of the house district or districts of the region; 07 (4) sample ballots for house districts of the region; 08 (5) an absentee ballot application; 09 (6) for each ballot proposition submitted to the voters by initiative or 10 referendum petition or by the legislature, 11 (A) the full text of the proposition specifying constitutional or 12 statutory provisions proposed to be affected; 13 (B) the ballot title and the summary of the proposition prepared 14 by the director or by the lieutenant governor; 15 (C) a statement of the costs to the state of implementing the law 16 proposed in an initiative, or of voter approval or rejection of the act that is the 17 subject of a referendum; 18 (D) a neutral summary of the proposition prepared by the 19 Legislative Affairs Agency; 20 (E) statements submitted that advocate voter approval or 21 rejection of the proposition not to exceed 500 words; 22 (7) for each bond question, a statement of the scope of each project as 23 it appears in the bond authorization; 24 (8) a maximum of two pages of material submitted by each political 25 party; 26 (9) additional information on voting procedures that the lieutenant 27 governor considers necessary; 28 (10) for the question whether a constitutional convention shall be 29 called, 30 (A) a full statement of the question placed on the ballot; 31 (B) statements not to exceed 500 words that advocate voter
01 approval or rejection of the question; 02 (11) under AS 37.13.170, the Alaska permanent fund annual income 03 statement and balance sheet for the two fiscal years preceding the publication of the 04 election pamphlet; 05 (12) under AS 15.10.090, notice of 06 (A) the establishment or abolition of a precinct; 07 (B) the designation, abolition, or modification of precinct 08 boundaries; and 09 (C) a change in the location of a polling place. 10 * Sec. 3. AS 15.58.050 is amended to read: 11 Sec. 15.58.050. Information [AND RECOMMENDATIONS] on judicial 12 officers. Not [NO] later than August 7 of the year in which the state general election 13 will be held, the judicial council shall file with the lieutenant governor a statement 14 containing impartial and objective [INCLUDING] information about each supreme 15 court justice, court of appeals judge, superior court judge, and district court judge who 16 will be subject to a retention election. The statement shall reflect the evaluation of 17 each justice or judge conducted by the judicial council according to law and shall 18 contain a brief statement describing each public reprimand, public censure, or 19 suspension received by the judge under AS 22.30.011(d) during the period covered in 20 the evaluation. The judicial council may not make a recommendation relating to 21 the retention or rejection of a judge or justice. A statement may not exceed 600 22 words. 23 * Sec. 4. AS 22.05.100 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 22.05.100. Approval or rejection. Each supreme court justice is subject 25 to approval or rejection as provided in AS 15 (Alaska Election Code). The judicial 26 council shall conduct an evaluation of each justice before the retention election and 27 shall provide impartial and objective information to the public [INFORMATION] 28 about that justice [AND MAY PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING 29 RETENTION OR REJECTION]. The information [AND ANY 30 RECOMMENDATION] shall be made public at least 60 days before the retention 31 election. The judicial council shall also provide the information [AND ANY
01 RECOMMENDATION] to the office of the lieutenant governor in time for 02 publication in the election pamphlet under AS 15.58.050. The judicial council may 03 not make a recommendation relating to the retention or rejection of a justice. If a 04 majority of those voting on the question rejects the candidacy, the rejected justice may 05 not be appointed to fill any vacancy in the supreme court, court of appeals, superior 06 court, or district courts of the state for a period of four years thereafter. 07 * Sec. 5. AS 22.07.060 is amended to read: 08 Sec. 22.07.060. Approval or rejection. Each judge of the court of appeals is 09 subject to approval or rejection as provided in AS 15 (Alaska Election Code). The 10 judicial council shall conduct an evaluation of each judge before the retention election 11 and shall provide impartial and objective information to the public about the judge 12 [AND MAY PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING RETENTION OR 13 REJECTION]. The information [AND ANY RECOMMENDATION] shall be made 14 public at least 60 days before the election. The judicial council shall also provide the 15 information [AND ANY RECOMMENDATION] to the office of the lieutenant 16 governor in time for publication in the election pamphlet as required by AS 15.58.050. 17 The judicial council may not make a recommendation relating to the retention or 18 rejection of a judge. If a majority of those voting on the question rejects the 19 candidacy of a judge, the rejected judge may not for a period of four years thereafter 20 be appointed to fill a vacancy in the supreme court, the court of appeals, the superior 21 court, or the district court of the state. 22 * Sec. 6. AS 22.10.150 is amended to read: 23 Sec. 22.10.150. Approval or rejection. Each superior court judge is subject to 24 approval or rejection as provided in AS 15 (Alaska Election Code). The judicial 25 council shall conduct an evaluation of each judge before the retention election and 26 shall provide impartial and objective information to the public [INFORMATION] 27 about the judge [AND MAY PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING 28 RETENTION OR REJECTION]. The information [AND ANY 29 RECOMMENDATION] shall be made public at least 60 days before the retention 30 election. The judicial council shall also provide the information [AND ANY 31 RECOMMENDATION] to the office of the lieutenant governor in time for
01 publication in the election pamphlet under AS 15.58.050. The judicial council may 02 not make a recommendation relating to the retention or rejection of a judge. If a 03 majority of those voting on the question rejects the candidacy of a judge, the rejected 04 judge may not for a period of four years thereafter be appointed to fill any vacancy in 05 the supreme court, court of appeals, superior court, or district courts of the state. 06 * Sec. 7. AS 22.15.195 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 22.15.195. Approval or rejection. Each district court judge is subject to 08 approval or rejection as provided in AS 15 (Alaska Election Code). The judicial 09 council shall conduct an evaluation of each judge before the retention election and 10 shall provide impartial and objective information to the public [INFORMATION] 11 about the judge [AND MAY PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING 12 RETENTION OR REJECTION]. The information [AND THE 13 RECOMMENDATION] shall be made public at least 60 days before the election. The 14 judicial council shall also provide the information [AND ANY 15 RECOMMENDATION] to the office of the lieutenant governor in time for 16 publication in the election pamphlet under AS 15.58.050. The judicial council may 17 not make a recommendation relating to the retention or rejection of a judge. If a 18 majority of those voting on the question rejects the candidacy of a judge, the rejected 19 judge may not for a period of four years thereafter be appointed to fill any vacancy in 20 the supreme court, court of appeals, superior court, or district courts of the state.