CSSSHB 44(STA): "An Act requiring a legislator to abstain from taking or withholding official action or exerting official influence that could benefit or harm an immediate family member or certain employers; and requiring a legislator to request to be excused from voting in an instance where the legislator may have a financial conflict of interest."
00 CS FOR SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 44(STA) 01 "An Act requiring a legislator to abstain from taking or withholding official action or 02 exerting official influence that could benefit or harm an immediate family member or 03 certain employers; and requiring a legislator to request to be excused from voting in an 04 instance where the legislator may have a financial conflict of interest." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 24.60.030(e) is amended to read: 07 (e) A legislator may not directly, or by authorizing another to act on the 08 legislator's behalf, 09 (1) agree to, threaten to, or state or imply that the legislator will take or 10 withhold a legislative, administrative, or political action, including support for or 11 opposition to a bill, employment, nominations, and appointments, as a result of a 12 person's decision to provide or not provide a political contribution, donate or not 13 donate to a cause favored by the legislator, or provide or not provide a thing of value; 14 (2) state or imply that the legislator will perform or refrain from
01 performing a lawful constituent service as a result of a person's decision to provide or 02 not provide a political contribution, donate or not donate to a cause favored by the 03 legislator, or provide or not provide a thing of value; or 04 (3) except as provided in (g) of this section or while participating 05 in a public discussion or debate [UNLESS REQUIRED BY THE UNIFORM 06 RULES OF THE ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE], take or withhold official 07 action or exert official influence that could substantially benefit or harm the financial 08 interest of a [ANOTHER] person 09 (A) who is a member of the legislator's immediate family; 10 (B) by [WITH] whom the legislator or a member of the 11 legislator's immediate family is employed; 12 (C) with whom the legislator is negotiating for employment; 13 (D) from whom the legislator or a member of the 14 legislator's immediate family has, in the immediately preceding 12-month 15 period, received more than $10,000 of income. 16 * Sec. 2. AS 24.60.030(g) is amended to read: 17 (g) Unless otherwise required by the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State 18 Legislature, a legislator shall declare a conflict of interest before voting [MAY 19 NOT VOTE] on a question before a committee of the legislature, and shall request 20 to be excused from voting on a question before a house of the legislature, if the 21 legislator or a member of the legislator's immediate family has a financial [AN 22 EQUITY OR OWNERSHIP] interest in a business, investment, real property, lease, or 23 other enterprise if the interest is substantial and the effect on that interest of the action 24 to be voted on is greater than the effect on the general public of the state. However, 25 notwithstanding (e)(3) of this section and the limitations of this subsection, a 26 legislator may vote on an appropriation bill that meets the requirements of 27 AS 37.07.020(a) or 37.07.100 (Executive Budget Act) [A SUBSTANTIAL CLASS 28 OF PERSONS TO WHICH THE LEGISLATOR BELONGS AS A MEMBER OF A 29 PROFESSION, OCCUPATION, INDUSTRY, OR REGION]. 30 * Sec. 3. AS 24.60.030(j) is amended to read: 31 (j) In this section,
01 (1) "administrative hearing" means a quasi-judicial hearing before an 02 agency; "administrative hearing" does not include an informal conference or review 03 held by an agency before a final decision is issued or a rate-making proceeding or 04 other nonadjudicative public hearing; 05 (2) "substantially benefit or harm" means the effect on the 06 person's financial interest is greater than the effect on the financial interest of the 07 general public of the state. 08 * Sec. 4. AS 24.60.990(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 09 (17) "financial interest" means ownership of an interest or an 10 involvement in a business, including a property ownership, or a professional or private 11 relationship, that is a source of income, or from which, or as a result of which, a 12 person has received or expects to receive a financial benefit.