Legislature(2019 - 2020)GRUENBERG 120
03/21/2019 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB20 | |
| HCR4 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HCR 4 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 20 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HCR 4-UNIFORM RULES: COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
3:31:54 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4, Proposing an amendment to
the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature relating to
the membership of the Committee on Committees.
3:32:03 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 3:32 p.m. to 3:34 p.m.
3:33:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE moved to adopt Amendment 1, [labeled 31-
LS0673\S.1, Wallace, 3/15/19], which read:
Page 1, line 12, following "committee":
Insert "and the Committee on Committees,"
CO-CHAIR FIELDS objected for the purpose of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE relayed that she supports the intent of HCR
4 to make the Uniform Rules conform with legislative practices
and to allow for the appointment of at least five members on the
Committee on Committees, but not to exceed 25 percent of the
total house membership. She stated that under the proposed
amendment, the Committee on Committees would be entitled to the
number of seats proportional to the number of minority members,
like the appointment of members of standing committees. She
offered that such a proportional makeup of the Committee on
Committees would be equitable. She said, "Our democracy is
designed to protect the voice of the minority." She expressed
her belief that legislative conduct should reflect that
principle.
3:35:28 PM
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS stated that he opposes Amendment 1 but
not because he opposes the sentiment behind the amendment. He
explained that HCR 4 was developed in consultation with the
leaderships of the House and Senate; it offers an intentionally
narrow and prescriptive approach. He maintained that because of
the alignment of the leadership of both bodies to draft the
resolution, he is hesitant to make any additional changes to the
Uniform Rules than what was discussed. He offered that the
Committee on Committees is a "different animal"; it has no
policy-making power; it is entirely appointed by the presiding
officer - the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the
House; and there is effectively no deliberation that occurs in
the Committee on Committees. He mentioned that he understands
on a symbolic level the importance of minority representation.
He said it is worth noting that the minority leader of the
Senate has a seat on the Senate Committee on Committee; that is
not true for the House. He reiterated that a proportional
representation on the Committee on Committees would be a
symbolic gesture and one to which he is sympathetic.
3:38:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked for confirmation of his understanding:
by statute, the Committee on Committees in the House is to have
five members; currently it has seven; the proposed resolution
would specify at least five members; if seven, all seven can be
from the majority; and the Senate allows one minority member to
serve on its Committee on Committees.
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS replied, "That is correct." He added
that the presiding officer appoints the entirety of the
Committee on Committees. The President of the Senate appointed
the Senate minority leader to the Committee on Committees.
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked for the number of members on the
Senate Committee on Committees.
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS answered, "There are five members on the
Senate Committee on Committees."
CO-CHAIR FIELDS relayed that he supports the amendment and would
consider it as a separate Uniform Rules change.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX commented that she thought [former]
Representative [Charisse] Millet served on the Committee on
Committees last year [2018].
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS stated that he thought that was correct.
He offered that he would be willing to work with Representative
Vance to gage the support of the House and Senate leaderships
for her proposed rules change; if there is alignment from the
leadership of both bodies, he would support it.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE suggested that offering amendments to be
heard in committee, in fact, is the process for getting input
from the legislative bodies. She relayed that she approached
legislators with more seniority and the Speaker of the House
about this issue. She expressed that her reason for offering
the amendment is that when passing legislation or adjusting the
Uniform Rules, legislators should not think just about the
current situation, but about the future; circumstances change
and leaders change; it is an opportunity to make improvements
now, not later.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX expressed her belief that every committee
member in House State Affairs Standing Committee supports the
amendment; therefore, they would not want to hold up the
resolution. She suggested that the committee pass the
amendment, discuss it with the leadership, and if it is not
supported, it can be changed in the next committee of referral -
the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS offered that Representative LeDoux has
made a good point. He said that his preference would be to have
the conversations with leadership first before passing the
amendment, although either order would work. He mentioned that
there is no rush to pass the resolution; it is a "housekeeping"
measure. He offered to approach the House and Senate
leaderships about amenability to incorporate the amendment [into
the resolution]. In response to Co-Chair Fields, he confirmed
his desire to hold over the resolution.
3:44:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL relayed that he supports that decision; he
does not like to pass on resolutions to be "fixed" in the next
committee; and the resolution could fail due to the amendment.
He stated that he remembers the Committee on Committees having
minority members in the past - possibly as a courtesy; it is not
a policy committee, but a committee to facilitate the Speaker in
appointing committees. He speculated that the committee had
changed from five to seven members to add two minority members.
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW suggested voting on the amendment so that it
would be considered in the next committee.
CO-CHAIR FIELDS clarified that Representative Kreiss-Tomkins has
suggested that the resolution not be reported from the committee
to give him time to discuss it with leadership. He maintained
that he supports the amendment, if it doesn't stop the
resolution from going forward. He asked Representative Vance
whether she supports holding the resolution over and discussing
it with leadership.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE concurred with that plan of action and
stated that if leadership does not support the amendment, she
would withdraw the amendment.
3:48:04 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS opened public testimony on HCR 4. After
ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed public
testimony.
CO-CHAIR FIELDS stated that HCR 4 would be held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB0020 Sponsor Statement 3.21.19 Version G.pdf |
HSTA 3/21/2019 3:00:00 PM HSTA 4/18/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB0020 Sectional Analysis 03.21.19 Version G.pdf |
HSTA 3/21/2019 3:00:00 PM HSTA 4/18/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB0020 Ver G 3.21.19.pdf |
HSTA 3/21/2019 3:00:00 PM HSTA 4/18/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB0020 Summary of Changes Version S to G 3.21.19.pdf |
HSTA 3/21/2019 3:00:00 PM HSTA 4/18/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB0020 State Affairs PresentationVersion G.pdf |
HSTA 3/21/2019 3:00:00 PM HSTA 4/18/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |