02/28/2011 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

                   SB  61-2011 REVISOR'S BILL                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:04:36 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 61.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:04:57 PM                                                                                                                    
KATHRYN KURTZ,  Assistant Revisor of Statutes,  Legislative Legal                                                               
Services, said the  revisor's bill is called for  in AS 01.05.036                                                               
and  is  aimed  at  revising rather  than  changing  policy.  The                                                               
purpose  is to  correct  or remove  deficiencies, conflicts,  and                                                               
obsolete provisions and to otherwise improve the statutes.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
The  bulk  of this  year's  bill  relates to  the  administrative                                                               
director of the  Alaska Court System and makes  the references to                                                               
the  title   of  that  position  consistent.   The  position  was                                                               
established in  the constitution, but  the title was not,  so the                                                               
bill switches  to what  the Court  System prefers  throughout the                                                               
statutes. That  was suggested by  the AG's office. The  bill also                                                               
includes: name changes in five  sections, renumbering of a couple                                                               
of  federal  statutes,  dropped  references  to  Sheldon  Jackson                                                               
College because it is going  away, a few obsolete date references                                                               
and a few other miscellaneous changes.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  FRENCH  said   when  he  stressed-tested  a   few  of  the                                                               
references in different  sections they looked okay,  but he would                                                               
like an explanation  for the name change on page  2, Section 4 to                                                               
the  "International  Conference   of  Funeral  Service  Examining                                                               
Boards."                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS.  KURTZ explained  that  the conference  changed  its name  to                                                               
include "international" in 1997 and  this simply makes the change                                                               
to call them what they call themselves.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  FRENCH acknowledged  that when  he Googled  "Conference of                                                               
Funeral Services Examining Boards of  the United States, Inc." he                                                               
found there is a relationship between the two entities.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:07:43 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI  noted  that the  State  Affairs  Committee                                                               
removed the provision  on vulnerable adults from SB  61 and asked                                                               
if  this committee  should consider  adding  that to  one of  the                                                               
bills on vulnerable adults.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. KURTZ  said after looking  at that section again  she decided                                                               
it  could  conceivably  involve  a policy  change  and  it  would                                                               
therefore  be   more  appropriate  to   make  the  change   in  a                                                               
substantive bill dealing with vulnerable adults.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI  pointed  out that  there  are  substantive                                                               
bills dealing with vulnerable adults before this committee.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. KURTZ said  she couldn't give specific advice  on those bills                                                               
because she wasn't the drafter.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH asked Senator Wielechowski  to bring the information                                                               
to his staff's attention.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH questioned  why page 5, line 10 now  says "to report                                                               
annually"  as  opposed to  the  previous  direction "to  annually                                                               
report."                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS. KURTZ explained  that their legal editors'  preference was to                                                               
avoid split infinitives.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:10:26 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH announced he would hold SB 61 in committee.