02/16/1999 03:28 PM Senate STA

               SB  69-ADVISORY VOTE ON ELECTED AG                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MARK HODGINS, legislative aide to Senator Ward, co-sponsor of SB
, gave the following presentation.  SB 69 authorizes an advisory                                                              
vote by the people on whether to elect the attorney general.  Many                                                              
states elect their attorneys general, as opposed to having that                                                                 
important position be determined by a political appointment.  The                                                               
states of Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming                                                                
have attorneys general appointed by their governors; Maine has an                                                               
attorney general elected by its Legislature; and the attorney                                                                   
general of Tennessee is appointed by the judges of its Supreme                                                                  
Court.  Many believe an elected attorney general is likely to be                                                                
more loyal to the state's residents and its Constitution.  Tam                                                                  
Cook, Director of the Division of Legal Services, prepared a memo                                                               
which lists the arguments for and against the election of the                                                                   
attorney general, included in committee packets.  One argument for                                                              
election is that if the attorney general acts as the legal advisor                                                              
to the Governor and other state officials, he/she is compromised as                                                             
far as working for issues for the people of the State of Alaska.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR PHILLIPS questioned how the judges of the Tennessee Supreme                                                             
Court are selected.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. HODGINS did not know.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELTON asked about the fiscal note for SB 69.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. HODGINS replied the fiscal note was just delivered and contains                                                             
a cost of $1,500 to place the question on the ballot, except that                                                               
the cost will increase slightly if the ballot contains more than                                                                
six questions.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Number 239                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
JIM BALDWIN, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law, stated                                                              
he has had the pleasure of serving under governors of three                                                                     
parties, so his perspective is from the institution of the office                                                               
of the attorney general.  The function of the Alaska attorney                                                                   
general's office has been viewed as one of legal advisor to the                                                                 
governor; not as legal advisor to the people. Alaska government was                                                             
constructed so that the Governor was to be the statewide officer                                                                
elected by the people and served by his appointees.  One of the                                                                 
reasons the state government was not designed to have a lot of                                                                  
other elected officials was to ensure accountability.  If the                                                                   
government is not efficient, the people can hold one person                                                                     
responsible.  If a multitude of elected officers existed, one could                                                             
blame the other for the inefficiencies.  During the Constitutional                                                              
Convention, the common practice electing people to official                                                                     
positions to diffuse federal power was changed because Alaska would                                                             
no longer need to shield itself from federal power.  A legal issue                                                              
that merits consideration is that under Article 12 of the Alaska                                                                
Constitution, a constitutional amendment is meant to be a specific                                                              
legislative proposal put before the people; an advisory vote asks                                                               
voters to vote on a concept.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Number 308                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR PHILLIPS noted two advisory votes were voted on by Alaskans                                                             
in the past 20 years that were never acted upon by the Legislature:                                                             
the unicameral legislature and the annuity for the Longevity Bonus                                                              
Program.  He stated an advisory vote is merely a check on the pulse                                                             
of the people at that moment in time and should not be feared.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. BALDWIN said in his view, the best way for the peoples' voice                                                               
to be heard is through the legislators they elected.  He added the                                                              
problem with advisory votes is that they are difficult to put into                                                              
action.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR PHILLIPS replied an advisory vote is another tool for                                                                   
legislators to use to determine how the public wants it to respond                                                              
to certain issues.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Number 348                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GREEN questioned what type of vote was considered in the                                                                
Governor's proposal to ask voters to determine the best way to                                                                  
capture resources through various state accounts to cover the                                                                   
budget shortfall.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. BALDWIN said that proposal called for an advisory vote, but it                                                              
had a very substantive effect because the Legislature would be                                                                  
making appropriations that would take effect when a certain vote                                                                
was certified from that election.  The reason it was called an                                                                  
advisory vote was because of the lurking legal issue concerning                                                                 
delegation of legislative functions.  The theory is that the                                                                    
Legislature is sent to Juneau to enact laws, and a legal question                                                               
arises when that function is transferred to someone else, such as                                                               
the people.  In the Governor's bill, the people would not be                                                                    
determining the law, they would be determining when it would take                                                               
effect.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
There being no further testimony on SB 69, SENATOR GREEN moved SB
 from committee with individual recommendations.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELTON objected and stated he believes Alaskans have been                                                                
well served by the attorneys general of the past and because the                                                                
same kind of information can be obtained by conducting a poll.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
The motion carried with Senators Green, Phillips, Wilken, and Ward                                                              
voting "Yea," and Senator Elton voting "Nay."