02/17/1997 09:04 AM House CRA

 HB 94 - MUNICIPAL TAX RECORDS                                                 
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN IVAN indicated the committee would hear HB 94,                       
 "An Act relating to confidentiality of certain municipal tax                  
 records."  He noted at the last hearing on the bill, they adopted             
 an amendment to Amendment 1.  The committee did not take any action           
 on this amendment.  Between the time of this previous hearing and             
 today, Representative Green's staff worked with Legislative Legal             
 Services on an amendment to satisfy the Community and Regional                
 Affairs Committee's objectives.                                               
                                                                               
 Number 130                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE JERRY SANDERS made a motion to withdraw Amendment 1,           
 as amended, which was introduced at the previous hearing.  Hearing            
 no objection, it was so ordered.                                              
                                                                               
 Number 180                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS made a motion to adopt Amendment 2,                    
 LS0419\A.2, dated 2/14/97, as outlined below:                                 
                                                                               
      Page 2, lines 8 - 9:                                                     
                                                                               
      Delete all material.                                                     
                                                                               
      Insert:  "the person may have, the person may recover from the           
               municipality liquidated damages in the amount of                
               $1,000 or actual damages resulting from the                     
               disclosure, whichever is greater.  The person may               
               recover liquidated damages under this subsection even           
               if the person does not request actual damages or does           
               not offer evidence of the amount of actual damages."            
                                                                               
 Hearing no objection, Amendment 2 was adopted.                                
                                                                               
 Number 220                                                                    
                                                                               
 JEFF LOGAN, Legislative Assistant to Representative Joe Green,                
 Alaska State Legislature, came forward to testify on HB 94.  He               
 noted that the amendment had three points which he wished to                  
 outline.  The last two lines, 8 and 9, on page 2 of the previous              
 section, was taken out and new language was inserted.  The new                
 language on line 3 of the amendment, the phrase, "from the                    
 municipality" was inserted in response to a concern expressed by              
 Representative Ogan.  The language which said that the party harmed           
 can recover from the official or employee was removed and changed             
 to language that says a party may recover from the municipality               
 instead.                                                                      
                                                                               
 MR. LOGAN clarified for the committee, and for the record, a point            
 that he made at the last meeting in response to this same concern             
 by Representative Ogan.  This was the statement Mr. Logan made                
 about state employee's being indemnified from this type of action.            
 In fact, this is true; however, it is not a statutory                         
 indemnification.  It is the policy of the Division of Risk                    
 Management that state employees against whom an action is brought             
 in court will be defended by the state, and if a judgment is                  
 entered against this employee the state will also cover the cost              
 associated with any type of an award.  This is a policy rather than           
 a codified point of law.  It is based on a well defined tort                  
 doctrine known as respondeat superior, which means that the                   
 superior will respond.                                                        
                                                                               
 Number 420                                                                    
                                                                               
 MR. LOGAN noted that the second change was on line 4 of the                   
 amendment where they raised the amount of the liquidated damages              
 award to $1,000 from $500.  Finally, they made changes in the last            
 sentence of the amendment to read, "the person may recover                    
 liquidated damages under this subsection," even if the person does            
 not request actual damages or does not offer evidence as to the               
 amount of actual damages.  In any event, the $1,000 would be what             
 they would get.  There is no cap on this amount.                              
                                                                               
 Number 513                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT OGAN moved and asked unanimous consent to move           
 CSHB 94 (CRA), as amended, out of committee with individual                   
 recommendations and accompanying zero fiscal note.  Hearing no                
 objection, CSHB 94 (CRA) was moved out of the House Community and             
 Regional Affairs Committee.