Legislature(1995 - 1996)
10/16/1995 09:00 AM House JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HJR 2 - UNICAMERAL LEGISLATURE/SESSION LIMIT REPRESENTATIVE JOE GREEN: ....in committee when we reconvene in Juneau. Ya, there will be fiscal notes. That will be addressed. REPRESENTATIVE BETTYE DAVIS: I (indisc.) discussion. CHAIRMAN BRIAN PORTER: Representative Finkelstein. Number 004 REPRESENTATIVE DAVID FINKELSTEIN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't -- I think it's completely appropriate to put in the fiscal note for some sort of a new location or, you know, rebuilding and things. It is theoretically possible to fit 60 people into that room with a little bit of reconfiguration (indisc.). We probably wouldn't want to really teleconference with our own body -- I mean, I think when the public makes its decision of the cost of this is going to be a relatively slight factor. I just don't think -- if you're for a unicameral legislature -- if you're for a shorter session, the cost of a one-time reconfiguration, while significant, is much less than the money saved from, you know, having one body. I mean, it's a comedy the way our budget is now. The House and Senate budgets are identical every year. They have 20 members, we have 40. You know, the system doesn't encourage control of spending. Basically -- and if they spend less and manage to save some money, all they've done is make the case for a reduction next year, so it never occurs. I - we've probably never seen as bad a system as the way that particular budget has been configured. CHAIRMAN PORTER: What is their response to that? They have the same amount of constituents. REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN: Ya, it should be a little bit higher. They certainly have as much travel as all 40 of (indisc.-laughter) as 20 members. But whether -- ya, but whether it's -- I just think we ought to be real straightforward on that one piece of it and put in some appropriate expense because I think the public won't mind. Number 022 CHAIRMAN PORTER: Well, we have not given this consideration - a lot of consideration which obviously it needs. My first thought was just the opposite - I don't think we would want to try to shove 60 people into the House. I don't think... REPRESENTATIVE B. DAVIS: It wouldn't work. CHAIRMAN PORTER: I don't think it would fit. So, there would have to be some other consideration and how that would work, I don't know. It might be that we'd have to take another floor and you know, move offices off the fourth floor or something back to the court house and put a whole big one floor room or something like that. In any event, there's an awful lot of thought that needs to go into that and that one was just an idea for something we could do. Representative Bunde. Number 031 REPRESENTATIVE CON BUNDE: You know the notion that you'd actually have a gallery where people could attend the session. CHAIRMAN PORTER: Ya. REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE: The -- with 60 member districts, have you looked into - have you speculated how large would a district be now in comparison to what we have now? REPRESENTATIVE GREEN: It effectively - numerically, would be half as big as the current House - current House district. REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN: It would be two-thirds. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN: Two-thirds, okay. REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE: Two-thirds. Ya, it wouldn't be half. Two- thirds, so you're talking about or perhaps 6,000 registered voters per district - something like that? REPRESENTATIVE GREEN: Probably, in that range. REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE: Ya, and so as we mentioned earlier.... REPRESENTATIVE GREEN: Ten thousand total. REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE: It's conceivable that you could then reach that many people on a personal level -- within sound bite level. CHAIRMAN PORTER: There would still be some difficulties in the rural areas.... REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE: In the -- well.... CHAIRMAN PORTER: They would be reduced by a third (indisc.). REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE: Ya, though I think the personal contact is even more important perhaps in the rural areas than.... CHAIRMAN PORTER: We - we have some - some input from Representative Toohey's office. Number 042 BEN BROWN, RESEARCHER FOR REPRESENTATIVE CYNTHIA TOOHEY, ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE: You've actually -- Representative Davis' question got to the heart of it, but I just noticed looking at the fiscal note from the LAA, it didn't incorporate any of the savings from going to one body and as Representative Green had mentioned, that was -- I didn't know that Nebraska's motivation had been depression or public financing. But you figure with pages and photocopiers and just everything, I think, you know, as -- as scary as the initial capital costs of building a new chamber on the fourth floor or whatever you would do would be the long running operating savings are gonna to make this a very beneficial fiscal effect in the long run and I know Representative Toohey would - would want to know just how much money it was going to save down the road and that's why I wanted to mention that. So, she would look forward to seeing something from LAA that reflected those costs as well, I'm sure. CHAIRMAN PORTER: The savings -- the additional savings and the cost. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN: Yes.... Number 052 JEFF LOGAN, LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT TO REPRESENTATIVE JOE GREEN, ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE: Mr. Chairman, I just... CHAIRMAN PORTER: Jeff. MR. LOGAN: I want to bring to the member's attention that one fiscal note that we do have from LAA calculates $1.1 million a year savings. The experience in Nebraska was the first year they went to be a unicameral system, they cut their total operating expenses in half. CHAIRMAN PORTER: Did they reduce the number of people they have or...? MR. LOGAN: They did reduce the total number... REPRESENTATIVE GREEN: I don't know the number, but they did reduce it... MR. LOGAN: Slightly, ya. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Excuse me, Mr. Chairman. That's the number of employees, not the number of legislators. CHAIRMAN PORTER: (Indisc.) number of elected legislators. MR. LOGAN: Their ballot question allowed the legislature to set their level between 30 and 50 members and they started out with 43. Right now, they're at 49. Another point, Mr. Chairman that I might bring up that no one else has but we'll be considering this, is the drafters, just this morning after talking several times with Representative Green and them on this, is they think maybe an odd number -- the Bradner bill in 1975 had 59 -- either an odd number or allow the Lieutenant Governor to break ties because with 60, there's - you know - one body there. So that will be something we'll be looking at and bring back to the committee, if there's a need for that - session hearing. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Anybody who's in Alaska (indisc.) odd legislators. CHAIRMAN PORTER: At least we digress too far. If there is nothing further, for the information of the committee, we do have the second bill up for consideration at 1:30 so we'll have time to repair to our offices and get our acts together and go have lunch and see you at 1:30 p.m. TAPE 95-60, SIDE A Number 001 CHAIRMAN PORTER called the meeting back to order at 1:45 p.m. He announced that members present were Representatives Finkelstein, Porter, Green, Bunde and B. Davis.
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