Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 120
03/18/2005 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB131 | |
| HJR7 | |
| HB148 || HB101 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HJR 7 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 131 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 187 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 188 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 148 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 101 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HJR 7 - CONST AM: SEC. OF STATE REFERENCES CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 7, Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska to correct obsolete references to the office of secretary of state by substituting references to the office of lieutenant governor. 1:35:17 PM REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON, speaking as the sponsor, introduced HJR 7 by paraphrasing from a document titled, "OPENING STATEMENTS ON HJR 7", which read [original punctuation provided]: In the Congressional Act of July 24, 1897, federal law provided for the position of "surveyor general" for Alaska -- a person appointed by the president and subject to US Senate confirmation -- and, by the Act of June 6, 1900, creating Alaska as a District, assigned to the other duties of that officer additional duties as "secretary of the district" ex officio. The Congressional Act of March 3, 1925, abolished the surveyor general position but established the position as Secretary of the Territory. That statute required that the Secretary of the Territory be a resident "within the territory for which ...appointed" and hold office for a fixed term of four years. The secretary was to execute the powers and perform the duties of the territorial governor during the latter's vacancy or absence -- in other words, the secretary would serve as "Acting Governor." Basically, however, the secretary was charged to "preserve and record all the laws and proceedings" of the legislature and the governor, transmit laws adopted by the territorial legislature and other relevant documents to the Congress for review, and perform other specified duties. The Secretary of Alaska was, until superseded by the Secretary of State under the state constitution in January 1959, a federal officer, but the officer's role in the affairs of the territory was clearly a model for the Secretary of State's role under the new state constitution. In 1970 the legislature proposed and the voters of Alaska approved a series of amendments to the State constitution that changed the name of the office of "Secretary of State" to the office of "Lieutenant Governor". At that time, the drafting attorneys did not catch all of the references to Secretary of State". HJR 7 attempts to correct the two references to "Secretary of State" in the Alaska constitution that are left. The proposed amendments, if approved by the Legislature, would be placed before the voters in the next General Election. REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON characterized HJR 7 as a simple technical revision, and relayed that Legislative Legal and Research Services has requested this change to the Alaska State Constitution to alleviate any ambiguity that might be caused by the two remaining references to "secretary of state." He urged passage of [HJR 7]. 1:37:50 PM CHAIR McGUIRE, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HJR 7. REPRESENTATIVE KOTT referred to language on page 2, line 1, which says, "He", and said this seems to suggest that only males can be head of departments. He suggested that they change "He" to "They". 1:39:16 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted that language on page 1, line 10, also uses "he". He suggested that HJR 7 be amended such that all references to gender in the Alaska State Constitution be made gender neutral. REPRESENTATIVE KOTT posited that such a change might engender greater voter turnout. REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON agreed to such a change. VANESSA TONDINI, Staff to Representative Lesil McGuire, House Judiciary Standing Committee, Alaska State Legislature, pointed out, however, that such a change is not necessary because Article XII, Section 10, of the Alaska State Constitution says in part: "Personal pronouns used in this constitution shall be construed as including either sex." REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON, nonetheless, recommended that "he" be changed to "they" in Sections 1 and 2 of HJR 7. REPRESENTATIVE KOTT said he would prefer that change. 1:41:31 PM REPRESENTATIVE KOTT made a motion to adopt Amendment 1, to change page 1, line 10, such that it says, "while they were a member, and to change page 2, line 1, such that it says, "They". REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG opined, however, that conforming changes should be made throughout the constitutions. CHAIR McGUIRE asked whether there were any objections to Amendment 1. There being none, Amendment 1 was adopted. 1:42:35 PM REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON moved to report HJR 7, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. There being no objection, CSHJR 7(JUD) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
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