05/10/2019 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

                   SB 71-2019 REVISOR'S BILL                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
1:09:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                               
SENATE BILL NO.  71, "An Act making corrective  amendments to the                                                               
Alaska Statutes as recommended by the revisor of statutes."                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:10:12 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JEAN MISCHEL,  Revisor of  Statutes, Legal  Services, Legislative                                                               
Affairs Agency, Alaska State Legislature,  introduced SB 71.  She                                                               
provided  context for  the bill  by  explaining that  Legislative                                                               
Legal Services  attempts to present  a revisor's bill  each year.                                                               
She noted that this has not  been possible the past few years due                                                               
to the  demands of special sessions.   She said this  explains SB
's considerable size,  weighing in at 102 sections.   She noted                                                               
that  AS 01.05.036  requires the  Legislative  Affairs Agency  to                                                               
review existing statutes for  errors, deficiencies, conflicts, or                                                               
obsolete provisions and to recommend  improvements related to the                                                               
form and substance  of the law according to  the current drafting                                                               
manual standards.   She addressed the  sectional summary document                                                               
included in the committee packet.   She characterized many of the                                                               
changes  proposed in  SB 71  as  "fairly minor  and technical  in                                                               
nature," including the addition and  removal of commas.  She said                                                               
one of the larger changes would  be the removal of all references                                                               
to telegraphs.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:12:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN  noted  that  the   committee  received  an  e-mail                                                               
pertaining to language  located on page 14, line 14  of the bill.                                                               
He pointed out that one mention  of a telegraph is proposed to be                                                               
removed but another is not.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MISCHEL observed  that  the second  mention  of a  telegraph                                                               
should also  be removed.   She suggested that  it can be  done so                                                               
via a conceptual amendment.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN  said he does  not intend for  the bill to  be moved                                                               
out of  committee today.  He  asked her to request  the change be                                                               
made  so that  the committee  could take  it up  as an  amendment                                                               
during the next hearing.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:13:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. MISCHEL said  SB 71 also contains changes  to some references                                                               
to federal law.   She explained that one of  these references was                                                               
an error  while another was  to the Code of  Federal Regulations,                                                               
which  is  discouraged  as  it  can be  changed  and  be  out  of                                                               
alignment with  legislative intent.   She said  SB 71  would also                                                               
delete  cross references  to statutes  that  have been  repealed.                                                               
She explained  it would  also update  references to  agency names                                                               
that  have since  changed.   She  stated that  SB  71 would  also                                                               
consolidate repetitious definitions,  insert missing definitions,                                                               
and repeal  definitions of terms  no longer  used.  She  said the                                                               
drafters  have also  eliminated  "but not  limited to"  following                                                               
"including," as  that is  provided for in  AS 01.10.040(b).   She                                                               
said  references  to "Alaska  state"  or  "this state"  would  be                                                               
changed to  "the state."  She  said some terms would  be reworded                                                               
to fit their definitions.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MISCHEL noted  that the  most significant  technical changes                                                               
proposed  in   SB  71  pertain   to  AS  17.38,   "the  marijuana                                                               
initiative."   She  explained  that the  person  who drafted  the                                                               
marijuana  initiative  was  not  necessarily  familiar  with  the                                                               
Manual of Legislative Drafting, to  which SB 71 would conform the                                                             
language.  As  an example, she pointed out that  instances of the                                                               
words "shall  not" would be replaced  with "may not."   She noted                                                               
that  SB 71  would also  remove obsolete  provisions of  AS 17.38                                                               
pertaining to  the possible adoption of  regulations because they                                                               
were dependent  upon a  2015 date  that is long  past and  has no                                                               
future  significance.   She noted  that all  the provisions  that                                                               
would  be  repealed by  SB  71  are listed  in  the  back of  the                                                               
sectional summary document.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:16:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN asked  if obsolete  references to  things                                                               
like  telegraphs  and telegrams  would  be  replaced with  modern                                                               
equivalents such as e-mail.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. MISCHEL said SB 71 is  not a bill to substitute language; its                                                               
purpose  is  to clean  up  language.   She  said  if  there is  a                                                               
provision  that he  thinks  should contain  reference  to a  more                                                               
modern  form of  communication, that  can be  accomplished via  a                                                               
substantive bill.   She noted that the  affected provisions often                                                               
contain references  to another form  of communication, such  as a                                                               
telephone or facsimile machine.   She said the exceptions to that                                                               
are the  provisions relating to  crimes involving  transmittal of                                                               
telegrams.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN  asked about  the  process  by which  the                                                               
revisor's bill is created.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. MISCHEL  said it is a  laborious process.  She  described how                                                               
drafting attorneys comb  the titles assigned to  them for errors,                                                               
then  submit memoranda  suggesting corrections  or modifications.                                                               
She  explained  that  the  revisor   of  statutes  also  receives                                                               
suggested changes  from the  publisher and  office editors.   She                                                               
said it  is ultimately a  group decision between the  revisor and                                                               
the  assist revisors  about  which provisions  can  or should  be                                                               
corrected by  way of  the revisor's  bill.   She noted  that some                                                               
corrections  require   substantive  changes,  so  they   are  not                                                               
included in the revisor's bill.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN asked  what  happens  to the  recommended                                                               
changes that do not appear in the revisor's bill.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MISCHEL  said  some  end   up  in  substantive  bills  if  a                                                               
legislator or committee requests a  change to a section where one                                                               
was  identified.   She  clarified that  this  is something  Legal                                                               
Services will discuss  with the bill's prime sponsor.   She noted                                                               
that,  most  frequently,  Legislative  Legal  Services  asks  the                                                               
Department of Law (DOL) to  include recommended changes in one or                                                               
more of its bills submitted by the governor.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:20:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN opened public testimony on SB 71.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:21:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DONALD BULLOCK stressed the importance  of the revisor's bill and                                                               
commended  the  revisor's  team  for  the work  it  has  done  in                                                               
drafting  it.    He  spoke   to  the  importance  of  maintaining                                                               
consistency  across  all   statutes  regarding  style,  language,                                                               
punctuation, and  other elements.   He noted that  those elements                                                               
contribute to  the way statutes  are interpreted and  offered the                                                               
example  of  a  term  that  could  potentially  have  conflicting                                                               
definitions across  different statutes.   He asked  the committee                                                               
to expeditiously pass the bill.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN  noted that  Mr.  Bullock  is  the person  who  had                                                               
alerted  the committee  about the  overlooked telegraph  language                                                               
mentioned earlier.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:22:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN, after  ascertaining  that no  one  else wished  to                                                               
testify, closed public testimony on SB 71.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:22:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN   drew  attention   to  Section   29  and                                                               
recommended the committee eliminate it from the bill or--                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN interjected that the  committee would not act on the                                                               
bill today.  He said the plan is  to take up the bill at the next                                                               
meeting.   He  said  if  a committee  member  wants  to offer  an                                                               
amendment,  it  must  be  submitted  to  his  office  by  9  a.m.                                                               
tomorrow.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN  said he is  not looking for  an amendment                                                               
at this  point.  He  observed that the  wording in Section  29 is                                                               
such that it  might impact policy.  He said  the committee should                                                               
decide whether  it wants to treat  it as a policy  change and, if                                                               
not, he would entertain an amendment to remove it.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN  said the only  way to meaningful address  the issue                                                               
is to propose an amendment.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:24:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN  announced that the  committee would hold SB  71 for                                                               
further review.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MISCHEL  asked   if  he  would  like   the  proposed  change                                                               
pertaining  to  telegraphs  to  be  included as  part  of  a  new                                                               
committee substitute (CS).                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN said it would be  better if it were presented in the                                                               
form  of  an   amendment  so  as  to  allow   other  members  the                                                               
opportunity to offer amendments of their own.