Legislature(1993 - 1994)
04/13/1993 08:00 AM House STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 256: PLACEMENT OF LEGISLATIVE INTERNS
Number 500
JUDY JORDAN, LEGISLATIVE AIDE TO REPRESENTATIVE GAIL
PHILLIPS, PRIME SPONSOR OF HB 256, explained how the
University of Alaska had joined with the legislature to
create the internship program and that since its inception
in 1987, several students have benefitted from the
experience, as staff gained needed help. However, she said,
the assignment of interns has not been done fairly, citing
statistics showing of the 56 interns selected in the first
five years of the program, only 12 went to Republican
members. House Bill 256 would modify AS 26.060 to mandate
an equity in the division of interns.
Number 526
REPRESENTATIVE G. DAVIS asked the inception date of the
program and whether all 10 slots were filled each year.
MS. JORDAN noted the inception date at 1987 and stated that
several slots remained open in past years.
Number 540
CHAIRMAN VEZEY stated his interpretation of AS 26.060
indicated interns would be assigned to standing committees,
and felt this was not being followed. He interpreted HB 256
to provide assignments to offices and committees, and that
it would allow proportional assignment by party.
Number 567
REPRESENTATIVE B. DAVIS asked why HB 256 was necessary.
MS. JORDAN reiterated the statistics showing only 12 interns
being assigned to Republicans.
Number 572
REPRESENTATIVE B. DAVIS stated that in past years,
Representatives have been given a choice whether or not they
wanted an intern, while at the same time, interns have been
given a choice as to who they wanted to work for. She
stated it is not right to force an intern to work for
someone they did not want to work for, and felt certain the
students and the university felt the same way.
MS. JORDAN stated those interns who wanted to work for a
certain party could apply early each year to make certain
they would get their choice, and that as the equally divided
slots filled up, they would eliminate the choice. She
thought it was beneficial to work for the other side, as she
had in a previous legislature. She noted that in the job
market, workers often had very little choice where they
might end up.
Number 618
CHAIRMAN VEZEY deemed freshmen legislators would be at a
disadvantage because of a lack of knowledge in the system,
and that it might be better for an intern to work for a
veteran anyway.
Number 625
REPRESENTATIVE B. DAVIS felt there was a need to educate
incoming legislators.
Number 630
MS. JORDAN stated there were several reasons for legislators
of any experience level not to choose an intern, including
the simple loss of office space.
Number 635
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT asked how many legislators applied for
an intern in 1993.
MS. JORDAN replied she did not know.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT wondered if the change in the
legislative makeup would have an impact on the distribution
of interns, and stated he would be interested in seeing the
1993 breakdown.
Number 652
MS. JORDAN said there had never been a legislator placed on
the intern selection committees, and noted the intent of the
legislation is not to force interns into working for an
office they did not want to be part of.
Number 685
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT asked how HB 256 would address the
possibility of three, four, or five independent or small
party representatives joining the House.
CHAIRMAN VEZEY noted the Uniform Rules stated any party with
five members in the house were to be treated as a minority
group.
TAPE 93-39, SIDE B
Number 000
MS. JORDAN said it would be impossible to allocate partial
internship positions to the smaller parties.
Number 012
REPRESENTATIVE JERRY SANDERS wondered if it would be
possible to find any Republican college students. He then
noted even if it was possible, that one of his own staffers
was a Democrat when he served as a House intern, and that
the staff member in particular had learned a lot, including
that he was, in reality, a Republican.
Number 038
MS. JORDAN noted it was a chance for interns from other
parties to cross over and learn a new point of view.
Number 045
REPRESENTATIVE HARLEY OLBERG stated it seemed to him to be a
chance for Young Democrats to "see the light."
Number 058
MS. JORDAN felt it was not staff's position to become
partisan anyway, that it was staff's position to reflect the
views and desires of the legislator.
Number 070
TINA PAGE, STUDENT INTERN FOR SENATOR JIM DUNCAN, testified
in opposition to HB 256, because it eliminated the option of
choosing who an intern could work for. She pointed out the
requirement that an intern be a junior in college, a time in
which many choices are made. She told the committee she
chose Senator Duncan's office based on what she could learn
most, based on advice from friends and former staffers, and
added that partisanship was the lowest on her list of
priorities.
Number 209
REPRESENTATIVE G. DAVIS asked if the independence of the
choice was the attractiveness of the internship program.
Number 221
MS. PAGE stated it was, that if she had been forced to go to
a particular office or party, she probably wouldn't have
entered the program.
Number 241
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT asked what Ms. Page's priorities were in
making her choice.
Number 264
MS. PAGE stated the likelihood the Democrats would form the
majority was the biggest factor, and pointed out her
decision was made prior to the organization's existence.
She felt most interns would go to the majority since that
would be where power would be concentrated.
Number 285
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT asked if the majority/minority decision
was more of a factor as opposed to partisanship.
Number 292
MS. PAGE replied in the affirmative.
Number 307
JOHN PUGH, DEAN OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA
SOUTHEAST, outlined the background of the program from its
inception in 1987. He stated the program was designed to be
non partisan, and that intern candidates were chosen on the
basis of academics. He stated when the program was
designed, it was decided to send information packets to all
legislators, general election candidates and students, and
then allow them to contact each other. As for the
distribution, he noted during the entire five year program,
109 Democrats and 59 Republicans applied for interns, and
that for 1993, the distribution was closer. He noted 18
Democrats, and 14 Republicans expressed an interest in
having an intern. He stated there was a leaning toward
placing students with a standing committee at first, which
also may account for the bias toward the Democrats, who were
in the majority four of the program's first five years.
Number 401
CHAIRMAN VEZEY saw three options for the legislature: To
either keep the practice as is, amend the practice, or amend
the law to conform with what's now being done. He asked Mr.
Pugh for a recommendation.
Number 410
MR. PUGH stated it was best for students to make the choice
of where to work, because it was an educational process in
itself. He also said the law should be amended to allow
students to work for legislators other than those on
standing committees.
Number 434
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT asked for more details on the selection
process.
Number 451
MR. PUGH stated there were handouts given to students, and
fliers tacked up on bulletin boards, as well as ads placed
in student newspapers, and active recruiting in political
science and journalism classes. He stated the program
allowed for ten interns, four from Fairbanks, four from
Anchorage, and two from Juneau.
Number 490
CHAIRMAN VEZEY asked for a detailing of the costs and whose
budget the funding was taken from.
MR. PUGH stated when the program started, funding was taken
from the Legislative Council. Then after two years, the
money was put into the university budget, which now pays for
a $3,000 stipend to students, transportation costs, and
$10,000 for supervision of the program.
Number 511
CHAIRMAN VEZEY noted in the statute, students were supposed
to be paid $30 a day, and that it seemed to him the figures
did not add up.
MR. PUGH stated in the beginning, students were given
$2,500, but that was not enough to cover living costs, so it
was raised. He stated the apparent discrepancy was there
because students were being paid for an average four day
week, even though they usually worked far more than that.
Number 541
MARY BOGARD, STUDENT INTERN, testified in opposition to HB
256. She stated the reason she chose the internship was
because of its educational value, and that the selection
process was part of that process. Her priorities included
looking at who would be in the majority or minority in the
House and Senate, and if they were sympathetic to single
mothers. Even though she was an independent, she was
eventually able to make a choice to work for a Republican.
She urged the committee to retain the non partisan aspects
of the program.
Number 586
CHAIRMAN VEZEY asked how she would evaluate the internship,
as a valuable addition to her work experience or as a
learning experience.
Number 597
MS. BOGARD felt the internship was some of both, but seeing
how the body worked was far more of an educational process.
She noted even though she is an older student, until she was
part of the legislative process, her perspective was much
the same of other people younger than her, that the
legislature does not work hard. She stated since joining
the internship program, that has changed.
Number 622
MARTHA KING, STUDENT INTERN TO SENATOR GEORGIANNA LINCOLN,
testified in opposition to HB 256. She stated no changes
were needed to the program. She noted she had been making
choices since high school, including the choice of where to
go to college, what to major in, even what instructors to
take. She stated she chose Senator Lincoln's office for a
reason and she wouldn't take the stipend nor join the
program had she been forced into another office.
Number 652
CHAIRMAN VEZEY asked how the Juneau experience compared to
classroom teaching.
Number 660
MS. KING stated the book version of the process was far
different from reality, and that the intent of the program
was to teach those differences. She stated the intensity of
the learning in Juneau was far tougher than in the classroom
in Fairbanks.
TAPE 93-40, SIDE A
Number 000
DEBBIE BANASYAK, STUDENT INTERN TO REPRESENTATIVE BETTYE
DAVIS, testified in opposition to HB 256. She placed a
premium on finding someone who agreed with her on the
issues, as well as finding someone who was aligned with the
Children's Caucus. She stated the selection process should
not be changed, because it was a learning experience in
itself.
Number 094
CHAIRMAN VEZEY noted it was unlikely HB 256 would pass in
1993, but asked the committee's pleasure.
Number 111
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT stated as a point of information that
the process would begin again next year, and if HB 256 did
not pass, the Legislature would be in violation of the law.
He suggested AMENDING HB 256 to DELETE line 20 from page
two, which required assignment to "standing committees."
Number 153
REPRESENTATIVE B. DAVIS agreed a change was needed, but
stated students must be given a choice in what standing
committee they might want to work for, and suggested
SUBSTITUTING the word "or" instead of "and", as stated in HB
256 and the existing statute.
Number 224
CHAIRMAN VEZEY noted the controversy seemed to center around
provisions for making assignments proportional to parties in
the House.
REPRESENTATIVE B. DAVIS stated she was OPPOSED to those
provisions.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT stated likewise.
Number 235
REPRESENTATIVE G. DAVIS urged committee members to also take
into account geographic preferences of students.
ADJOURNMENT
Number 259
CHAIRMAN VEZEY noted the House was less than ten minutes
from being called into session, and adjourned the meeting at
9:56 a.m.
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