Legislature(1995 - 1996)
04/04/1995 08:07 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
SB 5 - COLOR OF PRIMARY BALLOTS Number 122 CHAIR JAMES said that in the committee packets they have the original bill that came over from the Senate. It was the State Affairs Committee substitute for SB 5, and a question came up from Representative Willis about which version, the original or Version K. The committee packets only had the CS, Version K. Chair James asked the sponsor which documents were the correct ones to use. Number 163 JOSH FINK, Legislative Assistant to Senator Kelly, did not have the same packet as the committee. He put together his own packet, and he said that he could tell the committee what sections came over in the original bill from the Senate. The letter number was G. CHAIR JAMES focused on the House Concurrent Resolution with a prospective CS behind it, Version K, which is a work draft provided by the sponsor. She said that some of the suggestions in the House Concurrent Resolution are nearly identical to items included in HB 211 on Voter Registration, which is Representative Con Bundes bill. There are also similarities in Representative Jerry Mackies bill that is presently in House Rules. Number 190 MR. FINK said he was testifying on Senator Kelly's behalf, because Senator Kelly was unable to be there. What the committee had before them was a proposed CS by Senator Kelly for their consideration. The original Senate Bill as it passed the Senate is contained in Section 8, 9 and 10. These sections require that primary ballots be printed on white paper, to prevent the invasion of voting secrecy that has occurred with different colored ballots in the last primary election. It will also require changing one half of the voting booths in each polling place. Rather than using the new suitcase booths, which lack privacy, the booths will require curtains. According to the Division of Elections they have enough booths so availability of curtained booths is not a problem, and there is a zero fiscal note on those sections. The remainder of the proposed CS contains new provisions and is accompanied by a proposed committee resolution to allow for a title change. Mr. Fink said Senator Kelly believes, if we are going to enact any voting reform, it should occur this year, and, in particular, not in a voting year. Session is nearly on its eightieth day and this is the only election form bill that has passed from one body and came to the other. After the Lieutenant Governors Transition Team report on the Division of Elections came out, Senator Kelly perused that, then incorporated into the CS the provisions he thought were nonpartisan and noncontroversial. He met with Lieutenant Governor Ulmer to discuss these provisions, who is in agreement. The next thing is to speak with the Division of Elections. Senator Kelly would urge the committee to accept the drafted resolution for the title change and adopt the CS. MR. FINK requested permission from Chair James to briefly review the provisions of the bill. After being granted permission, he began with Section 1. Section 1 provides that the information provided when voting a question ballot constitutes a change of address request and/or registration for future elections. Currently, another form is used. Sections 2 and 3 provide that the director of the division must purge deceased voters and felons promptly after receiving such information, and at least once a month thereafter. Sections 2 and 3 are the only sections in this proposed CS that are contained in Representative Con Bundes bill. Section 4 provides that the division director is directly responsible for the hiring, performance and evaluation, promotion, termination, and all other employee matters in the division. Section 5 and 23 go together to enact the same change. They provide that all division employees, except for the division director and four regional directors, are classified employees. Since putting together the CS, Senator Kelly met with Lieutenant Governor Ulmer and discussed it with her at length. There is an amendment on these sections, and Mr. Fink asked that they hold consideration on the bill until the Division of Elections explains the reason for the amendment. Section 6 strengthens the training requirements of the division staff, requiring the director to prepare a plan for the Lieutenant Governor describing the comprehensive training provided to the division employees during the calendar year. Section 7 provides that on the ballots the order of names be randomly selected within each district rather than rotating names. If there are 40 house districts, there are 40 different ballots, and in each house district you would have a random selection, so your statewide candidates would have a different order. From talking to people, Senator Kelly said the rotation of names has a negligible affect, if any at all. Random selection will save the division about $100,000 to $200,000 dollars. Number 260 REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN PORTER asked about random selection and what they compared it with in their analysis. Number 265 MR. FINK said they compared it to the rotation selection, and the comparison study was done on a national level. Many states have eliminated the alphabetical rotation of names because of the cost. He went on to explain the changes in Sections 8 and 9, which provides that half the voting booths in each precinct be the curtain booths. Section 10 requires that all ballots be white. Sections 11 through 22, which, he explained, are contained in Representative Mackies bill that is presently in House Rules. Representative Mackie met with the Speaker and Senator Kelly, and he indicated that he preferred Senator Kellys bill to be the vehicle. He has offered to help them. These Sections, 11 through 22, provide that all candidates must appear on primary ballots. He asked Chair James if it would be appropriate to hand out the amendments. CHAIR JAMES said he could do that. MR. FINK discussed the Lieutenant Governors concerns as per the transition reports. One was the depoliticization of the Division of Elections. Except for the four regional directors, this CS would put the employees in the civil service, or a classified service. The transition team had some concern that these employees would be in a bargaining unit, and political action committees could engage in behavior that gives the perception of impropriety. The amendment would have the hiring and promotion and termination rules, and personnel rules, in regulation apply to classified service, but the employees would not be in the classified service. They would be between classified and exempt. That is what the longer amendment achieves. Also, the CS would inadvertently put them in classified service and allow them to be involved in political activity at the precinct level. The first amendment would prohibit political activities by members of the division and put them in the status where the personnel rules would apply, yet they are not classified employees. They introduced the second amendment, which is the shorter one, at the request of the Lieutenant Governor would end the $.50 a registrar gets for registering someone to vote. It involves considerable paperwork administratively, and is time consuming; in addition, with the new federal motor voter law, it is illegal now to require witnesses on voter registration forms. This would eliminate the potential for fraud. Number 322 CHAIR JAMES determined from her committee aide and Mr. Fink that this bill only had a Finance referral after it left State Affairs. She said they would take testimony on the bill, but she felt uncomfortable adding all these things to a Senate Bill at this time, because they were very substantial amendments. She recalled that Mr. Fink had indicated that he filed a bill with these extras in the Senate. MR. FINK concurred, saying Senator Kelly introduced a bill to familiarize the Senate with the new provisions. He has no intentions of taking it to the Floor, but it is scheduled for hearings. It was scheduled to be heard in Senate State Affairs next week. His concern is that if we do not take action this year they will miss the opportunity altogether. Number 349 CHAIR JAMES said she did not think that serious election reform should be ramrodded through. She said this is an extensive bill to go through one committee of referral before going to Finance. Her plan was to take testimony, then let the committee decide on what to do with the bill. Number 357 DAVID KOIVUNIEMI, Acting Director, Division of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor wished to acknowledge, as per what Josh Fink said, that there was a meeting between Senator Kelly and Lieutenant Governor Ulmer. At that meeting they worked out the provisions and included them in the proposed amendment. Mr. Koivuniemi had some comments to make regarding particular sections of SB 5. First, in Section 1, until the 1994 primary and general election, the Division of Elections used the question ballot envelope as the registration document. However, the prior director changed that to not allow question ballot envelope to serve as a registration document. The intent for the upcoming presidential election is to reinstate the question ballot as a registration document. In presidential elections the 30 day registration period is waived and they can register on the day they vote. With regard to the section about deletions of felons, and death deletes, that is currently the practice of the Division of Elections, so no conflict exists. He brought up the concerns of Lieutenant Governor Ulmer and the transition team about putting them in classified service because they would enter into a bargaining unit that would be politically active, which is inappropriate. The purpose of the Lieutenant Governor and the transition team is to depoliticize the Division of Elections. That is why the amendment Mr. Fink described was requested. Number 420 MR. KOIVUNIEMI said he had previously testified on provisions that were included in Representative Jerry Mackies bill. The other deletion the division is proposing is the payments to the registrars, which Mr. Fink explained earlier in his testimony. They track payments to registrars by having them witness the registration document. Under the National Voter Registration Act, witnessing of voter registration is no longer required. CHAIR JAMES said the drafter of SB 5 was there and wondered if anyone had questions for the person. There were no questions, so she brought up the options they had when considering SB 5. Number 444 REPRESENTATIVE ED WILLIS voiced a request to hold the bill over until at least Thursday and deal with it at the next meeting. There are major provisions made to this bill, which they must consider, and he felt reluctant to make any decision on it. CHAIR JAMES asked the committee if they had any objections. Hearing none, Chair James said they would hold the bill until the next meeting, on Thursday, April 6. The next item on the agenda was HB 211, by Representative Con Bunde. SB 5 - ELECTION BALLOTS CHAIR JAMES said they would go back to revisit SB 5. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER stated that he believed both proposed amendments for identified M-4 and M-3 were acceptable as written. He moved that amendment M-3 be identified as Amendment 1, and move its adoption. Then he stopped and said he was getting ahead of things. Representative Porter then moved House CS for CS for SB 5, work draft Version K, as the committees work draft. There being no objection, the motion passed. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER then moved to identify M.3 dated 4/3/95 as Amendment 1, and move its adoption. There being no objections, the motion passed: Amendment 1 was approved. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER then moved that they identify amendment M.4 dated 4/3/95 as Amendment 2, and move its adoption. There being no objections, the motion passed: Amendment 2 was adopted. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER moved Amendment 3, to removed or delete the two appropriate sections, Section 2 and Section 3. Hearing no objections, the motion passed and Amendment 3 was approved. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER moved to pass from committee with individual recommendations and fiscal notes as attached, House CS for CS for SB 5, Version K, as amended. MR. FINK asked the committee that they again consider the resolution to change the title, which will now be necessitated. CHAIR JAMES asked if there was any objection to moving the bill out. Hearing no objections House CS for CS for SB 5, Version K, was passed. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER then moved that the committee adopt and move from committee the HCR, unnumbered /A, dated 3/27/95. There were no objections, so HCR unnumbered /A, dated 3/27/95 passed.
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