05/14/2005 04:33 PM Joint 094

HB  94-ELECTIONS/VOTERS/POLITICAL PARTIES                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SAMUELS announced  that  the only  order  of business  was                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO. 94, "An  Act relating to qualifications of voters,                                                               
requirements and procedures  regarding independent candidates for                                                               
President  and   Vice-President  of  the  United   States,  voter                                                               
registration and  voter registration records,  voter registration                                                               
through  a power  of attorney,  voter registration  using scanned                                                               
documents, voter  residence, precinct boundary and  polling place                                                               
designation  and  modification,   recognized  political  parties,                                                               
voters  unaffiliated  with  a   political  party,  early  voting,                                                               
absentee  voting,  application  for absentee  ballots  through  a                                                               
power  of  attorney,  or by  scanned  documents,  ballot  design,                                                               
ballot  counting, voting  by mail,  voting  machines, vote  tally                                                               
systems, initiative,  referendum, recall, and definitions  in the                                                               
Alaska Election  Code; relating  to incorporation  elections; and                                                               
providing  for an  effective date."   [Before  the committee  was                                                               
CSHB 94(FIN)am and SCS CSHB 94(STA).]                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SAMUELS  directed  attention  to  a  Conference  Committee                                                               
Substitute (CS)  for HB 94,  Version 24-GH1048\U.  He  noted that                                                               
the changes made in Version U deleted Sections 11, 12, and 13.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:34:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR THERRIAULT  pointed to  changes made by  the Senate.   He                                                               
said there  were technical changes requested  by [Laura Glaiser],                                                               
the director of the Division of  Elections.  He stated that there                                                               
had  been  a  section  of  the bill  that  proposed  a  different                                                               
criteria for qualifying as a party.   He said, "We stuck with the                                                               
current statutory language that was  just put in place last year;                                                               
it's  a cascading  mechanism that's  based  on 3  percent of  the                                                               
voter turnout."  He  said it used to be that  a small party could                                                               
hope to  meet the qualifications  every four years, based  on the                                                               
gubernatorial race.   Other standards  were put in last  year, he                                                               
said,  which  offered  the smaller  parties  the  opportunity  to                                                               
qualify once every two years, instead of once every four.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:35:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG  mentioned that there was  also language                                                               
that  conformed to  SB 36  regarding "the  broadest choice."   He                                                               
stated, "For  example, in  a Republican  primary in  a Republican                                                               
...  district, that  may be  the closed  primary, and  the person                                                               
might not be eligible to participate.   So, we took that language                                                               
out."                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:35:53 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR THERRIAULT explained, "There was  a reference to a ballot                                                               
that was  the creation of  a court  decision a couple  years ago,                                                               
but  it doesn't,  in fact,  exist in  the statutes  as they  read                                                               
today.  So, a sentence was taken out on that."                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:36:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GARY STEVENS moved to report CCS HB 94, Version 24-                                                                       
GH1048\U, out of committee with individual recommendations and                                                                  
the accompanying fiscal notes.  There being no objection, CCS HB
 was reported out of the Conference Committee.