Legislature(2019 - 2020)GRUENBERG 120
05/11/2019 09:30 AM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB71 | |
| HB115 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 71 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 115 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
May 11, 2019
9:35 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Matt Claman, Chair
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Adam Wool
Representative Laddie Shaw
Representative David Eastman
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative Steve Thompson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 71
"An Act making corrective amendments to the Alaska Statutes as
recommended by the revisor of statutes."
- MOVED HCS SB 71(JUD) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 115
"An Act relating to absentee voting; and providing for an
effective date."
- MOVED HB 115 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 71
SHORT TITLE: 2019 REVISOR'S BILL
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
03/01/19 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/01/19 (S) STA, JUD
04/12/19 (S) STA REFERRAL WAIVED
04/29/19 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/29/19 (S) Heard & Held
04/29/19 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
05/01/19 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
05/01/19 (S) Moved SB 71 Out of Committee
05/01/19 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
05/02/19 (S) JUD RPT 3DP 2NR
05/02/19 (S) DP: HUGHES, MICCICHE, KIEHL
05/02/19 (S) NR: SHOWER, REINBOLD
05/03/19 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
05/03/19 (S) VERSION: SB 71
05/06/19 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/06/19 (H) JUD
05/10/19 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/10/19 (H) Heard & Held
05/10/19 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
05/11/19 (H) JUD AT 9:30 AM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 115
SHORT TITLE: ABSENTEE VOTING
SPONSOR(s): TUCK
03/27/19 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/27/19 (H) STA, JUD
04/02/19 (H) STA AT 4:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/02/19 (H) Scheduled but Not Heard
04/04/19 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/04/19 (H) Heard & Held
04/04/19 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/09/19 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/09/19 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/18/19 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/18/19 (H) Moved HB 115 Out of Committee
04/18/19 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/22/19 (H) STA RPT 3DP 1NR
04/22/19 (H) DP: STORY, FIELDS, KREISS-TOMKINS
04/22/19 (H) NR: WOOL
05/01/19 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/01/19 (H) Heard & Held
05/01/19 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
05/03/19 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/03/19 (H) Scheduled but Not Heard
05/06/19 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/06/19 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
05/08/19 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/08/19 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
05/10/19 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/10/19 (H) Heard & Held
05/10/19 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
05/11/19 (H) JUD AT 9:30 AM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS TUCK
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the hearing on HB 115, as
the bill's prime sponsor.
GAIL FENUMIAI, Director
Division of Elections
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
115.
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:35:28 AM
CHAIR MATT CLAMAN called the House Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. Representatives Wool, Shaw,
Stutes, and Claman were present at the call to order.
Representative Eastman arrived as the meeting was in progress.
SB 71-2019 REVISOR'S BILL
9:36:10 AM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the first 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." He
announced that the committee would take up amendments to the
bill. He stated for the record that Legislative Legal Services
has permission to make any technical or conforming changes to
the bill.
9:36:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES moved to adopt Amendment 1, labeled 31-
LS0095\S.1, Mischel, 5/10/19, which read as follows:
Page 14, line 14:
Delete "or telegraph"
Insert "[OR TELEGRAPH]"
CHAIR CLAMAN objected for purposes of discussion. He noted that
Amendment 1 is the result of discussions from the previous bill
hearing and that it is supported by the revisor of statutes.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES explained that the amendment would remove
a mention of the word "telegraph" from statute.
CHAIR CLAMAN removed his objection. There being no further
objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
9:37:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES moved to adopt Amendment 2, labeled 31-
LS0095\S.2, Mischel, 5/10/19, which read as follows:
Page 20, following line 31:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 54. AS 15.80.010(1) is amended to read:
(1) "absent uniformed services voter" has
the meaning given in 52 U.S.C. 20310 [42 U.S.C.
1973ff-6];"
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
There being no objection, Amendment 2 was adopted.
9:38:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES moved to report SB 71, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, HCSSB 71(JUD) was
reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
HB 115-ABSENTEE VOTING
9:38:22 AM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 115, "An Act relating to absentee voting; and
providing for an effective date."
CHAIR CLAMAN relayed the events of the bill's preceding hearing,
wherein Amendments 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 failed. He noted that the
committee tabled Amendment 3 [moved for adoption by
Representative Eastman with an objection by Chair Claman left
pending] in order to seek answers to some outstanding questions.
9:39:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES moved to remove from the table Amendment
3, labeled 31-LS0213\A.3, Bullard, 5/2/19, which read as
follows:
Page 1, line 9:
Delete "or"
Page 1, line 11:
Delete "."
Insert "; or
(3) a person at an address to which an
absentee ballot is sent under this section provides
evidence satisfactory to the division that the voter
to whom the absentee ballot was sent no longer lives
or receives mail at the address."
There being no objection, Amendment 3 was before the committee.
9:39:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS TUCK, Alaska State Legislature, the bill's
prime sponsor, said he would like to confirm that if someone
were to write "not at this address" on an absentee ballot
envelope and return it through the mail, the ballot would
qualify as "undeliverable" and therefore would be covered by the
bill as drafted.
CHAIR CLAMAN asked if it is Representative Tuck's view that
Amendment 3 is unnecessary.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK said yes. He added that he would like to
confirm that with DOE.
9:40:10 AM
GAIL FENUMIAI, Director, Division of Elections, Office of the
Lieutenant Governor, confirmed that she has reviewed HB 115 and
Amendment 3. She said DOE, upon considering information
received from someone residing at an address where a ballot was
sent, would determine that the voter's condition status should
be changed to "undeliverable." She noted that DOE would not
know that a voter's status should be changed if the ballot is
not returned by the person who now lives at the address.
CHAIR CLAMAN asked if DOE has existing regulations for how to
determine whether a ballot is undeliverable and how to address
such a situation.
MS. FENUMIAI said she cannot recall if there are regulations.
She said that when DOE receives mail returned as undeliverable
by the United States Postal Service, DOE can change that voter's
condition status to "undeliverable." She said [returned mail]
is also one of the factors used by DOE when it conducts its list
maintenance process according to federal law.
CHAIR CLAMAN asked for verification that DOE's list maintenance
is governed by federal law requirements and not by state law.
MS. FENUMIAI said that is correct. She mentioned that the State
of Alaska's (SOA) list maintenance laws are formulated based on
federal law in the National Voter Registration Act.
9:42:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked Ms. Fenumiai to confirm that
Amendment 3 would be redundant.
MS. FENUMIAI answered, "I believe so." She said if the
individual who now resides at the address contacts DOE and says,
"this person no longer lives here," DOE would ask the individual
to indicate that on the envelope and return it through the mail.
She said DOE would accept that as an undeliverable ballot.
9:43:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL noted that a question was raised at a
previous hearing about how much it costs to mail out a ballot.
He relayed that Representative Eastman had said it costs $2.50.
Representative Wool explained that the implication was that for
every ballot not sent out, the savings to DOE is $2.50. He said
he would like to verify that information.
MS. FENUMIAI said the dollar amount provided to Representative
Eastman on was the per ballot cost of all envelopes,
instructions, and postage, plus printing costs. She said DOE
would be saving $2.50 based on the last batch of printing it did
if it did not have to send out an individual ballot.
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked if it as simple as a per ballot cost,
or if $2.50 is the cost of "the whole program" and DOE would not
necessarily save that much money if it were to send out 5 or 10
or 100 fewer ballots.
MS. FUNUMIAI answered that $2.50 is the cost of a per ballot
package based on an average of supplies ordered over the past
several years. She clarified that it is probably not a
consistent per ballot charge. She noted that DOE would still
have supplies available as it orders its materials in bulk.
9:45:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES said she was going to ask whether there
are leftover supplies after DOE sends out its ballots, but the
answer has already been provided. She said that would reduce
the per ballot cost.
CHAIR CLAMAN posited that the one fixed cost for absentee
ballots is the postage. He commented that ordering materials in
bulk results in per piece savings.
9:45:53 AM
CHAIR CLAMAN maintained his objection to adopting Amendment 3.
He noted that the prime sponsor of HB 115 no longer supports the
adoption of Amendment 3.
A roll call vote was taken. Representative Wool, Shaw, Stutes,
and Claman voted against adopting Amendment 3. Therefore,
Amendment 3 failed by a vote of 0-4.
9:47:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked if the question of special elections
raised at the previous hearing was resolved. He noted that the
bill calls for absentee ballots to be sent for all [future
regularly scheduled state elections]. He said he does not know
if that would include special elections.
CHAIR CLAMAN asked Ms. Fenumiai if absentee voters would
automatically receive a ballot for special elections should the
bill, as proposed, become law.
MS. FENUMIAI noted that she is not an attorney, but her
interpretation of the term "regularly" means a consistently
scheduled election. She clarified that this would mean only
state primaries and state general elections.
9:48:10 AM
CHAIR CLAMAN asked whether Representative Tuck would prefer that
the bill be held so that an amendment resolving the special
election question can be drafted and offered, or if he would
prefer trying to amend the bill when it reaches the House floor.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK said he thinks a floor vote on changing the
language to "all state elections" would be noncontroversial.
CHAIR CLAMAN said it sounds like Representative Tuck is
comfortable with the committee moving the bill.
9:49:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN noted that HB 115 would expand the
frequency of absentee voting. He expressed concern that the
bill does not include any additional checks against fraud nor
provisions ensuring cost-effectiveness.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES commented that she is happy that HB 115
would enable people who do not currently vote to vote. She
opined that it is a good thing for the people of Alaska. She
thanked Representative Tuck for bringing it forward.
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL echoed Representative Stutes's comments. He
said he is not concerned with "erring on the side of too many
ballots."
CHAIR CLAMAN echoed those sentiments. He relayed that he
recently saw a photo from 1994 of long lines of South Africans
waiting to vote in that country's first free and open elections.
He noted that voter turnout was approximately 95 percent. He
said he wishes the United States of America could generate a
voter turnout rate like that. He noted that there has been a
significant increase in participation in municipal elections in
the Municipality of Anchorage ever since it switched to mail-in
voting. He opined that anything that improves voting is good
for democracy.
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW echoed the positive values of HB 115. He
opined, "We probably could save a lot more money with this bill
than we can with the amount of amendments that sometimes follow
through on a bill, so I think we are way ahead of the game by
passing this bill."
9:51:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES moved to report HB 115 out of committee
with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note. There
being no objection, HB 115 was reported from the House Judiciary
Standing Committee.
9:52:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL thanked the committee for passing HB 123 out
of committee during the previous meeting. He noted that he
misspoke during the previous hearing when he said electric-
assist bicycles help "elderly people" and clarified that he
meant "older people" including people in his age bracket that
may want to do more bicycle riding.
9:53:28 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:53 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB071 ver S 5.10.19.PDF |
HJUD 5/10/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
SB 71 |
| SB071 Sponsor Statement 5.10.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/10/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
SB 71 |
| SB071 Sectional Summary 5.10.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/10/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
SB 71 |
| SB071 Supporting Document-Statutory Instruction 5.10.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/10/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
SB 71 |
| SB071 Supporting Document-Department of Law Approval 5.10.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/10/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
SB 71 |
| SB071 Fiscal Note LAW-CIV 5.10.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/10/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
SB 71 |
| SB071 Amendments #1-2 5.11.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
SB 71 |
| SB071 Amendments #1-2 HJUD Final Votes 5.11.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
SB 71 |
| HB115 ver A 5.1.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/1/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/3/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/6/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/10/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
HB 115 |
| HB115 Amendments #1-6.pdf |
HJUD 5/3/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/6/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/10/2019 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
HB 115 |
| HB115 Amendments #1-6 HJUD Final Votes 5.11.19.pdf |
HJUD 5/11/2019 9:30:00 AM |
HB 115 |