Legislature(2015 - 2016)Anch LIO Auditorium
05/26/2015 04:00 PM House LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
MAY 26, 2015
4:15 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Representative Bob Herron, Vice Chair
Senator John Coghill
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Kevin Meyer
Senator Peter Micciche
Representative Mike Chenault
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Sam Kito
Representative Charisse Millett
Representative Mark Neuman
Representative Steve Thompson, alternate
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Anna MacKinnon
Senator Lesil McGuire, alternate
Representative Mike Hawker
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
Representatives Guttenberg, Vazquez, Wilson and Drummond
AGENDA
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
RATIFICATION OF CHARITY EVENTS
CONTRACT APPROVALS - OVR LEASE RENEWAL
FY 16 AGENCY BUDGET CUT APPROVAL
OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
SPEAKER REGISTER
Pam Varni, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs Agency
4:15:37 PM
I. CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Legislative Council meeting
to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Anchorage Legislative
Information Office Auditorium. Present at the call were
Senators Meyer, Coghill, Huggins, Micciche, and Stevens;
Representatives Kito, Millett, and Herron. Representatives
Chenault, Johnson, Neuman and Thompson, alternate member,
joined the meeting after the roll call. Senators Hoffman,
MacKinnon, and McGuire, alternate member, and
Representative Hawker were absent.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
4:16:37 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
the agenda as presented.
The agenda was approved with no objections.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. April 2, 2015
b. April 9, 2015
c. April 13, 2015
4:16:48 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
the minutes of April 2, April 9, and April 13, 2015,
meetings as presented.
CHAIR STEVENS asked members if there were any corrections
to or comments about the minutes presented. There were no
corrections or comments.
The minutes were approved as presented with no objections.
IV. RATIFICATION OF CHARITY EVENTS
th
a. Kenai Peninsula Fair 10 Annual Celebrity Waiter Event
b. Hospice & Home Care of Juneau - An Evening of Beer and
Wine Tasting
c. Kenai River Sportfishing Assoc. - Kenai River Jr.
Classic, Kenai River Classic, and Kenai River Women's
Classic
d. Outdoor Heritage Foundation of Alaska - Midnight Sun
Charity Shoot
e. Legislative Skits
rd
f. Alaska Resource Education 23 Annual Coal Classic Golf
Tournament
g. Juneau Friends of the NRA Spring Fundraising Banquet
4:17:13 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council ratify the
Chair's sanctioning of the following charitable events per
AS 24.60.080(a)(2)(b):
Kenai Peninsula Fair 10th Annual Celebrity Waiter Event;
Hospice & Home Care of Juneau - An Evening of Beer and Wine
Tasting;
Kenai River Sportfishing Assoc. - Kenai River Jr. Classic,
Kenai River Classic, and Kenai River Women's Classic;
Outdoor Heritage Foundation of Alaska - Midnight Sun
Charity Shoot;
Legislative Skits;
Alaska Resource Education 23rd Annual Coal Classic Golf
Tournament; and
Juneau Friends of the NRA Spring Fundraising Banquet.
CHAIR STEVENS noted that all of the above organizations
have 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
The motion passed with no objections.
V. OVR LEASE APPROVAL
4:18:36 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
Renewal No. 3 of the Lease Extension with L92 LLC for OVR
for $53,963.64 for July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016.
CHAIR STEVENS objected for discussion.
PAM VARNI, Executive Director of the Legislative Affairs
Agency, said that Renewal Lease No. 2 would expire on June
30, 2015, and what was before Council was Renewal Lease No.
3 for the period of July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016, for the
Office of Victims' Rights. OVR has been in this space since
2002.
SENATOR COGHILL asked if, after this renewal, there was one
more lease extension and then the whole contract would have
to be renewed.
MS. VARNI confirmed that was her understanding and that
then the Agency would go out to bid for a new lease
contract.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO asked for clarification that Renewal
No. 3 was indeed the last renewal of the current lease.
Some discussion followed about whether there were
additional lease renewals available after Renewal No. 3.
The Procurement Officer was not available and Ms. Varni
said she would get back to the Chair with that information.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Coghill, Huggins, Micciche, Chenault, Johnson, Kito,
Millett, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion passed 9-0.
[Senator Meyer was not present for the vote.]
VI. FY 16 AGENCY BUDGET CUT APPROVAL
4:22:46 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
the presented FY 16 budget cuts prepared by the Executive
Director to Administrative Services, Information &
Teleconference, and Legal & Research Services.
CHAIR STEVENS objected for discussion.
MS. VARNI described for members the details in her May 19,
2015, memo summarizing the FY 16 budget reductions made to
Administrative Services, Information & Technology, and
Legal & Research Services in the total amount of
$1,718,700. She said the reduction results in 23 less
positions for the Agency in FY 16. Administrative Services
component for the last two years has lapsed $1,680 and
$3,669 in FY 14 and FY 15 respectively. The FY 16 reduction
has also resulted in a reduction in dues to legislative
organizations, travel, commodities, and equipment.
She said that in past practices, Legislative Council has
approved any reductions to the Legislative Information
Offices throughout the state. Due to the FY 16 budget
reductions, the Agency has proposed two Legislative
Information Assistant positions go from 12 months to 6
months - one in the Fairbanks LIO and one in the Mat-Su
LIO. Further, the Agency proposes to reduce two Information
Officer positions from 12 months to 6 months - one in the
Barrow LIO and one in the Kotzebue LIO; in this Senate
district, there are currently three year-round LIOs. The
majority of Senate districts have one LIO that is year-
round and the other are session-only LIOs. With this
proposed reduction, the Senate district for Senator Donny
Olson would go from three year-round LIOs to one year-round
LIOs and two session-only LIOs.
CHAIR STEVENS said this was a very complex issue and it was
very painful to make these reductions. He asked Ms. Varni
to provide further detail about the 23 positions eliminated
from the Legislative Affairs Agency on the record so that
everyone knows that we are talking about real jobs.
MS. VARNI said that one of the positions was a Supply
Assistant and was also the Capitol Tour Coordinator as well
as nine Capitol Tour Guides were eliminated. She said that
she received direction from the Senate Finance Committee to
eliminate the tour guide operation. The Agency has
conducted more than 14,000 guided tours during the 2014
visitor season and many thousands more that do self-guided
tours. She noted that this year and next, due to the
exterior remodel of the Capitol, tours are not being
allowed to ensure the safety of both the visitors and the
construction workers, especially with no tour guides to
help with that issue.
Ms. Varni said that out of the 23 positions eliminated,
three were vacant: a Machine Operator in the Print Shop and
two Custodian positions. She noted that this reflects that
the Agency had been utilizing all their positions. She went
on to say that three positions were eliminated in Research
as well as several positions in Information Services and a
Maintenance worker. The FY 16 budget reduction has really
impacted the Agency. She said LAA went through some major
budget cuts in 1985 when oil prices went down and the
Agency hasn't been faced with the elimination of so many
positions since then. She said it has been very difficult
and the staff in those eliminated positions have been given
their layoff notices.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO said he wanted to remind everyone here,
understanding the fiscal situation that the State is in,
that each one of those 23 positions is an individual, an
individual with children and families that are trying to
make a living and 23 jobs that will not be available in
Juneau, or at least a fair number of them. He said he
thought about the dramatic decrease in spending on Research
and Legal and their ability to support all 60 Legislators;
hoping that we were going to be able to provide the
services that we have in the past but also recognizing that
this, among other State agency cuts, is going to be a
significant impact to his community. Specifically regarding
the Capitol tours, he said it was very important to
understand that 14,000 tourists come through the Capitol in
a normal season; he said he hoped that we would have the
ability to somehow provide for tours, to have people
understand the importance of the Capitol in Juneau and
would welcome working with the Executive Director over the
next two years to figure out a way to have guided tours in
the Capitol City.
CHAIR STEVENS said he appreciated the Representative's
underlying of that issue - these are real people with real
jobs, many of them, and when one looks through the list,
one would see people that have impacted all Legislators in
Research, Legal and the Help Desk. He said they would feel
the pinch, although obviously not as these individuals will
be, but we understand the impact it will have on the
community. He said these are real cuts that end in 23 less
positions.
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked for clarification on the vote -
a yes vote is to accept the reductions? Chair Stevens
confirmed that a yes vote was to accept the reductions and
all of the eliminations listed as well as the reductions to
the LIOs listed on the second page.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Coghill, Huggins, Micciche, Chenault, Johnson,
Millett, Neuman, Thompson, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: Kito
The motion passed 10-1.
VII. OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a. Lawsuit Update by Doug Gardner
b. Anchorage LIO Security
4:32:40 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council go into
Executive Session under Uniform Rule 22 (b)(3) and (4) for
the discussion of a matter that may, by law, be required to
be confidential; and for the discussion of a matter the
public knowledge of which would adversely affect the
security of a governmental unit. He asked that the
following individuals remain online: Doug Gardner and Linda
Hay; and that the following individuals remain in the room:
Pam Varni, Katrina Matheny, Steve Daigle and Mike Warenda.
Also, any Legislators that are not on Legislative Council
may remain in the room.
The motion passed with no objections and Legislative
Council went into Executive Session.
5:41:05 PM
Legislative Council came out of Executive Session.
CHAIR STEVENS advised members that the next Legislative
Council meeting would be in late June.
There being no further business before the committee, the
Legislative Council meeting was adjourned at 5:42 p.m.
NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, there is no audio
recording of the meeting after Legislative Council came out
of Executive Session.
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