Legislature(2015 - 2016)ANCH BENSON BLDG
12/20/2016 01:30 PM House LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
DECEMBER 20, 2016
1:33 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Representative Bob Herron, Vice Chair
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Kevin Meyer
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Sam Kito
MEMBERS ON TELECONFERENCE
Senator John Coghill
Senator Anna MacKinnon
Senator Peter Micciche
Representative Mike Chenault
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Lesil McGuire, alternate
Senator Cathy Giessel, alternate
Representative Mike Hawker
Representative Charisse Millett
Representative Mark Neuman
Representative Steve Thompson, alternate
Representative Harriet Drummond, alternate
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
Representatives David Guttenberg and Lora Reinbold
AGENDA
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CHANGES
MOVING AND TRAVEL POLICY CHANGES
ALLOWANCE POLICY CHANGE
CONTRACT APPROVALS
OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
(continued on next page)
SPEAKER REGISTER
Tim Banaszak, Information Technology Manager, Legislative
Affairs Agency
Jessica Geary, Finance Manager, Legislative Affairs Agency
Doug Gardner, Legal Services Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency
Steve Daigle, Chief of Security, Legislative Affairs Agency
Pam Varni, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs Agency
1:33:08 PM
I. CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Legislative Council meeting
to order at 1:33 p.m. in the Anchorage Legislative
Information Office Auditorium. Present at the call were
Senators Stevens, Hoffman, Meyer; Representatives Herron,
Johnson and Kito. Participating via teleconference were
Senators Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche; and Representative
Chenault. Absent were Senators Huggins, McGuire, alternate,
and Giessel, alternate; and Representatives Hawker,
Millett, Neuman, Thompson, alternate, and Drummond,
alternate.
Chair Stevens began the meeting by noting that it was the
last meeting with him as Chair of Legislative Council. He
thanked members for their service; specifically he thanked
Representative Herron for his work as the vice chair, and
Pam Varni and her wonderful staff who have been helpful and
supportive throughout his tenure.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
1:35:20 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
the agenda as proposed.
The agenda was approved without objection.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. September 1, 2016
b. November 1, 2016
c. November 21, 2016
1:35:33 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
the minutes of the September 1, 2016, November 1, 2016, and
November 21, 2016 minutes as presented.
The minutes were approved without objection.
IV. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CHANGES
a. Name Change
b. Facebook
a. Name Change
TIM BANASZAK, Information Technology Manager for the Alaska
Legislature, said that "IT" is a household word that people
are familiar with. IT has updated its websites but for
clarity purposes, some Legislative Council policies would
need to be updated with the name change. The goal was to
provide clear communication and which, in some cases, do
require action on the part of Legislators or legislative
staff. In order to facilitate that approach, IT was looking
to "brand" their communications. There were some recent
SPAM activities and clear, branded communications were
instrumental to ensure that Legislators and staff were made
aware of those activities.
There was no action required by Council and no objections
were made regarding the name change.
b. Facebook
1:39:59 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
expanded access to Facebook for Legislator's partisan staff
to emulate the access that is currently provided for
Legislators and non-partisan Agency staff.
MR. BANASZAK stated that Legislators and non-partisan
Agency staff currently have Facebook access. There is also
Facebook access on the Legislature's wireless network. If
someone wants to get to Facebook, they can get to Facebook.
Right now, partisan legislative staff are unable to access
Facebook from their legislative computers. The controls are
in place to allow access and which could be easily granted
if that is the decision. He said that by definition,
Facebook is an open and connected platform which can enable
direct interactions between the Legislature, the
Legislators, and Alaska's citizens. It can also be a timely
solution for communication, and a cost-effective way to
interact with constituents with what was originally a
social media vehicle. He brought to members' attention a
survey that was conducted of governmental entities whereby
87% of respondents said that their governmental entity had
a Facebook page; which sheds some light on the business
value; 91% of the respondents indicated that the primary
purpose of Facebook was to keep citizens informed. He
closed his testimony by saying that as with any other
vehicle of communication, when one is using Facebook it's
important to make sure that what's being communicated is
true, it's necessary, and it's relevant. There is a Social
Media Guide approved by Legislative Council to ensure an
informed staff does not inadvertently put out
communications they didn't intend to.
CHAIR STEVENS confirmed with Mr. Banaszak that the only
folks in the Capitol who do not have access to Facebook are
the partisan staff who work for the Legislators.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON stated that he has been opposed to
this since it was first brought up basically on the grounds
of ethics. We have some of the strictest ethics laws in the
nation; what one can do in some states in that survey would
be an ethics violation in Alaska. If we proceed with this,
he believed it was incumbent on this committee to make sure
that it would be part of the ethics training; and that a
line of accountability be set up that if a partisan staff
does something on Facebook that crosses that threshold of
campaigning, for example, that lays out who is responsible.
He said this was opening up Pandora's Box and opening up
the Legislature to more and more ethics complaints. He said
we are also going to need to start looking at the ethics
laws to address this issue; it is not a simple yes or no
solution to the problem. He also asked about other social
media outlets being allowed. He encouraged a lot of caution
in proceeding with this issue.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO said that it was timely from his
perspective in that he and his staff have been sharing a
laptop computer and every time someone else logs into the
laptop, he loses Facebook access and we have to call IT.
This was solved by disconnecting the laptop and using Wi-Fi
instead. He said his office uses it for communications.
While it is important to understand ethical considerations,
they do that every day with communication and Facebook is
another communication tool just as a telephone is. Just as
someone on Facebook might inadvertently do some campaign
activity, they might do the same on the telephone; with
Facebook, it's actually recorded and there is evidence with
which to identify and conduct an investigation much more
easily than telephone communication.
MR. BANASZAK, in response to the Chair's request for
additional information on ethical concerns and limiting
this action to Facebook, said that there are already so
many ways to get access to Facebook and other social media
options. He said that this issue isn't limited to Facebook
but really involves all social media. Users and staff have
been trained in using these vehicles of communication.
Whether Facebook is blocked for this group, it's possible
to access Facebook in other ways. Perhaps one approach is
to use the existing Social Media Policy to open up all
social media options in order to manage appropriately. In
response to a follow-up question by the Chair, Mr. Banaszak
confirmed this particular motion deals only with Facebook.
1:53:21 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MEYER, after a brief discussion, moved
that the original motion be amended to include all social
media (not just Facebook).
SENATOR MACKINNON said that there are probably some sites
to which we aren't going to want to allow access from state
computers.
MR. BANASZAK responded that IT has intentionally blocked
certain nefarious and/or inappropriate sites, and that
wouldn't change by allowing access to certain social media
options. As new venues for communication become available,
IT would take a cautious approach to allowing access. He
said they would be very specific to say which sites were
legitimate and which were not; for example, Twitter is a
legitimate way to keep the public informed. This motion
would not allow a wide-open gateway to just anything. In
response to a follow-up question, Mr. Banaszak said that
there would be technical controls in place so that one
could not get to nefarious sites. In addition, there would
be administrative controls that could act as guidelines to
social media.
SENATOR MACKINNON asked if a definition of social media had
been adopted so everyone had the same understanding. She
said she would speak in opposition to the current amendment
as proposed if there wasn't a caveat that whatever those
mechanisms are, IT will judiciously go through and look at
the site and make sure that the general public, under
general acceptable norms, communicate through that site,
and then come back to Council, as happens with certain
events, to approve and review recommended sites. She added
that she was also concerned that Council was possibly
showing a preference for Facebook, a for-profit company, in
limiting the Legislature's use over other social media
sites, which she didn't think was fair. In response to a
request for clarification, she said she supported a more
expansive approach, but not "all" - she was more apt to
support those that the general public is more familiar
with.
SENATOR MICCICHE said it might help if Mr. Banaszak could
clarify how some of the filters work. Simply opening access
to social media platforms doesn't mean one can click on any
file to open.
MR. BANASZAK said that the way IT monitors access to social
media, those types of platforms are actually categories of
service. IT can allow a category of communication service
in technical controls and can go further to allow Facebook
but, by default, continue to block a site like Tumblr.
Twitter may be permitted and that would be a technical
control to allow access. Malicious sites that nefariously
try to collect user information, or a pornographic sites
are all continuously blocked by filters and monitors.
Maintaining security is their top priority.
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON suggested an amendment to the
amendment to change "social media" to "limited social media
spectrum." This will make it clear that there are limits
and that it will be IT that determines the spectrum
available to users. Mr. Banaszak agreed that was a good
recommendation and language IT can work with.
MR. BANASZAK, in response to a question by Representative
Johnson about protecting Facebook accounts, said that IT
and the Legislature do not have the ability to control or
manage Facebook accounts. It is up to the user to employ
best practices, such as frequently changing passwords and
reporting any untoward activity to Facebook. Creating a
Facebook page is done independently of the IT systems; they
can monitor activity and report suspicions, but not much
beyond that. In response to a follow-up question, Mr.
Banaszak noted that legislative staff are able to access
Facebook through Wi-Fi, although they are not currently
able to access Facebook through their work computer. Mr.
Banaszak said that IT is able to have greater control with
the wired network.
SENATOR COGHILL said that Legislative Council has
specifically prohibited partisan staff from using Facebook,
so the term "Facebook" should be kept in the motion.
SENATE PRESIDENT MEYER accepted Vice Chair Herron's
friendly amendment to the amendment to use the term
"limited social media spectrum" so a vote isn't necessary.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED refining the amended motion language.
MS. VARNI stated the amended motion as follows: "I move
that Legislative Council approve expanded access to
Facebook and limited social media for Legislator's partisan
staff to emulate the access that is currently provided for
Legislators and non-partisan Agency staff.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, Hoffman, MacKinnon, Micciche,
Chenault, Kito, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: Johnson
The amended motion passed 9-1.
V. MOVING AND TRAVEL POLICY CHANGES
2:11:45 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
the changes to the Legislative Council Moving & Travel
Policy as per the attached draft.
JESSICA GEARY, Finance Manager for Legislative Affairs
Agency, testified that members had before them for
consideration three proposed changes to the Moving and
Travel Policy. The first two changes dealt with the
transportation of Legislators' vehicles from their home to
Juneau for the duration of session. The current policy
allowed for Legislators to bring two vehicles; the proposed
change would limit that to one vehicle. The second change
deals with payment of the shipping of vehicles for
Legislators that live off the road and marine highway
systems. The current policy allowed for a vehicle to be
either air-freighted or barged to a location that connects
with a state road or ferry system; as a way to realize cost
savings, this proposal allows for the possibility of a
rental car for the duration of session if it was less
expensive than shipping a vehicle from a location off the
road or marine highway system. This policy change would
require a Legislator to demonstrate that it would be less
expensive to ship a vehicle to Juneau than to rent a car in
Juneau for the duration of the session.
Ms. Geary said the last change to the policy dealt with the
types of items a Legislator is currently allowed to ship to
Juneau as part of their household goods and personal
effects. The policy language includes the word "appliances"
as allowed in the shipment of household goods. The term
"appliances" isn't very definitive and could allow for the
shipment of major appliances such as washers, dryers,
refrigerators, etc.; this proposed change clarifies the
intent of that language which is to allow small appliances
such as toasters, blenders, etc. Ms. Geary ended her
testimony by noting that in the proposed policy language,
they tried to catch all the references from two vehicles to
one vehicle; they missed at least one and if Legislative
Council chose to adopt these changes, they would make sure
to fix all references.
NOTE: Senator Hoffman asked a question, but it was
inaudible.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding household goods that may be
packed inside the vehicle being shipped, as well as the
definition of small appliance and what is allowed as a
household good and what is allowed as a legitimate item
necessary for conducting legislative business.
SENATOR HOFFMAN was concerned that any proposed change not
discriminate against Legislators who live in rural Alaska
simply because the moving costs are higher. He said while
we need to be conscious of the State's budget, it should
not be required that rural Legislators have to go through
mathematical gyrations to justify their move to Juneau.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding whether one car is enough for
a Legislator with a large family; whether special and/or
extended sessions were included in the calculation of a
rental car versus shipping a vehicle; the general cost of
shipping a vehicle via air freight or barge; which type of
vehicle would be allowed as a rental; legislative
purchasing and running of a "zip car" type of system where
Legislators share vehicles as needed in Juneau.
SENATOR MICCICHE believed that it was the appropriate time
to review policies given the fiscal situation of the State,
and that the proposed policy gives enough leeway for those
who have a more difficult time getting their families and
goods to Juneau.
CHAIR STEVENS re-stated the motion that Legislative Council
approve the changes to the Legislative Council Moving &
Travel Policy as per the attached draft. He reminded
members that the changes were (1) allowing one vehicle
instead of two to be brought to Juneau for session at State
expense; (2) shipping vehicles off the road/ferry system
versus renting a vehicle in Juneau for session; and (3)
clarifying allowed household goods to be small appliances
only.
2:34:30 PM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, Hoffman, MacKinnon, Micciche,
Chenault, Johnson, Kito, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion passed 10-0.
VI. ALLOWANCE POLICY CHANGES
2:35:06 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve
the change to the Legislative Council policy as per the
attached draft.
CHAIR STEVENS objected for purposes of discussion and asked
Finance Manager Jessica Geary to brief Council.
MS. GEARY said this was a simple change to the Allowance
Account Policy. In the FY 17 budget process, the House
allowance accounts were cut by 25%, which reduced House
member's accounts from $16,000 to $12,000. The policy
language needs to be updated to reflect that reduction.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED between Representatives Kito, Johnson,
and Herron, and Chair Stevens and Senate President Meyer
regarding the fact that the Senate did not reduce their
allowance account; that a Senator's district is twice the
size of a Representative's district, so newsletters and
travel are more expensive; perhaps House members should
have half the amount of Senate members; and that the cut
was a decision by the House Majority, not the Finance
Committees. Further, it was noted that a few years ago
Legislative Council approved by a vote of 8-6 to double
allowance account amounts, which truly was a policy call at
the time, and all six votes against that motion were House
members.
Senator Hoffman left the meeting before the roll was
called.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche, Chenault,
Johnson, Kito, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion passed 9-0.
VII. CONTRACT APPROVALS
a. Westlaw Contract
b. Stoel Rives Contract
a. Westlaw Contract
DOUG GARDNER, Director of Legal Services, said that he had
Joe Keikkala of his staff put together a proposal to reduce
the contract costs going forward. The Legislature has
passwords from LexisNexis and passwords from Westlaw
allowing for legal research; the systems are very similar.
We have some unique libraries that are included in the
Westlaw contract, and he thought it would be wise for the
Legislature to maintain both accounts. The Lexis accounts
aren't necessarily free, but are included in the existing
contract along with other services. He said it was possible
to reduce the contract costs without affecting service
overall by reducing the number of online research accounts
from 40 to 30; the savings would be approximately $23,500
for a three year contract, and $60,000 for a five year
contract.
The Chair interrupted to ask for a motion before
continuing.
2:44:10 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council enter into
a 5-year contract with West Publishing in the amount of
$215,869.20.
The Chair objected for purposes of discussion.
MR. GARDNER, in response to a question by the Chair, stated
that both Lexis and Westlaw are computer search platforms
provided by the publishers of a vast number of legal
publications in the country. Lexis publishes the Alaska
statutes, West Publishing heads Westlaw and publishes other
states' statutes. By having both search engines, we cover
all 50 states, as well as many other reporters, such as
briefs from trial courts that can be important for
representing the Legislature on cutting edge issues. The
amount of resources that the Legislature puts into staff
time and resources, in Legal Services, in Research
Services, and in the legislative library, who often help
the public with various requests, all benefit from having
access to Westlaw and Lexis. He said it's a very cost
effective tool; part of the trade off to re-focusing the
library on Legislator needs is that there was a commitment
to ensuring access to online resources. The library saved a
lot of money by reducing their hard copy subscriptions and
part of the trade-off was to ensure continued access to
resources electronically. This contract does that and for
additional cost savings as well.
CHAIR STEVENS summarized the motion and discussion of the
Westlaw contract for any Council members who may have been
momentarily dropped from teleconference.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED between Representatives Johnson and
Kito, and Mr. Gardner regarding the contract with
LexisNexis for publishing hard copy statutes; the
possibility of moving away from printed statutes and
getting more online passwords in future contract
negotiations; how the Legislature may be subsidizing the
cost of Alaska statutes in hard copy for other entities who
might not otherwise be able to afford them; other state's
that have their statutes online only; and whether there was
enough usage to justify the passwords for which the
Legislature pays.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche, Chenault,
Johnson, Kito, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion passed 9-0.
b. Stoel Rives Contract
2:57:30 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council approve an
amendment to the legal services contract with Stoel Rives
LLP, in the amount of $150,000 to pay for past legal
services and to address the current procurement claim and
any further proceedings regarding the lease of 716 W 4th
Avenue.
MR. GARDNER said that the Legislature owed Stoel Rives
about $100,000 and the matter, in his professional opinion,
is not over yet. Without getting into too much detail in a
public session, he said 716 W Fourth Avenue LLC, has until
tomorrow to file an appeal and, in the event that they do,
he wanted the ability to be able to pay Stoel Rives to
represent the Legislature until the new incoming
Legislative Council is established with the 30th
Legislature and this issue can be further addressed. The
amendment before Council will bring the Legislature current
with Stoel Rives and make available funds for work that may
come up in this transition period. If there was no appeal,
no additional funds would be spent.
CHAIR STEVENS said that Stoel Rives have been tremendous to
work with and have done a nice job in assisting the
Legislature through a tedious process.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche, Chenault,
Johnson, Kito, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion passed 9-0.
VIII. OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS - EXECUTIVE SESSION
a. Furlough Policy
b. Capitol Security
c. Benson Building Update (no action needed on this item)
3:00:07 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council go into
Executive Session under Uniform Rule 22(B)(1), discussion
of matters, the immediate knowledge of which would
adversely affect the finances of a government unit and
22(B)(3), discussion of a matter that may, by law, be
required to be confidential. He asked that the following
individuals remain in the room: Pam Varni, Katrina Matheny,
Brian Messiner, Elisha Martin, Tanci Mintz and any
legislative staff working for Council members or manager of
the Legislature's support agencies to remain in the room or
online. We also welcome any Legislator that is not on
Council to remain in the room or online.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche, Chenault,
Johnson, Kito, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion to go into Executive Session passed 9-0.
Legislative Council went into executive session.
5:02:39 PM
Legislative Council came out of executive session.
b. Capitol Security
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council adopt the
security vulnerability assessment recommendation by Doyon
Universal Services to provide security defensive tools to
the security team, which includes, firearms and less than
lethal force options such as Tasers. Security personnel
reporting to Capitol Chief of Security will be compensated
at a range 16.
STEVE DAIGLE, Chief of Security, in response to a question
from Senator Micciche about cost, noted that it would be an
increase of $54,000 annually for salaries, as well as
approximately $10,000 for additional equipment and $600 per
year for necessary training.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding what "less than lethal"
training options were available.
With no further questions, a roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche, Chenault,
Johnson, Kito, Herron, Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion passed 9-0.
a. Furlough Policy
5:05:50 PM
VICE CHAIR HERRON moved that Legislative Council adopt the
Furlough Policy as per the attached draft.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO offered a conceptual amendment that
Council exempt Legislative Finance, Legal Services and
Legislative Security from the Furlough Policy. In response
to a request for clarification by Senator Micciche,
Representative Kito said that the exemption was appropriate
in that from the perspective of security, we will be
required to have security at the building, so if
individuals are on furlough, contractors will still have to
be hired to do that work. In regard to Legislative Finance
and Legal Services, they're work load is not driven by
their management alone but driven by Legislators. It's very
difficult to manage that workload without creating
limitations, which they don't have the statutory or policy
authority to do on the work that Legislators ask them to
do. Because they don't have control over those items, he
didn't think it was equitable for those divisions to be
subject to furlough.
CHAIR STEVENS said he understood that Legislative Budget &
Audit Committee could make the decision to exempt the
officers. In effect, if Council passes this amendment, they
would only be making Legislative Affairs comply with the
furlough policy.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED clarifying which sections are proposed
as being exempt from the furlough policy.
PAM VARNI, Executive Director of the Legislative Affairs
Agency, noted that the last bullet of the Furlough Policy
would enable those sections to still work, it's just that
employees would be giving up five days of personal leave
without compensation; then it would be fair to everybody.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding leave availability. Also
clarification that Legislative Budget & Audit would not be
included in this amendment since they report to a different
committee.
SENATE PRESIDENT MEYER proposed to make an amendment to the
amendment. He said if Legislative Finance and Legal
Services are too busy to take furlough, then Legislators
need to better police themselves to not put such a burden
on those sections. He believed that LB&A and Security are a
little different, and since Budget & Audit are not part of
this amendment, he would like to amend the amendment to
only include Security. He said he was sympathetic to the
fact that all the other sections are taking furlough; if
the Judicial Branch can do it, we should be able to do it
as well.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED to clarify the amendment and the
amendment to the amendment.
SKIFF LOBAUGH, Human Resources Officer, noted for members
that the policy does not require any section or individual
to take furlough. He said the policy just says that if a
section or an individual is required to take furlough, this
this is how it would be implemented. The Legislature
decided who would take furlough; this policy does not say
who was required to take furlough. The amendment that says,
for instance, to exempt Legal Services, those in Legal
Services who have already taken furlough, which was
implemented by Memo of Agreement, would lose a holiday if
the furlough they had taken fell next to a holiday, because
they wouldn't have the protection of the policy to allow
them to use furlough under holiday or health insurance
protection. He again stated that the proposed policy is an
administrative tool that does not require someone to take
furlough; it simply says that if an individual is required
to take furlough, Personnel will process it under these
guidelines to maintain benefits.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED further defining what the policy
language accomplished; and whether the policy was
retroactive.
CHAIR STEVENS asked for a roll call vote on the amendment
to the amendment, which was to allow only Security to be
exempted from the Furlough Policy.
A roll call vote was taken on amendment to amendment.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche
NAYS: Chenault, Johnson, Kito, Herron, Stevens
The amendment to the amendment failed 4-5.
A roll call vote was taken on the amendment to exempt
Legislative Finance, Legal Services, and Security from the
Furlough Policy.
YEAS: Kito
NAYS: Meyer, Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche, Chenault,
Johnson, Herron, Stevens
The amendment failed 1-8.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding potential budget impacts of
adopting the Furlough Policy. Explanation that the policy
is simply allowing Personnel to process furlough taken
without affecting an employee's benefits, holiday pay, etc.
Without this policy, Personnel would process furlough as
leave without pay, which would negatively impact employees.
There being no further discussion, a roll call vote was
taken on the motion.
YEAS: Meyer, Coghill, MacKinnon, Micciche, Chenault, Kito,
Herron, Stevens
NAYS: Johnson
The motion adopting the Furlough Policy passed 8-1.
There being no further business before the committee,
Legislative Council adjourned at 5:25 p.m.
5:25:47 PM
DRAFT - Legislative Branch Furlough Policy - DRAFT
When necessary for budgetary constraints or for other
operational needs Legislative Branch employees may be
placed on furlough as directed by their hiring authority.
Statutory hiring authority for the Legislative Branch is
set out in AS 24.10.200 (House and Senate Employees), AS
24.10.210 (Employees of Legislative Agencies), AS 24.20.050
(Executive Director and Staff Legislative Affairs Agency),
AS 24.20.221 (Staff Legislative Finance Division), AS
24.55.070 (Staff and Delegation Office of the Ombudsman),
and AS 24.65.070 (Staff and Delegation Office of Victims'
Rights).
• Any day or period for which an employee is furloughed
does not change an employee's merit anniversary date,
leave base date, or leave accrual.
• Any day or period for which an employee is furloughed
does not jeopardize an employee's eligibility for health
insurance.
• Any day or period for which an employee is furloughed
does not jeopardize an employee's holiday eligibility.
• Any day or period for which an employee is furloughed
does not count as leave without pay for replacement of
seasonal leave without pay.
• Any day or period for which an employee is furloughed
does reduce the amount allocated to each individual
legislator's personal service budgets and therefore
cannot be used to augment the individual legislators
range allotment.
• Any day or period for which an employee is furloughed
does count toward their mandatory leave requirements.
• An employee may give up five days of personal leave
without compensation in lieu of taking five days of
furlough.
Employees are "furloughed" when they are directed not to
report for work and required to take a period of unpaid
absence from work. In order to count as a furlough the
absence must be at least a full day in length. Furlough can
only be done in full day increments and cannot be done on
an hour for hour basis.
5:25:47 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 12.20.16 Leg. Council Agenda and Packet.pdf |
JLEC 12/20/2016 1:30:00 PM |
Leg. Council Agenda and Packet |