Legislature(2003 - 2004)
02/04/2003 01:34 PM House RLS
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RULES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 4, 2003
1:34 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Norman Rokeberg, Chair
Representative Pete Kott
Representative Mike Chenault
Representative John Coghill
Representative Carl Morgan
Representative Ethan Berkowitz
Representative Beth Kerttula
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CHANGE IN LONGEVITY POLICY IN THE
HOUSE/SENATE EMPLOYMENT POLICY
PREVIOUS ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
PAM VARNI, Executive Director
Legislative Affairs Agency
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained the proposed change to the
longevity policy.
SKIFF LOBAUGH, Human Resource Manager
Personnel
Legislative Affairs Agency
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Noted the possible savings that could be
realized with the change in the longevity policy.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 03-1, SIDE A
Number 0001
CHAIR NORMAN ROKEBERG called the House Rules Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:34 p.m. Representatives Rokeberg, Kott,
Coghill, Chenault, Morgan, and Berkowitz were present at the
call to order. Representative Kerttula arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
CHAIR ROKEBERG announced that the contract approval for Ron
Somerville has been canceled.
ORGANIZATIONAL
Number 0021
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT moved that Representative John Coghill be
elected the Vice Chair of the House Rules Standing Committee.
There being no objection, it was so ordered.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT moved that the House Rules Standing
Committee delegate authority to calendar all measures to the
Chair of the House Rules Standing Committee.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ objected for discussion purposes. He
inquired as to why this [motion is being made]. "What's the
matter with the way we calendar now," he asked.
Number 0041
CHAIR ROKEBERG explained that legislative counsel informed him
that this committee has failed to adopt this motion in the past.
Therefore, the motion merely places on the record the Chair's
authority to perform calendaring duties.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ pointed out that one of the problems in
the past has been the release of the House calendar late in the
evening, which places all legislators at a disadvantage.
Representative Berkowitz surmised that the motion adopts what
has been the practice. Representative Berkowitz expressed the
need for communication, particularly to the Minority, with
regard to which legislation is scheduled for the House calendar.
Number 0070
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ proffered an amendment to the motion
before the committee such that it would include a proviso that
all members of leadership be informed [of the House calendar] at
a time certain, preferably by 5:00 p.m. of the preceding
legislative day.
CHAIR ROKEBERG objected for discussion purposes. He agreed with
Representative Berkowitz that the motion before the committee is
one of custom and tradition that will achieve precisely what
Representative Berkowitz desires; that is to expedite the
calendar and its delivery to members for review. Chair Rokeberg
provided his personal commitment to have a calendar distributed
to members in an orderly fashion and communicate to
[Representative Berkowitz] what will be on the calendar. Chair
Rokeberg maintained his objection to Representative Berkowitz's
conceptual amendment because of his belief that it may slow the
process.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ related that although he has had good
experiences with some of the House Rules Standing Committee
chairs, he has also encountered some sandbagging in terms of
which legislation was headed to the floor. Although
Representative Berkowitz was comforted by Chair Rokeberg's
assurances, he maintained his motion [for the adoption of a
conceptual amendment to the motion before the committee].
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Berkowitz and
Kerttula voted in favor of the adoption of the conceptual
amendment to the motion before the committee. Representatives
Kott, Coghill, Chenault, Morgan, and Rokeberg voted against it.
Therefore, the conceptual amendment failed to be adopted by a
vote of 2-5.
CHAIR ROKEBERG noted that the original motion delegating the
authority to calendar all measures to the Chair of the House
Rules Standing Committee was before the committee.
CHAIR ROKEBERG announced that he would do everything he could to
cooperate with the Minority leader, as he believes he has
demonstrated in his activities as the Chair of the House Rules
Standing Committee over the last two months. He further
announced his intention to continue the cooperation between the
Majority and the Minority so long as there is reciprocal
cooperation.
There being no objection, the motion delegating the authority to
calendar all measures to the Chair of the House Rules Standing
Committee was adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CHANGE IN LONGEVITY POLICY IN THE
HOUSE/SENATE EMPLOYMENT POLICY
CHAIR ROKEBERG turned to the next order of business, which was
the consideration of the proposed change in the longevity policy
in the House/Senate employment policy. He noted that the Senate
adopted the aforementioned policy yesterday.
Number 0152
PAM VARNI, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs Agency,
pointed out that the committee packet should include a memo
explaining the change in the longevity policy. The House/Senate
employment policy that has been in effect since 1988 has worked
well with the exception of the longevity steps J-[M] due to the
"continuous" language in the statutes. Due to the "continuous"
language, legislative staff who have left employment with the
legislature for a short period of time or have gone down in
ranges can't be placed in the longevity steps. Therefore, long-
term staff with institutional knowledge are being penalized.
MS. VARNI specified that by not adopting this statute for
longevity and adopting the policy being proposed, legislative
staff would not be penalized. At this time, there are three
[House] staff members that have been identified as being
impacted by this. The total cost is $4,400. Ms. Varni
highlighted that this situation impacts staff of the Minority,
Majority, and Records Office. She informed the committee that
the Finance Committees and Legislative Council will also be
requested to make this change. She noted that although the
actual employment policy can't be changed without a joint
meeting of the House and Senate Rules Committees and a joint
meeting of the House and Senate, this longevity policy can be
changed by any committee. She said there is plenty of money
under session expenses because last year $300,000 was
reappropriated and $67,000 lapsed. She also said that adoption
of the proposed longevity policy could be a cost saving measure.
Number 0219
SKIFF LOBAUGH, Human Resource Manager, Personnel, Legislative
Affairs Agency, pointed out that this change in the longevity
policy can save money with training and retention and result in
keeping staff long-term.
Number 0230
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL moved that the committee not adopt AS
39.27.022 but instead adopt [the plan as proposed by Ms. Varni],
which would be effective January 16, 2003. There being no
objection, it was so ordered.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Rules Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:48 p.m.
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