04/07/2015 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB77 | |
| HB173 | |
| HB55 | |
| HJR19 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 77 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HJR 19 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 173 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 55 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
April 7, 2015
8:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bob Lynn, Chair
Representative Wes Keller, Vice Chair
Representative David Talerico
Representative Liz Vazquez
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Max Gruenberg
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 77
"An Act relating to training regarding disabilities for police
officers, probation officers, parole officers, correctional
officers, and village public safety officers; relating to
guidelines for drivers when encountering or being stopped by a
peace officer; relating to driver's license examinations; and
relating to a voluntary disability designation on a state
identification card and a driver's license."
- MOVED CSHB 77(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 173
"An Act relating to the registration of leased motor vehicles;
and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 55
"An Act relating to compensation for wrongful conviction and
imprisonment."
- MOVED HB 55 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 19
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of
Alaska relating to the constitutional budget reserve fund.
- MOVED HJR 19 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 77
SHORT TITLE: DISABILITY:ID/LICENSE AND TRAINING RQMTS.
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) THOMPSON
01/23/15 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/23/15 (H) STA, FIN
03/24/15 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
03/24/15 (H) Heard & Held
03/24/15 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/02/15 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
04/02/15 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/07/15 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HB 173
SHORT TITLE: REGISTRATION OF LEASED VEHICLES
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) KREISS-TOMKINS
04/01/15 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/01/15 (H) STA
04/07/15 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HB 55
SHORT TITLE: COMPENSATION FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) KAWASAKI
01/21/15 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/16/15
01/21/15 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/15 (H) STA, JUD, FIN
04/07/15 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HJR 19
SHORT TITLE: CONST. AM: APPROPRIATIONS FROM CBR
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) REINBOLD
03/20/15 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/20/15 (H) STA, JUD, FIN
04/07/15 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE STEVE THOMPSON
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented HB 77.
JANE PIERSON, Staff
Representative Steve Thompson
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a sectional analysis of HB 77 on
behalf of Representative Thompson, prime sponsor.
BERETT WILBER, Staff
Representative Kreiss-Tomkins
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
173, on behalf of Representative Kreiss-Tomkins, prime sponsor.
AMY ERICKSON, Director
Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Department of Administration (DOA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Responded to questions during the hearing
on HB 173.
REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT KAWASAKI
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented HB 55.
REILY LEONARD, Staff
Representative Scott Kawasaki
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
55, on behalf of Representative Kawasaki, prime sponsor.
KATHLEEN A. FREDERICK, Chief Administrative Law Judge
Anchorage Office
Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH)
Department of Administration (DOA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information regarding the lack of a
fiscal note during the hearing on HB 55.
BILL OBERLY, Executive Director
Alaska Innocence Project (AIP)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the hearing on HB 55.
REPRESENTATIVE LAURA REINBOLD
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented HJR 19.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:02:57 AM
CHAIR BOB LYNN called the House State Affairs Standing Committee
meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. Representatives Keller, Stutes,
Vazquez, Kreiss-Tomkins, and Lynn were present at the call to
order. Representative Talerico arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
HB 77-DISABILITY:ID/LICENSE AND TRAINING RQMTS.
8:03:23 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the first order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 77, "An Act relating to training regarding disabilities
for police officers, probation officers, parole officers,
correctional officers, and village public safety officers;
relating to guidelines for drivers when encountering or being
stopped by a peace officer; relating to driver's license
examinations; and relating to a voluntary disability designation
on a state identification card and a driver's license."
8:03:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STEVE THOMPSON, Alaska State Legislature, as
prime sponsor, presented HB 77. He relayed that a committee
substitute was available that would remove the provisions in
Section 1 of the bill, which would instead be established in
regulations.
8:04:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 77, Version 29-LS0072\H, Martin, 3/26/15,
as a work draft. There being no objection, Version H was before
the committee.
8:04:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON explained that the Alaska Police
Standards Council was currently working on a training component,
and the regulations should be adopted by July 1, 2015. The
regulations would include a disability training component, which
the sponsor said he believed would be better placed in
regulation than in statute.
8:05:25 AM
JANE PIERSON, Staff, Representative Steve Thompson, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Thompson, prime
sponsor, said Section 1 of Version H would provide for a
voluntary and discreet designation on a State of Alaska
identification (ID) or driver's license indicating that the card
holder had a disability. [Section 2] would require the manual
be published by the Division of Motor Vehicles to include "the
duties and responsibilities of drivers when encountering or
being stopped by a peace officer." [Section 3] would require
that the knowledge of those duties and responsibilities be
tested as part of the driver examination.
8:06:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ opined that learning the proper protocol
when stopped by a police officer was important for all people,
disabled or not.
MS. PIERSON remarked that while talking about the bill, the
sponsor's office realized that "none of us really knew" that
protocol.
CHAIR LYNN noted there were people available on line to answer
questions.
8:07:53 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 8:08 a.m.
8:08:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report CSHB 77, Version 29-
LS0072\H, Martin, 3/26/15, out of committee. There being no
objection, CSHB 77(STA) was reported out of the House State
Affairs Standing Committee.
8:08:31 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:08 a.m. to 8:10 a.m.
HB 173-REGISTRATION OF LEASED VEHICLES
8:10:48 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the next order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 173, "An Act relating to the registration of leased
motor vehicles; and providing for an effective date."
8:11:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS, as prime sponsor, introduced HB
173. He said the proposed legislation would address a loophole
related to leasing certain vehicles. The issue was brought to
the sponsor's attention by one of his constituents. He said a
person who leases a vehicle ends up paying commercial
registration fees, which are substantially higher than the
registration fees a vehicle owner pays. He said in the last few
weeks, he realized that the extent of the proposed changes under
HB 173 would be dramatic, and he ventured that consideration of
the fiscal note may result in the committee's taking its "foot
off the accelerator."
8:13:19 AM
BERETT WILBER, Staff, Representative Kreiss-Tomkins, Alaska
State Legislature, answered questions during the hearing on HB
173, on behalf of Representative Kreiss-Tomkins, prime sponsor.
In response to Chair Lynn, she explained that when a person
leases a vehicle, the DMV considers it a commercial vehicle,
irrespective of how the person leasing the vehicle uses it. For
example, if a person leases a truck to use as a family vehicle,
the DMV would require the person to pay commercial registration
fees on the truck because it was being leased.
CHAIR LYNN said he thought when he leased a vehicle 12-15 years
ago, the [registration] fee had been the same as it was for a
privately owned vehicle.
8:14:48 AM
AMY ERICKSON, Director, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV),
Department of Administration (DOA), explained that under
statute, a vehicle that is owned by a company pays commercial
fees, and vehicles that are leased are owned by a company. In
response to Representative Stutes, she confirmed that the
company name was the name of the firm from which the person was
leasing the vehicle.
8:15:49 AM
MS. WILBER offered her understanding that a typical lease length
ranges from two to five years. She said new to the discussion
between sponsor and staff was figuring out what to do for
shorter lease periods or rentals, and she deferred to Ms.
Erickson to address that question. In response to a question
from Representative Vazquez, she clarified that HB 173 did not
list any specific lease periods; therefore, she said she did not
feel comfortable stating how long a specific lease would be.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ concluded that hypothetically a person
could lease a vehicle for just a week and [be charged commercial
registration fees].
8:17:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked if a person required to pay
commercial registration fees would also be required to pay to
insure the vehicle at the commercial level.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER noted that the property taxes on a house
may not be visible in the rent payment. He said he observed
while reading the proposed legislation that the person paying
the tax would be the person leasing the vehicle. He said he
assumed the company who owned the vehicles could design the
lease contract "to emphasize the tax or not." He stated, "...
It's not necessarily that we are currently taxing individuals
who happen to lease; we tax ... commercial companies that lease
cars." He noted there are different variations of risks for the
company and the person leasing.
8:19:34 AM
MS. ERICKSON stated the following:
With a rental car, ... they're commercial vehicles and
they pay commercial fees. Whereas, if you lease a
vehicle, ... presumably the company would be paying
the higher fee for the commercial rate, because they
are the ones who are leasing the vehicle, but they
pass it on to the consumer. So, I agree with
Representative Keller, who said you could apply that
to your contract; I think that's probably the most
appropriate way to handle it."
MS. ERICKSON told Representative Vazquez that DMV registrations
are for two years or could be one year for a commercial vehicle.
CHAIR LYNN closed public testimony on HB 173. He noted that the
bill sponsor had requested that the committee hold HB 173.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER indicated that the issue that HB 173 would
address was a valid one.
8:21:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS said he introduced HB 173 to close
a loophole, but had realized in the process that the loophole
was larger than he originally had thought, applied to many
people, and there were many ways to look at the issue.
CHAIR LYNN remarked on the variety of issues that are heard by
the legislature.
8:22:44 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that HB 173 was held over.
HB 55-COMPENSATION FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION
8:22:52 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the next order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 55, "An Act relating to compensation for wrongful
conviction and imprisonment."
8:23:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT KAWASAKI, Alaska State Legislature, as
prime sponsor, presented HB 55. He asked the committee to think
about the events in their lives, such as weddings, births,
graduations, deaths, retirements, and other significant events
that had occurred. He further asked the committee to include
the creation of the Internet, the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001, and globalization of technology. He then asked the
committee to imagine that during all that time they had been
incarcerated in a small prison cell for a crime they had not
committed. He stated that HB 55 sought to correct the suffering
of Alaskans who had been wrongfully incarcerated.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI stated that individuals suffer the
consequences of their mistakes; however, the State of Alaska
suffers no consequences when its legal system makes a life-
altering mistake by incarcerating an innocent Alaskan and
"stealing those years away." He said the proposed legislation
would create a mechanism to provide financial compensation for
those lost years to help the wrongfully convicted get back on
their feet. Under HB 55, the exonerated individual would
receive $50,000 a year, with a cap of $2 million, which meets
the federal recommendations under the Federal Justice for All
Act of 2004, and that it is the threshold most commonly used in
the 30 other states that currently have wrongful conviction
compensation statutes. Representative Kawasaki stated that
while no amount of money could truly compensate for the time
spent wrongfully incarcerated, the concept was to provide
finances that would help the wrongfully convicted get back on
his/her feet, reintegrate into society, and start a life after
prison.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI said the proposed legislation would
proactively protect the state coffers by instituting a
compensation plan to help the reintegration process rather than
waiting for those who have been exonerated to sue the state for
civil damages. He reported that according to the Alaska
Innocence Project, "the average statute amount is roughly
$330,000 per exonerated individual, while the average civil
award amount is about $3.6 million." He said the proposed
legislation would establish a $50,000/year compensation and
protect the state from future civil suits. He related that
while there had not been any exonerations in Alaska that would
have fallen under "this current statute, as written," the
overall rising wave of exonerations over the past 15 years meant
that it was just a matter of time before it happened in Alaska.
Representative Kawasaki concluded that the proposed legislation
was "a proactive measure that rights the state's wrongs and
protects us from future lawsuits, while fulfilling our moral
duty as stewards of the public justice system."
8:27:17 AM
CHAIR LYNN related that he had just seen on television that
someone in the Lower 48 had just been exonerated from death row
after about 30 years in prison, and he remarked that he did not
know how it would be possible to adequately reimburse a person
in that circumstance. He indicated that coming up with a
formula for compensation would depend on many factors, including
how long the person had been incarcerated, the age of the person
when incarcerated, what the person's occupation was, and the
person's physical condition. He asked the bill sponsor how he
arrived at the proposed $50,000.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI answered that amount was roughly the
average of the amount the other states had incorporated similar
statutes. In response to Chair Lynn, he said the formula used
to determine the amount is complex. He indicated that when
litigation is involved, factors such as whether or not the
individual was in the prime of his/her life are taken into
consideration.
CHAIR LYNN expounded on the idea that arriving at a formula
would be complicated because of all the variables involved.
8:29:19 AM
REILY LEONARD, Staff, Representative Scott Kawasaki, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Kawasaki, prime
sponsor, related that the $50,000/year threshold was chosen,
because that was the amount that Congress had established in
2004 in the aforementioned Act. He indicated that Congress had
also established a $100,000 threshold for time spent on death
row, which was seen as much more severe. He said some states
adopted that standard, as well; however, he noted that Alaska
does not have the death penalty, and the sponsor chose not to
include that factor.
8:30:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ remarked that although it is extremely
difficult to convict someone in Alaska - doing so is more common
in the Lower 48 - she could envision in the future there may be
someone who is wrongfully convicted [in Alaska].
8:30:56 AM
KATHLEEN A. FREDERICK, Chief Administrative Law Judge, Anchorage
Office, Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), Department of
Administration (DOA), explained the reason the department did
not submit a fiscal note was because at the present time there
was no way to determine how many claims would result from the
proposed legislation.
8:31:48 AM
BILL OBERLY, Executive Director, Alaska Innocence Project (AIP),
stated that the issue brought up under HB 55 is one of
importance to AIP. He said the issue is neither conservative
nor liberal, neither related to criminal prosecution nor to
criminal defense, but is an issue of justice. He said AIP
brought Steve Barnes - a man who was exonerated in New York
after about 24 years in prison - to Alaska.
CHAIR LYNN recollected having met Mr. Barnes.
MR. OBERLY relayed that when asked, Mr. Barnes had illustrated
how difficult the issue of compensation was by asking what price
a person would put on having given up all his/her 20s, 30s, and
half his/her 40s to sit in prison. Mr. Oberly said that was a
sobering question, because "there's not enough money to sit in
prison for a crime you did not commit." He said the federal
government set the [$50,000] amount under President George H.
Bush. He relayed that the State of Texas started out at
$50,000, but now had the highest exoneration compensation rate
of $80,000/year of wrongful conviction.
MR. OBERLY referenced Chair Lynn's comment about a man shown on
television who had been exonerated after 30 years on death row,
and he offered his understanding that that person was Anthony
Ray Hinton, in Alabama. He said Mr. Hinton sought recovery
through the judge in the case, who awarded Mr. Hinton $1,000 for
every day he had been in prison. He cautioned that without a
statute in place, "those are the kind of awards that can be ...
realized out there." He echoed the bill sponsor's remarks that
HB 55 would provide a set amount of compensation, while also
setting up a known amount that would be satisfactory without
being at "the high end."
8:35:33 AM
MR. OBERLY concurred with Representative Vazquez that it is
difficult to get a conviction [in Alaska]. He said through good
police and prosecutorial work, the vast majority of convictions
are accurate. Notwithstanding that, he said Alaska's system is
not perfect; therefore, he echoed the bill sponsor's statement
that it is the state's moral duty to correct wrongful
convictions.
8:36:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO asked Mr. Oberly if there were
statistics available showing how many wrongful convictions had
occurred in Alaska that had been exonerated or whether the state
had ever been involved in a civil suit related to that
situation.
MR. OBERLY answered that there had been no exonerations, to
date, in Alaska. He indicated that AIP thinks it has identified
a few wrongful convictions that have occurred in Alaska, and it
is in the process of determining whether it can prove them in
court; therefore, there may be a situation coming up where the
proposed statute could be utilized. He said Alaska's system
generally works as it should; therefore, wrongful convictions in
the state are rare. He said there may have been civil suits for
wrongful arrests, but that is not what was being addressed in
this instance. He offered his understanding that there had not
been any civil suits brought for wrongful conviction in Alaska.
8:38:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER asked if the proposed legislation would
provide an incentive for lawyers to look for wrongful
convictions, which may result in more litigation.
MR. OBERLY responded that wrongful convictions are all he
covers, and they are "one of the most complex and difficult
cases to establish." He said he did not think there were any
lawyers that were "struggling enough to undertake this as their
money-making proposition." He explained that an average case
takes 12 years.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said Mr. Oberly's response was helpful.
8:40:07 AM
CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining no one further wished to testify,
closed public testimony on HB 55.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER indicated he did not think anything would
prevent the state from making reparations for wrongful
convictions on a case-by-case basis. He said he was struggling
with the idea of creating statute for a situation that had not
occurred in Alaska, but said he did not think there was any
reason there could not be "reparations in unusual
circumstances."
8:41:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI responded that he did not recommend
operating on a case-by-case basis. He said he thought having a
prescriptive way to [reimburse] any wrongfully convicted person
"is the best way to go," and he said he thinks 30 other states
had agreed to that. Further, President George W. Bush, in
signing the Act in 2004, "recognized that, too."
8:42:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS moved to report HB 55 out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
[zero] fiscal note. There being no objection, HB 55 was
reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
8:42:39 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:43 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
HJR 19-CONST. AM: APPROPRIATIONS FROM CBR
8:45:00 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the next order of business was HOUSE
JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 19, Proposing an amendment to the
Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the
constitutional budget reserve fund.
8:45:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LAURA REINBOLD, Alaska State Legislature, as
prime sponsor, presented HJR 19. She paraphrased the sponsor
statement, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
House Joint Resolution 19 proposes to place a
constitutional amendment before the voters during the
fall 2016 general election. This bill amends Article
IX, sec. 17(b), of the Alaska Constitution and would
place an annual spending cap of ten percent of the
current balance in the fund on the constitutional
budget reserve.
Currently, the constitutional budget reserve may
provide the amount necessary (when added to other
appropriation funds) to provide for total
appropriations equal to the amount of appropriations
made in the previous fiscal year. The result is this
fund being depended upon to backfill Alaska's large
budget deficits.
Our current fiscal situation has been masked by a
false sense of security cushioned by our savings
accounts. At the end of this fiscal year the statutory
budget reserve will be diminished. We must remember
that as our oil revenues diminish, it is the men and
women of this great state who will bear the cost of
big government.
This legislation will allow Alaskans to determine if
they wish to place a cap on the constitutional budget
reserve in order to save for future generations.
I appreciate your consideration and urge your support
of HJR 19.
8:47:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER noted that the sponsor had talked about a
cap on the constitutional budget reserve (CBR) and he asked her
to confirm that would be a cap on spending.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD answered that is correct; HJR 19
proposed an annual spending cap of ten percent.
8:47:59 AM
CHAIR LYNN asked how many dollars that would be.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD offered her understanding that currently
there was $14 billion in the CBR; therefore, the cap would allow
the state to spend $1.4 billion.
8:48:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER asked what would happen if there was a
catastrophe that required more state spending.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD answered that there are provisions in
the [Constitution of the State of Alaska] that would allow the
governor of Alaska to declare a state of emergency.
CHAIR LYNN asked if "this would be null and void" if there was a
state or national emergency declared.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD replied, "Invasions and things like
that; it's ... outlined very carefully."
8:49:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS observed that for each year the 10
percent was taken out to spend by the state, each following year
the 10 percent amount would be diminished, without actually
disappearing completely, but to a point at which the amount
would be inconsequential. He asked if the bill sponsor had
thought through that scenario or if he might be misunderstanding
the intent of the proposed legislation.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD indicated there were clearly outlined
requirements to redeposit money to the CBR. He said the intent
of HJR 19 was to give the people of Alaska the opportunity to
vote on whether or not they want a 10 percent cap.
8:50:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO said he thought he understood the logic
that if there were smaller balances in the CBR each subsequent
year, then the state's finances really would not be "going so
well," and there would be a need for the increments to diminish
"in order to expand that out." He said he thought replacement
of the fund was a key issue. He said, "I'm assuming there's a
natural inclination to cut back as much as possible."
8:51:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD relayed that the language relating to
deposits being directed back into the CBR was found on page 72,
Section 29, of "the overview of the governor's request."
8:52:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER asked if the proposed legislation would
reduce the power and responsibility of the legislature, which
currently makes the choice about how much money to pull from the
CBR. He opined that HJR 19 would restrict that power.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD responded that "the whole purpose of the
constitution" was that "the power does belong to the people."
The proposed legislation would give the people the opportunity
to decide whether they want to cap the spending at 10 percent,
because what the legislature spends does effect the people of
the state. She said it would take a three-quarters majority to
pass a constitutional budget amendment.
CHAIR LYNN asked, "Could this be done by public initiative?"
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD offered her understanding that anything
that would change the constitution must be initiated by the
legislature.
8:53:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said he would like the committee to move
the bill out of committee to be discussed next by the House
Judiciary Standing Committee and House Finance Committee.
8:53:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ said the state's current deficit was
currently between $3.5 and $3.6 billion. She asked what the
practical consequences would be of having "a provision like this
applied to the legislature."
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD said the proposed legislation was about
the financial future of the state and whether the people want a
10 percent cap.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ asked for confirmation that if HJR 19
passed out of the legislature, then it would be placed on the
ballot.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD answered that is correct: it would be
on the ballot in 2016.
8:55:16 AM
CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining there was no one else who wished
to testify, closed public testimony on HJR 19.
8:55:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report HJR 19 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
note. There being no objection, HJR 19 was reported out of the
House State Affairs Standing Committee.
8:56:15 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 8:56
a.m.