03/19/2024 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB306 | |
| HB225 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 306 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 225 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
March 19, 2024
3:02 p.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Laddie Shaw, Chair
Representative Stanley Wright, Vice Chair
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Jamie Allard
Representative Ashley Carrick
Representative Andi Story
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 306
"An Act relating to artificial intelligence; requiring
disclosure of deepfakes in campaign communications; relating to
cybersecurity; and relating to data privacy."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 225
"An Act relating to the tabulation of ballots; and requiring the
division of elections to provide unofficial election results
before the results of an election are certified."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 306
SHORT TITLE: AI, DEEPFAKES, CYBERSECURITY, DATA XFERS
SPONSOR(s): STATE AFFAIRS BY REQUEST
02/02/24 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/02/24 (H) STA, JUD
03/19/24 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 225
SHORT TITLE: POSTING OF UNOFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS
SPONSOR(s): GRAY
01/16/24 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/24
01/16/24 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/16/24 (H) STA, JUD
03/19/24 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
JOSH APPLEBEE, House Majority Staff
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented HB 306, on behalf of the House
State Affairs Standing Committee by request.
SEAN MILLS, House Majority Staff
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented HB 306, on behalf of the House
State Affairs Standing Committee by request.
REPRESENTATIVE ANDREW GRAY
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 225, as prime sponsor.
DAVID SONG, Staff
Representative Andrew Gray
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"HB 225 Posting Unofficial Elections Results."
WILLIAM ADLER, Associate Director
The Elections Project
Bipartisan Policy Center
Washington, D.C.
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony for HB 225.
LOREN LEMAN, Former Lieutenant Governor
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony for HB 225.
CAROL BEECHER, Director
Central Office
Division of Elections
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
225.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:02:42 PM
CHAIR SHAW called the House State Affairs Standing Committee
meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. Representatives Allard, Carrick,
Carpenter, Story, Wright and Shaw were present at the call to
order. Representatives C. Johnson arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
HB 306-AI, DEEPFAKES, CYBERSECURITY, DATA XFERS
3:03:55 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 306, "An Act relating to artificial intelligence;
requiring disclosure of deepfakes in campaign communications;
relating to cybersecurity; and relating to data privacy."
3:04:18 PM
JOSH APPLEBEE, House Majority Staff, Alaska State Legislature,
provided a sponsor statement for HB 306, [included in the
committee packet] which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
HB 306 establishes policy for Artificial Intelligence
(AI) use by state agencies to ensure transparent and
fair practices to protect Alaskans as well as requires
disclosure on political deepfakes to inform Alaskans
when campaign information is altered with the
intention to mislead.
With the increasing availability of AI to streamline
work processes, transparency, and guidelines for the
use of AI by state agencies is paramount to ensure
appropriate deployment and to protect Alaskans from
potential harm. By requiring human
oversight/responsibility for AI, a publicly posted
inventory of AI in use by state agencies, and regular
impact assessments that include a review and public
report of benefits, liabilities, risks, accountability
mechanisms in place, decision appeal processes, and
effects on the liberty, finances, livelihood and
privacy interest of individuals among other items HB
306 will ensure AI is working for the people of Alaska
appropriately.
HB 306 ensures the public will know when AI is
employed by state agencies regarding the collection
and processing of personal data and the generation of
decisions. The bill provides important and necessary
safeguards but also methods of recourse if the use of
AI causes harm to an individual. Decisions pertaining
to hiring practices, eligibility for services, license
qualification, and more, are no small matters; they
impact lives.
AI use will also be regulated in relation to
"synthetic media" or "political deepfakes"
disseminated to the public, including for election and
campaign use. The generation of audio, still-imagery,
or video that is designed to create a fabricated or
intentionally manipulated account of an individual's
appearance, speech, or conduct is a fairly new
phenomenon. When these digital alterations of a
person, however, are employed to spread false
information with malevolent intentions to deceive the
public, it is time for lawmakers to take up the
matter. With easily accessible AI available to develop
deepfakes, the likelihood of their creation during the
2024 election cycle is inevitable.
HB 306 requires a clear disclosure on a political
deepfake that the communication has been manipulated
by AI. AI is the new digital frontier, and as the
rapidly emerging technology can offer efficiencies and
solutions for the workplace and ease of use even for
non-tech savvy individuals, we will see it play an
increasing role in work activities and in political
communications.
The goal of HB 306 is to set appropriate parameters
for state agency use of AI and to protect Alaskans.
MR. APPLEBEE reported that artificial intelligence (AI) lobbying
has increased 185 percent between 2022 and 2023 with over 450
organizations participating. He said that HB 306 was drafted to
safeguard against bad actors and gain benefits of what
artificial intelligence (AI) technology has to offer.
Transparency and guidelines for AI usage are needed to ensure
appropriate deployment to protect Alaskans from potential harm.
He said HB 306 would create human oversight of AI and create a
publicly posted inventory of AI use by state agencies and manage
regular impact assessments including review and public report of
benefits, liabilities, risks, and AI's affects on the privacy
interests of individuals.
MR. APPLEBEE explained that HB 306 would employ methods of
recourse if the use of AI causes harm to an individual. He said
HB 306 requires the disclosure of political "deepfakes" when
campaign information is altered by AI technology. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) recently made AI generated
voices and robocalls illegal. With accessible AI tools, it has
never been easier to create "deepfakes," and the likelihood of
their creation during the upcoming election cycle is inevitable.
MR. APPLEBEE reported that many major technology ("tech")
companies signed a pact to voluntarily adopt reasonable
precautions to prevent AI tools from being used to disrupt
democratic elections around the world. U.S. Senator Lisa
Murkowski introduced a pact to require disclaimers on political
ads with images, audio, or video, that are substantially
generated by AI. Similarly, he said, HB 306 would require a
clear disclosure that demonstrates that the communication has
been manipulated by AI.
3:08:45 PM
SEAN MILLS, House Majority Staff, Alaska State Legislature,
provided information about how AI is regulated in other states.
He said 18 states enacted legislation associated with AI in
2023. He exemplified Connecticut, which requires an inventory
of all AI systems that state agencies utilize. Some states
enacted an AI advisory council. The Council of State
Governments identified six focus areas for legislation, which
include accountability, fighting discrimination, providing
transparency for state operations, providing data privacy,
targeting unsafe and ineffective AI systems, and providing for
interagency collaboration. He said that HB 306 addresses each
of those six points. He said there are many risks and benefits
to AI. The proposed legislation provides a launchpad for
valuable discussion.
3:12:04 PM
CHAIR SHAW asked about data "xers".
MR. MILLS answered that "xers" is shorthand for transfers.
3:12:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked if the bill would cover state
agency generated deepfakes or system generated deepfakes from
private entities.
MR. APPLEBEE responded that the bill would address two parts:
one that handles deepfakes within the state, and another for
those generated outside the state for campaign purposes.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked about the cost of the inventory for
state agency's use of AI for consequential decisions.
MR. APPLEBEE said the fiscal note includes an initial cost of $5
million, and recurring costs of $2 million per year.
3:14:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY noted the importance and timeliness of the
bill. She asked for the definition of the term "consequential
decision" used in the bill.
MR. APPLEBEE referred to page 5, line 21, which states
"consequential decision means a conclusion decision or judgement
by a state agency that can have a legal or significant effect on
an individual".
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked for a list of state agencies that may
be involved with consequential decisions.
MR. APPLEBEE stated that HB 306 would cover any agency that
utilizes AI technology. The bill would require the Department
of Administration (DOA) to catalog those uses. The fiscal note
assigns 15 programmer positions that would cover each state
agency.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if all agencies would be included.
MR. APPLEBEE said if the agency decides to use AI technology to
make decisions, it would be cataloged.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked how cyber security is tracked and AI
is used currently in state departments.
MR. APPLEBEE responded that he was unsure because there has yet
to be an inventory. He offered to reach out to DOA and follow
up with more information.
3:16:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked how frequent state generated
deepfakes are and if they are prevalent elsewhere.
MR. APPLEGATE made a distinction between the use of AI
technology and the creation of deepfakes or synthetic media. He
explained that it is unlikely that a state agency would be
creating deepfakes. State agencies may be utilizing AI
technology to make systems more efficient.
3:18:09 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that HB 306 was held over.
HB 225-POSTING OF UNOFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS
3:18:16 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 225, "An Act relating to the tabulation of
ballots; and requiring the division of elections to provide
unofficial election results before the results of an election
are certified."
3:18:31 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 3:18 p.m. to 3:21 p.m.
3:21:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ANDREW GRAY, Alaska State Legislature, presented
HB 225, as prime sponsor. He paraphrased a sponsor statement
[included in the committee packet], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
In 2020, Alaskan voters approved Ballot Measure 2,
which implemented ranked choice voting (RCV) for
general elections. This system of elections allows
voters to rank candidates in order of preference,
eliminating the candidate with the lowest vote totals
and reallocating their second-choice votes, and
repeating this process until one candidate has over
50% of the vote.
However, in the 2022 election, voters did not receive
the final results until 15 days after the election,
causing some confusion. As with any electoral system,
transparency and timely results must be prioritized to
the voters.
HB 225 addresses this concern by requiring the
Division of Elections to release the ranking data
necessary to conduct RCV tabulations on the day after
the general election, and also when it releases
unofficial election results. Knowing the vote totals
along with ranking data will allow voters and
candidates to have a more up-to-date picture of the
standings before the final tabulation.
HB 225 is a simple bill that will help increase
transparency around our electoral process, so I ask
for your support.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY stated that his office worked with the
Division of Elections to create HB 225, which [carries a zero
fiscal note].
3:24:15 PM
DAVID SONG, Staff, Representative Andrew Gray, Alaska State
Legislature, provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled "HB 225
Posting Unofficial Elections Results" [hard copy included in the
committee packet]. He began on slide 2, titled "Background
Information," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
• Ballot Measure 2 in 2020 instituted Ranked Choice
Voting (RCV).
• RCV allows voters to rank their candidates in order
of preference.
• If no candidate receives 50% + of the first-
choice vote, the candidate with the lowest vote total
is eliminated and second-choice votes are reallocated.
• Process is repeated until one candidate has
over 50% of the vote.
• RCV takes more time than single-choice voting.
MR. SONG moved to slide 3, titled "2022 Alaska Elections," which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Division of Elections took 15 days to release full
tabulation results for the 2022 general election.
• Division of Elections' policy of not releasing
ranking data in a timely manner created confusion
• Example: Initial results for 2022 Senate elections
had:
• Kelly Tshibaka in the lead on 11/9.
• Lisa Murkowski won after tabulation on 11/23
3:26:03 PM
MR. SONG moved to slide 4, titled "Results Don't Have To Be
Slow," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Delay in results undermines trust in elections.
• Digital scanning of ballots allows for instant
release of results.
• Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center recommends
several actions including:
• Round by round tabulation tally on election
night.
• Publishing the entire ballot record so that
anyone can verify the results.
• Clear communication of expectations, timelines,
and results.
MR. SONG moved to slide 5, titled "What Does HB 225 Do?," which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Incorporates some of these best practices for Alaska
elections.
• Releases the unofficial results with ALL of the
ballot data the day after election day, not just
first-choice votes.
• No more 15-day delays for results.
• Ongoing release of unofficial election results
will include ALL ballot data.
• Allows for elections observers to conduct their own
tabulations in order to see how second, third, etc.
votes will be allocated.
• No blindsiding
3:27:18 PM
MR. SONG moved to slide 6, titled "What Does HB 225 NOT Do?,"
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Data will not include hand-count precincts in
preliminary release of results.
• Does not affect municipal election procedures.
Municipalities that have adopted handcount elections
will not be affected.
• Does not require the Division of Elections to
conduct a round-by-round tabulation, adding additional
staffing.
• Just releases the ballot data so observers,
media, etc. can conduct their own tabulations.
MR. SONG moved to slide 7, titled "Concluding Remarks," which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
If RCV is overturned, HB 225 no longer applies.
• HB 225 brings transparency and efficiency to Alaska
elections we will be like the rest of the country:
we will know who is really in the lead in our closest
races the day after the elections.
3:28:32 PM
WILLIAM ADLER, Associate Director, The Elections Project,
Bipartisan Policy Center, explained that the Bipartisan Policy
Center's Elections Project advocates for pragmatic solutions to
improve American elections, does not take a formal position on
rank-choice voting but does support best-practices for any
voting method. He applauded the goal of HB 225 to ensure voters
are aware of who is leading in a rank-choice election as results
are reported. He stated that this is a manageable task for
Alaska's election workers and would increase public transparency
of elections. Under the current model, it takes more than two
weeks for voters to get a clear picture of which candidate is
leading. Expediting more comprehensive results aligns with the
best practices for rank-choice voting.
MR. ADLER noted several close elections in 2022. Best practices
for rank-choice voting involve releasing preliminary round-by-
round tallies on election night and updating the votes as more
are counted. This would make the election more transparent and
provide voters with an earlier and more meaningful picture of
election results. He said HB 225 mitigates some administrative
concerns associated with delayed unofficial tabulation. Alaska
has a history of competitive elections. Delayed election
results can result in inadequate time for the transfer of power.
He exemplified the heightened difficulties for the governorship
because the governor's term begins just four weeks after the
election. The proposed legislation would mitigate that concern.
3:32:55 PM
MR. ADLER mentioned some minor revisions that could be made to
the bill to eliminate some ambiguities and ensure that the data
released by the division is usable by the public without
proprietary software. In addition to releasing the data
necessary for observers to conduct the tabulation, the division
could conduct the tabulation and release it as unofficial
results. He emphasized that voters need transparency,
candidates need time to transition into office, and election
administrators need clear guidelines from the legislature.
3:33:58 PM
LOREN LEMAN, Former Lieutenant Governor, mentioned that he has
been an Alaska voter for 51 years. He told a story of a tied
result in a legislative race. He mentioned his involvement in
the citizen-lead initiative to repeal rank-choice voting. He
discussed three criticisms of rank-choice voting and said that
the process is confusing, it takes too long to get results, and
can produce results that are different from a "regular"
election. He mentioned that HB 225 would address one of his
criticisms of rank-choice voting by creating faster preliminary
results. He mentioned that he spoke with Division of Elections
director, Carol Beecher and affirmed that the division can
support the intention of the bill; however, she warned that in a
close election, the results could swing from one candidate to
the other. He advised that to make changes to improve voter
participation, the bill could be amended to repeal rank choice
voting. Passing HB 225 as is could make a small improvement to
elections regarding reporting.
3:37:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if the Division of Elections is
available to discuss the bill. She requested information about
current statute that limits the release of results for over two
weeks.
3:39:07 PM
CAROL BEECHER, Director, Central Office, Division of Elections,
Office of the Lieutenant Governor, based on her interpretation
of current statute, noted a regulation that the ranking would
occur after the fifteenth day. The division must wait for all
the ballots to be submitted. She noted that for the general
election, ballots can come in up to the fifteenth day after the
election if they are postmarked on election day. Rank-choice
voting requires that if no candidate receives 50 percent of the
vote, then the ranking process begins. She clarified that the
division must wait until all the votes are in before determining
which races need to be ranked.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if the timeline in HB 225 would work
from the perspective of the Division of Elections.
MS. BEECHER affirmed that the division could provide the data to
run the results.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if there are any downsides to
releasing results as they become available.
MS. BEECHER stated her belief that voter confusion is still a
possibility. She said that results can go up and down as the
results are submitted, which may be confusing for people who
lack understanding of how rank-choice votes are calculated.
CHAIR SHAW announced that amendments would be due by March 26,
2024, and HB 225 was held over.
3:42:47 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at [3:43]
p.m.