02/25/2010 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): State Commission for Human Rights, Board of Parole, and Alaska Public Offices Commission (apoc) | |
| HB289 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 289 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 25, 2010
8:10 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bob Lynn, Chair
Representative Paul Seaton, Vice Chair
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Max Gruenberg
Representative Pete Petersen
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Carl Gatto
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
State Commission for Human Rights
Lester C. Lunceford - Whittier
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Board of Parole
Richard O. Larson - Palmer
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Alaska Public Offices Commission
Elizabeth Johnston Hickerson - Anchorage
Kathleen J. King - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
HOUSE BILL NO. 289
"An Act authorizing state agencies to pay private legal fees and
costs incurred by persons exonerated of alleged Alaska Executive
Branch Ethics Act violations; allowing certain public officers
and former public officers to accept state payments to offset
private legal fees and costs related to defending against an
Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act complaint; and creating
certain exceptions to Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act
limitations on the use of state resources to provide or pay for
transportation of spouses and children of the governor and the
lieutenant governor."
- MOVED CSHB 289(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Personnel Board
Dr. Keith J. Hamilton - Soldotna
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
Commissioner, Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs
Adjutant General Thomas Katkus,
- REMOVED FROM AGENDA
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 289
SHORT TITLE: EXEC ETHICS: LEGAL FEES/FAMILY TRAVEL
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) GRUENBERG
01/15/10 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/15/10
01/19/10 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/19/10 (H) STA, JUD, FIN
02/23/10 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
02/23/10 (H) Heard & Held
02/23/10 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/25/10 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
LESTER C. LUNCEFORD, Appointee
State Commission for Human Rights
Whittier, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the State
Commission for Human Rights.
R. OLE LARSON, Appointee
Board of Parole
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Board of
Parole.
ELIZABETH JOHNSTON HICKERSON, Appointee
Alaska Public Offices Commission
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Public
Offices Commission.
KATHLEEN KING, Appointee
Alaska Public Offices Commission
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Public
Offices Commission (APOC).
JUDY BOCKMON, Assistant Attorney General/State Ethics Attorney
Opinions, Appeals, & Ethics
Civil Division (Anchorage)
Department of Law
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained the need for a proposed amendment
to Amendment 1 to HB 289.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:10:12 AM
CHAIR BOB LYNN called the House State Affairs Standing Committee
meeting to order at 8:10 a.m. Representatives Seaton, Johnson,
Wilson, Gruenberg, Petersen, and Lynn were present at the call
to order.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): STATE COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS,
BOARD OF PAROLE, AND ALASKA PUBLIC OFFICES COMMISSION (APOC)
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
STATE COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
BOARD OF PAROLE
ALASKA PUBLIC OFFICES COMMISSION (APOC)
8:10:52 AM
CHAIR LYNN brought before the committee the appointments of
Lester C. Lunceford to the State Commission For Human Rights,
Richard O. Larson to the Board of Parole, and Elizabeth Johnston
Hickerson and Kathleen J. King to the Alaska Public Offices
Commission. [The committee packet contains biographical
information on all four appointees.]
8:11:44 AM
LESTER C. LUNCEFORD, Appointee, State Commission for Human
Rights, said he has served as commissioner for seven years, and
during that time has also served as the mayor of the City of
Whittier. He relayed that he also works as a real estate
manager for the Alaska Railroad Corporation. Commissioner
Lunceford expressed pride in the opportunity he has had in
sitting on the Human Rights Commission. He stated his firm
belief in the fight against discrimination in the work place,
and he said he would like to continue that work if the
legislature would allow him to do so.
8:14:14 AM
MR. LUNCEFORD, in response to Chair Lynn, said the most typical
complaint addressed by the commission is age and race
discrimination in the work place. He outlined the process by
which the commission considers cases, and he said the commission
serves mostly as a panel of judges that hear appeals. In
response to Representative Wilson, he offered his understanding
that the newest member of the commission has been serving a
little over a year, while most others have served between three
to eight years.
8:17:13 AM
MR. LUNCEFORD, in response to Representative Gruenberg, said he
does not know exactly how many cases have been pending for a
long time, but he knows they exist. He explained that there are
many processes involved in an investigation, which means it is
not uncommon for a case to take 5-6 years.
8:19:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG emphasized that this issue is of great
concern to many legislators who are trying to find out why the
cases are taking so long.
8:22:22 AM
MR. LUNCEFORD expressed appreciation of the legislators'
concerns, and he noted that an ongoing review is in progress to
determine how the system can be more efficient and how the
Office of the Governor, as well as the legislature, can be of
help in reducing the time it takes to complete cases. In
response to Chair Lynn, Commissioner Lunceford said he would
welcome a phone call any time to discuss the matter further.
8:24:01 AM
R. OLE LARSON, Appointee, Board of Parole, offered his
background. He said he has been a professional in the
correctional field for 29 years, having begun work with juvenile
delinquents and then working with adults. He said he has been
retired for five years and serves on the Matanuska/Susitna
School District Board. He said he has continued public serves
since retired, and while working, he took as much training as
possible to keep up on the latest in correctional theory.
8:26:37 AM
ELIZABETH JOHNSTON HICKERSON, Appointee, Alaska Public Offices
Commission, said she is presently the chair of the Alaska Public
Offices Commission (APOC). She introduced some people in the
room affiliated with APOC. She said APOC has no backlog in its
cases. She said the commission is attempting to upgrade its
electronic filing system. She opined that APOC serves the
public better than ever, has tremendous training for lobbyists
and candidates, and has an excellent staff. Ms. Hickerson said
she has been an attorney in Alaska since 1981 and has worked in
several agencies. In response to Chair Lynn, she expounded upon
her experience, stating that as a lawyer she has worked in
conjunction with the legislature, the attorney general,
utilities, agriculture, airports, and insurance. She said she
has done a lot of work on regulations, representing the
Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA).
8:31:07 AM
MS. HICKERSON, in response to Chair Lynn, listed some of the
common complaints that are addressed by APOC, including:
violations of statute, failure to report, and inappropriate
contributions. She said complaints can be found by individuals
or APOC can initiate its own proceeding. She stated that the
most serious complaints result from situations in which the
public feels it has been mislead.
8:32:55 AM
MS. HICKERSON, in response to Representative Petersen, said the
[U.S.] Supreme Court made it clear that corporations and labor
unions can make independent expenditures on behalf of a
candidate, but Alaska does has no statute or regulation
addressing what type of disclosure requirements have to be made.
She opined, "The legislature needs to do something this session,
otherwise there will be no rules." She explained that APOC does
not have the sufficient legal authority to draft regulations,
but the legislature has the ability to enact legislation that
will clarify for APOC what the rules are.
8:34:09 AM
CHAIR LYNN said he anticipates legislation addressing this issue
will be presented this session, and he said such legislation
would be made a priority for the committee.
8:36:19 AM
MS. HICKERSON said APOC would leave the decision making to the
legislature in this regard, but would provide information
regarding fiscal impact.
8:37:15 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said that a corporation or labor union
making independent expenditures on behalf of candidates would
indicate coordination, which would be a campaign contribution,
and he said he does not think Ms. Hickerson meant to say that.
MS. HICKERSON confirmed that Representative Seaton is correct.
She clarified that she was speaking of independent expenditures
"addressing a candidate" - not "coordinated."
8:37:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said he would like APOC to offer input
regarding implementation, not regarding policy, because it is
important for the legislature to know what the commission's
ability is regarding electronic reporting and disclosure.
[Chair Lynn passed the gavel to Vice Chair Seaton.]
8:40:58 AM
KATHLEEN KING, Appointee, Alaska Public Offices Commission, said
she was appointed to the commission one year ago. She said she
has spent 19 years as a state employee, working primarily for
the Office of the Attorney General and the Alaska Court System.
She relayed that she is currently working as a technical writer
for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation. She proffered that
it is her researching and writing abilities that have given her
the ability to put on paper what is agreed to orally.
Commissioner King said she enjoys the melding of individual
ideas and the focus on doing what is best for the public. She
stated that her greatest concern - and the reason why she wanted
to serve on the commission - is that the public be provided with
the ability to decipher what is going on behind the scenes and
know information that should be disclosed.
8:42:51 AM
MS. KING, in response to Vice Chair Seaton, explained that
"institutional review board certification" is given when someone
has completed training regarding what can be said to people and
what kind of disclosures have to be made. It is an ethical
review related to how to treat people when trying to extract
information from them. In response to another question by Vice
Chair Seaton, she said there is still room for improvement for
APOC; certain improvements are in process, but take time.
8:46:05 AM
MS. KING, in response to Representative Johnson, said she thinks
APOC would benefit from stronger language in statutes, and
regulations need to be overhauled to match existing statutory
authority.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON emphasized that he would like input from
APOC regarding recent [U.S.] Supreme Court issues.
MS. KING noted that APOC has an appointment to speak with
Representative Lynn tonight.
8:47:57 AM
VICE CHAIR SEATON reiterated his desire to hear suggestions from
APOC regarding improvements to the commission that could be made
through legislation.
[Vice Chair Seaton passed the gavel back to Chair Lynn.]
8:51:59 AM
MS. HICKERSON, in response to Representative Gruenberg,
clarified that APOC has regulatory authority given to it by the
legislature, but cannot make regulations on a statute that does
not exist. The aforementioned [U.S.] Supreme Court decision
changed that, but APOC does not have any requirements "to make
them file reports [or] to disclose who's making the independent
expenditures." She said there are no rules in place, and a
municipal election is coming up in April.
8:54:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to advance the confirmations of
Lester C. Lunceford, R. Ole Larson, Elizabeth Johnston
Hickerson, and Kathleen J. King to the joint session of the
House and Senate. There being no objection, the nominations of
Lester C. Lunceford to the State Commission for Human Rights, R.
Ole Larson to the Board of Parole, Elizabeth Johnston Hickerson
to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, and Kathleen J. King to
the Alaska Public Offices Commission were advanced.
8:55:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON noted that he left [Dr. Keith J.
Hamilton's] name off the list when making the motion, because
Dr. Hamilton had not yet been able to appear before the
committee.
CHAIR LYNN, in response to Representative Gruenberg, noted that
Adjutant General Thomas Katkus was not able to attend this
meeting and had been taken off the list to be rescheduled for a
later date.
The committee took an at-ease from 8:56:10 AM to 8:57:13 AM.
HB 289-EXEC ETHICS: LEGAL FEES/FAMILY TRAVEL
8:57:15 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the final order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 289, "An Act authorizing state agencies to pay private
legal fees and costs incurred by persons exonerated of alleged
Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act violations; allowing certain
public officers and former public officers to accept state
payments to offset private legal fees and costs related to
defending against an Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act
complaint; and creating certain exceptions to Alaska Executive
Branch Ethics Act limitations on the use of state resources to
provide or pay for transportation of spouses and children of the
governor and the lieutenant governor."
8:57:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, as prime sponsor of HB 289, noted that
at the last bill hearing, the committee had discussed three
issues. The first issue was whether the proposed legislation
should be expanded in Section 3 to allow [the use of state
resources to pay for] travel of a non-spouse of an executive.
Representative Gruenberg said both the bill drafter and attorney
general Judy Bockmon emphasized that it would be difficult to
draft such language. He said he would do as the committee
wished, but he advised against making that change. He said the
idea for the other two amendments came from Representative
Seaton.
8:59:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to adopt Amendment 1, labeled 26-
LS1304\C.1, Wayne, 2/24/10, which read as follows:
Page 3, line 16:
Delete "official"
Insert "officially designated"
There being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
9:00:01 AM
REPRESENTAIVE SEATON moved to adopt Amendment 2, labeled 26-
LS1304\C.2, Wayne, 2/24/10, which read as follows:
Page 3, line 14:
Delete "is"
Insert "has been"
Page 3, line 15, following "customary":
Insert "at similar events"
Page 3, line 19:
Delete "are customary"
Insert "have been customary at similar events"
9:00:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG objected for discussion purposes.
9:01:19 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt an amendment to
Amendment 2, to change "at" to "for".
9:01:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected for discussion purposes.
9:01:59 AM
JUDY BOCKMON, Assistant Attorney General/State Ethics Attorney,
Opinions, Appeals, & Ethics, Civil Division (Anchorage),
Department of Law, explained the need for the proposed amendment
to Amendment 2. She clarified that the proposed change would
take place at page 3, line 19. She said, "It seemed to me that
simply for context, use of the word 'for' rather than 'at' was a
better choice when the phrase starts with 'the invitation and
the person's attendance'."
9:02:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said that change seems to be stylistic,
and he removed his objection. There being no further objection,
the amendment to Amendment 2 was adopted.
9:03:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG removed his objection to Amendment 2,
as amended. [There being no further objection, Amendment 2, as
amended, was adopted.]
9:03:54 AM
CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining that there was no one else who
wished to testify, closed public testimony.
9:04:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to report the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 289, Version 26-LS1304\C, Wayne, 2/22/10,
as amended, with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 289(STA) was
reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
9:09:16 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:09
a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 2-5-10 Governor Appointments HSTA Committee.pdf |
HSTA 2/25/2010 8:00:00 AM |
Governor Appointments |
| 01 HB 289 - Full Text.pdf |
HSTA 2/23/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 2/25/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 289 |
| 02 HB 289 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 2/23/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 2/25/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 289 |
| 03 HB 289 Sectional.pdf |
HSTA 2/23/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 2/25/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 289 |
| 04 Proposed Reg Changes.pdf |
HSTA 2/23/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 2/25/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 289 |
| 05 Legal Opinion 2-12-10 - Exec Ethics.HB 289 pdf.pdf |
HSTA 2/23/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 2/25/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 289 |
| 06 HB289-OOG-EO-2-19-10.pdf |
HSTA 2/25/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 289 |
| 07 CSHB 289 Amendment 1.pdf |
HSTA 2/25/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 289 |