04/21/2022 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB396 | |
| HB66 | |
| HB316 | |
| SB161 | |
| HB256 | |
| SB66 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 161 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 66 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 66 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 396 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 316 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 271 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 256 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
April 21, 2022
3:06 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Chair
Representative Matt Claman, Vice Chair
Representative Geran Tarr
Representative Andi Story
Representative James Kaufman
Representative David Eastman
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Sarah Vance
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 396
"An Act restricting certain investments of state funds in
certain Russian entities; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 66
"An Act relating to voting, voter qualifications, and voter
registration; relating to poll watchers; relating to absentee
ballots and questioned ballots; relating to election worker
compensation; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 316
"An Act providing for a standardized improvement tracking system
for state agencies."
- MOVED CSHB 316(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 161(JUD)
"An Act relating to the definition of 'political party'; and
providing for an effective date."
- MOVED HCS CSSB 161(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 256
"An Act relating to the Alaska Police Standards Council;
relating to municipal correctional officers and municipal
correctional employees; making municipal police officers subject
to police standards; requiring the Department of Public Safety
to submit a yearly use-of-force report to the legislature;
requiring a municipality that employs a person as a municipal
police officer or in a municipal correctional facility, the
Department of Corrections, or the Department of Public Safety to
report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation incidents of use
of force by state and municipal police, probation, parole, and
correctional officers and municipal correctional facility
employees; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED CSHB 256(CRA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 66 AM
"An Act relating to the membership of the legislative council;
and relating to the membership of the Legislative Budget and
Audit Committee."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 271
"An Act relating to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export
Authority; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARING POSTPONED TO 4/26/22
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 396
SHORT TITLE: DIVEST INVESTMENTS IN RUSSIAN ENTITIES
SPONSOR(s): STATE AFFAIRS
03/09/22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/09/22 (H) STA, FIN
03/10/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/10/22 (H) Heard & Held
03/10/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
03/15/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/15/22 (H) Heard & Held
03/15/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
03/17/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/17/22 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
03/22/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/22/22 (H) Heard & Held
03/22/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/19/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/19/22 (H) Scheduled but Not Heard
04/21/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 66
SHORT TITLE: ELECTIONS, VOTING, BALLOTS
SPONSOR(s): TUCK
02/18/21 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/15/21
02/18/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/18/21 (H) STA, JUD
04/09/21 (H) STA REFERRAL MOVED TO AFTER JUD
04/09/21 (H) BILL REPRINTED
04/12/21 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/12/21 (H) Heard & Held
04/12/21 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
04/14/21 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/14/21 (H) Heard & Held
04/14/21 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
04/19/21 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/19/21 (H) Moved CSHB 66(JUD) Out of Committee
04/19/21 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
04/21/21 (H) JUD RPT CS(JUD) 4DP 3DNP
04/21/21 (H) DP: KREISS-TOMKINS, DRUMMOND, SNYDER,
CLAMAN
04/21/21 (H) DNP: EASTMAN, VANCE, KURKA
04/21/21 (H) FIN REFERRAL ADDED AFTER STA
04/21/21 (H) BILL REPRINTED
04/29/21 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/29/21 (H) Heard & Held
04/29/21 (H) MINUTE(STA)
05/06/21 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/06/21 (H) Scheduled but Not Heard
01/25/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
01/25/22 (H) Heard & Held
01/25/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/12/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/12/22 (H) Heard & Held
04/12/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/19/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/19/22 (H) Heard & Held
04/19/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/21/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 316
SHORT TITLE: STANDARDIZED IMPROVEMENT TRACKING SYSTEM
SPONSOR(s): KAUFMAN
02/11/22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/11/22 (H) STA, FIN
03/15/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/15/22 (H) Heard & Held
03/15/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/16/22 (H) STA AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/16/22 (H) Heard & Held
04/16/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/21/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: SB 161
SHORT TITLE: POLITICAL PARTY DEFINITION
SPONSOR(s): WIELECHOWSKI
01/18/22 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/22 (S) STA, JUD
02/17/22 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
02/17/22 (S) Heard & Held
02/17/22 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/01/22 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/01/22 (S) -- MEETING CANCELED --
03/03/22 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/03/22 (S) Moved SB 161 Out of Committee
03/03/22 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/04/22 (S) STA RPT 4NR 1DP
03/04/22 (S) NR: SHOWER, COSTELLO, REINBOLD, HOLLAND
03/04/22 (S) DP: KAWASAKI
03/14/22 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/14/22 (S) Heard & Held
03/14/22 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/16/22 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/16/22 (S) Moved CSSB 161(JUD) Out of Committee
03/16/22 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/18/22 (S) JUD RPT CS 1AM 3DP SAME TITLE
03/18/22 (S) AM: HOLLAND
03/18/22 (S) DP: MYERS, HUGHES, KIEHL
03/25/22 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
03/25/22 (S) VERSION: CSSB 161(JUD)
04/04/22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/04/22 (H) STA, JUD
04/05/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/05/22 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/09/22 (H) STA AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/09/22 (H) Heard & Held
04/09/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/21/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 256
SHORT TITLE: LAW ENFORCEMENT: REGISTRY; USE OF FORCE
SPONSOR(s): TARR
01/18/22 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/7/22
01/18/22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/22 (H) CRA, STA, FIN
03/08/22 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/08/22 (H) Heard & Held
03/08/22 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/15/22 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/15/22 (H) Heard & Held
03/15/22 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/17/22 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/17/22 (H) Moved CSHB 256(CRA) Out of Committee
03/17/22 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/18/22 (H) CRA RPT CS(CRA) NEW TITLE 3DP 2NR
03/18/22 (H) DP: DRUMMOND, SCHRAGE, HANNAN
03/18/22 (H) NR: MCCARTY, MCCABE
04/16/22 (H) STA AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/16/22 (H) Heard & Held
04/16/22 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/21/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: SB 66
SHORT TITLE: MEMBERS LEG COUNCIL; LEG BUDGET & AUDIT
SPONSOR(s): BEGICH
02/03/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/03/21 (S) STA
03/16/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/16/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/16/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
02/10/22 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
02/10/22 (S) Scheduled but Not Heard
02/17/22 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
02/17/22 (S) Moved CSSB 66(STA) Out of Committee
02/17/22 (S) MINUTE(STA)
02/22/22 (S) STA RPT CS 1DP 3NR 1AM SAME TITLE
02/22/22 (S) DP: SHOWER
02/22/22 (S) NR: COSTELLO, REINBOLD, HOLLAND
02/22/22 (S) AM: KAWASAKI
03/28/22 (S) RETURNED TO STA COMMITTEE
03/28/22 (S) STA WAIVED PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE,RULE
23
03/29/22 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/29/22 (S) Moved CSSB 66 (2d STA) Out of Committee
03/29/22 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/30/22 (S) STA RPT 2D CS 2DP 1NR SAME TITLE
03/30/22 (S) DP: SHOWER, KAWASAKI
03/30/22 (S) NR: COSTELLO
04/12/22 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
04/12/22 (S) VERSION: SB 66 AM
04/13/22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/13/22 (H) STA
04/21/22 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
XANNIE BORSETH, Staff
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an explanation of changes in the
proposed CS for HB 396 sponsored by the House State Affairs
Standing Committee, on behalf of Representative Kreiss-Tomkins,
chair.
KAREN MATTHIAS
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 396.
ROBERT WELTON
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on the proposed CS for HB 66,
Version O.
MIKE MASON, Staff
Representative Chris Tuck
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the proposed CS
for HB 66, Version O, on behalf of Representative Tuck, prime
sponsor.
KACI SCHROEDER, Assistant Attorney General
Criminal Division
Department of Law
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on
the proposed CS for HB 66, Version O.
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided introductory remarks and answered
questions during the hearing on CSSB 161(JUD), as the prime
sponsor.
DAVID DUNSMORE, Staff
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on
CSSB 161(JUD), on behalf of Senator Wielechowski, prime sponsor.
THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General
Civil Division
Department of Law
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on
CSSB 161(JUD).
PHILLIP MOSER
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 256.
HELEN MARIE MATESI
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 256.
HELEN GOOD, Deputy Director
Department of Corrections
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on
CSHB 256(CRA).
SENATOR TOM BEGICH
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SB 66, as the prime sponsor.
MERCEDES COLBERT, Staff
Senator Tom Begich
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a sectional analysis of SB 66, on
behalf of Senator Begich, prime sponsor.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:04:46 PM
CHAIR JONATHAN KREISS-TOMKINS called the House State Affairs
Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:06 p.m.
Representatives Tarr, Story, Kaufman, and Kreiss-Tomkins were
present at the call to order. Representatives Eastman and
Claman arrived as the meeting was in progress.
HB 396-DIVEST INVESTMENTS IN RUSSIAN ENTITIES
3:06:37 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 396, "An Act restricting certain
investments of state funds in certain Russian entities; and
providing for an effective date."
3:07:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS)for HB 396, labeled 32-LS1618\I, Nauman, 4/15/22,
as the working document.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS objected for presentation purposes.
3:07:28 PM
XANNIE BORSETH, Staff, Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins,
Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Kreiss-
Tomkins, provided an explanation of changes in the proposed CS
for HB 396, ("Version I"), sponsored by the House State Affairs
Standing Committee, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1 (page 1, sections a. and b.): changes
divestment timeline from 90 to 180 days on page 1,
lines 11, 13, and 14 and on page 2, line 6.
Section 1 (page 3, section g., lines 5-7): adds "the
commissioner or a fiduciary of a fund is not required
to divest from an investment under this section if the
commissioner or fiduciary determines that divestment
is not consistent with the fiduciary responsibilities
of the commissioner or the fiduciary."
Section 1 (page 3, section i., line 13): adds "debt
instrument issued by the government of Russia" to the
definition of "Russian entity.
Section 1 (page 3, section i., lines 20-21): adds that
the definition of "Russian entity? does not include a
company the United States federal government excludes
from federal sanctions related to Russia," so if a
company is not included on OFAC's list, or if it is
removed, that company is no longer regarded as a
"Russian entity" under this legislation.
Section 2 (page 3, section a., lines 22-26): specifies
that the uncodified law shall establish guidelines for
transition, stating that "within 30 days after the
effective date of this Act, the commissioner of
revenue shall create an initial list of Russian
entities" as specified by this Act.
Section 2 (page 3, line 27 - page 4, line 4, section
b.): establishes that section 1(g) of this Act
notwithstanding, "the commissioner of revenue, a
fiduciary of a fund subject to AS 37, or an outside
investment manager shall, within 180 days after the
effective date, divest ownership in the initial list
of Russian entities created," and specified that the
commissioner of revenue or the fiduciary shall submit
a letter consistent with section 1(b) to the manager
of a commingled investment.
3:11:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR inquired about the repealer language in
Section 3 and asked whether the January 1, 2024, timeline was
consistent with the original version of the bill.
MS. BORSETH shared her understanding that the date was
consistent.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked what version of the bill
Representative Tarr was referring to.
MS. BORSETH reported that the original version of the bill was
Version A.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN confirmed that the date in Version A was
January 1, 2024.
MS. BORSETH noted that the governor's bill pertaining to
divestment from Russian entities expired on July 1, 2023.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS removed his objection. There being no
further objection, Version I was adopted as the working
document.
3:13:09 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 396.
3:13:41 PM
KAREN MATTHIAS stated her support for HB 396. She expressed her
strong belief that generally, the managers of the Alaska
Permanent Fund should abide by the mandate to make investment
decisions that protected and grew the fund to benefit Alaskans
today and in the future; however, she acknowledged that these
were not normal times. Russia's invasion of a peaceful,
sovereign nation must be met with global responses, including
divestment from Russian assets, she opined. She urged the
legislature not to turn a blind eye to the atrocities being
committed by Russia. She encouraged the committee to rely on
the expertise found in the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation
(APFC) and the Department of Revenue (DOR) to ensure swift,
efficient action and a well-crafted piece of legislation.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony on HB 396 and
announced that the bill was held over.
HB 66-ELECTIONS, VOTING, BALLOTS
3:15:56 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 66, "An Act relating to voting, voter
qualifications, and voter registration; relating to poll
watchers; relating to absentee ballots and questioned ballots;
relating to election worker compensation; and providing for an
effective date." [Before the committee was the proposed CS,
"Version O," labeled 32-LS0322\O, Klein, 3/30/22, adopted as the
working document on 4/12/22.]
3:16:22 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 66.
3:16:38 PM
ROBERT WELTON opined that the goal of the system should be to
make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. He added his belief
that barriers to voting should only be erected if a verified
need arose. Although he expressed his support for the bill's
expansion of early registration, he highlighted two major
concerns. Firstly, he argued that requiring absentee voters to
reapply if they hadn't voted absentee in over four years was
problematic. He recalled testimony provided by Director
Fenumiai, Division of Elections (DOE), during a Senate State
Affairs Standing Committee that confirmed the absence of fraud
amongst absentee voting in the 2020 election. For that reason,
he believed there was no need to increase restrictions.
Additionally, he suggested that the absentee voting provision in
question likely violated federal election law, which did not
allow states to strike voters from the roll for failing to vote.
He took issue with the provision requiring mandatory signature
verification on all absentee ballots for similar reasons.
Furthermore, he suggested that tighter restrictions on absentee
voting could open the process to partisan abuse.
3:19:59 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:20:31 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony on HB 66.
3:21:30 PM
MIKE MASON, Staff, Representative Chris Tuck, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Tuck, prime sponsor,
pointed out that the change to the absentee voting system
referenced by Mr. Welton corresponded to the Senate version of
the bill that aligned with Governor Dunleavy's election bill.
The provision in the Senate bill would allow voters to request
absentee ballots for four years, after which they would be
required to resubmit an application. He clarified that Version
O would give Alaskans the option to receive absentee ballots by
mail for all future state elections without having to fill out
an application each year. Currently, he noted, Alaska
maintained a permanent absentee voting list that was authorized
by regulation, as opposed to statute.
3:22:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about the rationale for the four-
year requirement in the governor's bill.
MR. MASON said that question would be better addressed to
Senator Shower [prime sponsor of SB 39]. He maintained that
under Version O, absentee voters would always be able to receive
an absentee ballot without making a formal request each year.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY, in response to Mr. Welton's testimony, was
unsure which section of Version O would violate federal law.
MR. MASON reiterated that Mr. Welton was mistakenly referring to
the Senate bill [SB 39].
REPRESENTATIVE STORY remarked, "So that does not violate federal
law?"
MR. MASON shared his understanding that arbitrarily removing a
voter from a registered list would violate federal law. He
stressed that Version O did not include such a provision.
3:24:46 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS invited questions for Ms. Schroeder,
Department of Law (DOL).
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked Ms. Schroeder to delineate between
fraud that may occur prior to voting versus fraudulent election
results.
3:26:27 PM
KACI SCHROEDER, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division,
DOL, explained that there were different criminal offenses
relating to voter registration fraud, which occurred before
election day, and fraudulent voting with the intent of affecting
the election outcome, such as intentionally voting more than
once.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN inquired about the elements of perjury.
MS. SCHROEDER indicated that perjury occurred when a person
knowingly falsifies a sworn statement under penalty of perjury.
She added that in a perjury case, it must be proven that the
defendant believed the sworn statement to be true.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN sought to confirm that a sworn statement
did not require the raising of one's right hand.
MS. SCHROEDER confirmed that raising one's right hand was not
required. She defined a sworn statement as, "a statement
knowingly given under oath or affirmation attesting to the truth
of what is stated, including a notarized statement, or a
statement knowingly given under penalty of perjury under AS
09.63.020."
3:29:07 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS considered a scenario posed during a prior
hearing in which suspiciously fraudulent behavior was observed
on election day, such as the use of falsified identification.
He asked how the Criminal Division would process the reported
incident.
MS. SCHROEDER stated that DOL encouraged citizens to report
suspicious activity to DOE. The division would investigate the
incident and, if it rose to the level of criminal offense, the
evidence would be compiled and forwarded to the Criminal
Division. She said the case would be treated and screened by
DOL as any other criminal case.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS asked how many referrals the Criminal
Division received for suspicious instances regarding voter fraud
in recent decades.
MS. SCHROEDER reported that there were only 10 instances in the
entire history of the Criminal Division that were accepted, of
which 5 were still open and 5 were closed.
3:31:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked how many of the 10 cases came
through DOE.
MS. SCHROEDER suspected that the division was involved in all
10.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether anything was lacking from
statute to allow effective prosecution of election-related
offenses.
MS. SCHROEDER was unaware of any requested changes to the
current criminal code in that regard. She opined that the
current election law was robust.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked what statute of limitations applied
to election related offenses.
MS. SCHROEDER answered five years.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked when the five-year clock "starts
ticking."
MS. SCHROEDER said when DOL became aware of the offense.
3:34:58 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that HB 66 was held over.
HB 316-STANDARDIZED IMPROVEMENT TRACKING SYSTEM
3:36:13 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 316, "An Act providing for a
standardized improvement tracking system for state agencies."
[Before the committee was proposed committee substitute (CS) for
HB 316, "Version B," labeled 32-LS1076\B, Wallace, 3/17/22,
adopted as the working document on 4/16/22.]
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 316; after
ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed public
testimony.
3:36:49 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:37:06 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS entertained final comment from committee
members.
3:37:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN, prime sponsor of HB 316, noted that the
revised fiscal note was greatly reduced in comparison to the
original.
3:38:34 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:38:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN moved to report CSHB 316, Version 32-
LS1076\B, Wallace, 3/17/22, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being
no objection, CSHB 316(STA) was reported out of the House State
Affairs Standing Committee.
SB 161-POLITICAL PARTY DEFINITION
3:39:46 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business
would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 161(JUD), "An Act relating to
the definition of 'political party'; and providing for an
effective date."
3:39:58 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:40:19 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on CSSB 161(JUD);
after ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed
public testimony.
3:41:02 PM
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, prime
sponsor, noted that the idea for the legislation was brought to
him by a constituent who was an active member of the Libertarian
Party. He welcomed questions from committee members.
3:41:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether the bill was conceived
before or after the passage of Ballot Measure 2 [Top-Four
Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative
(2020)].
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI deferred to Mr. Dunsmore.
3:42:02 PM
DAVID DUNSMORE, Staff, Senator Bill Wielechowski, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Senator Wielechowski, prime sponsor,
recalled that Senator Wielechowski was approached by a
constituent in December 2021, which was after the passage of
Ballot Measure 2.
3:42:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN moved to adopt Amendment 1 to CSSB
161(JUD), [labeled 32-LS1361\B.2, Bullard, 4/19/22], which read:
Page 1, line 1, following "Act":
Insert "relating to the verification of a
political party's number of registered voters;"
Page 1, following line 3:
Insert new bill sections to read:
"* Section 1. AS 15.80.008(a) is amended to read:
(a) A political group that the director has not
recognized as a political party may obtain recognized
political party status if
(1) [,] on or before May 31 of the election
year for which the political group seeks recognition,
the political group [(1)] files an application with
the director; and
(2) on January 1 of that year, the
political group [SUBMITS BYLAWS TO THE DIRECTOR AND
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AS REQUIRED OF
POLITICAL PARTIES IN AS 15.25.014; AND
(3)] meets the definition of a political
party in AS 15.80.010.
* Sec. 2. AS 15.80.008(c) is amended to read:
(c) The director shall perform a verification
described in (b) of this section on January 1 of each
[AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH AFTER THE DATE OF CERTIFICATION
OF THE PRECEDING GENERAL ELECTION, EXCEPT THAT THE
DIRECTOR MAY SUSPEND THE MONTHLY VERIFICATIONS ON AND
AFTER JUNE 1 AND BEFORE NOVEMBER 30 OF A GENERAL
ELECTION] year. For purposes of (b) of this section,
the director shall verify that the voters who have
submitted registration forms to the division of
elections are qualified under AS 15.05.010 and have
declared affiliation with the political group or
recognized political party for which the verification
is performed."
Page 1, line 4:
Delete "Section 1"
Insert "Sec. 3"
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
Page 1, lines 6 - 10:
Delete "; beginning with the results of the 2030
decennial federal census, following each decennial
federal census, the division shall by regulation
adjust this number by the percentage of the change to
the population of the state since the 2020 decennial
federal census, rounded to the nearest 500"
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN objected.
3:42:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN explained that Amendment 1 would insert
the date, January 1, on which the Division of Elections (DOE)
would calculate the number of registered voters associated with
a political party to verify the party's status. He indicated
that the relevant language was found on page 1, line 13 of
Amendment 1.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said his preference was to leave the bill
in its current form.
3:45:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN maintained his objection.
3:45:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN argued that January 1 was a logical place
to "set the benchmark."
3:46:19 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Eastman voted in
favor of the adoption of Amendment 1. Representatives Tarr,
Story, Claman, and Kreiss-Tomkins voted against it. Therefore,
Amendment 1 failed by a vote of 1-4.
3:46:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN moved to adopt Amendment 2 to CSSB
161(JUD), [labeled 32-LS1361\B.3, Bullard, 4/19/22], which read:
Page 1, line 6:
Delete "5,000"
Insert "250"
Page 1, lines 6 - 10:
Delete "; beginning with the results of the 2030
decennial federal census, following each decennial
federal census, the division shall by regulation
adjust this number by the percentage of the change to
the population of the state since the 2020 decennial
federal census, rounded to the nearest 500"
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN objected.
3:46:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN explained that Amendment 2 would reduce
the number of required registered voters from 5,000 to 250. He
reasoned that there were not many groups attempting to form
political parties in Alaska, so reducing the number of
registered voters would not produce an overabundance of new
political parties. Additionally, Amendment 2 deleted the
provision that required the division to adjust the number of
registered voters by the percentage of the change to state
population based on the decennial federal census results.
3:48:03 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said his preference was to leave the bill
in its current form.
3:48:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN sought to confirm that the original
version of the bill lacked the "decennial population adjustment"
provision.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said, "That's correct."
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN maintained his objection.
3:49:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN withdrew Amendment 2.
3:49:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN moved to adopt Amendment 3 to CSSB
161(JUD), [labeled 32-LS1361\B.6, Bullard, 4/19/22], which read:
Page 1, line 1, following "Act":
Insert "relating to confidential affiliation with
a political party or political group;"
Page 1, following line 3:
Insert new bill sections to read:
"* Section 1. AS 15.07 is amended by adding a new
section to read:
Sec. 15.07.073. Confidential affiliation with a
political party or political group. (a) A voter
registering as affiliated with a political party or
political group may request that the division keep
confidential, to the extent provided under (c) and (d)
of this section, the voter's affiliation with the
political party or political group.
(b) Subject to (c) and (d) of this section, the
division shall keep confidential the affiliation of a
voter who requests that the voter's affiliation with a
political party or political group remain confidential
under (a) of this section.
(c) The division shall notify the state chair of
a political party or political group, or another
person authorized by the rules or bylaws of the
political party or political group, of the name of a
voter who has registered as affiliated with the
political party or political group and who has
requested that the voter's affiliation be kept
confidential under this section.
(d) A voter who chooses to keep confidential the
voter's affiliation with a political party or
political group under this section may not be counted
as affiliated with the political party or political
group unless, under AS 15.80.008(c), counting the
voter allows the political party or political group to
maintain or obtain recognized political party status
under AS 15.80.008. The affiliation of a voter counted
under this subsection becomes public information, and
the division may not continue to keep the affiliation
confidential.
* Sec. 2. AS 15.07.075 is amended to read:
Sec. 15.07.075. Voters unaffiliated with a
political party. The director shall consider a voter
to be a voter registered as
(1) "nonpartisan" and without a preference
for a political party if the voter registers as
nonpartisan on a voter registration form;
(2) "undeclared" if the voter
(A) registers as undeclared on a voter
registration form;
(B) fails to declare an affiliation with a
political group or political party on a voter
registration form; or
(C) declares an affiliation with an entity
other than a political party or political group on a
voter registration form; or
(3) "other" if the voter
(A) declares on a voter registration form
an affiliation with a political group; or
(B) requests to keep the voter's
affiliation with a political party or political group
confidential under AS 15.07.073 and the voter's
affiliation is not made public under AS 15.07.073(d).
* Sec. 3. AS 15.07.127 is amended to read:
Sec. 15.07.127. Preparation of master register.
Subject to AS 15.07.073 and 15.07.075, the [THE]
director shall prepare both a statewide list and a
list by precinct of the names and addresses of all
persons whose names appear on the master register and
their political party affiliation. Subject to the
limitations of AS 15.07.195, any person may obtain a
copy of the list, or a part of the list, or an
electronic format containing both residence and
mailing addresses of voters, by applying to the
director and paying to the state treasury a fee as
determined by the director.
* Sec. 4. AS 15.07.195(a) is amended to read:
(a) The following information set out in state
voter registration records is confidential and is not
open to public inspection:
(1) the voter's age or date of birth;
(2) the voter's social security number, or
any part of that number;
(3) the voter's driver's license number;
(4) the voter's voter identification
number;
(5) the voter's place of birth;
(6) the voter's signature;
(7) the voter's affiliation with a
political party or political group if requested, and
to the extent allowable, under AS 15.07.073.
* Sec. 5. AS 15.07.195(c) is amended to read:
(c) Notwithstanding other provisions, and in
compliance with federal law, information made
confidential by (a)(1) - (6) of this section may be
released by the division
(1) to a local, state, or federal
government agency, including to the child support
services agency created in AS 25.27.010 or the child
support enforcement agency of another state; the
agency receiving information under this paragraph may
use the information only for governmental purposes
authorized under law;
(2) in compliance with a court order;
(3) to a person holding a writ of execution
against the person or property of the voter;
(4) if the voter about whom information has
been requested has provided written consent to the
release; or
(5) to another state or an organized group
of states for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy of
the state's voter registration list prepared under
AS 15.07.125 and the eligibility of persons on the
list to vote in state elections, if the other state or
organized group of states maintains the
confidentiality of the information using information
security management policies and procedures that
comply with
(A) the information security standards of
the International Organization for Standardization; or
(B) a published information security
standard used by the state and approved by the
Department of Administration.
* Sec. 6. AS 15.15.400 is amended to read:
Sec. 15.15.400. Preparation of voter list.
Subject to AS 15.07.073 and 15.07.075, the [THE]
director shall prepare both a statewide list and a
list by precinct of the names and addresses of all
persons who voted in the election and their political
party affiliation. Any person may obtain a copy of the
list, or a part of the list, or a computer tape
containing both residence and mailing addresses of
voters, by applying to the director and paying to the
state treasury a fee as determined by the director.
* Sec. 7. AS 15.80.008(c) is amended to read:
(c) The director shall perform a verification
described in (b) of this section at least once a month
after the date of certification of the preceding
general election, except that the director may suspend
the monthly verifications on and after June 1 and
before November 30 of a general election year. For
purposes of (b) of this section, the director shall
verify that the voters who have submitted registration
forms to the division of elections are qualified under
AS 15.05.010 and have declared affiliation with the
political group or recognized political party for
which the verification is performed. A voter who
requests that the voter's political affiliation remain
confidential under AS 15.07.073 may not be counted as
having declared affiliation with a political group or
recognized political party under this section unless
counting the voter allows the political party or
political group to maintain or obtain recognized
political party status under this section and
AS 15.80.010(27)."
Page 1, line 4:
Delete "Section 1"
Insert "Sec. 8"
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
Page 2, following line 12:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 9. AS 43.23.110(c) is amended to read:
(c) Information submitted on a permanent fund
dividend application that is used for the purpose of
registering an applicant to vote under AS 43.23.101
shall be kept confidential by the division of
elections as provided in AS 15.07.073 and 15.07.195
[AS 15.07.195]."
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN objected.
3:49:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN explained that Amendment 3 would create
an opportunity for voters to maintain a confidential party
affiliation, which would only become public if counting the
voter allowed the political party or group to maintain or obtain
recognized political party status.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he appreciated the intent; however,
under current law, a person could select "undeclared" if he/she
wished to keep his/her party affiliation private.
3:51:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN withdrew Amendment 3.
3:52:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN moved to adopt Amendment 4 to CSSB
161(JUD), [labeled 32-LS1361\B.1, Bullard, 4/19/22], which read:
Page 1, line 6:
Delete "represents a political program and"
Page 1, line 10, following "500":
Insert "[REPRESENTS A POLITICAL PROGRAM AND"
Page 1, line 11:
Delete "[(A)"
Insert "(A)"
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN objected.
3:52:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN explained that Amendment 4 would delete
the language "represents a political program and" on page 1,
line 6 of the bill. He argued that subscribing to the same
political program should not a requirement of the registered
voters that constitute a political party.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI deferred to Mr. Dunsmore.
MR. DUNSMORE said he wasn't clear what practical effect
Amendment 4 would have, as DOE didn't conduct a review to
determine whether a group had a political program. He indicated
that it was definitionally assumed that a group seeking party
access would represent a political program.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS inquired about the practical effect of the
language in question.
3:54:47 PM
THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division,
Department of Law, sought further clarification.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS directed attention to page 1, line 6 of
CSSB 161(JUD) and asked whether the deletion of the language
"represents a political program and" would have any substantive
impact.
MR. FLYNN answered no, DOE was not in the business of deciding
what a political party is and isn't and denying status on those
grounds. He stated that the deletion of that language would not
have a large practical effect.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS sought to confirm that Amendment 4 may
economize the statutory language.
MR. FLYNN said, "That's my sense."
3:56:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN considered a scenario in which a group of
4,000 people wanted to call themselves the Liberty Party. He
sought to confirm that the group would not obtain recognized
status until they reached 5,000.
MR. FLYNN answered yes, they would have to clear the threshold
of 5,000 registered voters.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN surmised that deleting the language
"represents a political program and" would allow any organized
groups to be recognized as a political party once reaching that
threshold.
MR. FLYNN said he was struggling to identify a situation in
which the division would refuse to recognize a group of over
5,000 registered voters based on the absence of an identifiable
political program.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN remarked, "But on some level, there would
have to be some finding that there was some way to figure out
that the group, such as they are, have enough of a commonality
of interest to call them an organized group."
MR. FLYNN answered yes, I'd suppose so.
3:58:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR surmised that identifying a political
program could help the division differentiate between two
respective groups with similar missions. She asked how such a
circumstance would be handled.
MR. FLYNN said that was an inherent danger in the system.
Nonetheless, he shared his understanding that groups were not
required to submit a political program to the division for
approval.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN pointed out that similar political
parties existed.
4:02:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN withdrew his objection to the adoption of
Amendment 4. There being no further objection, Amendment 4 was
adopted.
4:04:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN moved to adopt Amendment 5 to CSSB
161(JUD), [labeled 32-LS1361\B.4, Bullard, 4/19/22], which read:
Page 1, line 1, following "Act":
Insert "relating to voter registration;"
Page 1, following line 3:
Insert new bill sections to read:
"* Section 1. AS 15.07.050(b) is amended to read:
(b) Except as provided in (c) of this section,
only the voter or the individual authorized by the
voter in a written power of attorney under (a) of this
section may mark the voter's choice of party or group
affiliation on the voter registration application
form.
* Sec. 2. AS 15.07.050 is amended by adding a new
subsection to read:
(d) A voter registration agency shall provide
each applicant for registration or reregistration the
opportunity to adopt a political party or group
affiliation. The voter registration agency shall
provide each applicant a complete list of political
parties and political groups in the state.
* Sec. 3. AS 15.07.070(j) is amended to read:
(j) The division shall cooperate with the
Department of Revenue under AS 43.23.101 to ensure
that the permanent fund dividend application form
furnished by the Department of Revenue under
AS 43.23.015 provides an applicant the opportunity to
adopt a political party or group affiliation, includes
the list of active political parties and political
groups required under AS 15.07.050(d), allows an
applicant, a person who is designated in a power of
attorney to act on behalf of an applicant, or a person
acting on behalf of a physically disabled applicant to
submit voter registration information required under
AS 15.07.060(a)(1) - (4) and (7) - (9), and requires
an applicant to attest [AN ATTESTATION] that the
required voter registration [SUCH] information is
true. The director may require proof of identification
of the applicant, if not already in the Department of
Revenue's possession, as required by regulations
adopted by the director under AS 44.62 (Administrative
Procedure Act).
* Sec. 4. AS 15.07.070(k) is amended to read:
(k) Upon receipt of an applicant's [THE]
registration and political affiliation information
provided under (j) of this section, the director
shall, as soon as practicable and in accordance with a
schedule established by the director by rule, notify
by United States mail and any other means authorized
by the director, each applicant not already registered
to vote at the address provided in the applicant's
application
(1) of the processes to
(A) decline to be registered as a voter;
and
(B) maintain an existing voter registration
or be newly registered at a valid place of residence
not provided in the applicant's application; and
[(C) ADOPT A POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION;
AND]
(2) that failure to respond to the
notification shall constitute the applicant's consent
to cancel any registration to vote in another
jurisdiction.
* Sec. 5. AS 15.07.127 is amended to read:
Sec. 15.07.127. Preparation of master register.
The director shall prepare both a statewide list and a
list by precinct of the names and addresses of all
persons whose names appear on the master register and
their political [PARTY] affiliation. Subject to the
limitations of AS 15.07.195, any person may obtain a
copy of the list, or a part of the list, or an
electronic format containing both residence and
mailing addresses of voters, by applying to the
director and paying to the state treasury a fee as
determined by the director.
* Sec. 6. AS 15.15.400 is amended to read:
Sec. 15.15.400. Preparation of voter list. The
director shall prepare both a statewide list and a
list by precinct of the names and addresses of all
persons who voted in the election and their political
[PARTY] affiliation. Any person may obtain a copy of
the list, or a part of the list, or a computer tape
containing both residence and mailing addresses of
voters, by applying to the director and paying to the
state treasury a fee as determined by the director."
Page 1, line 4:
Delete "Section 1"
Insert "Sec. 7"
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN objected.
4:04:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN directed attention to Section 2 and
Section 3 of Amendment 5, which he characterized as the
pertinent information. He indicated that the proposed amendment
would require a voter registration agency, DOE, and the
Department of Revenue (DOR) to provide a list of active
political parties and political groups on the permanent fund
dividend (PFD) application form and the voter registration
application.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI expressed concern that Amendment 5 would
make the application forms too lengthy. Additionally, he
pointed out that if a person was interested in declaring a
political party affiliation, he/she could simply go online and
register for said party.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN opined that by omitting a list of active
political parties, the larger, more well-known parties were
benefitting at the expense of smaller groups.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI questioned whether it was the state's duty
to promote political parties or make people aware of their
existence.
MR. DUNSMORE added that after reviewing it from the perspective
of a legislative staffer who often assisted constituents with
related matters, he argued that a lengthier form might cause
undue burden.
4:10:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN withdrew Amendment 5.
4:11:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN moved to adopt Amendment 6 to CSSB
161(JUD), [labeled 32-LS1361\B.5, Bullard, 4/19/22], which read:
Page 1, line 1, following "Act":
Insert "relating to changing the name of a
political group or recognized political party;"
Page 1, following line 3:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Section 1. AS 15.80.008 is amended by adding a
new subsection to read:
(f) A political group or political party may
change its name and retain its membership, and, for a
political party, its recognized status under this
title, if the political group or political party
submits evidence satisfactory to the director that the
name change was approved at a state convention of the
political group or political party or by another means
authorized by the rules or bylaws of the political
group or political party. If, before the filing
deadline for office, a political group or political
party submits evidence satisfactory to the director of
a name change under this subsection,
(1) and a candidate affiliated with that
political party or political group requests that the
candidate's affiliation be designated after the name
of the candidate on the ballot under
AS 15.15.030(a)(5), the director shall use the new
name of the political party or political group; and
(2) a candidate registered as affiliated
with the political group or political party shall
state the new name in the candidate's listed
affiliation or party designation in a declaration of
candidacy under AS 15.25.030(a)(5)."
Page 1, line 4:
Delete "Section 1"
Insert "Sec. 2"
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN objected.
4:11:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN explained that the purpose of Amendment 6
was to clarify that there was no intention of burdening or
penalizing a political party that decided to change its name.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI opined that Amendment 6 was worthy of its
own bill.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR suggested addressing this topic after the
passage of CSSB 161(JUD) if dozens of new parties were formed in
its wake. She maintained her belief that the focus of the
proposed legislation should be limited in scope.
4:13:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN withdrew Amendment 6.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS invited closing comments from committee
members.
4:14:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR expressed her appreciation for the bill, as
the diversity of views among Alaskans were not well-represented
by the few existing parties, she opined. She expressed her hope
that increasing the options would engage more people in the
electoral and policy-making process.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN applauded the sponsor for bringing the
bill forward.
4:14:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN moved to report CSSB 161(JUD), as amended,
out of committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection HCS CSSB
161(STA) was reported out of the House State Affairs Standing
Committee.
HB 256-LAW ENFORCEMENT: REGISTRY; USE OF FORCE
4:15:25 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 256, "An Act relating to the Alaska
Police Standards Council; relating to municipal correctional
officers and municipal correctional employees; making municipal
police officers subject to police standards; requiring the
Department of Public Safety to submit a yearly use-of-force
report to the legislature; requiring a municipality that employs
a person as a municipal police officer or in a municipal
correctional facility, the Department of Corrections, or the
Department of Public Safety to report to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation incidents of use of force by state and municipal
police, probation, parole, and correctional officers and
municipal correctional facility employees; and providing for an
effective date." [Before the committee was CSHB 256(CRA).]
4:15:48 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 256.
4:16:01 PM
PHILLIP MOSER stated his support for HB 256 and emphasized the
importance of creating a centralized database for the use of
force by police officers. He shared a lack of confidence in the
Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) database, arguing that
the database should be publicly accessible. He called into
question one committee member's potential conflict of interest
over his membership [in the Oath Keepers]. He concluded by
urging the committee to pass the proposed legislation.
4:18:47 PM
HELEN MARIE MATESI stated her support for the bill and any steps
towards accountability that would protect Alaskan citizens. She
pointed out that the bill could prevent officers with a history
of violence from relocating and continuing that behavior.
4:19:44 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony on HB 256.
4:20:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN shared his understanding that the bill
would codify existing practice.
4:20:29 PM
HELEN GOOD, Deputy Director, Department of Corrections (DOC),
confirmed that the bill would codify existing practice and bring
training practices under one umbrella.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY shared her appreciation and support for the
bill.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN said he was hesitant to pass a bill that
required additional reporting.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR agreed that she was not a fan of shuffling
paperwork around. She suggested revisiting that provision in
the future should the bill pass.
4:23:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN moved to report CSHB 256(CRA) out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 256(CRA) was
reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
SB 66-MEMBERS LEG COUNCIL; LEG BUDGET & AUDIT
4:23:38 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the final order of business
would be SENATE BILL NO. 66 am, "An Act relating to the
membership of the legislative council; and relating to the
membership of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee."
4:24:06 PM
SENATOR TOM BEGICH, Alaska State Legislature, prime sponsor,
introduced SB 66. He paraphrased the sponsor statement
[included in the committee packet], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
As outlined in AS 24.20, the Legislative Council has
the essential role of conducting internal business for
the Alaska Legislature, while the Legislative Budget
and Audit (LB&A) Committee plays a pivotal role in
managing state finances and expenditures. Both
committees are established in statute with authority
to conduct business anytime throughout the year so
that internal legislative business may be conducted in
a timely manner.
Alaska State Statute establishes membership on
Legislative Council and the LB&A Committee to include
"at least one member from each of the two major
political parties of each house." However, the Alaska
Legislature has a long history of coalition caucuses
and unaffiliated legislators. In addition, following
passage of voter initiative Ballot Measure 2 in 2020,
candidates are not required to name a political party
affiliation, and therefore may be elected to office
without one. Senate Bill 66 seeks to update the
membership statutes for both Legislative Council and
the LB&A Committee to reflect these changes in law and
practice to ensure fair caucus representation on these
committees.
Every committee established in the Alaska Legislature
Uniform Rules ensures representation of organized
minority caucuses. Under current law, there is no
guarantee that these two joint interim committees will
include representation of all organized caucuses. SB
66 also reflects the Uniform Rules definition of
"minority" as constituting at least 25 percent of a
chamber's membership.
As all Alaskans have a right to vote for their
legislators, who in turn have a right to form caucuses
if they choose, those organized caucuses have a right
to have their voices and visions represented on all
committees. Senate Bill 66 seeks to ensure this fair
representation is established in law.
4:27:29 PM
MERCEDES COLBERT, Staff, Senator Tom Begich, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Senator Begich, prime sponsor,
presented a sectional analysis of SB 66 [included in the
committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1. Amends AS 24.20.020 to include at least one
member of the minority on the legislative council.
Includes language from Uniform Rule 1(e) to entitle
minority caucus membership on the council that is
proportional to their total house membership.
Section 2. Amends AS 24.20.161 to include at least one
member of the minority on the Legislative Budget and
Audit Committee, and changes "chairman" to "chair."
Section 3. Adds a new section to AS. 24.20 to define
"minority" as a group of members who have organized
and elected a minority leader and who constitute at
least 25 percent of the total house membership.
4:29:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN directed attention to page 2, line 1, and
asked what would happen if no one was appointed from each house
within the 15-day deadline after convening the first regular
session of each legislature.
SENATOR BEGICH stated that the bill was silent on that matter;
nonetheless, he indicated that he was open to suggestions from
the committee.
4:30:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN expressed his concern about the language
on page 1, lines 9-14, and the provision on page 2, which
defined the minority as having at least 25 percent of the
membership in the body. He remarked:
If you had a 16-member majority and a 4-member
minority, under this definition, there is no minority,
and yet, the first section of the bill would suggest
that there should be some proportional representation.
And A, you don't have a minority, so in theory,
there's no minority entitled to sit, but in addition,
if you had 4 minority members, you're at 20 percent
and of 6 Senate seats, that would justify 1 Senate
seat even though there's no minority. That seems like
a math problem, but it's more than a math problem.
SENATOR BEGICH contended that per the Uniform Rules of the
Alaska State Legislature, a minority was defined as having 5
members in the case of the Senate. He remarked, "If I and
another of my colleagues had elected to lead my body, we would
not have an official minority; consequently, when you look at
the definition of minority on Page 1, they would have no seat
because there would be no minority and that is consistent with
Uniform Rules." He pointed out that currently, the Uniform
Rules did not offer proportional representation, except by the
goodness of a presiding officer to an unrecognized minority.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN considered the scenario in which the
Senate had 6 members in the minority. He asked how many seats
would be entitled to the legislative council under this
provision.
MS. COLBERT stated that with a 6-member minority for a 7-member
committee, 2 members would be appointed from the Senate
minority. For the 18-member House minority, she reported that 3
members would be appointed to the legislative council.
4:34:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN shared his understanding that the language
in the bill made no reference to the Uniform Rules. Instead, it
provided that the minority was entitled to the number of seats
on the council proportional to the number of minority members
compared to the total house membership.
MS. COLBERT clarified that the language in question on page 1,
lines 9-14, was adopted from uniform Rule 1(e). Likewise, the
definition of "minority" in Section 3 was lifted from the
Uniform Rules. Therefore, although the bill made no direct
reference to the Uniform Rules, it essentially placed the
Uniform Rules into statute.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN maintained his belief that, per the
existing bill language, a strict proportional analysis would be
conducted to determine the minority's membership on the
legislative council.
4:36:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN shared his understanding that the
language in Section 3 was found in the Legislative Ethics Act.
He shared his preference that the minority leader would appoint
the minority members serving on the legislative council, as
opposed to allowing the majority to make that selection.
4:39:26 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said the intent was to make the legislation as
consistent with the Uniform Rules as possible. He acknowledged
that the language in Section 3 mirrored the Legislative Ethics
Act; however, it was also taken directly from the Uniform Rules.
He explained that the Uniform Rules directed the power of
appointment to the presiding officers, which was a topic of
debate in the Senate. He expressed his hope that the minority's
preferences would be considered; nonetheless, he had no desire
to codify that, as it would create another inconsistency with
the Uniform Rules. He suggested passing the bill in its current
form, pointing out that without some form of representation, the
minority would be subject to potentially being denied a seat on
the legislative council during the next legislative session. He
suggested that the Unfirm Rules and how they were applied should
be addressed in the future in the interest of fairness.
4:41:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR wondered whether Legislative Legal Services
would recommend further clarification of the language on page 1,
lines 9-14.
SENATOR BEGICH sought to confirm that Representative Tarr was
suggesting that there should be a direct reference to the
Uniform Rules in statute. He offered to follow up with a
response from Legislative Legal Services.
4:42:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN pointed out that Uniform Rule 1(e) only
applied to standing committees, which excluded the legislative
council, and the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee (LB&A).
He asked for the bill sponsor's perspective on providing
alternate members for the legislative council.
SENATOR BEGICH conveyed that the statutes pertaining to the
legislative council did not provide for an alternate while the
LB&A statutes allowed for a single alternate. He shared a
personal anecdote. He reported that at present, the alternates
were of the majority, adding that he was open to the idea of
allowing alternates from the minority.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN pointed out that if the minority leader
was unable to attend a council meeting, the minority would have
no representation without an alternate.
SENATOR BEGICH agreed that it was a deficit that needed to be
fixed. He welcomed a proposal from Representative Eastman on
this issue to ensure fairness and equity.
4:48:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY emphasized the need for bipartisanship.
SENATOR BEGICH thanked the committee and expressed his hope that
the bill would move forward.
4:49:02 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS aligned himself with Representative Story's
comments. He highlighted the importance of having equitable
systems in place. He announced that SB 66 was held over.
4:50:33 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 4:50
p.m.