03/15/2010 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB244 | |
| SB153 | |
| SB284 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 244 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 284 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 153 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 15, 2010
1:34 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Hollis French, Chair
Senator Bill Wielechowski, Vice Chair
Senator Dennis Egan
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator John Coghill
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 244
"An Act providing that, during the governor's term of office,
the duty station of the governor is Juneau, and prohibiting
payment of certain travel allowances for use of the governor's
personal residence."
- MOVED SB 244 OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 153
"An Act relating to manufactured homes, including manufactured
homes permanently affixed to land, to the conversion of
manufactured homes to real property, to the severance of
manufactured homes from real property, to the titling,
conveyance, and encumbrance of manufactured homes, and to
manufacturers' certificates of origin for vehicles; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 284
"An Act relating to state election campaigns, the duties of the
Alaska Public Offices Commission, the reporting and disclosure
of expenditures and independent expenditures, the filing of
reports, and the identification of certain communications in
state election campaigns; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 244
SHORT TITLE: GOVERNOR'S DUTY STATION/TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) STEDMAN
01/29/10 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/29/10 (S) STA, JUD
02/11/10 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/11/10 (S) Moved SB 244 Out of Committee
02/11/10 (S) MINUTE(STA)
02/12/10 (S) STA RPT 4DP
02/12/10 (S) DP: MENARD, PASKVAN, MEYER, FRENCH
02/24/10 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/24/10 (S) <Bill Hearing Postponed>
03/01/10 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/01/10 (S) Heard & Held
03/01/10 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/15/10 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: SB 153
SHORT TITLE: MOBILE HOMES AS REAL PROPERTY
SPONSOR(s): FRENCH
03/18/09 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/18/09 (S) L&C, JUD
04/09/09 (S) L&C AT 1:00 PM BELTZ 211
04/09/09 (S) Scheduled But Not Heard
03/09/10 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/09/10 (S) Moved SB 153 Out of Committee
03/09/10 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
03/10/10 (S) L&C RPT 5DP
03/10/10 (S) DP: PASKVAN, MEYER, THOMAS, BUNDE,
DAVIS
03/15/10 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: SB 284
SHORT TITLE: CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES
SPONSOR(s): JUDICIARY
02/19/10 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/19/10 (S) STA, JUD
03/02/10 (S) STA RPT 5DP
03/02/10 (S) DP: MENARD, FRENCH, MEYER, PASKVAN,
KOOKESH
03/02/10 (S) FIN REFERRAL ADDED
03/02/10 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/02/10 (S) Moved SB 284 Out of Committee
03/02/10 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/08/10 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/08/10 (S) Heard & Held
03/08/10 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/12/10 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/12/10 (S) Heard & Held
03/12/10 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/15/10 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
WITNESS REGISTER
DARWIN PETERSON, Staff
to Senator Bert Stedman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SB 244 on behalf of the sponsor.
KATE HERRING, Staff
to Senator French
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Was available to answer questions about SB
153.
GEORGE S. GINSBERG, Attorney
McGlinchey Stafford PLLC
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided supporting information related to
SB 153.
CARL SPRINGER, Registrar
Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Department of Administration
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified that DMV does not oppose SB 153,
but it has concerns about the requirements it imposes on DMV.
BRENDA MIERNYK, Branch Manager
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 153.
GEORGE CARNAHAN, representing himself
Nikiski, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SB 153.
ALPHEUS BULLARD, Attorney
Legislative Legal and Research Services
Legislative Affairs Agency
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions about the amendments to
SB 284, version R
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:34:30 PM
CHAIR HOLLIS FRENCH called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:34 p.m. Senators Egan, Coghill,
McGuire, Wielechowski, and French were present at the call to
order.
SB 244-GOVERNOR'S DUTY STATION/TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
1:34:50 PM
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 244. The bill was
heard previously at which time public testimony was taken and
closed. He asked the prime sponsor's staff to remind the
committee about what the bill intends to do.
DARWIN PETERSON, Staff to Senator Bert Stedman, explained that
SB 244 codifies in statute the administrative requirement that
the governor's duty station is Juneau. Currently there is no
statutory provision requiring the governor to reside in the
capital city during his or her term.
CHAIR FRENCH cited the legal memo from Jack Chenoweth responding
to the question about whether passing this bill might make a
future governor vulnerable to an ethics complaint for living
away from the capital. He read the following:
The measure does not propose an amendment to the
Executive Branch Ethics Act (AS 39.52). While an
ethics charge certainly may be initiated against a
governor who spends inordinate time away from the duty
station designated in the measure, if that assertion
is the whole argument offered in support of the claim
or complaint, then, in my judgment it would be a
complaint without merit.
CHAIR FRENCH found no questions or discussion and asked for a
motion.
1:37:27 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI moved to report SB 244 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There
being no objection, SB 244 moved from the Senate Judiciary
Standing Committee.
At ease from 1:37 p.m. to 1:38 p.m.
SB 153-MOBILE HOMES AS REAL PROPERTY
1:38:55 PM
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 153. Speaking as
the sponsor, he related that the intent is to give homeowners
who have mobile homes that are located on real property the
ability to convert their homes to real property. Currently
mobile homes are titled through the Division of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) like a motor vehicle. This change would give the homeowner
access to traditional home financing, which often has lower
interest rates. Converting the mobile home to real property
would increase the value of the home and help to prevent
"clouded" titles that often hinder clean transactions involving
manufactured homes.
KATE HERRING, Staff to Senator French, offered to answer
questions about SB 153.
SENATOR COGHILL asked for an explanation of the mechanism for
combining a motor home title that's with DMV and a title
guarantee that is tied to the property.
MS. HERRING deferred to Mr. Ginsberg.
1:41:56 PM
GEORGE S. GINSBERG, Attorney, McGlinchey Stafford, said his firm
is outside council to Wells Fargo. Providing some background he
explained that a manufactured home, like a car, is documented
for ownership by a certificate of title. That ownership is
transferred by a certificate of title, again like a car. Also
like a car, financing of a manufactured home is secured by a
lien, which is physically noted on the certificate of title.
Unlike a car, a manufactured home can be permanently affixed to
real property. In Alaska that creates problems.
Currently, Alaska law says that the only way for a lender to
perfect a security interest in a manufactured home that's been
affixed to real property is both to note the lien on the
certificate of title and to file a fixture filing under the
Alaska Uniform Commercial Code (AUCC). The problem is that the
Alaska DMV will not issue a certificate of title to a
manufactured home that has been permanently affixed to real
estate claiming that it is no longer a vehicle. This places a
homeowner who has a manufactured home that is permanently
affixed to real estate in no man's land. They cannot sell the
manufactured home because there is no way to document the change
of ownership and they can't finance it because there is no way
to perfect a security interest in the public record.
MR. GINSBERG explained that SB 153 is designed to establish a
conversion procedure by which a manufactured home would be
considered real estate for all legal purposes. This would
involve a surrender and cancelation of the certificate of title
after which an affidavit of affixation would be recorded on the
real estate records. After the affidavit is recorded, a copy
would be sent to DMV and any existing certificate of title would
be canceled. If there isn't a certificate of title or it can't
be found, there is a conversion procedure to accomplish the same
purpose. After this happens the manufactured home is part of the
real estate; it can be sold by a deed and can be financed by a
real estate mortgage.
The bill likewise has a procedure to follow in the event that a
home is physically detached from the land. The homeowner would
file an affidavit of severance and then apply for a title from
DMV. It would then be treated as personal property just as it
had been before the conversion.
SENATOR EGAN asked if this would affect modular homes.
MR. GINSBERG said no.
1:51:38 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if there is a downside to doing this
with respect to increasing property taxes.
MR. GINSBERG replied he believes the answer would be yes because
it would increase the value of the real estate and presumably
the real property tax, but that's not necessarily a downside.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said if this will increase property taxes
for many of the people in his district he would have a problem
with that.
MR. GINSBERG reminded him that this bill will help the many
people who may not pay real estate taxes, but they can't sell or
finance their homes. So far we haven't run into opposition from
consumer groups in Alaska or other states because it's to their
advantage to do this, he said.
1:54:17 PM
CHAIR FRENCH informed the members that this will not apply to
mobile homes and trailers that are located in a trailer park on
rented space. This applies to people who have put a mobile home
on a piece of property he or she owns and now wants to affix it
to a permanent foundation. The only exception would be to
property on which there is a 20 year lease because that term is
sufficiently long to qualify for the conversion to real
property.
MR. GINSBERG concurred.
MS. HERRING added that this is voluntary process, it is not
mandatory.
1:55:47 PM
CARL SPRINGER, Registrar, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV),
Department of Administration, said DMV does not oppose SB 153,
but it has concerns about the requirements it imposes on DMV.
DMV has expertise in the area of driver licensing and titling
and registering motor vehicles. It has no experience in real
property law. Currently DMV is required to title a manufactured
mobile home if the owner so requests, but the owner is not
required to title a manufactured mobile home.
Currently there are 8,291 manufactured mobile homes that are
titled in this state. He surmised that a healthy percentage have
had the wheels removed and been placed on a semi-permanent
foundation with skirting. This would possibly qualify the
manufactured mobile home as real property, but he imagines that
many are located in trailer parks.
MR. SPRINGER said SB 153 would have DMV duplicating the efforts
of the recorder's office and real estate title insurance
agencies. Currently DMV records the primary lien or encumbrance
that the owner discloses and this bill would make DMV
responsible for determining the existence or non existence of
other liens or encumbrances. Essentially it would be performing
real property title searches. He said that the attachment
severance requirements are of little consequence if the owner
can execute these affidavits even if they only intend to
permanently affix or sever the manufactured mobile home from
real property rather than actually doing it when the event
occurs. He said that for these reasons DMV feels that SB 153
needs further clarification. He offered to work with the sponsor
to address these concerns.
CHAIR FRENCH asked him to let his office know with as much
specificity as possible, which sections DMV seeks to amend.
1:58:28 PM
BRENDA MIERNYK, Branch Manager, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said
she is testifying in support of SB 153. She related that Alaska
statutes do not meet eligibility requirements for lenders to
sell a mortgage loan for a manufactured home to Fanny Mae or
Freddy Mac, including the process to legally classify the home
as real property and placing the lender in first lien position.
Wells Fargo has had to turn away business because of this, she
said. If SB 153 were to pass, state definitions of manufactured
homes would be aligned with HUD definitions to create a system
for title transfer and property conversion. Additionally, it
would create a means for titling manufactured homes that have
been affixed to property but the title cannot be found.
MS. MIERNYK said stated that this bill would 1) help home owners
whose manufactured home is already affixed to real property gain
better access to credit and make it easier to sell their homes;
2) help increase manufactured home values by allowing the owners
to convert them to real property including those not covered by
certificates of title or for which a certificate of title cannot
be found; 3) help lenders gain a perfected security interest in
manufactured homes; 4) help DMV by establishing a formal
procedure for cancelling a title when a manufactured home is
affixed to a permanent foundation; and 5) increase property tax
revenue as a result of manufactured homes being converted to and
considered real property.
2:00:59 PM
GEORGE CARNAHAN, representing himself, Nikiski, said he lives in
a home that falls under AS 29.45.070. It is not hooked up to
electricity, sewer or other utilities and it is not attached to
the ground. Current law dictates that if a property has any of
these three elements it is classified as real estate property.
He questioned why the existing law should be tossed out the
window. This will simply increase taxes and they are already too
high, he said.
2:03:12 PM
CHAIR FRENCH closed public testimony and held SB 153 in
committee.
At ease 2:03 p.m. to 2:06 p.m.
SB 284-CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES
2:06:40 PM
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 284 and asked for
a motion to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS). It
incorporates the amendments that were made to version A during
the 3/12/10 hearing.
SENATOR MCGUIRE moved to adopt the judiciary work draft CS for
SB 284, labeled 26-LS1448\R, as the working document. There
being no objection, version R was before the committee.
CHAIR FRENCH noted that Mr. Bullard sent a memo pointing out
that the provisions on page 6, lines 5-7, and on page 7, lines
28-30, are redundant. He suggested the committee consider
removing the redundancy.
CHAIR FRENCH moved to adopt Amendment 1.
AMENDMENT 1
OFFERED IN THE SENATE
TO: CSSB 284(JUD), Draft Version "R"
Page 6:
Delete lines 5, 6, and 7
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI objected for discussion purposes.
CHAIR FRENCH explained version R adds the requirement in Sec.
15.13.090(a)(2)(E) that the communication must clearly state
that it is not authorized, paid for, or approved by the
candidate. The existing AS 15.13.135(b)(2), on page 7, lines 28-
30, already provides that requirement.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI removed his objection to Amendment 1.
CHAIR FRENCH found no further objection and announced that
Amendment 1 is adopted.
He noted that the second point in Mr. Bullard's memo addressed
in an amendment proposed by Senator Coghill.
CHAIR FRENCH moved Amendment 2, labeled 26-LS1448\R.2, and
objected for discussion purposes.
AMENDMENT 2
OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR COGHILL
TO: CSSB 284(JUD), Draft Version "R"
Page 7, following line 30:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 16. AS 15.56.014(a) is amended to read:
(a) A person commits the crime of campaign
misconduct in the second degree if the person
(1) knowingly circulates or has
written, printed or circulated a letter,
circular, or publication relating to an election,
to a candidate at an election, or an election
proposition or question without the name and
address of the author appearing on its face;
(2) except as provided by
AS 15.13.090(b), knowingly prints or publishes an
advertisement, billboard, placard, poster,
handbill, paid-for television or radio
announcement, or communication, as that term is
defined in AS 15.13.400, intended to influence
the election of a candidate or outcome of a
ballot proposition or question without the words
"paid for by" followed by the name and address of
the person [CANDIDATE, GROUP, OR INDIVIDUAL]
paying for the advertising or communication and,
if a candidate or group, with the name of the
campaign chair;
(3) knowingly makes a communication,
as that term is defined in AS 15.13.400,
(A) containing false factual
information relating to a candidate for an
election;
(B) that the person knows to be
false; and
(C) that would provoke a
reasonable person under the circumstances to
a breach of the peace or that a reasonable
person would construe as damaging to the
candidate's reputation for honesty or
integrity, or to the candidate's
qualifications to serve if elected to
office."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
SENATOR COGHILL said the amendment is based on Mr. Bullard's
legal analysis that the phrase "candidate, group, or individual"
should be amended to "person" to correspond to the changes the
bill made to AS 15.13.090.
2:11:14 PM
ALPHEUS BULLARD, Attorney, Legislative Legal and Research
Services, explained that the bill amends AS 15.13.135(b) on page
7, line 20, by replacing "individual, group, or nongroup entity"
with "person" to correspond with the U.S. Supreme Court holding
in Citizens United to capture that universe of people who are
now allowed to make communications. The purpose of the amendment
is to make a similar replacement in AS 15.56.014(a)(2) for
campaign misconduct.
CHAIR FRENCH observed that the only change Amendment 2 makes is
to replace the phrase "candidate, group, or individual" with the
word "person" on page 1, line 15.
SENATOR COGHILL said the amendment conforms bill Section 15 to
AS 15.56.014(a).
MR. BULLARD said that's correct.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if the crime of campaign misconduct in the
second degree is a class B misdemeanor.
MR. BULLARD agreed that it is a class B misdemeanor.
CHAIR FRENCH removed his objection to Amendment 2. Finding no
further objection, he announced that Amendment 2 is adopted.
2:14:21 PM
CHAIR FRENCH moved to adopt Amendment 3, labeled 26-LS1448\R.1,
and objected for discussion purposes.
AMENDMENT 3
OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR COGHILL
TO: CSSB 284(JUD), Draft Version "R
Page 5, line 18, through page 6, line 7:
Delete all material and insert:
"Sec. 15.13.090. Identification of communication.
(a) All communications shall be clearly identified by
the words "paid for by" followed by the name and
address of the person [CANDIDATE, GROUP, NONGROUP
ENTITY, OR INDIVIDUAL] paying for the communication.
In addition, a person shall clearly
(1) provide the person's address, or the
address of the person's principal place of business;
(2) for a person other than an individual
or candidate, include
(A) the name and title of the person's
principal officer;
(B) a statement from the principal
officer approving the communication; and
(C) the name and city and state of
residence or principal place of business, as
applicable, of each of the person's three largest
contributors under AS 15.13.040(e)(5), if any, during
the 12-month period before the date of the
communication; and
(3) for a candidate, include
(A) the name of the candidate; and
(B) a statement from the candidate
approving the communication [CANDIDATES AND GROUPS MAY
IDENTIFY THE NAME OF THEIR CAMPAIGN CHAIRPERSON]."
Page 6, lines 19 - 20:
Delete "(a)(2)(C) of this section and, if
applicable, (a)(2)(D)"
Insert "(a)(1) and (a)(2)(C)"
Page 6, line 29:
Delete "AS 15.13.090(a)(2)(D)"
Insert "AS 15.13.090(a)(2)(C)"
SENATOR COGHILL said the amendment deletes and rewrites much of
Section 11, basically making three changes. First, it requires
identification in all circumstances; second, it deletes the
redundant subparagraph (E) on page 6, which was already
accomplished with the adoption of Amendment 2; and third, it
changes the requirement to identify the top five contributors to
require identification of the top three contributors.
SENATOR COGHILL said that he supports full disclosure but he
objects if that's all that people will hear during a campaign
advertisement. All these campaign finance contributions will
have to be reported in the aggregate of over $100 in the
campaign finance disclosure anyway so this requirement is
onerous, he said. Thus, reducing the number to three is
appropriate.
2:17:30 PM
CHAIR FRENCH referred to lines 17-19 of the amendment and asked
if the idea is that in every normal campaign advertisement a
candidate would be required to state their name and that they
approve the message
SENATOR COGHILL said yes and version R on page 5, lines 18-22,
basically says that.
SENATOR MCGUIRE offered the view that the amendment attempts to
replace subparagraph (E) on page 6 by putting it in the
affirmative and said she would argue that doing so makes it
unduly burdensome and possibly an interference.
2:19:53 PM
CHAIR FRENCH called a point of order; lines 9-16 of the
amendment describe the disclosure requirements for a
corporation, union, or group.
SENATOR COGHILL agreed.
SENATOR MCGUIRE said she understood.
CHAIR FRENCH noted that version R requires that those
disclosures be audible in radio or television advertisements. He
asked Senator Coghill if he envisions lines 9-16 of the
amendment to be text on a screen or audible.
SENATOR COGHILL replied he believes that a different section of
the statute requires disclosures to be audible for radio.
CHAIR FRENCH agreed; Section 12 of the current draft modifies AS
15.13.090 adding a new subsection to jibe with (a)(2)(C).
CHAIR FRENCH said his understanding is that the amendment
requires identification of the three largest contributors
instead of the top five tracked over a 12 month period and it
adds a requirement that the candidate approve his or her own
campaign advertisements. He asked Mr. Bullard if he agrees.
2:23:35 PM
MR. BULLARD replied it also shifts the disclosure. First, the
amendment drops the provision that the candidate or group may
identify the campaign chair. It requires that all persons are
required to provide the identifying information. In the current
draft it was only a person other than a candidate, individual,
or political party who was required to do that. Then it tracks
in a similar, but not exact, fashion all the requirements of the
bill except the top five contributors are narrowed to the top
three. The 12 month period is the same in both the amendment and
the bill. The requirement that candidates name themselves and
provide a statement approving the communication is new.
CHAIR FRENCH commented that he likes the idea that everybody
provides the person's address or principle place of business,
but not much else.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he could support the amendment with
some modifications, but not as currently written.
CHAIR FRENCH suggested the committee vote on the amendment and
depending on the outcome the bill might need further amending
before it is passed along to the next committee.
2:26:38 PM
SENATOR COGHILL said he's willing to withdraw the amendment, but
he would like an opportunity to try to establish what should be
a requirement for both a candidate and a corporation because he
foresees a legal entanglement involving unequal treatment if
there is no similarity between the requirements.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if he is withdrawing the amendment.
SENATOR COGHILL withdrew Amendment 3.
2:28:53 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he'd like to hear from legislative
legal about whether or not there is an equal protection argument
for having different requirements for candidates versus
corporations.
MR. BULLARD responded he wasn't prepared to offer an off-the-
cuff legal response, but he would have an answer on Wednesday.
2:29:44 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked if the committee had additional concerns or
suggestions.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if Mr. Bullard could comment on
whether or not they could restrict campaign activities of
corporations or unions that have foreign shareholders.
MR. BULLARD explained that federal law already prohibits foreign
nationals from involving themselves in federal, state, and local
elections. In some cases this extends to American corporations
or American subsidies of foreign corporations where foreign
nationals are directing decisions regarding how they involve
themselves in the U.S. electoral processes. There are possible
federal preemption arguments if the state were to involve itself
in attempting to regulate or govern American corporations with
foreign ownership or some portion of foreign ownership in this
same field. There is no immediate and clear answer to the
question, he concluded.
2:31:29 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said his concern is that a foreign
government or foreign corporation could set up in Alaska and
attempt to influence elections in the state. He asked if he's
saying that there's nothing the Legislature can do about that.
MR. BULLARD replied that situation is already prohibited by
federal law. An American subsidiary of a foreign corporation has
to use proceeds from its American operations to fund any sort of
involvement in an American election. If the American subsidiary
receives direction on how to proceed from overseas or if it is
being reimbursed by the foreign parent corporation,
electioneering involvement would be prohibited. This is a new
issue in Alaska since corporations were previously prohibited
absolutely. I don't know if we can prohibit this as a state, I'm
just alerting the committee to the possible preemption argument,
he said.
2:33:22 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked about the possibility of restricting
corporate involvement in Alaska elections only to those U.S.
corporations that are domiciled in Alaska.
MR. BULLARD offered to provide an opinion on the topic.
CHAIR FRENCH asked him to do that and to look into some of the
concerns Senator Wielechowski expressed. I share those concerns,
he said. We have a right to be concerned about a shell
corporation trying to manipulate voters and if we need state
statutes to deal with that, then now is the time to do it, he
said.
2:34:48 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he'd like to go a step further and to
the extent possible prohibit corporations that have foreign
shareholders that hold X percentage or X dollars of stock. For
years the federal government has had a policy of not allowing
foreign nationals to participate in elections and now this
Supreme Court case has opened the backdoor to allowing foreign
nationals to participate in and influence elections. "I would be
very interested in trying to pursue methods [so] that we can
prevent that sort of thing," he said.
CHAIR FRENCH said he shares the sentiment but the clock is
ticking toward adjournment and he doesn't want to miss the
opportunity of passing a bill that solves a large portion of the
problem.
CHAIR FRENCH found no comments from Holly Hill and Jason
Brandeis with APOC or John Ptacin with DOL. He announced that
the committee would continue to work on SB 284.
2:36:32 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair French adjourned the meeting at 2:36 p.m.
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