Legislature(2015 - 2016)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/30/2015 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar | |
| SB47 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 47 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HCR 3 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 30, 2015
2:46 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lesil McGuire, Chair
Senator John Coghill, Vice Chair
Senator Mia Costello
Senator Bill Wielechowski
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Peter Micciche
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING
Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
William Gordon
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
SENATE BILL NO. 47
"An Act relating to exemptions for cash surrender values,
accrued dividends, and loan values of life insurance and annuity
contracts."
- MOVED SB 47 OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 3(RLS)
Urging the governor and the attorney general to pursue all legal
and legislative options to open the coastal plain of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge and areas of the Chukchi and Beaufort
Seas to oil and gas exploration, development, and production.
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 47
SHORT TITLE: LIFE INSURANCE/ANNUITY EXEMPTIONS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) COGHILL
02/11/15 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/11/15 (S) L&C, JUD
02/26/15 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/26/15 (S) Heard & Held
02/26/15 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
03/03/15 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/03/15 (S) Moved SB 47 Out of Committee
03/03/15 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
03/04/15 (S) L&C RPT 3DP
03/04/15 (S) DP: GIESSEL, MEYER, STEVENS
03/16/15 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/16/15 (S) Heard & Held
03/16/15 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/25/15 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/25/15 (S) Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled:
03/30/15 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
WITNESS REGISTER
WILLIAM GORDON, Appointee
Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Board of
Governors of the Alaska Bar.
GERMAN BAQUERO, Intern
Senator John Coghill
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information related to SB 47 on
behalf of the sponsor.
ACTION NARRATIVE
2:46:32 PM
CHAIR LESIL MCGUIRE called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 2:46 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Costello, Coghill, and Chair McGuire.
Senator Wielechowski arrived during the course of the meeting.
^Confirmation Hearing Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
Confirmation Hearing
Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
2:47:03 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the first order of business would be a
confirmation hearing for William Gordon. She asked Mr. Gordon to
tell the committee about himself and his interest in continuing
to serve on the Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar.
2:47:21 PM
WILLIAM GORDON, Appointee, Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar,
said this will be his second term on the Board of Governors of
the Alaska Bar. He related that he tries to bring business
practices to the budgetary process and has worked to have the
offending party pay the discipline costs as opposed to the bar
members paying. He also worked to open the bar convention to the
public in an effort to present a better image of the bar. He
expressed his belief that his resume speaks for itself.
CHAIR MCGUIRE expressed appreciation for receiving an invitation
to the bar convention. She highlighted the lingering issue of
high bar dues and asked if the board had revisited that matter.
MR. GORDON answered no, but he would bring it up at the next
meeting. He explained that Alaska Bar dues are higher than other
states because the membership pays the total cost of discipline,
which is over one-third of the budget. In other states those
costs are borne by the public.
CHAIR MCGUIRE offered suggestions for a sliding scale and
expressed appreciation for considering the thought.
2:53:22 PM
SENATOR COSTELLO asked what challenges face the Alaska Bar.
MR. GORDON replied the many challenges include Internet growth
and the falling number of lawyers in the state.
SENATOR COSTELLO asked to what he attributes the reduced number
of lawyers.
MR. GORDON responded that he has found that many attorneys don't
enjoy the practice of law and that compensation is often
relatively low.
CHAIR MCGUIRE highlighted that less than 20 percent of her class
is practicing law.
2:56:11 PM
SENATOR COGHILL mentioned the judicial ethics code and asked
what barriers lawyers face when they're serving in the
legislature.
MR. GORDON admitted he wasn't an expert in that area.
2:58:04 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI joined the committee.
SENATOR COGHILL asked him to comment on his membership in
Justice Not Politics Alaska.
MR. GORDON explained that he's a member because he believes the
current judicial selection and retention processes work well.
It's a mistake to try to change the Alaska Constitution to
correct a problem that doesn't exist.
SENATOR COGHILL thanked Mr. Gordon for being willing to serve.
CHAIR MCGUIRE motioned to forward the name William Gordon to the
full body for consideration. Hearing and seeing no objection,
she announced that the name would be forwarded.
SB 47-LIFE INSURANCE/ANNUITY EXEMPTIONS
3:02:41 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SB 47. "An Act
relating to exemptions for cash surrender values, accrued
dividends, and loan values of life insurance and annuity
contracts."
3:03:00 PM
SENATOR COGHILL, sponsor of SB 47, noted the additional
information in the packets. Legislative counsel Dan Wayne issued
a memorandum stating that retirement benefits of public
employees and members of labor unions generally are protected
from garnishment. Lauri Wing-Heier with the Department of
Commerce, Community and Economic Development addressed the
question about the availability of life insurance and the issue
on the cap.
3:03:34 PM
GERMAN BAQUERO, Intern, Senator John Coghill, stated that the
intent of SB 47 is to repeal the $500,000 cap on the exemption
of life insurance policies and make them fully exempt. The
memorandum from Mr. Wayne thoroughly explains the exemptions set
out in the Alaska Exemptions Act, AS 09.38.017. The legislation
was passed initially because life insurance policies were being
used as a private investment tool to secure retirement benefits.
It now seems prudent to treat life insurance the same as the
other fully exempt retirement benefits in Title 9. Lori Wing-
Heier, the Director of the Division of Insurance, advised that
the bill will not provide an exemption for criminal acts but
will for civil acts.
SENATOR COGHILL noted that the Legal Services memorandum says
that AS 09.38.015(a)(6) exempts from debt collection in Alaska
"compensation or benefits paid or payable and exempt under
federal law." According to the U.S. Supreme Court, garnishment
of retirement benefits is generally prohibited by ERISA, the
Social Security Act, the Railroad Retirement Act, the Civil
Service Retirement Act, and the Veterans' Benefits Act. SB 47
makes it more equitable for the people who are making their own
retirement through life insurance or an annuities.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked Senator Wielechowski if he was satisfied.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI questioned the wisdom of a total exemption
and wondered whether it was better policy to place a $5 million
or $10 million cap on the exemption.
SENATOR COGHILL responded that small business owners don't get
the same protection that public employees receive. He opined
that in many ways those are the people who are carrying the
weight in society.
3:12:01 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI agreed that the limit should be increased,
but argued against making it possible for someone to shield all
their assets from potential garnishment.
SENATOR COGHILL talked about the business he grew up in and said
that if it hadn't been for insurance policies, his father might
have lost his retirement. He offered other examples and opined
that small businesses should have the same protections as
government employees.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI restated that he agrees that the limits
should be increased. However, at some point it bumps against
someone's constitutional right to file a lawsuit if all assets
are shielded from garnishment. He said he's trying to find a
balance.
3:18:21 PM
SENATOR COGHILL moved to report SB 47 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note.
3:18:36 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced that without objection SB 47 is reported
from the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee.
3:18:47 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair McGuire adjourned the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting at 3:18 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 10 SB47 Support Document Cook Schuhmann & Groseclose.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 47 |
| 11 SB47 Supporting Document Hompesch & Evans.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 47 |
| 5 SB47 Supporting Research Insurance Fraud.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
|
| 8 SJUD Follow Up SB47 Division of Insurance.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 47 |
| 9 SB47 Legal Opinion on Retirements.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
|
| 1 HCR 3 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
|
| 2 HCR 3 Version H.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
|
| 3 HCR 3 (RLS) Background Info.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Resume William (Bill) Gordon.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar Appointment |
| 4 HCR 3 Amendment #1.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
HCR 3 |
| 6 SB47 FN # 1.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 47 |
| 7 CS SB43 Summary of Changes(JUD).pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 43 |
| 7 SB47 Research on Claims Enforceable Agasint Property.pdf |
SJUD 3/30/2015 1:30:00 PM |
SB 47 |