02/17/2016 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing | |
| SB121 | |
| HB83 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 83 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 174 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 121 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
February 17, 2016
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lesil McGuire, Chair
Senator John Coghill, Vice Chair
Senator Bill Wielechowski
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Mia Costello
Senator Peter Micciche
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING
Select Committee on Legislative Ethics
BILL GORDON - Fairbanks
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
SENATE BILL NO. 121
"An Act relating to a security freeze on the consumer credit
report of a minor."
- MOVED CSSB 121(JUD) OUT OF COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 83(JUD)
"An Act relating to collecting information about civil
litigation by the Alaska Judicial Council; repealing Rule
41(a)(3), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and Rules 511(c) and
(e), Alaska Rules of Appellate Procedure; and providing for an
effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 174
"An Act relating to the regulation of firearms and knives by the
University of Alaska."
-SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 121
SHORT TITLE: SECURITY FREEZE ON MINOR'S CREDIT REPORT
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) MEYER
01/19/16 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/16
01/19/16 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/19/16 (S) L&C, JUD
01/26/16 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/26/16 (S) Heard & Held
01/26/16 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
01/28/16 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/28/16 (S) Moved SB 121 Out of Committee
01/28/16 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
01/29/16 (S) L&C RPT 4DP
01/29/16 (S) DP: COSTELLO, GIESSEL, MEYER, ELLIS
02/08/16 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/08/16 (S) Heard & Held
02/08/16 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
02/17/16 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: HB 83
SHORT TITLE: REPEAL COLLECTION OF CIVIL LITIG. INFO
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) LEDOUX
01/28/15 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/28/15 (H) JUD
02/06/15 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
02/06/15 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
02/13/15 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
02/13/15 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
02/20/15 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
02/20/15 (H) Heard & Held
02/20/15 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
03/02/15 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
03/02/15 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
03/04/15 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
03/04/15 (H) Moved CSHB 83(JUD) Out of Committee
03/04/15 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
03/06/15 (H) JUD RPT CS(JUD) 4DP 1DNP
03/06/15 (H) DP: CLAMAN, GRUENBERG, FOSTER, LEDOUX
03/06/15 (H) DNP: KELLER
04/07/15 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/07/15 (H) VERSION: CSHB 83(JUD)
04/08/15 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/08/15 (S) JUD, FIN
04/15/15 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/15/15 (S) Scheduled but Not Heard
02/17/16 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
WITNESS REGISTER
BILL GORDON, Nominee
Select Committee on Legislative Ethics, public seat
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as a nominee to the Select
Committee on Legislative Ethics, public seat.
SENATOR MEYER
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SB 121.
EDRA MORLEDGE, Staff
Senator Kevin Meyer
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Described the changes in the CS for SB 121.
GABRIELLE LEDOUX
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 83.
SUZANNE DIPIETRO, Executive Director
Alaska Judicial Council
Alaska Court System
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 83.
MICHELLE V. MINOR, Attorney
Law Office of Michelle V. Minor
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 83.
KEN P JACOBUS, Attorney
Law Office of Kenneth P Jacobus
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 83.
SARAH BADTEN, Attorney
Groh Eggers LLC
Anchorage Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 83.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:33:29 PM
VICE CHAIR JOHN COGHILL called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Wielechowski, and Vice Chair Coghill. Chair
McGuire arrived shortly thereafter.
^confirmation hearing
CONFIRMATION HEARING
Select Committee on Legislative Ethics
1:33:45 PM
VICE CHAIR COGHILL announced the first order of business would
be to hear from Bill Gordon who is the Chief Justice nominee to
the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics. He noted that Chair
McGuire reported that there had been no push-back on this
nomination. He related that he knows Mr. Gordon well enough to
feel confident that he will do a good job on this committee.
1:34:06 PM
BILL GORDON, Nominee, Select Committee on Legislative Ethics,
public seat, Fairbanks, Alaska said he's been before the
committee two times before for confirmation to the Board of
Governors of the Alaska Bar and the Alaska Judicial Council. He
related that he is a lifelong Alaskan, has lived mostly in the
Interior and has served in both the public and private sectors
in his career. Chief Justice Stowers called and asked if he
would serve on this committee and he had to admit he'd never
heard of it. They read the statutes together and got a sense of
the important work that the committee does. Interestingly, he'd
been serving in this same capacity while on the Board of
Governors and this seemed like a logical progression. He hasn't
had much interaction with the legislative bodies, but believes
he could be of service in avoiding problems, and when they exist
his experience might be put to good use.
1:37:45 PM
Audio difficulties; Mr. Gordon couldn't hear the committee.
1:38:25 PM
At ease
1:38:38 PM
SENATOR COGHILL reconvened the meeting and commented on the
value of having someone who does not work within the system.
MR. GORDON related that he served on both the Board of Governors
of the Alaska Bar and the Alaska Judicial Council as a non-
attorney and the experience was rewarding. He added that he has
strong admiration for those willing to put themselves before the
public in any capacity. It's given him some appreciation for the
mine field that legislators navigate.
1:41:08 PM
VICE CHAIR COGHILL passed the gavel to Chair McGuire.
CHAIR MCGUIRE thanked Mr. Gordon for being willing to serve and
wished him luck in the process.
1:43:07 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE stated that the committee would sign the form to
forward the name Bill Gordon for a public seat on the Select
Committee on Legislative Ethics.
SB 121-SECURITY FREEZE ON MINOR'S CREDIT REPORT
1:43:27 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SB 121. She
requested a motion to adopt the proposed committee substitute
(CS).
1:43:32 PM
SENATOR COGHILL motioned to adopt the CS for SB 121, labeled 29-
LS1129\H, as the working document.
CHAIR MCGUIRE found no objection and version H was before the
committee. She asked the sponsor to confirm that he is satisfied
the CS makes the changes discussed in an earlier hearing.
1:44:06 PM
SENATOR MEYER, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of SB 121,
stated that the CS makes the changes that the committee
requested. He asked his staff to walk through those changes.
1:44:30 PM
EDRA MORLEDGE, Staff, Senator Kevin Meyer said the CS for SB 121
adds "incapacitated person" and "protected person" to the
individuals a parent, legal guardian, or conservator can make a
request on behalf of. This makes it abundantly clear that a
conservator can act in this capacity.
1:45:18 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI motioned to report the CS for SB 121,
labeled 29-LS1129\H, from committee with individual
recommendations and attached fiscal note(s).
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced that without objection, CSSB 121(JUD) is
reported from the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee.
HB 83-REPEAL COLLECTION OF CIVIL LITIG. INFO
1:46:39 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of HB 83. [CSHB 83(JUD)
was before the committee.]
1:46:50 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE passed the gavel to Vice Chair Coghill for the
hearing on HB 83.
1:46:52 PM
GABRIELLE LEDOUX, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of HB 83
introduced the legislation speaking to the following sponsor
statement:
HB 83 eliminates the automatic reporting of
information about civil case settlements currently
required by law. This bill follows the advice of the
Judicial Council, which has recommended that the
legislature do away with this requirement. HB 83 would
provide a more targeted, less burdensome, and more
cost-effective method of compiling information about
the resolutions of civil court. Passing this bill
would save money and time by freeing attorneys and
litigants from an unnecessary and functionally useless
submission of data which the Judicial Council sees no
point in collecting.
It is part of the job of the legislature to eliminate
waste and to make government more effective.
Discarding needless data collection requirements is an
easy way to achieve cost-savings and streamline
government. HB 83 does exactly this.
I urge your support for the swift passage of HB 83.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX said two of the fiscal notes are zero and
a third reflects a $20,000 savings.
1:48:43 PM
VICE CHAIR COGHILL opened public testimony.
1:49:29 PM
SUZANNE DIPIETRO, Executive Director, Alaska Judicial Council,
Alaska Court System, Anchorage, Alaska, reinforced the sponsor's
explanation. The Judicial Council has no problem with the repeal
of the requirement. She offered to answer questions.
VICE CHAIR COGHILL questioned the reason for the noncompliance.
MS. DIPIETRO explained that the legislation has been on the
books for a number of years, but many attorneys do not comply
with the reporting requirement and the statute has no
enforcement mechanism. The Judicial Council has had mixed
success in increasing compliance and has concluded that so few
people return the questionnaires that it would be misleading to
summarize the information and publish it.
MICHELLE MINOR, Attorney, Law Office of Michelle V. Minor,
Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of HB 83. She has been
in civil practice in Alaska for 40 years and has represented
many people on civil matters that required this reporting. Her
experience is that it takes from half an hour to a few hours to
complete the form. The rule applies in cases where one of the
litigants is pro se and she's had the court system request that
she, as the prosecuting attorney, complete the report for the
pro se litigant in compliance with Civil Rule 41.
MS. MINOR said the purpose of the rule was served years ago and
it's now time to repeal the rule and statute.
VICE CHAIR COGHILL commented that it seems that the value has
found its day.
1:54:36 PM
KEN P JACOBUS, Attorney, Law Office of Kenneth P Jacobus,
testified that he has been fighting to have this requirement
removed from the statutes for some time. He related that the
Alaska Judicial Council issued a report in 2001 that showed
nothing unusual, but has issued no reports since then. He
diligently files these reports as required by law, but many
attorneys and pre so litigants do not. He pointed out that this
makes criminals out of those who does not comply with the
statute.
VICE CHAIR COGHILL commented that this could be called the paper
and scofflaw reduction act.
1:57:27 PM
SARAH BADTEN, Attorney, Groh Eggers LLC, testified in support of
HB 83. She agreed with the previous testimony and added her
understanding that the rule was adopted to compare attorney fees
on tort cases. Her practice is primarily contract law and she
files a lot of suits that are dismissed once the people come in
and pay what they owe. She is required to fill out the form even
though the information is not reflective of any useful
information for the Alaska Judicial Council or the legislature.
It's time for the rule and statute to be repealed.
VICE CHAIR COGHILL said the committee will take her testimony to
heart and pass the bill when the committee meets its quorum
requirement. He asked Senator Wielechowski if he had any
questions.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI answered no; he's convinced the rule and
statute is no longer needed.
VICE CHAIR COGHILL stated that HB 83 will be held in committee
with public testimony open.
2:01:41 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Vice Chair Coghill adjourned the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting at 2:01 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Gordon Resume.docx |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
|
| HB 83 Sponsor Statement .pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83 Summary of Changes.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83 Support AS 09.68.130.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83 Support AS 09.68.130.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83 Support Civil Case Data.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83 Support Civil Case Report 2001.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83 Support Cvil Case Form.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83 fiscal Note Admin FY16.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| HB 83 Fiscal Note JUD FY16.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| Hb 83 Fiscal Note LAW FY16.pdf |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |
| FW HB 83 re settlement reporting to the Ak Jud'l. Councilsupport but amend.msg |
SJUD 2/17/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 83 |