03/26/2018 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): Alaska Police Standards Council | |
| SB175 | |
| SB202 | |
| HB43 | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): Alaska Police Standards Council | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 175 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 202 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 43 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 26, 2018
1:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator John Coghill, Chair
Senator Mia Costello
Senator Pete Kelly
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator Mike Shower
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Alaska Police Standards Council
Justin Doll - Anchorage
Larry Nicholson - Kodiak
David Knapp - Palmer
Michael Craig - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATIONS ADVANCED
SENATE BILL NO. 175
"An Act authorizing the commissioner of natural resources to
disclose confidential information in an investigation or
proceeding, including a lease royalty audit, appeal, or request
for reconsideration and issue a protective order limiting the
persons who have access to the confidential information."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 202
"An Act relating to the liability of a Native corporation for
the release or threatened release of hazardous substances
present on certain lands."
- HEARD & HELD
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 43(JUD)
"An Act relating to prescribing, dispensing, and administering
an investigational drug, biological product, or device by
physicians for patients who are terminally ill for the purpose
of sustaining the patient's life; providing immunity related to
manufacturing, distributing, or providing investigational drugs,
biological products, or devices; and relating to licensed health
care facility requirements."
- MOVED CSHB 43(JUD) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 175
SHORT TITLE: DNR: DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFO
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
02/05/18 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/05/18 (S) JUD, RES
03/21/18 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/21/18 (S) Heard & Held
03/21/18 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/26/18 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: SB 202
SHORT TITLE: NATIVE CORP. LIABILITY FOR CONTAMINATION
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) HOFFMAN
02/19/18 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/19/18 (S) RES, JUD
02/26/18 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
02/26/18 (S) Moved SB 202 Out of Committee
02/26/18 (S) MINUTE(RES)
02/28/18 (S) RES RPT 4DP 2NR
02/28/18 (S) DP: GIESSEL, BISHOP, COGHILL, VON IMHOF
02/28/18 (S) NR: STEDMAN, MEYER
03/26/18 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: HB 43
SHORT TITLE: NEW DRUGS FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) GRENN
01/18/17 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/13/17
01/18/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/17 (H) HSS, JUD
02/28/17 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
02/28/17 (H) Heard & Held
02/28/17 (H) MINUTE(HSS)
03/02/17 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
03/02/17 (H) Heard & Held
03/02/17 (H) MINUTE(HSS)
03/07/17 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
03/07/17 (H) Moved HB 43 Out of Committee
03/07/17 (H) MINUTE(HSS)
03/08/17 (H) HSS RPT 5DP 1NR 1AM
03/08/17 (H) DP: JOHNSTON, TARR, EDGMON, SULLIVAN-
LEONARD, SPOHNHOLZ
03/08/17 (H) NR: KITO
03/08/17 (H) AM: EASTMAN
03/29/17 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/29/17 (H) Heard & Held
03/29/17 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
04/03/17 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/03/17 (H) Moved CSHB 43(JUD) Out of Committee
04/03/17 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
04/05/17 (H) JUD RPT CS(JUD) NT 5DP 1NR
04/05/17 (H) DP: EASTMAN, KOPP, FANSLER, LEDOUX,
CLAMAN
04/05/17 (H) NR: REINBOLD
04/10/17 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/10/17 (H) VERSION: CSHB 43(JUD)
04/11/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/11/17 (S) HSS, JUD
01/24/18 (S) HSS AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
01/24/18 (S) Heard & Held
01/24/18 (S) MINUTE(HSS)
01/29/18 (S) HSS AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
01/29/18 (S) Moved CSHB 43(JUD) Out of Committee
01/29/18 (S) MINUTE(HSS)
01/31/18 (S) HSS RPT 3DP 1NR
01/31/18 (S) DP: VON IMHOF, BEGICH, GIESSEL
01/31/18 (S) NR: MICCICHE
02/28/18 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/28/18 (S) Heard & Held
02/28/18 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/26/18 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
WITNESS REGISTER
LARRY SHANE NICHOLSON, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Kodiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
CHIEF JUSTIN T. DOLL, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
DAVID GILBERT KNAPP, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
KARA MORIARITY, President and CEO
Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Voiced concern with SB 175.
MARIDON BOARIO, Staff
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SB 202 on behalf of the sponsor.
HALLIE BISSETT, Executive Director
Alaska Native Village Corporation Association (ANVCA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided supporting testimony for SB 202.
EMILY NAUMAN, Legislative Counsel
Legislative Legal Services
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to SB 202
MICHAEL EDWARD CRAIG, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:31:20 PM
CHAIR JOHN COGHILL called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:31 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Costello, Kelly, and Chair Coghill.
^Confirmation Hearing(s): Alaska Police Standards Council
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Alaska Police Standards Council
1:31:44 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the first order of business would be
consideration of governor appointees to the Alaska Police
Standards Council. He asked Sergeant Nicholson to tell the
committee about his interest in serving on the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
1:32:55 PM
LARRY SHANE NICHOLSON, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards
Council, said he's a sergeant with the wildlife troopers and has
been in law enforcement for 19 years. He currently holds the
position of supervisor of the Kodiak Post as the Alaska Wildlife
Troopers Sergeant. He said he believes that his experience and
insight in law enforcement would be beneficial to the council
and his experience in training would help maintain current
standards. He hopes to be an asset on the council.
1:34:56 PM
CHAIR COGHILL asked if he had attended any council meetings.
SERGEANT NICHOLSON said no.
CHAIR COGHILL asked if he had identified any things that needed
to be addressed.
SERGEANT NICHOLSON said at this point he was all ears and open
mind.
1:35:59 PM
SENATOR SHOWER joined the committee.
CHAIR COGHILL thanked Sergeant Nicholson for being willing to
serve.
CHAIR COGHILL asked Chief Doll to tell the committee about his
interest in serving on the Alaska Police Standards Council.
1:36:49 PM
CHIEF JUSTIN T. DOLL, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards
Council, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that he was the chief of
police with the Anchorage Police Department and was honored to
be asked to serve on the Alaska Police Standards Council. He
said he has attended council meetings and believes it is
important for law enforcement to offer to serve to help maintain
the ethical and moral standards that everyone expects from
Alaska law enforcement officers. The Alaska Police Standards
Council is an important part of that. He noted that members had
copies of his resume and offered to answer questions about his
background and training.
CHAIR COGHILL asked how the standards for conduct in Alaska and
Anchorage compare to other jurisdictions.
CHIEF DOLL said he believes that the standard of the Anchorage
Police Department is higher than the template put out by the
Alaska Police Standards Council, but he recognizes the
importance of balance and having a standard that is wide enough
that small rural agencies can meet their recruiting goals.
CHAIR COGHILL asked if the current system can identify bad
actors and deal with them appropriately.
CHIEF DOLL said he believes the standards the council has
established generally reveal those issues.
1:40:14 PM
SENATOR SHOWER asked if he had any thoughts about local law
enforcement and the state troopers partnering with citizen
patrol groups to combat crime.
CHIEF DOLL said APD encourages any neighborhood group that is
interested in forming a patrol to take advantage of the
educational and training materials the department has developed.
APD also has special training officers who will meet with
neighborhood groups and give advice on the best way to interact
with APD, what to expect when patrol officers respond, and the
best way to communicate with dispatch. APD encourages folks in
neighborhoods to communicate with each other and is happy to
share that model. He opined that APD currently has the best
partnership and collaborative relationship with the Alaska State
Troopers that he's seen in the last 22 years.
1:42:59 PM
CHAIR COGHILL thanked Chief Doll for being willing to serve and
to pass on the legislature's appreciation for law enforcement
that stands up for citizens every day.
CHAIR COGHILL asked David Knapp to tell the committee about
himself and his interest in serving on the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
1:44:08 PM
DAVID GILBERT KNAPP, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards Council,
stated that he is a staff sergeant with the Department of
Corrections. He has worked for corrections for 13 years and
brings the perspective of a frontline correctional officer to
the council. He would like to see correctional officer training
adapt to the change in offenders that are entering the system.
He is honored to be appointed to the position and looks forward
to serving.
CHAIR COGHILL asked if he feels the safeguards are sufficient to
identify the bad actors in the system.
MR. KNAPP said some corrections officers have been caught
bringing in contraband and his experience is that all inmates
try it. There's probably no one solution but he would like to
see more effective body scanners and more opportunity for
inmates to get help for their addictions.
CHAIR COGHILL described corrections officers as the unsung
heroes in the world of policing. He clarified that he didn't
intend to cast corrections officers in a bad light. He wondered
if the rules are sufficient for those who either make a bad
decision or become bad actors.
MR. KNAPP said he believes the rules are sufficient.
CHAIR COGHILL noted that legislators recently heard about the
Norway prison model that appears to make corrections more
productive. He thanked Mr. Knapp for his service.
1:50:03 PM
CHAIR COGHILL stated his intention to forward the names to the
full legislature for consideration.
SB 175-DNR: DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFO
1:51:09 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of SB 175. He stated
his intention to take public testimony and noted who was
available to answer questions.
1:51:16 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI joined the committee.
1:53:22 PM
KARA MORIARITY, President and CEO, Alaska Oil and Gas
Association (AOGA), Anchorage, Alaska, advised that AOGA is a
private trade association that represents the majority of oil
and gas producers, explorers, refiners, and transporters of
Alaska's oil and gas. She stated that AOGA does not support the
current draft of SB 175 but hopes to work together to address
two concerns while still accomplishing what DNR is trying to
achieve.
First, language should be added that exempts royalty settlement
agreements (RSAs) from the provisions of the bill. She explained
that AOGA views RSAs as contractual agreements between the state
and a company that vary based on terms of the agreement.
Furthermore, RSAs often contain legal restrictions regarding the
disclosure of confidential information to a party that is not
part of the contractual agreement. The bill could disrupt what
has already been agreed to regarding confidentiality in royalty
settlement agreements.
The second concern relates to the individuals who will have
access to the confidential information under a protective order
during a royalty audit or appeal. AOGA would like language that
limits the release of confidential information to only those
individuals who are directly involved with the royalty audit or
appeal.
1:56:28 PM
CHAIR COGHILL said he would get DNR to address those concerns.
Finding no questions, he stated he would hold SB 175 in
committee for future consideration.
SB 202-NATIVE CORP. LIABILITY FOR CONTAMINATION
1:57:47 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of SB 202.
1:58:14 PM
MARIDON BOARIO, Staff, Senator Lyman Hoffman, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, introduced SB 202 on behalf of the
sponsor speaking to the following sponsor statement:
Through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(ANSCA) the federal government conveyed land to Alaska
Native Corporations. During the 1990s concerns were
raised that contaminated land was conveyed during this
process. In 1998 a Department of Interior (DOI) report
to Congress on Hazardous Substance Contamination of
ANSCA Lands confirmed the concerns and identified more
than 650 contaminated sites requiring remediation.
These sites were contaminated under ownership and/or
responsibility of the federal government and then
transferred to Native ownership.
A 2016 Bureau of Land Management update to the DOI
report to Congress acknowledged that the agency had
not acted on much of its 1998 report recommendations.
The update identified the Department of Defense as the
single largest pre-transfer owner of contaminated
sites still requiring cleanup. The Alaska Native
Village Corporation Association testified on the
problem as recently as last summer before a
congressional committee, pushing for the federal
government to deal with the problem sites. The Alaska
Native Village Corporation Association's federal
legislative priority list includes protecting Alaska
Native corporations from liability claims over land
that was contaminated before it was transferred to a
Native corporation.
SB 202 amends Alaska state statute so that an Alaska
Native corporation is not liable for containment,
removal or remediation actions if the contamination
occurred on the land before it was transferred under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Though this
change in state law would not solve the federal issues
of this problem, it is an important step toward
protecting Alaska Native corporations from liability
for actions by prior owners of the land.
MS. BOARIO stated that the 2016 BLM update identified 537 sites
that were contaminated at the time of the land transfer and
required remediation. Ninety-four of those sites are not in a
cleanup program and are classified by the BLM as orphan sites.
There are also over 100 sites that require further verification
and may be added to the orphan sites list. She noted that both
the 1998 and the 2016 reports were in the packets.
2:01:06 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked the scope of the problem and the type
of contamination that's been identified.
MS. BOARIO said much of the land was Department of Defense and
Federal Aviation Association property and the numerous
contaminants include mercury and petroleum products.
CHAIR COGHILL advised that Hallie Bissett with the Alaska Native
Village Corporation Association (ANVCA) was online.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked who would be responsible for the
cleanup should the bill pass.
MS. BOARIO replied the Native corporations are currently liable
and face threats of lawsuits because many of these sites are
close to existing villages and could contaminate drinking water
and adjacent land. SB 202 would relieve Native corporations of
liability if it is proven that the contamination existed at the
time of transfer. The primary goal is to pursue funding from the
federal government to clean up the contamination, but the
corporations would also need help in determining who was
responsible for the contamination prior to transfer.
2:04:00 PM
SENATOR COSTELLO observed that the bill does not specifically
assign liability to the federal government or any other entity.
MS. BOARIO agreed; the bill says that the Native corporations
are not liable if the contamination happened prior to the land
transfer.
SENATOR COSTELLO asked if the sponsor contemplated going a step
further and asking for a timetable
MR. BOARIO said not necessarily; the sponsor accepted the
language that the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association
suggested. It aligns with their efforts with the federal
government and links to the recent spending bill.
2:05:34 PM
SENATOR COSTELLO asked if there was a log of the contaminated
sites.
MS. BOARIO replied the Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) has a list of all the contaminated sites. She deferred to
Hallie Bissett to talk about whether a federal list exists.
CHAIR COGHILL noted that DEC was not online.
2:06:07 PM
SENATOR SHOWER said he'd like to see DEC's list and access to
historical knowledge about whether the land was contaminated
when it was transferred. "It could be a big liability on a
person from decades ago if we don't know, if we're not careful"
MS. BOARIO agreed to provide the information. She added that a
map in the packets from the DEC website shows where
contamination occurred and the sites that have been identified.
The orphan sites are also identified.
CHAIR COGHILL asked what causes a site to be classified as an
orphan site.
MS. BOARIO said she could read the definition from the BLM
report.
CHAIR COGHILL suggested Ms. Bissett give her testimony while Ms.
Boario located the specific text.
2:08:04 PM
HALLIE BISSETT, Executive Director, Alaska Native Village
Corporation Association (ANVCA), Anchorage, Alaska, said ANVCA
represents 176 Alaska Native Village Corporations that were
created under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(ANCSA). Land was transferred to these village corporations at
that time and many of those sites were contaminated.
She provided examples to illustrate the scope of the problem.
These included a glow in the dark fish and an unidentified gel-
like substance in fish. These sites are contaminated with PCBs,
they are White Alice sites, and they are old test sites for the
U.S. Department of Defense.
MS. BISSETT agreed with Ms. Boario that the bill does not assign
blame. The hope is to clean up the sites, but the corporations
needs the legal liability shield because there are probably more
sites that haven't been quantified. Over 600 sites have been
identified and some are in a remediation program. Ninety-four
sites have been classified as orphan sites, which means there is
no intention to clean them up. Almost all of those are within
two miles of a village. This is a large problem for Native
corporations and they would like to compel the federal
government or other responsible party to clean them up in
partnership with an Alaska Native workforce.
2:11:30 PM
CHAIR COGHILL asked her to submit her testimony in writing. The
connection was poor, and the committee missed some of the
details.
MS. BISSETT agreed.
CHAIR COGHILL asked Ms. Boario how many sites have been
identified as the state's responsibility for cleanup.
MS. BOARIO said she would follow up with the information.
CHAIR COGHILL stated his intention to move the bill on
Wednesday.
2:15:43 PM
MS. BOARIO paraphrased the following sectional analysis for SB
202:
Section 1 Amends AS 46.03.822(a) to add subsection (n)
which relieves Native corporations from liability if
the Native corporation can prove the hazardous
materials were already present on the land before the
land was transferred to the Native corporation under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C 1601
et seq.).
Section 2 Amends AS 46.03.822(m) to add a new
paragraph that defines Native Corporation to have the
same meaning as in federal law under U.S.C 1602(m).
She read the following definition: Native corporation
means any regional corporation, any village
corporation, any urban corporation, and any group
corporation.]
Section 3 Amends AS 46.03.822 to add a new subsection
(n) that relieves Native corporations from liability
if the Native corporation can prove the hazardous
materials were already present on the land before the
land was transferred to the Native corporation under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C 1601
et seq.).
Section 4 Repeals AS 46.03.822(c)(3) which is a
narrower exemption for Native corporations currently
in statute and replaces it with the exemption in AS
46.06.822.
MS. BOARIO read excerpts of the legislative legal memo that
details the repealed section and clarifies that the exemption
proposed in the bill waives liability in a broader set of
circumstances than current statute.
2:18:43 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI referenced Section 1 and asked if this was
a waiver of strict liability or negligence.
MS. BOARIO deferred to Ms. Nauman.
2:19:22 PM
EMILY NAUMAN, Legislative Counsel, Legislative Legal Services,
Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, replied it was a
waiver of strict liability.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if Section 3 would apply to a
negligence lawsuit or a strict liability lawsuit.
MS. NAUMAN said there were alternate legal methods through which
a Native corporation could be found liable for costs related to
spills on corporation land and negligence was one possibility.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI observed that under current law the Native
corporation would be strictly liable if contaminants on their
land leaked into a neighboring well. Under the bill the
corporation would not be strictly liable if they could prove
that the land was contaminated when the land was transferred to
the corporation under ANCSA. He asked if that was correct.
MS. NAUMAN agreed in part and pointed out that the current law
provides an exception if the Native corporation has taken
certain steps to clean up and monitor the situation. However,
there are other ways through which a Native corporation could be
found liable even if this bill becomes law.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for confirmation that a Native
corporation would not be exempt from a nuisance claim, a
trespass claim, or a negligence claim.
MS. NAUMAN said that's correct.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he assumes that the owner of non-
Native corporation land would be strictly responsible if there
was contamination prior to conveyance at statehood.
MS. NAUMAN said AS 46.03.822(a) places the burden of
responsibility on a series of different parties.
2:23:20 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked who would be liable for contamination
on Native corporation land, should SB 202 pass.
MS. NAUMAN said she believes that would be a highly fact
dependent action because it's difficult to say without knowing
how the hazardous substance ended up on the land and who was
responsible for its release.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the language in Section 3 would
place the liability on the federal government.
MS. NAUMAN said she didn't believe the bill changed the federal
government's liability; it only changes the liability with
respect to a Native corporation.
CHAIR COGHILL said his expectation is that the state could be
liable for land it selected at Statehood but was conveyed to
Native corporations under ANILCA. There would be a question of
who the landowner was at the time of contamination.
MS. NAUMAN said that was her understanding.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the state would be obligated to
clean up sites once the Native corporation was exempt from
responsibility.
MS. NAUMAN deferred the question to Kristen Ryan with DEC.
CHAIR COGHILL asked Senator Wielechowski to bring that question
up on Wednesday.
MS. BOARIO clarified that the Native corporations want
contamination on their lands to be mediated and either have the
federal government pay or be able to qualify for funding for the
cleanup.
CHAIR COGHILL said that's clear; we're trying to figure out who
bears the ultimate responsibility.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if a Native corporation would be more
likely to qualify for funding if they were not the party
responsible for the contamination.
MS. BOARIO said she believes so, but she would look into it
further.
2:27:49 PM
CHAIR COGHILL held SB 202 in committee awaiting answers to the
questions brought forward today.
HB 43-NEW DRUGS FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL
2:28:19 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of HB 43 and stated
his intention to move the bill to the Rules Committee if there
was no objection. Representative Grenn brought the bill forward
and previous legislatures have considered this issue. He found
no questions or comments.
2:29:25 PM
SENATOR COSTELLO moved to report the CS for HB 43, version J,
from committee with individual recommendations and attached
fiscal note(s).
2:29:44 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced that without objection CSHB 43(JUD) was
reported from the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee.
^Confirmation Hearing(s): Alaska Police Standards Council
CONFIRMATION HEARING
ALASKA POLICE STANDARDS COUNCIL
2:30:19 PM
CHAIR COGHILL returned attention to confirmation hearings. He
asked Mr. Craig to tell the committee about himself, his
interest in serving on the Alaska Police Standards Council, and
his observations if he had attended any meetings.
2:30:28 PM
MICHAEL EDWARD CRAIG, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards
Council, Anchorage, Alaska, said he works for the Alaska
Pipeline Services Company as an employee concerns coordinator
looking into conduct issues. He's worked for the pipeline for
about 35 years. When he was asked if he would consider serving
on the council in 2017, he attended a meeting as a public member
and decided this was something he would like to do. The
individuals on the committee are fully invested in the issues
and appreciate their role. He would be serving as a public
member and believes it's important to bring the public
perspective to the process. Most of the members are in law
enforcement but he has no qualms about inserting a contrary
point of view. He doesn't feel swayed by the larger group.
CHAIR COGHILL thanked Mr. Craig for being willing to serve.
2:35:54 PM
CHAIR COGHILL gaveled out and then reconvened the meeting to
state the following:
In accordance with AS 39.05.080 the Senate Judiciary
Standing Committee reviewed the following and
recommends the appointments be forwarded to a joint
session for consideration: Alaska Police Standards
Council Justin Doll of Anchorage, Larry Nicholson of
Kodiak, Michael Craig of Anchorage, and David Knapp of
Palmer.
2:36:35 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Coghill adjourned the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting at 2:36 p.m.