Legislature(2019 - 2020)SENATE FINANCE 532
02/25/2019 05:00 PM Senate LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
FEBRUARY 25, 2019
5:02 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Representative Louise Stutes, Vice Chair
Senator John Coghill
Senator Mia Costello
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Bert Stedman
Senator Natasha von Imhof
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Neal Foster
Representative DeLena Johnson
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Tammie Wilson
MEMBERS ABSENT
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
AGENDA
COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION
COMMITTEE POLICIES
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
RATIFICATION OF CHARITY EVENTS
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
CONTRACT APPROVALS
SPEAKER REGISTER
Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs Agency
Megan Wallace, Director, Legal Services, LAA
Jean Mischel, Revisor of Statutes, Legal Services, LAA
Tina Strong, Procurement Officer, Supply, LAA
Wayne Jensen, President, Jensen Yorba Wall, Inc.
5:04:25 PM
I. Call to Order
SENATE PRESIDENT GIESSEL called the Legislative Council
meeting to order at 5:02pm in the Senate Finance Committee
Room. Present at the call were: Representatives Edgmon,
Foster, Kopp, Wilson, Thompson, Johnson; Senators Giessel,
Stedman, von Imhof, Coghill, Hoffman, Stutes, Stevens.
13 members present.
Senator Costello joined at 5:10pm.
II. Committee Organization
SENATE PRESIDENT GIESSEL stated this is the first meeting
of the Legislative Council for the first session of the
Thirty-First legislature and the committee must nominate
and elect a Chair and Vice Chair.
SENATOR COGHILL nominated Senator Gary Stevens as the Chair
of Legislative Council and asked for unanimous consent and
that nominations be closed.
SENATE PRESIDENT GIESSEL said seeing no objection, the
motion carries. She handed the gavel to Senator Stevens.
CHAIR STEVENS thanked Madam President and everyone for
being in attendance. He continued that it has been a long
time coming this session, but there are now seven members
of the House and seven members of the Senate. For the
election of the Vice Chair, he called on Speaker Edgmon.
SPEAKER EDGMON nominated and elected Representative Louise
Stutes as Vice Chair of Legislative Council and asked for
unanimous consent and that the nominations be closed.
CHAIR STEVENS said without objection, Representative Stutes
is the Vice Chair. He thanked and welcomed her.
III. Committee Policies
a. Quorum and Voting Requirements
CHAIR STEVENS said it is a long-time policy of the
Council to have the requirement of eight members for a
quorum and eight members to approve a motion. Because
there are seven members of the House and seven members
of the Senate, it ensures at least one member of the
other body approves a motion or satisfies a quorum to
do the Council's business. Unless there is objection,
he proposed maintaining the existing policy. Hearing
no objection, that policy is approved.
b. Sanctioning Charity Events
CHAIR STEVENS explained per AS 24.60.080 (a)(2)(B),
Legislative Council sanctions charitable events that
have 501 (c)(3) tax free status. The policy in place
since 2003 is that the Committee granted the Chair the
ability to sanction these charitable events and at the
next Council meeting, the Committee would ratify the
Chair's action. Unless there is objection, he proposed
maintaining the existing policy. Hearing no objection,
that policy is approved.
c. Subcommittees
CHAIR STEVENS said three subcommittees will be formed
this session: the Security Subcommittee; the Office
Allowance/Per Diem Subcommittee; and the Information
Technology Subcommittee chaired by legislative staff,
Doug Letch. Chair Stevens asked members to contact him
or his committee aide, Katrina Matheny, if they would
like to serve on one of those subcommittees or
recommend their staff for the IT subcommittee.
IV. Approval of Minutes
5:09:11 PM
VICE CHAIR STUTES moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council approve the minutes dated December 17,
2018 as presented.
CHAIR STEVENS objected for purposes of discussion. Hearing
no objection, the minutes are approved.
V. Ratification of Charity Events
5:09:41 PM
VICE CHAIR STUTES moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council ratify the Chair's sanctioning of the
following charitable events per AS 24.60.080 (a)(2)(B):
a. Girl Scouts of Alaska Annual Auction
th
b. Juneau Animal Rescue 6 Annual Silent Auction
th
c. Juneau Dance Theatre 4 Annual "Juneau's Got Talent"
d. Lawmakers Round-Up 5K Event
th
e. 34 Annual Sham Jam
f. Kenai River Junior Classic, Kenai River Classic &
Kenai River Women's Classic
g. American Red Cross of Alaska "Service through the
Ages"
th
h. 27 Annual Coal Classic Golf Tournament
CHAIR STEVENS objected for purposes of discussion. He
continued that he sanctioned these events and confirmed
they are 501 (c)(3) organizations. Chair Stevens asked if
there is any discussion or objection? Hearing no objection,
those events are ratified.
VI. Committee Business
a. 2019 Manual of Legislative Drafting
5:10:55 PM
VICE CHAIR STUTES moved that Legislative Council
approve the 2019 Manual of Legislative Drafting.
CHAIR STEVENS objected for purposes of discussion and
requested Megan Wallace and Jean Mischel to please
come to the table for the next two items.
MEGAN WALLACE, Legal Services Director, introduced
herself and Jean Mischel, Revisor of Statutes. Ms.
Wallace said one of her first official duties as Legal
Services Director was having the privilege to promote
Jean Mischel into the Revisor of Statutes position
which became vacant upon the retirement of Jerry
Luckhaupt, former Revisor. Ms. Mischel is a critical
part of the Legal Services team. The Revisor has an
imperative role in the peer review process in which
legislation and opinions are drafted and is
responsible for the publication of the Alaska Statutes
which affects the institution and those around the
state and country who use those Statutes. With that
introduction, she asked Ms. Mischel to present the
Drafting Manual.
JEAN MISCHEL, Revisor of Statutes with Legislative
Legal, thanked the Council for considering this item.
She said she worked with Legal's Editor and Special
Assistant to prepare this new Manual of Legislative
Drafting for this Thirty-First Legislature. Members
should have a cover letter that outlines the minor
changes.
Ms. Mischel explained that Legal removed references to
the regulation review committee repealed last session.
We added emphasis to the neutrality and
confidentiality that we take very seriously. Legal
updated dates and references to the previous
legislative session. We added case law and a reference
to the Mallott v. Stand for Salmon case in the context
of severability of provisions in an initiative. Most
significant to legislative procedures, Legal amended
the enrollment process for bills that have been vetoed
or partially vetoed. This was requested by the Senate
Secretary and the House Chief Clerk to clarify the
process, so it is consistent with what actually
happens. She said she is pleased to answer any
questions.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there were any questions or
discussion. There is a motion on the table. Chair
Stevens had objected for purposes of discussion and
now removed that objection. There was no further
discussion.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Kopp, Wilson,
Thompson, Johnson; Senators Giessel, Stedman, von
Imhof, Coghill, Hoffman, Stutes, Stevens.
NAYS: None
The motion passed 13-0.
b. 2019 Revisor's Bill
5:15:32 PM
VICE CHAIR STUTES moved that Legislative Council
approve the 2019 Revisor's bill version 31-LS0095/U
and request the Senate Rules Committee to introduce
it.
CHAIR STEVENS objected for purposes of discussion and
asked if there were any questions or discussion.
MS. MISCHEL explained that she provided a sectional
summary with the Revisor's Bill because it has been
two years since the last bill and there are several
provisions. Under AS 01.05.036 this is a statutory
duty of the Revisor to prepare for Council's
consideration and hopefully introduction by the Rules
Committees.
Legal clarified and made changes consistent with the
Drafting Manual, which is primarily the function of
this bill. Legal reviews every title on a six-year
rotating basis for drafting errors, obsolete
provisions, and attempts to clarify language. Legal
has a letter from the Department of Law that supports
this version of the Revisor's Bill. Ms. Mischel said
she is pleased to answer any questions.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there were any questions or
discussion. He stated there is a motion before us and
removed his objection.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Kopp, Wilson,
Thompson, Johnson; Senators Giessel, Stedman, von
Imhof, Coghill, Hoffman, Stutes, Stevens.
NAYS: None
The motion passed 13-0.
c. FY18 Legislature Audit
CHAIR STEVENS noted this is not an action item and
asked Jessica Geary, Executive Director to present
this item and answer any questions.
JESSICA GEARY, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency, stated that by statute the Legislature has an
annual independent audit conducted of our financials.
In your packet is a copy of the FY18 audit, which was
clean with no exceptions. Ms. Geary said she is
pleased to answer any questions.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there were any questions or
discussion. Hearing none, we will move to the next
item.
d. FY20 Legislature Budget
5:19:07 PM
VICE CHAIR STUTES moved that Legislative Council per
AS 24.20.130 approve the FY20 Legislative Council
Proposed Budget and transmit it to the House and
Senate Finance Committees for their review and action.
CHAIR STEVENS objected for purposes of discussion and
asked Ms. Geary to explain the budget.
JESSICA GEARY, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency, noted before you is a copy of the FY20 budget
request as well as the FY20 budget request narrative,
which explains each appropriation and allocation and
what it contains.
There are no increments in the request, however there
are structural changes and transfers in and out of
allocations to improve efficiency and align structure
with the appropriate authority and/or function.
The FY20 request reduces the number of RDUs, a group
of allocations combined to achieve a specific goal,
from five to two. We have the Legislative Council RDU,
which includes the administrative functions of the
Legislature and special committees and offices such as
Ethics, Ombudsman, and Office of Victims' Rights. We
also have the Legislative Operating Budget RDU which
includes those functions directly related to the
operations of the Legislature, such as Session
Expenses, House and Senate Operating Budget and
Legislator Salaries and Allowances. Legislator
Salaries and Allowances used to be contained within
the Legislative Council budget, so one of the
structural changes that was proposed in working with
David Teal and simplifying our structure was to move
that within the Legislative Operating Budget. We also
moved House and Senate Per Diem, which was in two
separate RDUs with two allocations per RDU, back into
Salaries and Allowances where it always was prior to
last year.
In Administrative Services, we moved Information and
Teleconference allocation back into Administrative
Services where it previously was. We transferred
$20,000 from State Facilities Rent for State Equipment
Fleet costs into Administrative Services because it
has nothing to do with State Facilities Rent. We
transferred out $286,000 to the Legislative Operating
budget for membership dues. The Ombudsman realized a
savings in moving into the Anchorage Legislative
Office Building of $42,000, but that amount needed to
be transferred from State Facilities Rent into the
Office of the Ombudsman to cover the cost of their new
case management system. State Facilities Rent has a
surplus of $58,000 realized from savings of
renegotiated lease space. That could potentially be on
the table for a decrement for the Finance Committees.
In Session Expenses, we moved the Special Session
Contingency allocation back into the Session Expenses
allocation. In the Legislative Operating budget, we
broke out House and Senate Operating into reportable
sub-allocations and the transfer of $262,300 from
membership dues mentioned previously. Ms. Geary said
she is pleased to answer any questions.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there were any questions on the
FY20 Budget.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked if the Legislative Information
Offices (LIOs) had been addressed?
MS. GEARY replied through the Chair, Senator Hoffman,
the LIOs were moved into Administrative Services back
from their own separate RDU.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there were other questions. He
stated there is a motion before us and removed his
objection.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Kopp, Wilson,
Thompson, Johnson; Senators Giessel, Stedman, von
Imhof, Costello, Coghill, Hoffman, Stutes, Stevens.
NAYS: None
The motion passed 14-0.
VII. Contract Approvals
a. Ketchikan LIO Lease Extension
5:24:27 PM
VICE CHAIR STUTES moved that Legislative Council
approve Renewal No. 3 of Lease for Ketchikan Office
Space in an amount of $47,926.00.
CHAIR STEVENS asked Tina Strong, the Legislature's
Procurement Officer to come forward to present the
next two items and answer any questions.
TINA STRONG, Procurement Officer, Legislative Affairs
Agency, noted the original lease agreement between the
Legislative Affairs Agency and Ketchikan Gateway
Borough for office space in Ketchikan, Alaska, was for
a five-year term that began March 1, 2012, and
terminated February 28, 2017. There were five
additional renewals of lease available under the lease
agreement: each for a one-year period. We have
exercised two of the renewal options.
Renewal No. 2 of lease expires on February 28, 2019.
We would like approval to proceed with Renewal No. 3
for the period March 1, 2019, through February 29,
2020.
If Legislative Council approves Renewal No. 3, this
will leave two more renewals of lease available before
we must issue a bid or do a lease extension.
This lease exceeds $35,000 in one fiscal year
threshold; therefore, Legislative Council approval is
required. Ms. Strong said she is pleased to answer any
questions.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there are any objections?
Senator Stedman?
SENATOR STEDMAN said the Ketchikan office space has
worked very well for the public. Several years ago,
the LIO and elected officials consolidated into the
same office in a building with the Borough and some
regional corporations. This move has been well
received. The office moved from an area that was
highly congested during the visitor season to a
quieter area of the community, which has served the
public very well. He recommends the Council extend for
a year.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there was further discussion or
comments. He stated there is a motion before us and
asked for a roll call vote.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Kopp, Wilson,
Thompson, Johnson; Senators Giessel, Stedman, von
Imhof, Costello, Coghill, Hoffman, Stutes, Stevens.
NAYS: None
The motion passed 14-0.
b. RFP 635 Capitol Column Restoration
5:27:35 PM
VICE CHAIR STUTES moved and asked unanimous consent
that Legislative Council go into Executive Session
under Uniform Rule 22(B)(1), discussion of matters,
the immediate knowledge of which would adversely
affect the finances of a government unit and 22(B)(3),
discussion of a matter that may, by law, be required
to be confidential. I ask that the following
individuals remain in the room: Jessica Geary; Tina
Strong; JC Kestel; John Cayce; any legislative staff
working for Council members; and that Wayne Jensen
remain online. We also welcome any Legislators who are
not on Legislative Council to remain in the room.
5:28:33 PM
Council went into Executive Session.
6:07:28 PM
Council came out of Executive Session.
6:07:38 PM
VICE CHAIR STUTES moved that Legislative Council
approve the award of RFP 635 to Dawson Construction,
LLC for Capitol Column Restoration for a total
contract amount of $676,075.
CHAIR STEVENS objected for purposes of discussion and
asked Ms. Geary to please explain this item.
JESSICA GEARY, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency, explained that although we are awarding the
RFP in full to Dawson Construction, we do have a forty
percent match from the Juneau Community Foundation who
will pay $270,000 of this price. So, $406,000 of
existing capital funds will be spent from legislative
money.
CHAIR STEVENS asked have those funds already been put
aside for that purpose?
MS. GEARY replied that the $406,000 has already been
put aside in the capital budget for this purpose.
There will be no new money appropriated.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there was any discussion.
SENATE PRESIDENT GIESSEL said it is appropriate to put
on the record for this project that Council has asked
what other outstanding work remains on this building
and were told none. This is a lump sum project and was
originally to be done during the seismic work, but the
project ran out of funds. It is more than what was
estimated at the time of the seismic work due to the
company having to remobilize, reconstruct scaffolding,
etc. She continued to wonder about conflict of
interest but noted that is neither here nor there at
this point. She wanted to ensure some of these points
and costs that Council has been exploring goes on the
record.
CHAIR STEVENS briefly responded that Council has
spoken with Wayne Jensen, the architect, who indicated
he has no conflict of interest and is not at all
involved with Dawson Construction.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON said Council did verify that
this is not a cosmetic issue, but a structural issue
and if nothing is done it will likely get worse, more
expensive, and possibly dangerous depending on how
much it erodes. It is an expensive project, but once
cracks begin they usually only get worse.
CHAIR STEVENS said we have made it clear that the
Juneau Community Foundation will be involved with
$270,000 and the remainder will come from existing
capital funds. Any further discussion? He stated there
is a motion before us, removed his objection, and
asked for a roll call vote.
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Kopp, Wilson,
Thompson, Johnson; Senators Giessel, Stedman, von
Imhof, Costello, Coghill, Stutes, Stevens.
NAYS: None
The motion passed 13-0.
VIII. Adjourn
CHAIR STEVENS noted if there is nothing further to
come before the Committee at this time, we are
adjourned.
6:12:00 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 2.25.19 Agenda.docx |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| 121718 Leg. Council Minutes.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| 2.25.19 Charity Events.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| 2019 Manual of Leg. Drafting Memo.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| 2019 Manual of Leg. Drafting.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| 2019 Revisor's Bill Sectional Summary.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| 2019 Revisor's Bill.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| FY18 Audit Mgmt Letter.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| FY18 Audit Schedules.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| FY20 Budget Narrative.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| FY20 Budget Request.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |
| Ketchikan Renewal No. 3.pdf |
JLEC 2/25/2019 5:00:00 PM |
2.25.19 Packet |