Legislature(1993 - 1994)
01/22/1993 09:10 AM Senate STA
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
January 22, 1993
9:10 A.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Leman, Chairman
Senator Miller, Vice Chairman
Senator Taylor
Senator Duncan
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Johnny Ellis
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 3
Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of
Alaska relating to terms of legislators.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4
Proposing an amendment of the Constitution of the State of
Alaska relating to the duration of a regular session.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5
Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of
Alaska relating to legislative action on bills and
resolutions and legislative caucuses.
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SJR 3 - See State Affairs minutes dated 1/20/93.
SJR 4 - No previous action to record.
SJR 5 - No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 93-3, SIDE A
Number 001
Chairman Leman called the Senate State Affairs Committee
meeting to order at 9:10 a.m.
SENATOR LEMAN brought SJR 3 (LIMITING TERMS OF LEGISLATORS)
before the committee as the first order of business.
SENATOR MILLER moved to pass SJR 3 from committee with
individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so
ordered.
Number 050
SENATOR LEMAN introduced SJR 4 (90 DAY SESSION LIMIT) as the
next order of business. Because the bill is sponsored by
the Chairman, Senator Leman turned the gavel over to Mike
Miller, Vice Chairman of the committee.
SENATOR LEMAN explained that SJR 4 proposes a constitutional
amendment to reduce the session length from its existing 121
days to 90 days. He said his rationale for doing this is
that he believes that with the proper scheduling of work, a
session could be completed within 90 days; it would be
advantageous to those monitoring the legislature; and there
is a money savings. He said he does not concur with those
who say that this will put more power in the hands of the
Administration because the legislature has the power to
appropriate and it can deal with administration action. He
urged the committee's favorable consideration of SJR 4.
Number 100
SENATOR TAYLOR moved to pass SJR 4 from committee with
individual recommendations. Hearing no objections, it was
so ordered.
SENATOR MILLER introduced SJR 5 (COMMITTEE ACTION ON BILLS;
CAUCUSES) sponsored by Senator Leman, as the final order of
business.
SENATOR LEMAN said SJR 5 deals with the procedure for acting
on bills and the procedure in committee. He explained that
he got the idea for this particular legislative reform from
the State of Colorado. Colorado adopted the procedure in
1988, and they have found that it has worked well.
The legislation provides that every bill or resolution that
is introduced must be heard in committee. The rationale for
this is that a committee chairman, by himself or herself,
would not be able to singularly kill a bill or resolution,
but that it would have to come before the committee and be
heard. The committee could take a vote and decide not to
further advance the bill. The Rules Committee would
schedule bills for floor action in the order that the bills
are referred to the Rules Committee. Senator Leman sees
this as a process that is more open to the public.
SENATOR LEMAN said the legislation also provides that every
bill would be considered upon its merit. The final section
of the resolution relates to caucuses. It prevents a member
from being bound by a caucus to vote for or against a matter
coming before the legislature, except for organizational
votes.
Number 150
SENATOR MILLER questioned whose definition of "merit" was
being used. He said one member may feel a bill has a lot of
merit, while another member may feel it doesn't have any
merit at all. SENATOR LEMAN agreed that some bills may have
no merit, but he said they should be considered, and if it
is found that they have no merit, then they should not be
discharged by the committee.
Number 180
SENATOR MILLER added that the problem he has with the word
"merit" is that it is an extremely subjective term.
SENATOR TAYLOR moved to pass SJR 5 from committee with
individual recommendations. Hearing no objections, it was
so ordered.
Number 190
SENATOR MILLER turned the gavel back to SENATOR LEMAN.
There being no further business to come before the
committee, the meeting was adjourned at 9:24 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|