Legislature(2005 - 2006)BELTZ 211
02/07/2006 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| SB189 | |
| Confirmation – Scott Nordstrand, Commissioner, Department of Administration | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | SB 189 | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 7, 2006
3:34 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gene Therriault, Chair
Senator Thomas Wagoner, Vice Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Bettye Davis
Senator Kim Elton
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 189
"An Act relating to issuance of identification cards and to
issuance of driver's licenses."
MOVED CSSB 189(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
Confirmation: Scott Nordstrand - Department of Administration
Commissioner Designee - Rescheduled from 2/02/06
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 189
SHORT TITLE: REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSE/I.D.
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) HUGGINS
04/27/05 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/27/05 (S) STA, JUD
05/03/05 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 211
05/03/05 (S) <Above Bill Hearing Canceled>
02/02/06 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 211
02/02/06 (S) Heard & Held
02/02/06 (S) MINUTE(STA)
02/07/06 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 211
WITNESS REGISTER
Scott Nordstrand, Acting Commissioner
Department of Administration
PO Box 110200
Juneau, AK 99811-0200
POSITION STATEMENT: Commissioner Designee, Department of
Administration
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR GENE THERRIAULT called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:34:31 PM. Present were Senators
Kim Elton, Thomas Wagoner, Charlie Huggins, Bettye Davis, and
Chair Gene Therriault.
SB 189-REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSE/I.D.
3:34:40 PM
CHAIR GENE THERRIAULT announced SB 189 to be up for
consideration. He reminded members that the \L version was
before the committee and said if members had no concerns he'd
like to take final action that day. He noted the fiscal note.
Finding no questions, he asked for the will of the committee.
SENATOR THOMAS WAGONER motioned to report CSSB 189(STA) and
attached fiscal note(s) from committee with individual
recommendations.
SENATOR KIM ELTON objected for the purpose of making a comment.
He stated that he takes philosophical issue with the umbrella
policy in the federal Real ID Act because it's unclear what the
state's responsibility might be as it accedes to the federal
government. He encouraged the sponsors and someone from the
Division of Motor Vehicles to contact him to assuage his
concerns.
SENATOR ELTON withdrew his objection.
CHAIR THERRIAULT announced CSSB 189(STA) moved from committee.
^Confirmation - Scott Nordstrand, Commissioner, Department of
Administration
3:37:25 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT announced the next order of business to be the
confirmation hearing for Scott Nordstrand as Commissioner of the
Department of Administration. He asked Mr. Nordstrand to outline
his interest in the position as well as his qualifications.
SCOTT NORDSTRAND, Acting Commissioner, Department of
Administration, introduced himself and briefly reviewed his
qualifications stating that his attorney background offers
special perspective and help to the many attorneys in the
department. (Background and resume material may be found in the
confirmation file.)
He declared that his time as deputy attorney general for the
State of Alaska prepared him for this position. In that capacity
he learned about state budgeting, the state process, and how to
manage people.
3:45:22 PM
Referencing a December 2005 meeting with division directors he
outlined the department "to do" list of items outside the norm
of typical operation. He included:
Invest in technology
ƒIt's time for the state to go forward with voice over
Internet protocol (VOIP) phones.
ƒFor an annual fee there will be current Microsoft software
from the network operating system out to all desktops in
the Executive Branch.
ƒAlaska land mobile radio system is in use and it's time for
DOA to begin billing for its use.
ƒThe Alaska Public Office Commission (APOC) computer system
needs stabilizing.
Supporting state employees
ƒThere will be a new contract for a third party
administrator for the health care plan.
ƒEfforts are being made to procure a record keeper, educator
and financial advisor to help people understand the new
TIER IV retirement plan.
ƒThe state travel office negotiated with Alaska Airlines for
cheaper airfare on Y class seats, which comprise 44 percent
of the Executive Branch airfare purchases. In the first
year Medicaid saved $766,000 in airfare with Alaska
Airlines. Negotiations are underway for cheaper hotel and
car rentals as well.
ƒFor each state office building a punch list exists
outlining what's wrong and when it will be fixed.
SENATOR CHARLIE HUGGINS complemented his enthusiasm.
3:58:26 PM
SENATOR THOMAS WAGONER commented on the airfare savings.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND advised that Medicaid travel
amounts to $25 million and an additional $25 million is spent
each year on Executive Branch travel.
CHAIR THERRIAULT questioned whether legislators could avail
themselves of the negotiated ticket price.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND replied any element of state
government is eligible as long as it's state business. He added
he would welcome the addition because transaction fees go down
when the number of participants increases.
4:03:10 PM
SENATOR KIM ELTON thanked the commissioner for the attention he
has given the Public Defenders Agency, the Office of Public
Advocacy and the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
He then referenced recent news articles related to allegations
that certain data was erased from DNR computers and that
personnel who left the agency had done something that was
potentially illegal. He noted that a 2/7/06 letter from the DNR
commissioner states that the agency "has no complete backup of
the information that may have been stored on either of the state
laptop computers."
SENATOR ELTON said he's bothered that the state employee has
been publicly characterized as having done something illegal.
Acting Director of Oil & Gas Van Dyke was asked about the issue
and his comments are diametrically opposed. His contention is
that all emails were preserved and all electronic gas line
documents were written to disc. Mr. Meyers preserved all paper
copies of gas line and other director related documents for the
division.
Mr. Van Dyke further stated that, "It would be inappropriate to
assign Director Meyer's computers to other staff members with
the above mentioned data and information still on them. That is
our plan for the computers when we get the computers back from
DOA."
He asked Acting Commissioner Nordstrand to comment on the fact
that the statement that the appropriate information was
preserved is in stark contrast to assertions you and
Commissioner Menge made.
4:07:08 PM
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND denied knowledge of having
alleged that something illegal happened. He remembered speaking
about the obligation that state employees have regarding
maintaining public records and he talked about the circumstance
of learning that public records were potentially destroyed. In
reality, he said, proving that records were destroyed isn't
really possible. He further said:
In the newspaper a couple of days ago it says that the
fellow at DNR said he told Meyers that it was
department policy not to erase the hard drives. But if
all the information on the computers had been copied
it would be all right to go ahead. I guess that's the
premise upon which that story was based and now we
know, and in fact I knew because we checked in
December, that there were no backups for those
laptops. So if that's the case then what we also know
is whatever was on those computers has been lost. Now,
how you prove what was on those computers - I don't
know how you do that. All we know for sure is that
some select documents were copied, provided to the
Division of Oil & Gas folks and then the computers
were erased. But that's not their normal policy and
certainly if, in fact, backup had been made so that we
could be certain that important documents were not
lost - think about what we're talking about. We're not
talking about just ordinary state public records of
some bureaucrat writing to another. We're talking
about documents concerning potentially the most
important transaction in Alaska's history. We're also
talking about a circumstance where the Department of
Law was essentially on the hunt to find the documents
necessary to create the administrative record for the
gas line contract and to respond to court authority
Public Records Act requests.
That being said, we took it very seriously that there
were allegations that these documents were lost. We
still take it seriously. I wish those computers were
available to be restored. I wish the data had been
backed up. That's the best of all possible worlds, but
we learned some time ago, in my case, that that's not
the case. And those are the facts.
SENATOR ELTON referenced the news article and read, "Acting
Commissioner of Administration Scott Nordstrand on January 30
accused Meyers of ordering the erasing of data on two laptop
computers issued to him by the division, possibly wiping out
public records in the process." That statement contrasts starkly
with the statement from the person in charge of preserving the
data, he said. Mr. Van Dyke said all emails were preserved on
the server. All electronic gas line documents were written to
disc and the Division of Oil & Gas has a copy of the disc.
SENATOR ELTON added that Mr. Meyers had also expressed surprise
at the characterization.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND responded Mr. Meyers' comments to
DOA focused on a CD ROM he prepared, but not to a tape backup,
which provides a means for restoring data to a computer when
information has been lost. Tape backups were made weekly on
computers that were turned on and connected to the network. "The
problem is that Director Meyer's computers were seldom connected
to the network and on at the time that the back ups were
happening and so no back up happened," he said. The problem with
tape backups is that the data is overwritten every two months so
the data would be gone in any event. He emphasized that a tape
back up isn't a reasonable means to preserve extraordinarily
important public records.
4:14:44 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT interjected the tape backup was augmented by
the CD that he provided.
SENATOR ELTON asked Acting Commissioner Nordstrand to focus on
Mr. Van Dyke's statement that nothing was lost and that the data
had been preserved.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND responded he doesn't know how Mr.
Van Dyke would know whether or not Mr. Meyers deleted any of his
email. But, he said, as a result of the DOA investigation he was
able to "verify that two laptop computers were erased multiple
times with a specialized software designed to prevent data from
being recovered." He reiterated that only Mr. Meyers could know
what he did.
SENATOR ELTON reiterated it's important to realize that there
are stark contrasts between the two interpretations. Mr. Van
Dyke is the acting director of the division and he said the
emails were preserved. I'll assume that that is correct, he
said. When the individual most at risk was told and believed
that proper procedure was followed it's unfortunate for others
to assert that something illegal may have happened. The true
course of events may never be known, but the way it's been
discussed is unfortunate.
4:18:47 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT questioned whether any assumptions could be
made with regard to who was available for comment and who was
not.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND replied he couldn't make any
assumption.
CHAIR THERRIAULT admitted he ground his teeth a bit when he read
an allegation that a Legislative Budget and Audit consultant was
providing potentially confidential information to executive
level employees. He said he really didn't understand the basis
for the statement that would suggest that confidential
information was given to anyone outside the circle of
confidentiality.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND explained that when he said
"confidential" he was referring to confidential attorney client
privilege where legal advice is procured. Certainly everyone who
has signed the confidentiality agreement has the right to
exchange information related to negotiations, he said. He
apologized for being unclear.
CHAIR THERRIAULT stated appreciation for the clarification
because he interpreted his statement to mean that LB&A or its
consultants had been the source of information that was leaked.
Referencing the news article from the previous day that alleged
a 40-minute interview with Mr. Meyers, he asked if it actually
took place, who participated, and whether it could be
characterized as a normal departure interview.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND explained that as a result of the
allegations that documents were erased, the Division of
Personnel began an investigation and Mr. Meyers was interviewed
as a part of that process. It was not an exit interview because
the investigation began well after Mr. Meyers separated.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if Mr. Meyers discussed his decision-
making process regarding what he decided to copy to disc.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND said he didn't know, but he
believes that Mr. Meyers' intent was to put relevant gas line
documents on a disc to hand on to his successors.
4:24:16 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked if just one person conducted the
investigation.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND clarified that one person from
the Division of Personnel spoke with employees and the state
security officer from Enterprise Technology Services handled the
computer portion of the investigation.
He explained that the following process led to DOA's
involvement. DOL hired a law firm that is capable of doing
electronic discovery of email and documents that relate to
stranded gas or that contain the names of particular people. The
software evaluates, assembles and separately lists information
related to the Stranded Gas Act for purposes of the
administrative record and for Public Records Act requests. That,
he said, was the process that led to DOA's involvement.
SENATOR ELTON questioned why DOA is the lead investigatory
agency.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND responded DOA investigates
employee misconduct through the Division of Personnel.
SENATOR ELTON asked if there is a process that prompts such a
review or if allegations and or rumor could jump-start the
review.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND replied there are formal
complaint forms, but the prompt could also be as simple as a
supervisor hearing about inappropriate activity. That supervisor
would report the activity up the chain and the department would
ask the Division of Personnel for advice. He asserted that
divisions and departments are responsible for remaining vigilant
to concerns that may not rise to a formal level.
SENATOR ELTON summarized that a formal complaint isn't
necessary. An investigation could be prompted by something as
informal as a suspicion or a rumor, which could lead to a
circumstance that's similar to the one previously discussed.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND responded he would prefer to say
the individual is on inquiry notice. He further explained that
DOA has the responsibility of conducting an investigation to a
level that is commensurate to the alleged infraction. There
isn't a one size fits all solution for personnel management
matters, he said.
4:31:47 PM
SENATOR WAGONER asked what capability DOA has to review emails
written by legislators and legislative staff in the capitol
building.
ACTING COMMISSIONER NORDSTRAND replied his understanding is that
DOA has no such authority, but that legislative traffic
ultimately travels across the state network.
CHAIR THERRIAULT suggested that the committee could have someone
from the legislative data processing office address the same
question.
He related an alleged issue from the previous year and stated
that there is some ability to see what's occurring on the other
side of the firewall, but he wasn't sure that the capability
extended to reviewing individual documents. However, if it's
possible to send out electronic bugs to review electronic file
cabinets, legislators would certainly want to know if their
files could be accessed.
CHAIR THERRIAULT remarked that although the latest issue has
been somewhat troubling, it shouldn't overshadow the work the
commissioner has done to energize people in the department to do
a good job on behalf of the state. He then asked for additional
information on the interview that was mentioned to help clarify
whether assurances were given on the types of documents that
were saved.
Noting that there were no further questions at that time, Chair
Therriault closed the hearing and adjourned the meeting at
4:35:31 PM.
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