SB 103 HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FEES & HEARINGS PAULA HALEY testified on behalf of the bill. COCHAIR SHARP HELD the bill pending receipt of an updated fiscal note. SB 103 HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FEES & HEARINGS PAULA HALEY, Executive Director, Alaska State Commission on Human Rights, testified on behalf of the bill via teleconference from Anchorage. She explained that the bill was part of the agency's response to the public's increased demand for services in the wake of declining resources. Complaints had tripled over the past fifteen years while the agency lost 35 percent of its staff. They had worked to increase efficiency, reviewed, revised and amended regulations to streamline and reduce costs. SB 103 would provide cost saving measures and grant authority to charge fees for educational services. Any fees generated or money saved would be used toward investigation and enforcement. She urged support of the bill. SENATOR PARNELL inquired why the fiscal note did not reflect a change in revenues. MS. HALEY responded that any money saved would vary from year to year, but would be used for temporary staff, overtime and moving 330 cases along in the investigative process. SENATOR PARNELL believed the fiscal note should reflect a change to the general fund if more fees were being collected. He asked what revenues were expected. MS. HALEY replied that they didn't expect more than $5,000 by the second year, but it was hard to estimate. Educational service fees would be for sexual harassment trainings, disability law trainings, general discrimination and prevention education. There was no filing fee because legislators did not want that authority granted to the commission. Other problems with filing fees had to do with the fact that many people come to them after they've lost their job. It also would disqualify the commission from receiving a $120 thousand federal contract to process federal EEO complaints, so the loss would be greater than the gain with a filing fee. COCHAIR SHARP indicated he would hold the bill pending receipt of an updated fiscal note. MS. HALEY indicated she would do her best to provide an estimate of anticipated savings. In response to a comments from COCHAIR SHARP, MS. HALEY explained that they had removed redundant language from regulations last year. She commented about teleconferencing hearings as a cost saving measure. She responded to a query by COCHAIR SHARP by stating that a complainant had never been represented by the Office of Pubic Advocacy. Occasionally they would hire their own counsel to help them through the process, but it was rare. SB 103 was HELD pending a revised fiscal note.