SB 90-ELECTRONIC WILLS  2:41:44 PM CHAIR REINBOLD reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 90, "An Act relating to wills and the probate of wills; relating to the making, witnessing, self-proving, revocation, and probate of wills by electronic means; relating to the choice of law for execution of wills; relating to the certification of copies of wills; relating to the establishment of the validity of a will before death; and providing for an effective date." 2:41:58 PM At ease followed by another at ease 2:43:11 PM CHAIR REINBOLD reconvened the meeting and solicited a motion. 2:43:17 PM SENATOR SHOWER moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for SB 90, [work order 32-LS0501\I], Version I, as the working document. 2:43:29 PM CHAIR REINBOLD objected for discussion purposes. 2:43:39 PM SENATOR MYERS asked if the committee must first adopt the committee substitute. CHAIR REINBOLD clarified that her reason for objecting was to hear the changes in Version I. 2:44:30 PM SENATOR MYERS explained that the committee substitute (CS) for SB 90, Version I, incorporated Amendments 1, 2, and 5, which were previously adopted. This bill makes changes to revocatory acts, addresses an electronic form of holographic wills, and removes the ability to store an electronic will with the court since the court system cannot do so. 2:45:49 PM CHAIR REINBOLD removed her objection and Version I was before the committee as the working document. 2:46:00 PM SENATOR MYERS moved to adopt Amendment 1, [work order 32- LS0501\I.1]: 32-LS0501\I.1 Bannister 3/17/21 AMENDMENT [1] OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR MYERS TO: CSSB 90(JUD), Draft Version "I" Page 3, line 5, following "form": Insert "but not electronically generated" Page 6, line 13, following "will": Insert ", including a reproduction of a holographic will," Page 7, line 9, following "form": Insert "but not electronically generated" CHAIR REINBOLD objected for discussion purposes. 2:46:29 PM SENATOR MYERS explained that Amendment [1] would address holographic wills. He stated that the committee previously worked on an amendment to the bill, but the general consensus was that it did not fully address the issues. He worked with Senator Kiehl on language to allow handwriting in electronic form but restrict it from being electronically generated. In practice, this will enable people to write their wills on paper and photograph them with their phones or scan them into computer documents. However, it does not allow people to type their wills on computer tablets. He indicated that concern was raised about someone using artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic a person's handwriting, making it difficult to authenticate who had written the will. 2:48:12 PM SENATOR KIEHL agreed that holographic wills are tricky. He said that Amendment 1 gives him much comfort. He acknowledged it is possible to envision scenarios where bad actors can commit fraud, so the language in Amendment [1] was crafted to minimize the risks. 2:49:02 PM CHAIR REINBOLD thanked them for developing language to better address holographic wills. 2:49:17 PM CHAIR REINBOLD removed her objection. There being no further objections, Amendment [1] was adopted. SENATOR MYERS stated that the Department of Law submitted a zero fiscal note. The department indicated that this bill affects what is done in private practice. The department does not anticipate that this will affect any state operations. SENATOR MYERS said that this bill is technical but straightforward. The bill would allow people to validate their wills by using Zoom or some other platform that still can authenticate them. He said this provides another option for people to use during a pandemic or in remote situations. 2:51:37 PM SUSAN POLLARD, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Statewide Section Supervisor, Legislation and Regulations Section, Department of Law, Juneau, Alaska, said that the department is comfortable with the fiscal note. Senator Myers gave a correct explanation of the fiscal note, she said. 2:52:23 PM At ease 2:52:32 PM CHAIR REINBOLD reconvened the meeting and opened public testimony on SB 90. 2:52:55 PM LINDA HULBERT, Agent, New York Life, Fairbanks, Alaska, spoke in support of SB 90. She stated that she has worked in the insurance and financial planning industry for over 30 years. She has offices in Fairbanks and Anchorage but works with people throughout Alaska. She said that the industry has evolved from paper applications to electron processes due to consumer expectations. She highlighted that she works with clients on Zoom and can issue and deliver their insurance policies very quickly. She encourages her clients to engage in will and estate planning. However, it can be difficult for people to do so if they lack electronic access. She offered her view that this bill is necessary and well drafted. She highlighted that her clients are increasingly focused on proactive estate planning due to the pandemic. 2:55:42 PM ABIGAIL O'CONNOR, Attorney, O'Connor Law Office, LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, spoke in support of SB 90. She said she is one of the attorneys that initially helped draft this bill. She related that she has attended numerous national meetings where electronic wills were discussed. She said she has followed the Uniform Electronic Wills Act so she is comfortable with electronic wills. When electronic wills were first introduced at a conference in Orlando, Florida, she recognized that electronic wills were trending since commercial entities have developed the technology to make electronic wills possible. She indicated that her firm wanted to take the initiative and work with the legislature to design statutes to make this technology available to Alaskans. This bill responds to the growing expectation to accomplish estate planning efficiently without the need to physically walk into an attorney's office, which SB 90 will achieve. MS. O'CONNOR expressed her appreciation for the time spent on the amendment to address the holographic wills. She said she was not 100 percent sure that the electronic form but not electronically-generated language is what her firm had in mind. Instead, her office wanted people to be able to create holographic wills on their computer tablets. However, she said she respected and understood the concerns and conceded. She raised a point about Amendment [1 to Version I]. She said she thought she may have responded to questions about the "deleting" language. At the time, she thought it was from the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, which provides the primary basis for most of our language. However, she said she went back and reviewed the uniform act and it does not have the word "deleting" in it. She opined that this should not be an issue. Further, Amendment [1 to Version I] uses a clear and convincing evidence standard for issues related to electronic wills. However, the Uniform Electronic Wills Act uses a preponderance of the evidence standard, she said. She stated that she did not object to Amendment [1 to Version I] as written. She expressed her appreciation that the committee embraced the concept of electronic wills and remote witnessing, which is just as important as electronic wills. 2:59:35 PM CHAIR REINBOLD closed public testimony on SB 90. 2:59:42 PM CHAIR REINBOLD solicited a motion. 2:59:47 PM SENATOR SHOWER moved to report SB 90, work order 32-LS0501\I as amended, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. CHAIR REINBOLD found no objection and CSSB 90(JUD) was reported from the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee.