CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ON SB 33  May 13, 1999 8:45 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Rick Halford, Co-Chair Senator Drue Pearce Senator Kim Elton Representative John Cowdery, Co-Chair Representative Tom Brice Representative Scott Ogan MEMBERS ABSENT None COMMITTEE CALENDAR HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 33(FIN) am H "An Act relating to contracts for the performance of certain state functions previously performed by state employees and to the Commission on Privatization and Delivery of Government Services; and providing for an effective date." PREVIOUS ACTION Date Page Action 1 01/21/99 49 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S) 2 01/21/99 49 (S) STA, FIN 3 01/28/99 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ ROOM 211 4 01/28/99 (S) MOVED OUT OF COMMITTEE 5 01/28/99 (S) MINUTE(STA) 6 02/01/99 125 (S) STA RPT 2DP 1NR 1DNP 7 02/01/99 125 (S) DP: WARD PHILLIPS NR:MACKIE DNP:ELTON 8 02/01/99 126 (S) INDETERMINATE FN (GOV) 9 02/25/99 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532 10 03/04/99 (S) FIN AT 8:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532 11 03/04/99 (S) HEARD AND HELD 12 03/04/99 (S) MINUTE(FIN) 13 03/09/99 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532 14 03/09/99 (S) HEARD AND HELD 15 03/09/99 (S) MINUTE(FIN) 16 03/15/99 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532 17 03/15/99 (S) HEARD AND HELD 18 03/15/99 (S) MINUTE(FIN) 1 03/22/99 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532 2 03/22/99 (S) SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD 3 03/24/99 (S) MINUTE(FIN) 4 03/31/99 (S) FIN AT 8:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532 5 03/31/99 (S) SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD 6 04/01/99 (S) RLS AT 11:50 AM FAHRENKAMP 203 7 04/01/99 (S) MINUTE(RLS) 8 04/01/99 767 (S) FIN RPT CS 4DP 2NR NEW TITLE 9 04/01/99 767 (S) DP: PARNELL, TORGERSON, GREEN, LEMAN 10 04/01/99 767 (S) NR: PETE KELLY, DONLEY 11 04/01/99 767 (S) PREVIOUS INDETERMINATE FN (GOV) 12 04/06/99 793 (S) FORTHCOMING (FIN) CS RECEIVED 13 04/07/99 804 (S) RULES TO CALENDAR AND 1DNP 4/7/99 14 04/07/99 805 (S) READ THE SECOND TIME 15 04/07/99 805 (S) FIN CS ADOPTED UNAN CONSENT 16 04/07/99 805 (S) AM NO 1 FAILED Y6 N14 17 04/07/99 806 (S) ADVANCED TO THIRD READING UNAN CONSENT 18 04/07/99 806 (S) READ THE THIRD TIME CSSB 33(FIN) 1 04/07/99 807 (S) ELLIS NOTICE OF RECONSIDERATION 2 04/08/99 828 (S) RECONSIDERATION NOT TAKEN UP 3 04/08/99 829 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H) 4 04/09/99 698 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S) 5 04/09/99 698 (H) STA, FIN 6 04/28/99 1049 (H) STA RPT HCS(STA) 3DP 2DNP 2NR 7 04/28/99 1050 (H) DP: COGHILL, WHITAKER, OGAN; 8 04/28/99 1050 (H) DNP: KERTTULA, HUDSON; NR: JAMES, 9 04/28/99 1050 (H) SMALLEY 10 04/28/99 1050 (H) SENATE INDETERMINATE FN (GOV) 2/1/99 11 04/28/99 1059 (H) CROSS SPONSOR(S): KOHRING 12 04/29/99 1069 (H) FIN RPT HCS(FIN) 1DP 3DNP 6NR 1AM 13 04/29/99 1070 (H) DP: KOHRING; DNP: AUSTERMAN, 14 04/29/99 1070 (H) GRUSSENDORF, MOSES; NR: THERRIAULT, 15 04/29/99 1070 (H) MULDER, BUNDE, FOSTER, DAVIS, 16 04/29/99 1070 (H) WILLIAMS; AM: DAVIES 17 04/29/99 1070 (H) FISCAL NOTE (LAA) 18 04/29/99 1070 (H) SENATE INDETERMINATE FN (GOV) 2/1/99 1 04/27/99 (H) 2 04/27/99 (H) MINUTE(STA) 3 04/28/99 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519 4 04/28/99 (H) MOVED HCSSB 33(FIN) OUT OF COMMITTEE 5 04/28/99 1049 (H) STA RPT HCS(STA) 3DP 2DNP 2NR 6 04/28/99 1050 (H) DP: COGHILL, WHITAKER, OGAN; 7 04/28/99 1050 (H) DNP: KERTTULA, HUDSON; NR: JAMES, 8 04/28/99 1050 (H) SMALLEY 9 04/28/99 1050 (H) SENATE INDETERMINATE FN (GOV) 2/1/99 10 04/28/99 1059 (H) CROSS SPONSOR(S): KOHRING 11 04/29/99 1069 (H) FIN RPT HCS(FIN) 1DP 3DNP 6NR 1AM 12 04/29/99 1070 (H) DP: KOHRING; DNP: AUSTERMAN, 13 04/29/99 1070 (H) GRUSSENDORF, MOSES; NR: THERRIAULT, 14 04/29/99 1070 (H) MULDER, BUNDE, FOSTER, DAVIS, 15 04/29/99 1070 (H) WILLIAMS; AM: DAVIES 16 04/29/99 1070 (H) FISCAL NOTE (LAA) 17 04/29/99 1070 (H) SENATE INDETERMINATE FN (GOV) 2/1/99 18 04/29/99 1077 (H) RULES TO CALENDAR 4/29/99 1 04/29/99 1077 (H) READ THE SECOND TIME 2 04/29/99 1077 (H) FIN HCS ADOPTED UNAN CONSENT 3 04/29/99 1077 (H) AM NO 1 ADOPTED Y31 N8 E1 4 04/29/99 1078 (H) AM NO 2 OFFERED 5 04/29/99 1079 (H) DIVIDE AM NO 2 WITHDRAWN 6 04/29/99 1080 (H) AM NO 2 FAILED Y16 N23 E1 7 04/29/99 1080 (H) AM NO 3 ADOPTED Y22 N17 E1 8 04/29/99 1081 (H) AM NO 4 FAILED Y14 N25 E1 9 04/29/99 1083 (H) AM NO 5 ADOPTED Y23 N15 E1 A1 10 04/29/99 1084 (H) AM NO 6 RULED OUT OF ORDER 11 04/29/99 1084 (H) AM NO 7 WITHDRAWN 12 04/29/99 1085 (H) ADVANCED TO 3RD READING 4/30 CALENDAR 13 04/30/99 1113 (H) READ THE 3RD TIME HCS CSSB 33(FIN)AM H 14 04/30/99 1113 (H) RETURN TO SECOND FOR AM 8 UNAN CONSENT 15 04/30/99 1113 (H) AM NO 8 OFFERED 16 04/30/99 1114 (H) AM NO 1 TO AM NO 8 ADOPTED Y22 N18 17 04/30/99 1115 (H) AM NO 8 AS AMENDED ADOPTED Y31 N9 18 04/30/99 1115 (H) RETURN TO SECOND FOR AM 9 UNAN CONSENT 1 04/30/99 1116 (H) AM NO 9 ADOPTED Y29 N10 A1 2 04/30/99 1116 (H) RETURN TO 2ND FOR AM 10 UNAN CONSENT 3 04/30/99 1117 (H) AM NO 10 ADOPTED UNAN CONSENT 4 04/30/99 1117 (H) PASSED Y23 N17 5 04/30/99 1118 (H) EFFECTIVE DATE ADPTD Y28 N12 6 04/30/99 1118 (H) GREEN NOTICE OF RECONSIDERATION 7 04/30/99 1118 (H) RECON TAKEN UP SAME DAY Y28 N12 8 04/30/99 1119 (H) PASSED ON RECONSIDERATION Y22 N18 9 04/30/99 1119 (H) EFFECTIVE DATE ADPTD Y29 N11 10 04/30/99 1124 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S) AS AMENDED 11 05/03/99 1200 (S) FAILED CONCUR (H) AM Y2 N18 12 05/03/99 1201 (S) CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPOINTED 13 05/03/99 1201 (S) *HALFORD, PEARCE, ELTON 14 05/04/99 1151 (H) FAILED RECEDE (H) AM Y3 N29 E5 A3 15 05/04/99 1151 (H) CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPOINTED 16 05/04/99 1151 (H) COWDERY, OGAN, BRICE 17 05/13/99 (S) C33 AT 8:30 AM FAHRENKAMP 203 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 99-1, SIDE A SB 33-TASK FORCE ON PRIVATIZATION  CO-CHAIR HALFORD called the Conference Committee on SB 33 to order at 8:45 a.m. Present were Senators Pearce, Elton and Halford, and Representatives Brice, Ogan and Cowdery. CO-CHAIR HALFORD asked Tam Cook to explain the differences between the final House and Senate versions of SB 33. TAM COOK, DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES, pointed out that, under the Uniform Rules, a conference committee is charged with looking at amendments to a bill which she interprets to mean the ways the bills differ from each other. She informed committee members she would refer to CSSB 33(FIN) and identify the changes made to that version by the House. On page 2, after line 6, the House added the following statement: "there may be functions of state government that should cease." CO-CHAIR HALFORD asked if that language can be adopted by the Conference Committee without any power of free conference. MS. COOK said it can. MS. COOK explained the second difference is that Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Senate version, beginning on line 16 of page 2, make substantive changes to the law. Corresponding sections are not contained in the House version. Section 5 of the Senate version designates the membership of an 11 member commission; the House version designates the membership of a 15 member commission. MS. COOK clarified that the Conference Committee can elect to adopt either the formation of an 11 or 15 member commission without requesting limited powers of free conference. CO-CHAIR HALFORD asked if limited powers need to be requested to change the composition of the commission. MS. COOK answered if the Conference Committee wishes to create a 13 member board, it will need limited powers of free conference. MS. COOK stated the House version does not designate that one member be a representative of the labor unions (page 3, line 15). She noted that a few of the members in each bill are identical, however quite a few differ. She pointed out that determining whether members are identical is a matter of substance rather than paragraph numbering. The Conference Committee can retain the members that are identical in each bill and then "mix and match" from the others without limited powers of free conference. The Senate version contains one Local Boundary Commission member. The House version membership differs in that it contains a rural bush caucus legislator, a public member who represents a Native corporation, a public member who represents a Native nonprofit corporation, a member of the AFL-CIO, a member of the largest public employees union, and one member from each minority caucus. CO-CHAIR HALFORD asked if a request for limited powers of free conference would cover any changes the committee wishes to make to the number of members and composition of the commission. MS. COOK said it would, and that if the Conference Committee asks for limited powers as to the number of members and make up of the commission, it could create an entirely new composition of commission members. MS. COOK noted another difference between the House and Senate versions is per diem. The Senate version allows per diem and travel expense reimbursement for the public members appointed by the presiding officers. The House version permits per diem and travel for all public members. MS. COOK indicated that the House version specifies on page 4 that the report identify state-funded functions that should be eliminated as functions of state government. That provision does not appear in the Senate version. The House version requires a preliminary report due January 1, 2000, followed by a final report due January 1, 2001. The Senate version requires that one report be submitted on January 1, 2000. The repeal date of the commission in the House version is January 1, 2001, while the Senate repeal date is January 1, 2000. CO-CHAIR HALFORD asked committee members whether they had any questions of Ms. Cook. Number 155 SENATOR ELTON asked if public members, for the purpose of per diem, include the labor representatives and the representative of the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce. MS. COOK replied that a public member is not defined in either version, however a statute is referenced that applies to boards and commissions. She believes a public member, in this context, would be a non-governmental employee who is appointed because of his/her position in office. She clarified a legislator would not be considered a public member, nor would a commissioner of a state department. She thought that a representative of a state labor union should be treated as a public member because even though that person is a government employee, membership on this commission is not part of their employment role. That person would probably not be reimbursed by the State of Alaska for his/her participation on the commission. She maintained that because the bill does not contain a definition, the test would be whether or not the member expects to receive a salary, per diem and travel expenses for participation from the state. CO-CHAIR HALFORD pointed out the area that the Conference Committee needs limited powers of free conference for would be covered by a statement on the powers and membership of the commission. He asked if committee members were interested in requesting limited powers of free conference for any other areas. REPRESENTATIVE OGAN said he would like to make sure that the issue of whether the commission should recommend which state-funded functions of state government should be eliminated is addressed. CO-CHAIR HALFORD noted that could be addressed by adopting the House language, therefore limited powers would not be necessary. CO-CHAIR HALFORD acknowledged that if a committee member from either side wanted to move to adopt the entire composition of the commission from the bill of the other side he or she could do so but it would probably be a waste of time. CO-CHAIR HALFORD asked Senator Ward, the sponsor of SB 33, to discuss his opinion on the differences between the two versions with committee members. Number 214 SENATOR WARD said that he believes some of the work done by the House made great improvements to the bill. He encouraged the Conference Committee to retain the Senate's 11 member commission, to designate a position for an Alaska Native to be appointed by the presiding officers, and to support the provision that the report disclose state-funded services that should be eliminated as functions of state government. He recommended that the report due date be January 1, 2000 because time is of the essence. CO-CHAIR HALFORD asked for a motion to request of the presiding officers limited powers of free conference on the number of members and composition of the commission. REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY so moved. There being no objection, the motion carried. CO-CHAIR HALFORD announced a letter would be sent to the presiding officers and that he would schedule a second meeting as soon as he receives a response. He then adjourned the meeting at 9:00 a.m.