ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE  April 2, 2008 1:23 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Jay Ramras, Chair Representative Nancy Dahlstrom, Vice Chair Representative John Coghill Representative Ralph Samuels Representative Max Gruenberg MEMBERS ABSENT  Representative Bob Lynn Representative Lindsey Holmes COMMITTEE CALENDAR  CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 260(STA) "An Act making corrective amendments to the Alaska Statutes as recommended by the revisor of statutes; and providing for an effective date." - MOVED CSSB 260(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE HOUSE BILL NO. 421 "An Act relating to electronic communication devices and to personal information and making certain violations related to electronic communication devices unfair trade practices." - SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 293(JUD) "An Act relating to electronic communication devices and to personal information and making certain violations related to electronic communication devices unfair trade practices." - SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  BILL: SB 260 SHORT TITLE: 2008 REVISOR'S BILL SPONSOR(S): RULES BY REQUEST OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 02/04/08 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 02/04/08 (S) STA, FIN 03/18/08 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BELTZ 211 03/18/08 (S) Scheduled But Not Heard 03/19/08 (S) STA AT 9:30 AM BELTZ 211 03/19/08 (S) Moved CSSB 260(STA) Out of Committee 03/19/08 (S) MINUTE (STA) 03/19/08 (S) STA RPT CS 1DP 3NR SAME TITLE 03/19/08 (S) DP: MCGUIRE 03/19/08 (S) NR: FRENCH, STEVENS, GREEN 03/24/08 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532 03/24/08 (S) Moved CSSB 260(STA) Out of Committee 03/24/08 (S) MINUTE(FIN) 03/24/08 (S) FIN RPT CS(STA) 5DP 03/24/08 (S) DP: STEDMAN, ELTON, THOMAS, DYSON, HUGGINS 03/26/08 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H) 03/26/08 (S) VERSION: CSSB 260(STA) 03/27/08 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 03/27/08 (H) JUD, FIN 04/02/08 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120 WITNESS REGISTER PAMELA FINLEY, Revisor of Statutes Legislative Legal and Research Division Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA) Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Speaking as the revisor of statutes, presented SB 260 on behalf of the Senate Rules Standing Committee, sponsor by request of Legislative Council. ACTION NARRATIVE VICE CHAIR NANCY DAHLSTROM called the House Judiciary Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:23:30 PM. Representatives Gruenberg, Dahlstrom, Coghill, and Ramras were present at the call to order. Representative Samuels arrived as the meeting was in progress. SB 260 - 2008 REVISOR'S BILL 1:23:45 PM VICE CHAIR DAHLSTROM announced that the only order of business would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 260(STA), "An Act making corrective amendments to the Alaska Statutes as recommended by the revisor of statutes; and providing for an effective date." 1:24:17 PM PAMELA FINLEY, Revisor of Statutes, Legislative Legal and Research Division, Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA), relayed on behalf of the Senate Rules Standing Committee, sponsor by request of Legislative Council, that the revisor's bill is provided for by statute and is mentioned in the Alaska State Constitution as an exception to the "single subject" rule. The purpose of a revisor's bill is to correct errors in the statutes without making any policy changes. MS. FINLEY said that SB 260: [removes references in statute] to the Board of Dispensing Opticians because that board no longer exists; changes the word, "crime" to the word, "offense" in some criminal statutes because the thing being described is a violation; [updates references] to federal statutes such as those that pertain to education, the Jones Act, and the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which was abolished in 1995; adds a short title for the public records Act; and moves the definition of "cigarettes" to the correct place. She observed that members' packets also contain a sectional analysis of SB 260. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL referred to Section 53 - proposed AS 47.14.100(m) - and asked what the difference is between the language being deleted - "GROUNDS FOR DENIAL OF" - and the language that's replacing it - "the failure to meet the  requirements for", and whether there was a regulation adopted. MS. FINLEY explained that it used to be that AS 47.35.019 and AS 47.35.021 referred to the denying of a foster care license, but those provisions were repealed in 2005, and the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) was instead authorized to promulgate regulations to impose licensing requirements. So the language referencing statutory grounds for denial is being changed to language referencing a failure to meet regulatory licensing requirements; this change was requested by the DHSS. In response to a question, she said that AS 47.14.100(m) should have been amended in this fashion when the aforementioned statutes were repealed, but it wasn't. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL referred to Section 55, which changes the term "census date" to "census data". MS. FINLEY indicated that this change merely corrects a typographical error, and was requested by the Department of Law (DOL). MS. FINLEY, in response to a question, said that her division doesn't have a specific method by which to be made aware of changes to federal law, though she does try and keep an eye on what occurs at the federal level in that regard; furthermore, the division reads approximately seven to eight federal titles every year, and many things are caught during that process. For the most part, though, such changes are brought to the division's attention by others. In response to a further question, she relayed that there is a person in her division who specifically looks at the state's regulations and will notify her of mistakes. A lot of the errors that the revisor's bill addresses are found through review by her division, the DOL, members of the public, attorneys, or legislators, or during the committee process with bills that make substantive changes. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL said he always considers revisor's bills carefully because of the sections that repeal statute and because of the "gender-neutral change" that was meant to be a conforming change [but instead in part sparked the same-sex marriage debate]. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted that with regard to the change proposed via Section 31, the sectional analysis says in part that Ms. Finley was directed to speak to "Griz". MS. FINLEY confirmed that when she'd gone to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and asked about fireworks regulations and how statute should be changed given that the ICC has been abolished, Mr. Belanger of the DPS told her that "Griz" of the Alaska Pyrotechnics Guild could best address her questions. 1:32:51 PM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS moved to report CSSB 260(STA) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSSB 260(STA) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee. ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business before the committee, the House Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:33 p.m.