SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE  March 7, 1995 3:40 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Bert Sharp, Chairman Senator Randy Phillips, Vice-Chairman Senator Loren Leman MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Jim Duncan Senator Dave Donley COMMITTEE CALENDAR SENATE BILL NO. 85 "An Act making corrective amendments to the Alaska Statutes as recommended by the revisor of statutes; and providing for an effective date." SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 15 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska requiring a runoff election when the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor obtaining the greatest number of votes at the general election do not receive more than 50 percent of the votes cast, and changing the term of office of the governor and the lieutenant governor. PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION SB 85 - No previous senate committee action. SJR 15 - No previous senate committee action. WITNESS REGISTER Pamela Finley, Assistant Revisor of Statutes Legislative Legal Services 130 Seward St., Ste. 313, Juneau, AK 99801-2197¶465-2450 POSITION STATEMENT: testified on SB 85 Josh Fink, Aide Senator Tim Kelly State Capitol, Juneau, Alaska, 99801-1182¶465-3822 POSITION STATEMENT: prime sponsor of SJR 15 David Koivuniemi, Acting Director Division of Elections P.O. Box 110017, Juneau, AK 99811-0017¶465-4611 POSITION STATEMENT: testified on SJR 15 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 95-9, SIDE A Number 001 SSTA - 3/7/95 SB 85 1995 REVISOR'S BILL CHAIRMAN SHARP calls the Senate State Affairs Committee to order at 3:40 p.m. and brings up SB 85 as the first order of business before the committee. The chairman calls the first witness. Number 023 PAM FINLEY, Assistant Revisor of Statutes, Legislative Legal Services, asks if anyone has any questions on the bill. Number 030 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asks if there are any "hookers" in the bill. MS. FINLEY responds that, as far as she knows, there is nothing in the bill that would matter to anybody. Number 054 SENATOR LEMAN notes that on page 5, line 12, "conclusive therapy" is being changed to "convulsive therapy." MS. FINLEY responds no one had ever heard of "conclusive therapy". SENATOR LEMAN asks Ms. Finley if she has ever heard of conclusive legislative sessions. SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS remarks they might be convulsive. MS. FINLEY thinks the statute should have read "convulsive therapy", instead of "conclusive therapy." Number 075 CHAIRMAN SHARP announces that there are some proposed amendments, and it is his intent to amend the bill and move it out as a committee substitute. Number 080 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS moves amendment #1 to SB 85. (A sectional analysis on SB 85, all amendments to SB 85, and memorandums explaining the amendments have been submitted to the committee by Ms. Finley from Legislative Legal Services.) CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no objection, states amendment #1 has been adopted. Number 100 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS moves amendment #2 to SB 85 CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no objection, states amendment #2 has been adopted. Number 140 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS moves amendment #3 to SB 85 CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no objection, states amendment #3 has been adopted. Number 160 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS moves amendment #4 to SB 85. CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no objection, states amendment #4 has been adopted. Number 175 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS moves amendment #5 to SB 85. CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no objection, states amendment #5 has been adopted. Number 205 SENATOR LEMAN asks for an at ease to discuss possible additional amendments to SB 85. Number 210-235 The committee is at ease. Number 235 SENATOR LEMAN states he will wait until the bill is heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee before proposing his amendment. SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS states for the record, he is going to propose an amendment to SB 85 when the bill is heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the name change of the Arctic Winter Games. Number 248 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS makes a motion to discharge SB 85 from the Senate State Affairs Committee with individual recommendations. CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no objection, orders SB 85 released from committee with individual recommendations. SSTA - 3/7/95 SJR 15 GOV & LT GOV MUST RECEIVE 50 % VOTE SENATOR SHARP brings up SJR 15 as the next order of business before the Senate State Affairs Committee and calls the first witness. Number 259 JOSH FINK, Aide to Senator Kelly, prime sponsor of SJR 15, reads the sponsor statement for the bill to the committee. Number 295 SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asks Mr. Fink for clarification of how SJR 15 would affect write-in candidates. MR. FINK responds write-in candidates would not be allowed in a run-off election, because the state could end up with no candidate receiving at least 50% of the votes cast in the election, and we could end up back where we started. SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS states he would not want to prevent a write- in candidate who came in first or second in a primary or general election to be excluded from the run-off election. Number 330 DAVID KOIVUNIEMI, Acting Director, Division of Elections, states he is available to answer questions. He informs the committee that if SJR 15 passes, there will need to be enabling legislation passed in order to comply with the deadlines set in the resolution. If SJR 15 had been in effect, the state would have had a run-off election every election after 1970. Number 354 CHAIRMAN SHARP thinks the Louisiana system would be a better system. In Louisiana, any candidate who gets over 50% in the primary wins the election and the race is over. If no candidate gets over 50%, the two highest vote getters face off in the general election. It could be two candidates of the same party, too. Number 361 SENATOR LEMAN comments a person could win a run-off election by fewer votes than they received in the general election, since there is generally a smaller turn out in run-off elections. SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS makes a motion to discharge SJR 15 from the Senate State Affairs Committee with individual recommendations. CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no objection, orders SJR 15 released from committee with individual recommendations. CHAIRMAN SHARP adjourns the Senate State Affairs Committee meeting at 4:11 p.m.