00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 23(FIN) 01 "An Act renaming the State Commission for Human Rights the Alaska State 02 Commission for Civil Rights; relating to investigations and conciliation by the Alaska 03 State Commission for Civil Rights; relating to removal of commissioners of the Alaska 04 State Commission for Civil Rights; relating to reports from the Alaska State 05 Commission for Civil Rights; relating to the definition of 'employer' for the purposes of 06 the Alaska State Commission for Civil Rights; and relating to local civil rights 07 commissions." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09  * Section 1. AS 18.80.010 is amended to read: 10 Sec. 18.80.010. Creation. There is created in the office of the governor an  11 Alaska [A] State Commission for Civil [HUMAN] Rights.  12  * Sec. 2. AS 18.80.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (b) The governor may remove a commissioner from office for cause. For 01 purposes of this subsection, cause includes incompetence, neglect of duty, and 02 misconduct in office, and public statements and public or private actions that 03 undermine the commission's work or violate this chapter. To remove a commissioner 04 for cause, the governor shall provide a copy of the charges to the commissioner and 05 offer an opportunity for the commissioner to be publicly heard in person, or by 06 counsel, in the commissioner's defense, upon not less than 10 days' notice. If a 07 commissioner is removed for cause, the governor shall file with the lieutenant 08 governor a complete statement of all charges made against the commissioner and the 09 governor's findings based on the charges, together with a complete record of the 10 proceedings. 11  * Sec. 3. AS 18.80.110 is amended to read: 12 Sec. 18.80.110. Investigation and conciliation. The executive director or a 13 member of the commission's staff designated by the executive director shall 14 informally investigate the matters set out in a filed complaint, promptly and 15 impartially. If the complainant, executive director, and respondent agree to a  16 remedy before the investigator makes a determination on the complaint, the  17 agreement must be reduced to writing and signed by the complainant, executive  18 director, and respondent. If an agreement is not reached before the investigator  19 makes a determination and the investigator determines that there is substantial 20 evidence of an unlawful discriminatory practice under this chapter, the investigator 21 shall immediately try to eliminate or remedy the discriminatory practice through an 22 agreement reached by conference, conciliation, and persuasion. If an agreement is 23 reached, it must be reduced to writing and signed by the complainant, executive 24 director, and respondent. An [THE] agreement reached under this section before or  25 after the investigator makes a determination on the complaint is binding and 26 enforceable under this chapter as an order of the commission. An agreement reached 27 under this section may include the compromise of damages authorized under this 28 chapter. 29  * Sec. 4. AS 18.80.150 is amended to read: 30 Sec. 18.80.150. Annual report. Each year, the [THE] commission shall 31 review all data [REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE GOVERNOR] on civil rights 01 problems the commission [IT] has encountered in the preceding year [,] and produce  02 a report by November 15 of each year on those problems. The report may include  03 recommendations for [RECOMMEND] legislative action. [THE COMMISSION 04 SHALL PROVIDE THE LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS AGENCY WITH 40 COPIES 05 OF THE REPORT DURING THE WEEK PRECEDING THE CONVENING OF 06 THE ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION FOR LIBRARY DISTRIBUTION.] The 07 commission shall make [COPIES OF] the report available to the public electronically 08 and notify the governor and the legislature that the report is available.  09  * Sec. 5. AS 18.80.220 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 10 (e) In an action brought under (a)(1) of this section, it is an affirmative defense 11 that 12 (1) the employer is a religious corporation, association, educational 13 institution, or society that hires employees of a particular religion to perform work 14 connected with carrying on the corporation, association, educational institution, or 15 society and its activities; and 16 (2) the employee is hired to engage in activities that are ecclesiastical, 17 spiritual, or religious, and the employee's job responsibilities include furthering the 18 study or advancement of religion.  19  * Sec. 6. AS 18.80.290(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) The legislative body of a municipality may, by ordinance or resolution, 21 authorize the establishment of membership in and support of a local civil [HUMAN] 22 rights commission. The number and qualifications of the members of a local 23 commission and their terms and method of appointment or removal shall be as 24 determined by the legislative body, except that a member may not hold office in a 25 political party. 26  * Sec. 7. AS 18.80.300(2) is amended to read: 27 (2) "commission" means the Alaska State Commission for Civil 28 [HUMAN] Rights; 29  * Sec. 8. AS 18.80.300(5) is amended to read: 30 (5) "employer" means a person, including the state and a political 31 subdivision of the state, who has one or more employees in the state but does not 01 include an organization [A CLUB] that is exclusively social [,] or [A] fraternal and [, 02 CHARITABLE, EDUCATIONAL, OR RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATION OR 03 CORPORATION, IF THE CLUB, ASSOCIATION, OR CORPORATION] is not 04 organized for private profit; 05  * Sec. 9. AS 18.80.300(7) is amended to read: 06 (7) "executive director" means the executive director of the Alaska 07 State Commission for Civil [HUMAN] Rights; 08  * Sec. 10. AS 24.60.039(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) If a person files a complaint with the committee under AS 24.60.170 10 alleging a violation of this section, the committee may refer the complainant to the 11 Alaska State Commission for Civil [HUMAN] Rights and may defer its consideration 12 of the complaint until after the complainant establishes to the satisfaction of the 13 committee that the commission has completed its proceedings in the matter. 14  * Sec. 11. AS 39.50.200(b)(13) is amended to read: 15 (13) Alaska State Commission for Civil [HUMAN] Rights 16 (AS 18.80.010); 17  * Sec. 12. AS 44.62.330(a)(42) is amended to read: 18 (42) Alaska State Commission for Civil [HUMAN] Rights, where 19 procedures are not otherwise expressly provided in AS 18.80;