00SENATE BILL NO. 183                                                                                                     
01 "An Act prohibiting the spouses and spousal equivalents of legislators from serving                                     
02 as legislative lobbyists; and providing for an effective date."                                                         
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  AS 24.45.161(a) is amended to read:                                                                    
05  (a)  This chapter does not apply to                                                                                   
06   (1)  an individual                                                                                                   
07   (A)  who lobbies without payment of compensation or other                                                           
08 consideration and makes no disbursement or expenditure for or on behalf of a                                            
09 public official to influence legislative or administrative action other than to pay                                     
10 the individual's reasonable personal travel and living expenses; and                                                    
11   (B)  who limits lobbying activities to appearances before public                                                    
12 sessions of the legislature, or its committees or subcommittees, or to public                                           
13 hearings or other public proceedings of state agencies;                                                                 
14   (2)  an elected or appointed state or municipal public officer or an                                                 

01 employee of the state or a municipality acting in an official capacity or within the                                    
02 scope of employment except as provided in AS 24.45.165 for spouses and spousal                                         
03 equivalents of legislators;                                                                                            
04   (3)  any newspaper or other periodical of general circulation, book                                                  
05 publisher, radio or television station (including an individual who owns, publishes, or                                 
06 is employed by that newspaper or periodical, radio or television station) that publishes                                
07 news items, editorials, or other comments, or paid advertisements, that directly or                                     
08 indirectly urge legislative or administrative action if the newspaper, periodical, book                                 
09 publisher, radio or television station, or individual engages in no further or other                                    
10 activities in connection with urging or advocating legislative or administrative action                                 
11 other than to appear before public sessions of the legislature, or its committees or                                    
12 subcommittees, or public hearings or other public proceedings of state agencies;                                        
13   (4)  a person who appears before the legislature or either house, or                                                 
14 standing, special, or interim committee, in response to an invitation issued under (c)                                  
15 of this section.                                                                                                        
16    * Sec. 2.  AS 24.45 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                      
17  Sec. 24.45.165.  SPOUSES AND SPOUSAL EQUIVALENTS OF                                                                   
18 LEGISLATORS.  (a)  A spouse or spousal equivalent of a legislator may not engage                                        
19 in lobbying the legislature during the legislator's term of office.                                                     
20  (b)  In this section,                                                                                                 
21   (1)   "engage in lobbying" means to act as a lobbyist;                                                               
22   (2)  "spousal equivalent" means a person who is a legislator's spousal                                               
23 equivalent living together with the legislator in a conjugal relationship that is not a                                 
24 legal marriage.                                                                                                         
25    * Sec. 3.  This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).