00                            SENATE BILL NO. 45                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee."                                                        
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  AS 11.56 is amended by adding new sections to article 6 to read:                                     
04            Sec. 11.56.870.  Hindering the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee in                                   
05       the first degree.  (a)  A person commits the crime of hindering the Legislative Budget                          
06       and Audit Committee in the first degree if the person violates AS 11.56.880(a) and the                            
07       person is a public servant.                                                                                       
08            (b)  Each failure to comply with a request from the committee or its staff is a                              
09       separate violation of this section.                                                                               
10            (c)  Hindering the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee in the first degree                                
11       is a class B felony.  A public employee who is convicted under this section                                       
12       immediately forfeits the employee's office or position.  In this subsection, "public                              
13       employee" has the meaning given in AS 39.52.960.                                                                  
14            Sec. 11.56.880.  Hindering the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee in                                   
15       the second degree.  (a)  A person commits the crime of hindering the Legislative                                

01       Budget and Audit Committee in the second degree if the person knowingly directs,                                  
02       orders, discourages, threatens, restrains, coerces, forces, or prevents a person from                             
03       giving full cooperation to the committee or its staff in assembling or furnishing                                 
04       requested information to the committee or its staff.                                                              
05            (b)  Each failure to comply with a request from the committee or its staff is a                              
06       separate violation of this section.                                                                               
07            (c)  Hindering the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee in the second                                      
08       degree is a class C felony.  A public employee who is convicted under this section                                
09       immediately forfeits the employee's office or position.                                                           
10    * Sec. 2.  AS 24.20.201 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                             
11            (c)  When the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee requests information                                    
12       from a public officer of the state or from a department of the state, the officer or the                          
13       department may not refuse to provide that information by claiming the information is                              
14       privileged unless the officer or the commissioner of the department, if the information                           
15       is requested from a department, asserts the privilege and the basis for the privilege                             
16       under oath.  The committee may consider the assertion of privilege, and, if the                                   
17       committee disagrees, the committee may seek review of the claim of privilege in the                               
18       superior court.