CSHB 193(STA): "An Act relating to representation by a legislator or legislative employee of another person in an administrative hearing; relating to prohibitions on the use of state resources under the Legislative Ethics Act; relating to charity events under the Legislative Ethics Act; requiring compensation of public members of the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics; exempting certain information from disclosure requirements of the Legislative Ethics Act; relating to the selection of alternate members and the participation of members and alternate members in formal proceedings of the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics and its subcommittees; and defining 'constituent,' 'constituent service,' 'legislative purpose,' 'nonlegislative purpose,' and 'private benefit' for the purposes of the Legislative Ethics Act."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 193(STA) 01 "An Act relating to representation by a legislator or legislative employee of another 02 person in an administrative hearing; relating to prohibitions on the use of state 03 resources under the Legislative Ethics Act; relating to charity events under the 04 Legislative Ethics Act; requiring compensation of public members of the Select 05 Committee on Legislative Ethics; exempting certain information from disclosure 06 requirements of the Legislative Ethics Act; relating to the selection of alternate members 07 and the participation of members and alternate members in formal proceedings of the 08 Select Committee on Legislative Ethics and its subcommittees; and defining 09 'constituent,' 'constituent service,' 'legislative purpose,' 'nonlegislative purpose,' and 10 'private benefit' for the purposes of the Legislative Ethics Act." 11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 12 * Section 1. AS 24.60.030(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 02 (1) solicit, agree to accept, or accept a benefit other than official 03 compensation for the performance of public duties; this paragraph may not be 04 construed to prohibit lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign contributions, 05 solicitation or acceptance of contributions for a charity event, as defined in 06 AS 24.60.080(a)(2)(B), or the acceptance of a gift [LAWFUL GRATUITY] under 07 AS 24.60.075 or 24.60.080 [AS 24.60.080]; 08 (2) use public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another 09 government asset or resource for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or 10 support of or opposition to partisan political activity, or for the private benefit of 11 [EITHER] the legislator, legislative employee, or another person; this paragraph does 12 not prohibit 13 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 14 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 15 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 16 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 17 (B) the use of a legislator's legislative mailing list for 18 campaign purposes, or the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other 19 information lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the 20 general public for nonlegislative purposes; 21 (C) the legislative council, notwithstanding AS 24.05.190, from 22 designating a public facility for use by legislators and legislative employees for 23 health or fitness purposes; when the council designates a facility to be used by 24 legislators and legislative employees for health or fitness purposes, it shall 25 adopt guidelines governing access to and use of the facility; the guidelines may 26 establish times in which use of the facility is limited to specific groups; 27 (D) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 28 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 days immediately before 29 and the 10 days immediately after a legislative session, for nonlegislative 30 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 31 if there is no cost to the state for the use of the space and equipment, other than
01 utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or the legislator promptly reimburses 02 the state for the cost; an office is considered a legislator's private office under 03 this subparagraph if it is the primary space in the capital city reserved for use 04 by the legislator, whether or not it is shared with others; 05 (E) a legislator from use of legislative employees to prepare 06 and send out seasonal greeting cards; 07 (F) a legislator from using state resources to transport 08 computers or other office equipment owned by the legislator but primarily used 09 for a state function; 10 (G) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator; 11 (H) reasonable use of the Internet by a legislator or a legislative 12 employee except if the use is for election campaign purposes; 13 (I) a legislator or legislative employee from soliciting, 14 accepting, or receiving a gift on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable 15 organization in a state facility; 16 (J) a legislator from sending any communication in the form of 17 a newsletter to the legislator's constituents, except a communication expressly 18 advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or a newsletter or material in a 19 newsletter that is clearly only for the private benefit of a legislator or a 20 legislative employee; or 21 (K) full participation in a charity event approved in advance by 22 the Alaska Legislative Council; 23 (3) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds 24 for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection 25 with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel 26 allowances from public funds; 27 (4) require a legislative employee to perform services for the private 28 benefit of the legislator or employee at any time, or allow a legislative employee to 29 perform services for the private benefit of a legislator or employee on government 30 time; it is not a violation of this paragraph if the services were performed in an 31 unusual or infrequent situation and the person's services were reasonably necessary to
01 permit the legislator or legislative employee to perform official duties; 02 (5) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, 03 services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund 04 raising or campaigning; this paragraph does not prohibit 05 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 06 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 07 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 08 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 09 (B) the use of a legislator's legislative mailing list, or the use 10 of mailing lists, computer data, or other information lawfully obtained from a 11 government agency and available to the general public for nonlegislative 12 purposes; 13 (C) storing or maintaining, consistent with (b) of this section, 14 election campaign records in a legislator's office; 15 (D) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 16 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 days immediately before 17 and the 10 days immediately after a legislative session, for nonlegislative 18 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 19 if there is no cost to the state for the use of the space and equipment, other than 20 utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or the legislator promptly reimburses 21 the state for the cost; an office is considered a legislator's private office under 22 this subparagraph if it is the primary space in the capital city reserved for use 23 by the legislator, whether or not it is shared with others; or 24 (E) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator. 25 * Sec. 2. AS 24.60.030(i) is amended to read: 26 (i) A [EXCEPT FOR SUPPLYING INFORMATION REQUESTED BY THE 27 HEARING OFFICER OR THE INDIVIDUAL, BOARD, OR COMMISSION WITH 28 AUTHORITY TO MAKE THE FINAL DECISION IN THE CASE, OR WHEN 29 RESPONDING TO CONTACTS INITIATED BY THE HEARING OFFICER OR 30 THE INDIVIDUAL, BOARD, OR COMMISSION WITH AUTHORITY TO MAKE 31 THE FINAL DECISION IN THE CASE, A] legislator or legislative employee may
01 not attempt to influence the outcome of an administrative hearing by directly or 02 indirectly contacting or attempting to contact the hearing officer assigned to the 03 hearing or the individual, board, or commission with authority to make the final 04 decision in the matter [CASE] unless [THE] 05 (1) the contact is made in the presence of all parties to the hearing or 06 the parties' representatives while the legislator or legislative employee is acting as a 07 party or a witness in the matter or responding to a question asked of the 08 legislator or legislative employee by the hearing officer, individual, board, or 09 commission and the contact is made a part of the record; or 10 (2) the contact is inadvertent and ex parte and the fact and 11 substance of the contact are [IS] promptly disclosed by the legislator or legislative 12 employee to all parties to the hearing and [THE CONTACT IS] made a part of the 13 record. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 24.60.080(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a legislator or legislative 16 employee may not 17 (1) solicit, accept, or receive, directly or indirectly, a gift worth $250 18 or more, whether in the form of money, services, a loan, travel, entertainment, 19 hospitality, promise, or other form, or gifts from the same person worth less than $250 20 that in a calendar year aggregate to $250 or more in value; 21 (2) solicit, accept, or receive a gift with any monetary value from a 22 lobbyist, an immediate family member of a lobbyist, or a person acting on behalf of a 23 lobbyist, except 24 (A) food or beverage for immediate consumption; 25 (B) a contribution to a charity event, [FROM ANY PERSON 26 AT ANY TIME, AND] tickets to [FOR] a charity event, and [AT ANY TIME, 27 EXCEPT THAT TICKETS TO OR] gifts received in connection with [AT] a 28 charity event; however, tickets to a charity event and gifts received in 29 connection with a charity event that are not included in the price of the 30 ticket [UNDER THIS SUBPARAGRAPH] are subject to the calendar year 31 limit on the value of gifts received by a legislator or legislative employee in (1)
01 of this subsection; in this subparagraph, "charity event" means an event the 02 proceeds of which go to a charitable organization with tax-free status under 26 03 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) and that the Alaska Legislative Council has approved in 04 advance; the tickets may entitle the bearer to admission to the event, to 05 entertainment, to food or beverages, or to other gifts or services in connection 06 with [INVOLVED IN] the charity event; 07 (C) a gift that is unconnected with the recipient's legislative 08 status and is from a member of the legislator's or legislative employee's 09 immediate family; 10 (D) a gift delivered on the premises of a state facility and 11 accepted on behalf of a recognized nonpolitical charitable organization; or 12 (E) a compassionate gift under AS 24.60.075. 13 * Sec. 4. AS 24.60.080(c) is amended to read: 14 (c) Notwithstanding (a)(1) of this section, it is not a violation of this section 15 for a person who is a legislator or legislative employee to accept 16 (1) hospitality, other than hospitality described in (4) of this 17 subsection, 18 (A) with incidental transportation at the residence of a person; 19 however, a vacation home located outside the state is not considered a 20 residence for the purposes of this subparagraph; or 21 (B) at a social event or meal; 22 (2) discounts that are available 23 (A) generally to the public or to a large class of persons to 24 which the person belongs; or 25 (B) when on official state business, but only if receipt of the 26 discount benefits the state; 27 (3) food or foodstuffs indigenous to the state that are shared generally 28 as a cultural or social norm; 29 (4) travel and hospitality primarily for the purpose of obtaining 30 information on matters of legislative concern; 31 (5) gifts from the immediate family of the person; in this paragraph,
01 "immediate family" means 02 (A) the spouse of the person; 03 (B) the person's domestic partner; 04 (C) a child, including a stepchild and an adoptive child, of the 05 person or of the person's domestic partner; 06 (D) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the person; 07 (E) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the person's 08 spouse or the person's domestic partner; and 09 (F) a stepparent, stepsister, stepbrother, step-grandparent, step- 10 aunt, or step-uncle of the person, the person's spouse, or the person's domestic 11 partner; 12 (6) gifts that are not connected with the recipient's legislative status; 13 (7) a discount for all or part of a legislative session, including time 14 immediately preceding or following the session, or other gift to welcome a legislator 15 or legislative employee who is employed on the personal staff of a legislator or by a 16 standing or special committee to the capital city or in recognition of the beginning of a 17 legislative session if the gift or discount is available generally to all legislators and the 18 personal staff of legislators and staff of standing and special committees; this 19 paragraph does not apply to legislative employees who are employed by the 20 Legislative Affairs Agency, the office of the chief clerk, the office of the senate 21 secretary, the legislative budget and audit committee, the office of victims' rights, or 22 the office of the ombudsman; 23 (8) a gift of legal services in a matter of legislative concern and a gift 24 of other services related to the provision of legal services in a matter of legislative 25 concern; 26 (9) a gift of transportation from a legislator or a legislative employee to 27 a legislator or a legislative employee if the transportation takes place in the state on or 28 in an aircraft, boat, motor vehicle, or other means of transport owned or under the 29 control of the donor; this paragraph does not apply to travel described in (4) of this 30 subsection or travel for political campaign purposes; or 31 (10) a contribution to a charity event from any person at any time, or a
01 ticket to a charity event from a person who is not a lobbyist, an immediate family 02 member of a lobbyist, or acting on behalf of a lobbyist; in this paragraph, "charity 03 event" has the meaning given in (a)(2)(B) of this section. 04 * Sec. 5. AS 24.60.080(d) is amended to read: 05 (d) A legislator or legislative employee who accepts a gift under (c)(4) of this 06 section that has a value of $250 or more or a ticket to a charity event under 07 (c)(10) of this section that has a value of $250 or more shall disclose to the committee, 08 within 30 days after receipt of the gift, the name and occupation of the donor and the 09 approximate value of the gift. A legislator or legislative employee who accepts a gift 10 under (c)(8) of this section that the recipient expects will have a value of $250 or more 11 in the calendar year shall disclose to the committee, within 30 days after receipt of the 12 gift, the name and occupation of the donor, a general description of the matter of 13 legislative concern with respect to which the gift is made, and the approximate value 14 of the gift. The committee shall maintain a public record of the disclosures it receives 15 relating to gifts under (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(10), and (i) of this section and shall forward 16 the disclosures to the appropriate house for inclusion in the journal. The committee 17 shall forward to the Alaska Public Offices Commission copies of the disclosures 18 concerning gifts under (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(10), and (i) of this section that it receives 19 from legislators and legislative directors. A legislator or legislative employee who 20 accepts a gift under (c)(6) of this section that has a value of $250 or more shall, within 21 30 days after receiving the gift, disclose to the committee the name and occupation of 22 the donor and a description of the gift. The committee shall maintain disclosures 23 relating to gifts under (c)(6) of this section as confidential records and may only use, 24 or permit a committee employee or contractor to use, a disclosure under (c)(6) of this 25 section in the investigation of a possible violation of this section or in a proceeding 26 under AS 24.60.170. If the disclosure under (c)(6) of this section becomes part of the 27 record of a proceeding under AS 24.60.170, the confidentiality provisions of that 28 section apply to the disclosure. 29 * Sec. 6. AS 24.60.105 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 30 (d) A person may refrain from making a disclosure that is required by this 31 chapter if making the disclosure would violate the United States Constitution, the
01 Constitution of the State of Alaska, or other state or federal law. However, at the 02 request of the committee or a person authorized to act on behalf of the committee, a 03 person who refrains from making a disclosure under this subsection shall provide the 04 committee with justification in writing, and the committee may review the written 05 justification to determine whether it is sufficient. 06 * Sec. 7. AS 24.60.130(f) is amended to read: 07 (f) The committee may contract for professional services and may employ 08 staff as it considers necessary. A committee employee, including a person who 09 provides personal services under a contract with the committee, may not be a 10 legislator, an elected or appointed official of a state or local governmental entity, an 11 officer of a political party, a candidate for public office, or a registered lobbyist. The 12 legislative council shall provide office space, equipment, and additional staff support 13 for the committee. The committee shall submit a budget for each fiscal year to the 14 finance committees of the legislature and shall annually submit an estimated budget to 15 the governor for information purposes in preparation of the state operating budget. 16 Public members of the committee shall receive [SERVE WITHOUT] compensation 17 of $150 a day while attending committee meetings and [FOR THEIR SERVICES, 18 BUT] are entitled to per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and 19 commissions under AS 39.20.180. 20 * Sec. 8. AS 24.60.130(n) is amended to read: 21 (n) A member who participates at the commencement of a proceeding 22 under AS 24.60.170 shall participate for the duration of the proceeding unless 23 disqualified or unable to continue participating for any reason; however, 24 provision shall be made for service by alternate members on the committee or on 25 a subcommittee, as follows: 26 (1) when [WHEN] appointing members of the legislature to serve on 27 the committee, the speaker of the house or the president of the senate, as appropriate, 28 shall appoint an alternate member for each regular member; an [. AN] alternate must 29 have the same qualifications as the regular member for whom the alternate stands as 30 alternate and is subject to confirmation as required for the regular member; 31 (2) when selecting public members to serve on the committee, the
01 Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court shall also select one alternate public 02 member; the alternate public member's selection is subject to ratification as 03 required for selection of the regular public members; 04 (3) if, except as to a proceeding under AS 24.60.170, [. IF] a regular 05 [LEGISLATIVE] member of the committee or a subcommittee is unable to 06 participate in [ATTEND] a meeting, the chair of the committee or a subcommittee 07 shall designate the regular member's alternate to participate [SERVE] in place of the 08 regular member at the meeting, and the designated alternate, unless for any reason 09 unable to participate, shall participate for the duration of that meeting; if 10 [SERVE UNLESS UNABLE TO SERVE FOR ANY REASON. IF] a regular 11 [LEGISLATIVE] member of the committee or a subcommittee is disqualified under 12 (h) of this section from participating in [SERVING ON THE COMMITTEE OR 13 THE SUBCOMMITTEE CONCERNING] a proceeding under AS 24.60.170 or if the 14 regular member is unable to participate [ATTEND], the chair of the committee or a 15 subcommittee shall designate the regular member's alternate to participate [SERVE] 16 in place of the regular member for the duration of [IN] the proceeding unless the 17 alternate is [ALSO] disqualified or is for any reason unable to participate; the 18 [FROM SERVING. THE] designation shall be treated as confidential to the same 19 extent that the identity of the subject of a complaint is required to be kept confidential. 20 * Sec. 9. AS 24.60.990(a) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 21 (17) "constituent" means a person to whom a legislator owes a duty of 22 representation under the Constitution of the State of Alaska; 23 (18) "constituent service" means assistance, including representation 24 other than legal representation and advice other than legal advice, that is provided by a 25 legislator or a legislator's staff to a constituent; 26 (19) "legislative purpose" means legislative action or providing 27 constituent service; 28 (20) "nonlegislative purpose" means a purpose other than a legislative 29 purpose; 30 (21) "private benefit" means a benefit to a person as a result of a 31 legislative, administrative, or political action of which benefit to that person in
01 particular is a substantial goal and that is greater than the benefit of the legislative, 02 administrative, or political action to a substantial class of persons to which the person 03 belongs by law, choice, legal entitlement, legal privilege, profession, occupation, 04 industry, or region.