CCS HB 311: "An Act relating to the filing of information with, and to information filed with, the Alaska Public Offices Commission; and providing for an effective date."
00 CONFERENCE CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 311 01 "An Act relating to the filing of information with, and to information filed with, the 02 Alaska Public Offices Commission; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 15.13.040(m) is amended to read: 05 (m) Information required under this chapter shall be submitted to the 06 commission electronically, except that the following information may be submitted in 07 clear and legible black typeface or hand-printed in dark ink on paper in a format 08 approved by the commission or on forms provided by the commission: 09 (1) information submitted by 10 (A) a candidate for election to a borough or city office of 11 mayor, membership on a borough assembly, city council, or school board, or 12 any state office, who 13 (i) meets the requirements of (g)(1) - (3) of this section; 14 or
01 (ii) does not have reasonable access to the technology 02 necessary to file electronically; in this sub-subparagraph, a 03 candidate is considered not to have reasonable access to the 04 technology necessary to file electronically if the candidate does not 05 own a personal computer or does not have broadband Internet 06 access at the candidate's residence; in this sub-subparagraph, 07 "broadband Internet access" means high-speed Internet access 08 that is always on and that is faster than traditional dial-up access; 09 or 10 (B) a candidate for municipal office for a municipality with a 11 population of less than 15,000; in this subparagraph, "municipal office" means 12 the office of an elected borough or city 13 (i) mayor; or 14 (ii) assembly, council, or school board member; 15 (2) any information if the commission determines that circumstances 16 warrant an exception to the electronic submission requirement. 17 * Sec. 2. AS 15.13.040 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 18 (r) Notwithstanding the requirement in (a) of this section that a candidate shall 19 make a full report upon a form prescribed by the commission, the commission shall 20 accept information submitted electronically by a candidate if the information is 21 (1) entered onto a version of a form accessed on the Internet website of 22 the commission; or 23 (2) in the form of an electronic spreadsheet or data file that contains 24 field names and data types that conform to a standard defined by the commission. 25 * Sec. 3. AS 15.13.110(c) is amended to read: 26 (c) All reports required by this chapter shall be filed with the commission's 27 central office and shall be kept open to public inspection. The commission shall keep 28 a report filed on paper under AS 15.13.040(m) open to public inspection by 29 scanning the report and posting a copy of the scanned image on the commission's 30 Internet website within two working days after the report is filed. The [WITHIN 31 30 DAYS AFTER EACH ELECTION, THE] commission shall prepare a summary of
01 each report, which shall be made available to the public at cost upon request. Each 02 summary must [SHALL] use uniform categories of reporting. Summaries for reports 03 filed 04 (1) electronically shall be made available within 30 days after the 05 report is filed; and 06 (2) on paper shall be made available within 30 days after each 07 election. 08 * Sec. 4. AS 15.13.110 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 09 (i) During a campaign period, the commission may not change the manner or 10 format in which reports required of a candidate under this chapter must be filed. In this 11 subsection, "campaign period" means the period beginning on the date that a candidate 12 becomes eligible to receive campaign contributions under this chapter and ending on 13 the date that a final report for that same campaign must be filed. 14 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 15 read: 16 TEMPORARY EXCEPTION TO ELECTRONIC FILING REQUIREMENT. 17 Notwithstanding AS 15.13.040(m), as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, until February 16, 2013, 18 the commission may request that a candidate submit information required under AS 15.13 19 electronically but shall accept any information required of a candidate under AS 15.13 that is 20 typed in clear and legible black typeface or hand-printed in dark ink on paper in a format 21 approved by the commission or on forms provided by the commission. 22 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 23 read: 24 TRANSITION. Notwithstanding AS 15.13 and the rules of the Alaska Public Offices 25 Commission, a candidate who has submitted information electronically in a format allowed 26 under AS 15.13.040(r), enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, or on paper in a format approved by the 27 commission, is not subject to a civil penalty under AS 15.13.390 for failure properly to file a 28 report under AS 15.13.040 if the information was filed after December 1, 2011, and before the 29 effective date of sec. 2 of this Act. 30 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 31 read:
01 RETROACTIVITY. Sections 1, 2, 4, and 5 of this Act are retroactive to December 1, 02 2011. 03 * Sec. 8. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).