SB 89: "An Act clarifying that a legislator or legislative employee is allowed to accept certain compassionate gifts; allowing legislators and legislative employees to use legislative mailing lists for campaign purposes and nonlegislative purposes; allowing legislators and legislative employees who are representing persons in an administrative hearing to contact hearing officers and attempt to influence the outcome of the hearing if they are professionals licensed in the state, and allowing legislators and legislative employees who are not professionals licensed in the state to contact hearing officers for the purpose of influencing the outcome of the hearing in certain instances; allowing legislators and legislative employees, in certain circumstances, to participate in partisan political activity while on state travel; prohibiting a public member of the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics from disclosing confidential information without authorization; clarifying the ethics disclosure requirements for tickets to or gifts in connection with charity events; amending disclosure deadlines under the Legislative Ethics Act; relating to requests to refrain from disclosure under the Legislative Ethics Act; and establishing a seat for an alternate public member on the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics and clarifying the requirements related to participation by alternate members in the proceedings of the committee."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 89 01 "An Act clarifying that a legislator or legislative employee is allowed to accept certain 02 compassionate gifts; allowing legislators and legislative employees to use legislative 03 mailing lists for campaign purposes and nonlegislative purposes; allowing legislators 04 and legislative employees who are representing persons in an administrative hearing to 05 contact hearing officers and attempt to influence the outcome of the hearing if they are 06 professionals licensed in the state, and allowing legislators and legislative employees who 07 are not professionals licensed in the state to contact hearing officers for the purpose of 08 influencing the outcome of the hearing in certain instances; allowing legislators and 09 legislative employees, in certain circumstances, to participate in partisan political 10 activity while on state travel; prohibiting a public member of the Select Committee on 11 Legislative Ethics from disclosing confidential information without authorization; 12 clarifying the ethics disclosure requirements for tickets to or gifts in connection with
01 charity events; amending disclosure deadlines under the Legislative Ethics Act; relating 02 to requests to refrain from disclosure under the Legislative Ethics Act; and establishing 03 a seat for an alternate public member on the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics and 04 clarifying the requirements related to participation by alternate members in the 05 proceedings of the committee." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 24.60.030(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 09 (1) solicit, agree to accept, or accept a benefit other than official 10 compensation for the performance of public duties; this paragraph may not be 11 construed to prohibit lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign contributions, 12 solicitation or acceptance of contributions for a charity event, as defined in 13 AS 24.60.080(a)(2)(B), or the acceptance of a gift [LAWFUL GRATUITY] under 14 AS 24.60.075 or 24.60.080 [AS 24.60.080]; 15 (2) use public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another 16 government asset or resource for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or 17 support of or opposition to partisan political activity, or for the private benefit of 18 [EITHER] the legislator, legislative employee, or another person; this paragraph does 19 not prohibit 20 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 21 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 22 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 23 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 24 (B) the use of a legislator's legislative mailing list for 25 campaign purposes, or the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other 26 information lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the 27 general public for nonlegislative purposes; 28 (C) the legislative council, notwithstanding AS 24.05.190, from 29 designating a public facility for use by legislators and legislative employees for
01 health or fitness purposes; when the council designates a facility to be used by 02 legislators and legislative employees for health or fitness purposes, it shall 03 adopt guidelines governing access to and use of the facility; the guidelines may 04 establish times in which use of the facility is limited to specific groups; 05 (D) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 06 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 days immediately before 07 and the 10 days immediately after a legislative session, for nonlegislative 08 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 09 if there is no cost to the state for the use of the space and equipment, other than 10 utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or the legislator promptly reimburses 11 the state for the cost; an office is considered a legislator's private office under 12 this subparagraph if it is the primary space in the capital city reserved for use 13 by the legislator, whether or not it is shared with others; 14 (E) a legislator from use of legislative employees to prepare 15 and send out seasonal greeting cards; 16 (F) a legislator from using state resources to transport 17 computers or other office equipment owned by the legislator but primarily used 18 for a state function; 19 (G) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator; 20 (H) reasonable use of the Internet by a legislator or a legislative 21 employee except if the use is for election campaign purposes; 22 (I) a legislator or legislative employee from soliciting, 23 accepting, or receiving a gift on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable 24 organization in a state facility; 25 (J) a legislator from sending any communication in the form of 26 a newsletter to the legislator's constituents, except a communication expressly 27 advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or a newsletter or material in a 28 newsletter that is clearly only for the private benefit of a legislator or a 29 legislative employee; or 30 (K) full participation in a charity event approved in advance by 31 the Alaska Legislative Council;
01 (3) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds 02 for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection 03 with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel 04 allowances from public funds; 05 (4) require a legislative employee to perform services for the private 06 benefit of the legislator or employee at any time, or allow a legislative employee to 07 perform services for the private benefit of a legislator or employee on government 08 time; it is not a violation of this paragraph if the services were performed in an 09 unusual or infrequent situation and the person's services were reasonably necessary to 10 permit the legislator or legislative employee to perform official duties; 11 (5) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, 12 services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund 13 raising or campaigning; this paragraph does not prohibit 14 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 15 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 16 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 17 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 18 (B) the use of a legislator's legislative mailing list, or the use 19 of mailing lists, computer data, or other information lawfully obtained from a 20 government agency and available to the general public for nonlegislative 21 purposes; 22 (C) storing or maintaining, consistent with (b) of this section, 23 election campaign records in a legislator's office; 24 (D) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 25 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 days immediately before 26 and the 10 days immediately after a legislative session, for nonlegislative 27 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 28 if there is no cost to the state for the use of the space and equipment, other than 29 utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or the legislator promptly reimburses 30 the state for the cost; an office is considered a legislator's private office under 31 this subparagraph if it is the primary space in the capital city reserved for use
01 by the legislator, whether or not it is shared with others; or 02 (E) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator. 03 * Sec. 2. AS 24.60.030(i) is amended to read: 04 (i) A [EXCEPT FOR SUPPLYING INFORMATION REQUESTED BY THE 05 HEARING OFFICER OR THE INDIVIDUAL, BOARD, OR COMMISSION WITH 06 AUTHORITY TO MAKE THE FINAL DECISION IN THE CASE, OR WHEN 07 RESPONDING TO CONTACTS INITIATED BY THE HEARING OFFICER OR 08 THE INDIVIDUAL, BOARD, OR COMMISSION WITH AUTHORITY TO MAKE 09 THE FINAL DECISION IN THE CASE, A] legislator or legislative employee may 10 not attempt to influence the outcome of an administrative hearing by directly or 11 indirectly contacting or attempting to contact the hearing officer assigned to the 12 hearing or the individual, board, or commission with authority to make the final 13 decision in the matter [CASE] unless [THE] 14 (1) the legislator or legislative employee is representing another 15 person for compensation subject to AS 24.60.100 and as a professional who is 16 licensed in the state; 17 (2) the contact is made in the presence of all parties to the hearing or 18 the parties' representatives while the legislator or legislative employee is acting as a 19 party or a witness in the matter or responding to a question asked of the 20 legislator or legislative employee by the hearing officer, individual, board, or 21 commission and the contact is made a part of the record; or 22 (3) the contact is inadvertent and ex parte and the [(2)] fact and 23 substance of the contact are [IS] promptly disclosed by the legislator or legislative 24 employee to all parties to the hearing and [THE CONTACT IS] made a part of the 25 record. 26 * Sec. 3. AS 24.60.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 27 (j) Notwithstanding the limitations under (a)(2), (a)(4), and (c) of this section 28 and subject to other laws of the state or the United States, a legislator or legislative 29 employee who is on state travel may participate in partisan political activity, including 30 campaign activity, if the legislator or the legislative employee does not use or 31 authorize the use of state resources to pay for the activity and if the legislator or
01 legislative employee does not participate in the activity 02 (1) during a normal workday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., 03 excluding meal breaks; 04 (2) on a state or municipal election day; 05 (3) during the 30 days immediately preceding an election in which the 06 participating legislator or the legislator for whom the participating employee works is 07 a candidate for elective office; or 08 (4) by fund raising for a political party or campaign. 09 * Sec. 4. AS 24.60.031 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 10 (d) Notwithstanding the limitations under (a) and (b) of this section and 11 subject to other laws of the state or the United States, a legislator or legislative 12 employee who is on state travel may participate in partisan political activity, including 13 campaign activity, during the state travel if the legislator or the legislative employee 14 does not use or authorize the use of state resources to pay for the activity and if the 15 legislator or legislative employee does not participate in the activity 16 (1) during a normal workday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., 17 excluding meal breaks; 18 (2) on a state or municipal election day; 19 (3) during the 30 days immediately preceding an election in which the 20 participating legislator or the legislator for whom the participating employee works is 21 a candidate for elective office; or 22 (4) by fund raising for a political party or campaign. 23 * Sec. 5. AS 24.60.060(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) A legislator, [OR] legislative employee, or public member of the 25 committee may not knowingly make an unauthorized disclosure of information that is 26 made confidential by law and that the person acquired in the course of official duties. 27 A person who violates this section is subject to a proceeding under AS 24.60.170 and 28 may be subject to prosecution under AS 11.56.860 or another law. 29 * Sec. 6. AS 24.60.080(a) is amended to read: 30 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a legislator or legislative 31 employee may not
01 (1) solicit, accept, or receive, directly or indirectly, a gift worth $250 02 or more, whether in the form of money, services, a loan, travel, entertainment, 03 hospitality, promise, or other form, or gifts from the same person worth less than $250 04 that in a calendar year aggregate to $250 or more in value; 05 (2) solicit, accept, or receive a gift with any monetary value from a 06 lobbyist, an immediate family member of a lobbyist, or a person acting on behalf of a 07 lobbyist, except 08 (A) food or beverage for immediate consumption; 09 (B) a contribution to a charity event, [FROM ANY PERSON 10 AT ANY TIME, AND] tickets to [FOR] a charity event, and [AT ANY TIME, 11 EXCEPT THAT TICKETS TO OR] gifts received in connection with [AT] a 12 charity event; however, tickets to a charity event and gifts received in 13 connection with a charity event that are not included in the price of the 14 ticket that may be received under this subparagraph are subject to the 15 calendar year limit on the value of gifts received by a legislator or legislative 16 employee in (1) of this subsection; in this subparagraph, "charity event" means 17 an event the proceeds of which go to a charitable organization with tax-free 18 status under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) and that the Alaska Legislative Council has 19 approved in advance; the tickets may entitle the bearer to admission to the 20 event, to entertainment, to food or beverages, or to other gifts or services in 21 connection with [INVOLVED IN] the charity event; 22 (C) a gift that is unconnected with the recipient's legislative 23 status and is from a member of the legislator's or legislative employee's 24 immediate family; 25 (D) a gift delivered on the premises of a state facility and 26 accepted on behalf of a recognized nonpolitical charitable organization; or 27 (E) a compassionate gift under AS 24.60.075. 28 * Sec. 7. AS 24.60.080(c) is amended to read: 29 (c) Notwithstanding (a)(1) of this section, it is not a violation of this section 30 for a person who is a legislator or legislative employee to accept 31 (1) hospitality, other than hospitality described in (4) of this
01 subsection, 02 (A) with incidental transportation at the residence of a person; 03 however, a vacation home located outside the state is not considered a 04 residence for the purposes of this subparagraph; or 05 (B) at a social event or meal; 06 (2) discounts that are available 07 (A) generally to the public or to a large class of persons to 08 which the person belongs; or 09 (B) when on official state business, but only if receipt of the 10 discount benefits the state; 11 (3) food or foodstuffs indigenous to the state that are shared generally 12 as a cultural or social norm; 13 (4) travel and hospitality primarily for the purpose of obtaining 14 information on matters of legislative concern; 15 (5) gifts from the immediate family of the person; in this paragraph, 16 "immediate family" means 17 (A) the spouse of the person; 18 (B) the person's domestic partner; 19 (C) a child, including a stepchild and an adoptive child, of the 20 person or of the person's domestic partner; 21 (D) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the person; 22 (E) a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the person's 23 spouse or the person's domestic partner; and 24 (F) a stepparent, stepsister, stepbrother, step-grandparent, step- 25 aunt, or step-uncle of the person, the person's spouse, or the person's domestic 26 partner; 27 (6) gifts that are not connected with the recipient's legislative status; 28 (7) a discount for all or part of a legislative session, including time 29 immediately preceding or following the session, or other gift to welcome a legislator 30 or legislative employee who is employed on the personal staff of a legislator or by a 31 standing or special committee to the capital city or in recognition of the beginning of a
01 legislative session if the gift or discount is available generally to all legislators and the 02 personal staff of legislators and staff of standing and special committees; this 03 paragraph does not apply to legislative employees who are employed by the 04 Legislative Affairs Agency, the office of the chief clerk, the office of the senate 05 secretary, the legislative budget and audit committee, the office of victims' rights, or 06 the office of the ombudsman; 07 (8) a gift of legal services in a matter of legislative concern and a gift 08 of other services related to the provision of legal services in a matter of legislative 09 concern; 10 (9) a gift of transportation from a legislator or a legislative employee to 11 a legislator or a legislative employee if the transportation takes place in the state on or 12 in an aircraft, boat, motor vehicle, or other means of transport owned or under the 13 control of the donor; this paragraph does not apply to travel described in (4) of this 14 subsection or travel for political campaign purposes; or 15 (10) a contribution to a charity event, a ticket to a charity event, or a 16 gift in connection with a charity event [FROM ANY PERSON AT ANY TIME]; in 17 this paragraph, "charity event" has the meaning given in (a)(2)(B) of this section. 18 * Sec. 8. AS 24.60.080(d) is amended to read: 19 (d) A legislator or legislative employee who accepts a gift under (c)(4) of this 20 section that has a value of $250 or more or a ticket to a charity event or gift in 21 connection with a charity event under (c)(10) of this section that has a value of $250 22 or more shall disclose to the committee, within 60 [30] days after receipt of the gift, 23 the name and occupation of the donor and the approximate value of the gift. A 24 legislator or legislative employee who accepts a gift under (c)(8) of this section that 25 the recipient expects will have a value of $250 or more in the calendar year shall 26 disclose to the committee, within 30 days after receipt of the gift, the name and 27 occupation of the donor, a general description of the matter of legislative concern with 28 respect to which the gift is made, and the approximate value of the gift. The committee 29 shall maintain a public record of the disclosures it receives relating to gifts under 30 (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(10), and (i) of this section and shall forward the disclosures to the 31 appropriate house for inclusion in the journal. The committee shall forward to the
01 Alaska Public Offices Commission copies of the disclosures concerning gifts under 02 (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(10), and (i) of this section that it receives from legislators and 03 legislative directors. A legislator or legislative employee who accepts a gift under 04 (c)(6) of this section that has a value of $250 or more shall, within 30 days after 05 receiving the gift, disclose to the committee the name and occupation of the donor and 06 a description of the gift. The committee shall maintain disclosures relating to gifts 07 under (c)(6) of this section as confidential records and may only use, or permit a 08 committee employee or contractor to use, a disclosure under (c)(6) of this section in 09 the investigation of a possible violation of this section or in a proceeding under 10 AS 24.60.170. If the disclosure under (c)(6) of this section becomes part of the record 11 of a proceeding under AS 24.60.170, the confidentiality provisions of that section 12 apply to the disclosure. 13 * Sec. 9. AS 24.60.105(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) When a legislator or legislative employee is required to file a disclosure 15 under this chapter and a date by which the disclosure must be filed is not otherwise set 16 by statute, the deadline for filing the disclosure shall be 60 [30] days after the 17 commencement of the matter or interest or the date the legislator or legislative 18 employee first becomes subject to this chapter, whichever comes later. 19 * Sec. 10. AS 24.60.105(c) is amended to read: 20 (c) In addition to the filing requirements under (a) and (b) of this section, the 21 disclosures under (b) of this section shall be made annually, in a report filed with the 22 committee within 60 [30] days after the first day of the regular legislative session. 23 * Sec. 11. AS 24.60.105 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 24 (d) A person may submit a written request to refrain from making a disclosure 25 that is required by this chapter if making the disclosure would violate the United 26 States Constitution, the Constitution of the State of Alaska, or other state or federal 27 law. The committee shall approve or deny the request, or require further justification 28 from the person making the request. At the request of the committee or a person 29 authorized to act on behalf of the committee, a person who seeks to refrain from 30 making a disclosure under this subsection shall provide the committee with 31 justification in writing, and the committee may review the written justification to
01 determine whether it is sufficient. 02 * Sec. 12. AS 24.60.130(n) is amended to read: 03 (n) A member who participates at the commencement of a proceeding 04 under AS 24.60.170 shall participate for the duration of the proceeding unless 05 disqualified or unable to continue participating for any reason; however, 06 provision shall be made for service by alternate members on the committee or on 07 a subcommittee, as follows: 08 (1) when [WHEN] appointing members of the legislature to serve on 09 the committee, the speaker of the house or the president of the senate, as appropriate, 10 shall appoint an alternate member for each regular member; an [. AN] alternate must 11 have the same qualifications as the regular member for whom the alternate stands as 12 alternate and is subject to confirmation as required for the regular member; 13 (2) when selecting public members to serve on the committee, the 14 Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court shall also select one alternate public 15 member; the alternate public member's selection is subject to ratification as 16 required for selection of the regular public members; 17 (3) if, except as to a proceeding under AS 24.60.170, [. IF] a regular 18 [LEGISLATIVE] member of the committee or a subcommittee is unable to 19 participate in [ATTEND] a meeting, the chair of the committee or a subcommittee 20 shall designate the regular member's alternate to participate [SERVE] in place of the 21 regular member at the meeting, and the designated alternate, unless for any reason 22 unable to participate, shall participate for the duration of that meeting; if 23 [SERVE UNLESS UNABLE TO SERVE FOR ANY REASON. IF] a regular 24 [LEGISLATIVE] member of the committee or a subcommittee is disqualified under 25 (h) of this section from participating in [SERVING ON THE COMMITTEE OR 26 THE SUBCOMMITTEE CONCERNING] a proceeding under AS 24.60.170 or if the 27 regular member is unable to participate [ATTEND], the chair of the committee or a 28 subcommittee shall designate the regular member's alternate to participate [SERVE] 29 in place of the regular member for the duration of [IN] the proceeding unless the 30 alternate is [ALSO] disqualified or is for any reason unable to participate; the 31 [FROM SERVING. THE] designation shall be treated as confidential to the same
01 extent that the identity of the subject of a complaint is required to be kept confidential. 02 * Sec. 13. AS 24.60.990(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 03 (17) "state travel" means travel with transportation or overnight 04 lodging that is provided or paid for with state resources.