CSHB 65(JUD): "An Act relating to the disclosure of financial information by persons who are subject to the Legislative Ethics Act and by certain public officers, public employees, and candidates for public office."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 65(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to the disclosure of financial information by persons who are subject to 02 the Legislative Ethics Act and by certain public officers, public employees, and 03 candidates for public office." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 15.13.040(m) is amended to read: 06 (m) Information required under this chapter shall be submitted to the 07 commission electronically, except that the following information may be submitted in 08 clear and legible black typeface or hand-printed in dark ink on paper in a format 09 approved by the commission or on forms provided by the commission: 10 (1) information submitted by 11 (A) a candidate for election to a borough or city office of 12 mayor, membership on a borough assembly, city council, or school board, or 13 any state office, who 14 (i) meets the requirements of (g)(1) - (3) of this section;
01 or 02 (ii) does not have reasonable access to the technology 03 necessary to file electronically; in this sub-subparagraph, a candidate is 04 considered not to have reasonable access to the technology necessary to 05 file electronically if the candidate does not own a personal computer or 06 does not have broadband Internet access at the candidate's residence; in 07 this sub-subparagraph, "broadband Internet access" means high-speed 08 Internet access that is always on and that is faster than traditional dial- 09 up access; or 10 (B) a candidate for municipal office for a municipality with a 11 population of less than 15,000 according to the latest figures of the United 12 States Bureau of the Census or other population data that the Department 13 of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development determines is 14 reliable; in this subparagraph, "municipal office" means the office of an 15 elected borough or city 16 (i) mayor; or 17 (ii) assembly, council, or school board member; 18 (2) any information if the commission determines that circumstances 19 warrant an exception to the electronic submission requirement. 20 * Sec. 2. AS 24.60.210(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) A person required to file a disclosure statement under AS 24.60.200 shall 22 file an annual report with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, covering the 23 previous calendar year, containing the disclosures required by AS 24.60.200, on or 24 before May [MARCH] 15 of each year, except that a person appointed as a legislator 25 under AS 15.40, a public member of the committee, or a legislative director must file 26 within 30 days after the person's appointment. In addition, a person subject to this 27 subsection shall, within 90 days after leaving service as a legislator, legislative 28 director, or public member of the committee, file a final report containing the 29 disclosures required of the person by AS 24.60.200 for the period that begins on the 30 last day of the last period for which the person filed a report required by that section 31 and ends on the date of the person's last day of service.
01 * Sec. 3. AS 24.60.250(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) In addition to the sanctions described in AS 24.60.260, if the Alaska Public 03 Offices Commission finds that a candidate for the legislature who is an incumbent 04 legislator has failed to file a report under AS 24.60.200 by a deadline established in 05 AS 24.60.210 [MARCH 15], the commission shall notify the candidate that the report 06 is late. If the candidate fails to file the report within 30 days after it is due, 07 (1) the commission shall notify the lieutenant governor; 08 (2) the candidate shall forfeit nomination to office and may not be 09 seated in office; 10 (3) the lieutenant governor may not certify the person's nomination for 11 office or election to office; and 12 (4) nomination to the office shall be certified as provided in 13 AS 39.50.060(b). 14 * Sec. 4. AS 39.50.020(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) A public official other than the governor or the lieutenant governor shall 16 file a statement giving income sources and business interests, under oath and on 17 penalty of perjury, within 30 days after taking office as a public official. Candidates 18 for state elective office other than a candidate who is subject to AS 24.60 shall file the 19 statement with the director of elections at the time of filing a declaration of candidacy 20 or a nominating petition or becoming a candidate by any other means. Candidates for 21 elective municipal office shall file the statement at the time of filing a nominating 22 petition, declaration of candidacy, or other required filing for the elective municipal 23 office. Refusal or failure to file within the time prescribed shall require that the 24 candidate's filing fees, if any, and filing for office be refused or that a previously 25 accepted filing fee be returned and the candidate's name removed from the filing 26 records. A statement shall also be filed by public officials not [NO] later than May 27 [MARCH] 15 in each following year. On or before the 90th day after leaving office, a 28 former public official shall file a final statement covering any period during the 29 official's service in that office for which the public official has not already filed a 30 statement. Persons who are members of boards or commissions not named in 31 AS 39.50.200(b) are not required to file financial statements.
01 * Sec. 5. AS 39.50.035 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 39.50.035. Exemptions. A person subject to this chapter is not exempt 03 from any of its provisions except 04 (1) as may be allowed by an exemption under AS 39.50.145; 05 (2) as the commission may approve under (b) of this section; or 06 (3) to the extent state courts determine that legally privileged 07 professional relationships preclude complete compliance. 08 * Sec. 6. AS 39.50.035 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 09 (b) A person may submit a written request for relief from a disclosure 10 requirement of this chapter if the disclosure would 11 (1) violate state or federal law, including the Constitution of the United 12 States or the Constitution of the State of Alaska; 13 (2) violate a rule, adopted formally by a trade or profession, that state 14 or federal law requires the person to follow; or 15 (3) reveal proprietary information treated by the person as confidential 16 for business purposes, and the disclosure would be reasonably likely to materially 17 diminish the commercial value of the information to the person or adversely affect the 18 competitive position of the person. 19 (c) The commission shall approve or deny a request made under (b) of this 20 section or may require further justification from the person making the request. At the 21 request of the commission or a person authorized to act on behalf of the commission, a 22 person who seeks relief from making a disclosure under this section shall provide the 23 commission with justification in writing, and the commission shall review the written 24 justification to determine whether it is sufficient. Before approving or denying a 25 request made under (b)(3) of this section, the commission shall consider whether the 26 state's interest in the disclosure is outweighed by the harm the disclosure would be 27 reasonably likely to cause to the person seeking relief from the disclosure requirement. 28 * Sec. 7. AS 39.50.050(a) is amended to read: 29 (a) The Alaska Public Offices Commission created under AS 15.13.020(a) 30 shall administer the provisions of this chapter. The commission shall prepare and keep 31 available for distribution standardized forms on which the reports required by this
01 chapter shall be filed. The commission shall print the forms provided under this 02 section so that the front and back of each page have the same orientation when the 03 page is rotated on the vertical axis of the page. The commission shall require that the 04 information required under this chapter be submitted electronically but may, when 05 circumstances warrant an exception, accept the [ANY] information on paper if the 06 information [REQUIRED UNDER THIS CHAPTER THAT] is typed in clear and 07 legible black typeface or hand-printed in dark ink [ON PAPER] in a format approved 08 by the commission or on forms provided by the commission; however, regardless of 09 the circumstances, a [AND THAT IS FILED WITH THE COMMISSION. A] 10 municipal officer for a municipality with a population of less than 15,000 according 11 to the latest figures of the United States Bureau of the Census or other population 12 data that the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic 13 Development determines is reliable shall submit the information [REQUIRED 14 UNDER THIS CHAPTER] either electronically or typed or hand-printed in the 15 manner described in this subsection. 16 * Sec. 8. AS 39.50.145 is repealed and reenacted to read: 17 Sec. 39.50.145. Participation by municipalities; exemptions. (a) The 18 municipal officers of a municipality with a population of less than 1,000 are exempt 19 from the requirements of this chapter unless the municipality elects to subject its 20 municipal officers to the requirements of this chapter. A municipality with a 21 population of less than 1,000 that has elected to subject its municipal officers to the 22 requirements of this chapter may change that election and exempt its municipal 23 officers from the requirements. 24 (b) A municipality with a population of 1,000 or more may elect to exempt its 25 municipal officers from the requirements of this chapter. A municipality with a 26 population of 1,000 or more that has elected to exempt its municipal officers from the 27 requirements of this chapter may change that election and subject its municipal 28 officers to the requirements. 29 (c) The question of election to be subject to, or exempt from, the requirements 30 of this chapter 31 (1) may be submitted to the voters by the city council or borough
01 assembly by ordinance or by initiative election; and 02 (2) shall be decided by a majority of the voters voting on the question 03 at a regular election, as defined in AS 29.71.800, or a special municipality-wide 04 election. 05 (d) If a municipality votes to terminate an exemption, the municipality's 06 municipal officers shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter beginning 30 07 days after the certification of the election. 08 (e) Population of a municipality under this section shall be determined based 09 on the latest figures of the United States Bureau of the Census or other population data 10 that the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development 11 determines is reliable.