HB 287: "An Act relating to the duties and powers of the attorney general; relating to the governor's power to appoint the attorney general to a state board or commission, the governing body of a public corporation, or any other entity that has a governing body; requesting that the governor replace the attorney general on the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation board; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 287 01 "An Act relating to the duties and powers of the attorney general; relating to the 02 governor's power to appoint the attorney general to a state board or commission, the 03 governing body of a public corporation, or any other entity that has a governing body; 04 requesting that the governor replace the attorney general on the Alaska Permanent 05 Fund Corporation board; and providing for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 08 to read: 09 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) The legislature finds that 10 (1) the attorney general is responsible for representing the state in all civil and 11 criminal actions in which the state is a party or in which the state has an interest; 12 (2) although a state public corporation may have a legal existence independent 13 of and separate from the state, the attorney general may be involved in representing the state's 14 interest in litigation or other legal proceedings in which the public corporation is a party;
01 (3) in addition to state public corporations, other state commissions, boards, 02 agencies, and other state entities with a governing body may be involved in litigation or other 03 legal proceedings in which the attorney general represents the state; 04 (4) the attorney general may be compromised, have a conflict of interest, or 05 appear to have a conflict of interest if the attorney general is a member of the governing body 06 of a public corporation or is a member of a board, commission, or other governing body of a 07 state entity that is involved in litigation or other legal proceeding and the attorney general 08 represents the state or the interest of the state in the litigation or other legal proceeding; and 09 (5) having the attorney general serve on the board of trustees or governing 10 body of a public corporation or other state entity with responsibility for managing a major 11 program or overseeing the management of significant state assets takes away or reduces the 12 attorney general's time, energy, and focus on representing the state's interest in civil and 13 criminal litigation and providing legal advice to state entities, particularly those entities 14 responsible for managing the state's natural resources. 15 (b) The purpose of this Act is to prohibit the attorney general from being appointed to 16 or serving on a governing body of a state public corporation, board, commission, or other 17 governing body of a state entity to avoid the attorney general being compromised, having a 18 conflict of interest, or having the appearance of a conflict of interest when representing the 19 state's interest in litigation or other legal proceeding in which the state public corporation, 20 board, commission, or other state entity is a party. 21 * Sec. 2. AS 11.71.100(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) The Controlled Substances Advisory Committee is established in the 23 Department of Law. The committee consists of 24 (1) a state prosecutor, other than the attorney general, with 25 experience in controlled substance prosecutions appointed by the attorney 26 general [THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S 27 DESIGNEE]; 28 (2) the commissioner of health and social services or the 29 commissioner's designee; 30 (3) the commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee; 31 (4) the president of the Board of Pharmacy or the designee of the
01 president who shall also be a member of the Board of Pharmacy; 02 (5) a peace officer appointed by the governor after consultation with 03 the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police; 04 (6) a physician appointed by the governor; 05 (7) a psychiatrist appointed by the governor; and 06 (8) two individuals appointed by the governor. 07 * Sec. 3. AS 11.71.100(c) is amended to read: 08 (c) The commissioner of public safety [ATTORNEY GENERAL] is the 09 chair [CHAIRMAN] of the committee. 10 * Sec. 4. AS 12.62.100(a) is amended to read: 11 (a) The Criminal Justice Information Advisory Board is established in the 12 department. The board consists of the following members: 13 (1) a member of the general public appointed by and serving at the 14 pleasure of the governor; 15 (2) a municipal police chief appointed by and serving at the pleasure of 16 the governor; in making this appointment, the governor shall consult with the Alaska 17 Association of Chiefs of Police; 18 (3) a state prosecutor, other than the attorney general, experienced 19 in the use of criminal justice information appointed by the attorney general [OR 20 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S DESIGNEE]; 21 (4) the chief justice of the supreme court or the chief justice's designee; 22 (5) the commissioner of administration or the commissioner's 23 designee; 24 (6) the commissioner of corrections or the commissioner's designee; 25 (7) the commissioner of health and social services or the 26 commissioner's designee; 27 (8) the commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee, 28 who will serve as chair of the board; and 29 (9) the executive director of the Alaska Judicial Council or the 30 executive director's designee. 31 * Sec. 5. AS 18.66.020(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) The council consists of 02 (1) four public members appointed by the governor, one of whom shall 03 be from a rural area; the governor may consult with the Alaska Network on Domestic 04 Violence and Sexual Assault, a nonprofit corporation, in appointing the public 05 members under this paragraph; the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual 06 Assault shall submit a list to the governor of persons recommended for appointment; 07 (2) the commissioner of public safety or the designee of the 08 commissioner of public safety; 09 (3) the commissioner of health and social services or the designee of 10 the commissioner of health and social services; 11 (4) the commissioner of education and early development or the 12 designee of the commissioner of education and early development; 13 (5) a state prosecutor, other than the attorney general, experienced 14 in domestic violence and sexual assault prosecution appointed by the attorney 15 general [OR THE DESIGNEE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL]; and 16 (6) the commissioner of corrections or the designee of the 17 commissioner of corrections. 18 * Sec. 6. AS 30.13.020(c) is amended to read: 19 (c) The three members appointed by the governor shall be the commissioner 20 of transportation and public facilities and the heads of two other principal departments 21 of the executive branch, except that the attorney general may not be appointed to 22 serve on the board. 23 * Sec. 7. AS 30.17.020(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) The membership of the authority consists of 25 (1) the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic 26 development; 27 (2) two other persons selected by the governor who serve as the heads 28 of principal departments of the executive branch of state government, except that the 29 attorney general may not be appointed to serve on the board; and 30 (3) four public members appointed by the governor, two of whom must 31 be residents of the area that is within the boundaries of the Aleut Corporation, a Native
01 regional corporation established under 43 U.S.C. 1606 (Alaska Native Claims 02 Settlement Act). 03 * Sec. 8. AS 31.25.020(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) The corporation shall be governed by a board of directors consisting of 05 (1) five public members; and 06 (2) two individuals designated by the governor that are each the head 07 of a principal department of the state, except that the commissioner of natural 08 resources, the attorney general, and the commissioner of revenue may not be 09 designated to serve on the board. 10 * Sec. 9. AS 37.13.050(a) is amended to read: 11 (a) The Board of Trustees of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation consists 12 of six members appointed by the governor. Two of the members must be heads of 13 principal departments of state government, one of whom shall be the commissioner of 14 revenue and the other member may not be the attorney general. Four members 15 shall be appointed by the governor from the public and may not hold any other state or 16 federal office, position or employment, either elective or appointive, except as a 17 member of the armed forces of either the United States or of this state. 18 * Sec. 10. AS 39.25.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 (c) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the attorney general may not be 20 appointed to a state board or commission and may not be appointed to a governing 21 body of a state public corporation or any other entity that has a governing body. 22 * Sec. 11. AS 43.19.040 is amended to read: 23 Sec. 43.19.040. Advisory committee. There is established the Multistate Tax 24 Compact Advisory Committee composed of the member of the Multistate Tax 25 Commission representing this state, any alternate designated by the member, an 26 attorney in the Department of Law, other than the attorney general, experienced 27 in multistate tax appointed by the attorney general [OR THE DESIGNEE OF THE 28 ATTORNEY GENERAL], the members of the consulting committee, two members of 29 the senate to be appointed by the president, and two members of the house of 30 representatives to be appointed by the speaker. The chair [CHAIRMAN] shall be the 31 member of the commission representing this state. The committee shall meet on the
01 call of its chair [CHAIRMAN] or at the request of a majority of its members, but in 02 any event it shall meet not less than three times in each year. The committee may 03 consider all matters relating to recommendations of the Multistate Tax Commission 04 and the activities of the members in representing this state on the commission. 05 * Sec. 12. AS 44.19.642(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) The commission consists of 13 members as follows: 07 (1) the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court or another active or 08 retired justice of the supreme court or an active or retired judge of the court of appeals 09 designated by the chief justice; 10 (2) an active or retired superior court judge designated by the chief 11 justice for a three-year term; 12 (3) an active or retired district court judge designated by the chief 13 justice for a three-year term; 14 (4) a member of the Alaska Native community designated by the 15 Alaska Native Justice Center for a three-year term; 16 (5) a state prosecutor, other than the attorney general, experienced 17 in criminal prosecution appointed by the attorney general [OR A DESIGNEE OF 18 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL]; 19 (6) the public defender or a designee of the public defender; 20 (7) the commissioner of corrections or the commissioner's designee; 21 (8) the commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee; 22 (9) the chief executive officer of the Alaska Mental Health Trust 23 Authority or the chief executive officer's designee for a three-year term; 24 (10) an active duty member of a municipal law enforcement agency 25 appointed by the governor for a three-year term; 26 (11) one victims' rights advocate appointed by the governor for a three- 27 year term; 28 (12) one nonvoting member, serving ex officio, who is a member of 29 the senate appointed by the president of the senate; and 30 (13) one nonvoting member, serving ex officio, who is a member of 31 the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
01 * Sec. 13. AS 44.23.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 02 (i) The attorney general may not be appointed to or serve as a member of a 03 state board or commission and may not be appointed to serve or be a member of the 04 governing body of a state public corporation or other state entity that has a governing 05 body. 06 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 07 read: 08 REQUEST TO REPLACE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH A DIFFERENT 09 HEAD OF A PRINCIPAL DEPARTMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT TO SERVE ON 10 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ALASKA PERMANENT FUND CORPORATION. 11 The Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the governor to replace the attorney general 12 as a member of the board of trustees of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation with a 13 different head of a principal department of state government. This request is made to allow 14 the attorney general to concentrate the attorney general's time, efforts, and focus on 15 representing the state's interest in civil and criminal litigation and providing legal advice to 16 state entities. 17 * Sec. 15. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).