Legislature(2003 - 2004)
2004-05-07 House Journal
Full Journal pdf2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3964 HB 563 The following, which was advanced to third reading from the May 6, 2004, calendar (page 3899), was read the third time: CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 563(JUD) "An Act relating to legislative branch ethics, to open meetings guidelines applicable to legislators, to the confidentiality of complaints and proceedings involving alleged violations of AS 24.60, and to hearings on formal charges by the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics or its subcommittees." Representative Gara moved and asked unanimous consent that CSHB 563(JUD) be returned to second reading for the specific purpose of considering amendments. The Speaker stated that, without objection, the rules would be suspended and the bill would be returned to second reading for all amendments. Amendment No. 1 was offered by Representative Gara: 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3965 Page 2, line 10, following "governor,": Insert "and" Page 2, lines 10 - 11: Delete ", and discussions of issues in the context of political strategy" Insert ". However, if a primary purpose of the meeting is the discussion of legislative or state policy, at least that portion of the meeting must be open to the public" Representative Gara moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 1 be adopted. Representative Rokeberg objected. Amendment to Amendment No. 1 was offered by Representative Gara: Delete "legislative" Insert "legislation" Representative Gara moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment to Amendment No. 1 be adopted. There being no objection, Amendment to Amendment No. 1 was adopted. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 1 as amended be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 563(JUD) Second Reading Amendment No. 1 as amended YEAS: 15 NAYS: 22 EXCUSED: 1 ABSENT: 2 Yeas: Berkowitz, Chenault, Cissna, Crawford, Croft, Gara, Gatto, Gruenberg, Guttenberg, Kapsner, Kerttula, Lynn, Samuels, Seaton, Stoltze Nays: Coghill, Dahlstrom, Fate, Foster, Harris, Hawker, Heinze, Holm, Joule, Kohring, Kott, Masek, McGuire, Meyer, Morgan, Ogg, Rokeberg, Stepovich, Weyhrauch, Williams, Wilson, Wolf 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3966 Excused: Kookesh Absent: Anderson, Moses And so, Amendment No. 1 as amended was not adopted. Representative Coghill moved and asked unanimous consent that Representative Moses be excused from a call of the House for the remainder of the calendar. There being no objection, it was so ordered. Amendment No. 2 was offered by Representative Gara: Page 2, lines 5 - 6, following ""political strategy"": Insert "(1)" Page 2, line 11, following "strategy": Insert "; (2) does not include (A) discussion of the substance of or policy arguments for or against legislation; or (B) reporting or relating an expression of support for or opposition to legislation or other state policy made by a person, business, organization, or group" Representative Gara moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 2 be adopted. Representative Rokeberg objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 2 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 563(JUD) Second Reading Amendment No. 2 YEAS: 17 NAYS: 20 EXCUSED: 2 ABSENT: 1 Yeas: Anderson, Berkowitz, Cissna, Crawford, Croft, Gara, Gruenberg, Guttenberg, Harris, Kapsner, Kerttula, Kott, Lynn, McGuire, Morgan, Samuels, Stoltze 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3967 Nays: Chenault, Coghill, Dahlstrom, Fate, Foster, Gatto, Hawker, Heinze, Holm, Joule, Kohring, Masek, Meyer, Ogg, Rokeberg, Seaton, Stepovich, Weyhrauch, Williams, Wilson Excused: Kookesh, Moses Absent: Wolf McGuire changed from "Nay" to "Yea". Anderson changed from "Nay" to "Yea". And so, Amendment No. 2 was not adopted. Amendment No. 3 was offered by Representative Berkowitz: Page 2, line 12: Insert "(d) It shall be a violation of this section for a legislator to require any written confirmation of support for a bill by other legislators before permitting a bill to leave the Rules Committee for a vote on the House or Senate Floor, or before scheduling a bill for discussion and a vote on either Floor. Nothing in this subsection shall override the Uniform Rules adopted by the Alaska State Legislature on the number of votes a bill needs to advance from committee." Reletter the following subsections accordingly. Representative Berkowitz moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 3 be adopted. Representative Rokeberg objected. Representative Rokeberg moved the previous question. Representative Croft objected. Representative Rokeberg moved and asked unanimous consent to withdraw the motion. There being no objection, it was so ordered. Representative Rokeberg placed a call of the House on the bill. The call was satisfied. 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3968 The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 3 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 563(JUD) Second Reading Amendment No. 3 YEAS: 17 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 2 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Berkowitz, Cissna, Crawford, Croft, Dahlstrom, Gara, Gatto, Gruenberg, Guttenberg, Harris, Hawker, Joule, Kapsner, Kerttula, Lynn, Stepovich, Stoltze Nays: Anderson, Chenault, Coghill, Fate, Foster, Heinze, Holm, Kohring, Kott, Masek, McGuire, Meyer, Morgan, Ogg, Rokeberg, Samuels, Seaton, Weyhrauch, Williams, Wilson, Wolf Excused: Kookesh, Moses And so, Amendment No. 3 was not adopted. Amendment No. 4 was not offered. Amendment No. 5 was offered by Representative Croft: Page 2, line 5, following "guidelines.": Insert "Whenever a meeting is closed because it involves the discussion of strategy, the meeting shall be recorded by audio tape. The audio tape shall be provided to nonlegislative staff of the committee. If a complaint is received alleging a violation of this subsection, the nonlegislative staff of the committee may review the tape, and the committee may release to the public those portions of the tape that the committee finds violate this subsection." Representative Croft moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 5 be adopted. Representative Rokeberg objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 5 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3969 CSHB 563(JUD) Second Reading Amendment No. 5 YEAS: 7 NAYS: 31 EXCUSED: 2 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Berkowitz, Crawford, Croft, Gara, Kapsner, Kerttula, Lynn Nays: Anderson, Chenault, Cissna, Coghill, Dahlstrom, Fate, Foster, Gatto, Gruenberg, Guttenberg, Harris, Hawker, Heinze, Holm, Joule, Kohring, Kott, Masek, McGuire, Meyer, Morgan, Ogg, Rokeberg, Samuels, Seaton, Stepovich, Stoltze, Weyhrauch, Williams, Wilson, Wolf Excused: Kookesh, Moses And so, Amendment No. 5 was not adopted. Amendment No. 6 was offered by Representative Croft: Page 2, line 7: Delete "scheduling of bills," Page 2, lines 7 - 8: Delete "other procedural matters," Representative Croft moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 6 be adopted. Representative Rokeberg objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 6 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 563(JUD) Second Reading Amendment No. 6 YEAS: 10 NAYS: 28 EXCUSED: 2 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Berkowitz, Cissna, Crawford, Croft, Gara, Guttenberg, Joule, Kapsner, Kerttula, Lynn 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3970 Nays: Anderson, Chenault, Coghill, Dahlstrom, Fate, Foster, Gatto, Gruenberg, Harris, Hawker, Heinze, Holm, Kohring, Kott, Masek, McGuire, Meyer, Morgan, Ogg, Rokeberg, Samuels, Seaton, Stepovich, Stoltze, Weyhrauch, Williams, Wilson, Wolf Excused: Kookesh, Moses And so, Amendment No. 6 was not adopted. Amendment No. 7 was offered by Representative Kerttula: Page 2, line 25 - 26, following "legislators": Delete all material. Insert "who are members of the same political party or a coalition, who share a political philosophy, or who have a common goal and organize as a group;" Representative Kerttula moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 7 be adopted. Representative Rokeberg objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 7 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 563(JUD) Second Reading Amendment No. 7 YEAS: 13 NAYS: 25 EXCUSED: 2 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Berkowitz, Cissna, Crawford, Croft, Gara, Gruenberg, Guttenberg, Joule, Kapsner, Kerttula, Samuels, Stoltze, Weyhrauch Nays: Anderson, Chenault, Coghill, Dahlstrom, Fate, Foster, Gatto, Harris, Hawker, Heinze, Holm, Kohring, Kott, Lynn, Masek, McGuire, Meyer, Morgan, Ogg, Rokeberg, Seaton, Stepovich, Williams, Wilson, Wolf Excused: Kookesh, Moses And so, Amendment No. 7 was not adopted. 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3971 Amendment No. 8 was offered by Representative Rokeberg: Page 2, lines 14 - 18: Delete "the complaint shall be treated as two separate complaints with members of the group apportioned between them so that the legislative member is not disqualified from participating in a proceeding involving one of the complaints and the alternate is not disqualified from serving in a proceeding involving the other" Insert "the member and alternate member are disqualified from serving on the committee with regard to the complaint. The presiding officer of the house in which the disqualified member serves shall appoint another member of that house to serve on the committee with regard to the complaint. However, if a complaint alleges a violation that includes all legislative members of the same political party of one house, the presiding officer of that house shall request the presiding officer of the other house to appoint from the other house an alternate member of the same political party as the disqualified member to serve with regard to the complaint, and the presiding officer of the other house shall make an appointment" Representative Rokeberg moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 8 be adopted. Objection was heard and withdrawn. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 8 was adopted. Amendment No. 9 was offered by Representative Rokeberg: Page 2, line 26, following "or": Delete "who organize as a group with a common goal" Insert "have a common goal and organize as a group" Page 4, following line 26: Insert a new bill section to read: "*Sec. 5. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c)." Representative Rokeberg moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 9 be adopted. 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3972 Representative Gara objected. Amendment to Amendment No. 9 was offered by Representative Gara: In Amendment No. 8, following, "member of that house": Insert "of the same political party" Representative Gara moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment to Amendment No. 9 be adopted. There being no objection, Amendment to Amendment No. 9 was adopted. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 9 as amended was adopted and the new title follows: CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 563(JUD) am(efd add) "An Act relating to legislative branch ethics, to open meetings guidelines applicable to legislators, to the confidentiality of complaints and proceedings involving alleged violations of AS 24.60, and to hearings on formal charges by the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics or its subcommittees; and providing for an effective date." Amendment No. 10 was offered by Representative Rokeberg: Page 4, line 10, following "occurred.": Insert "Except to the extent that the confidentiality provisions are waived by the subject of the complaint, the person filing a complaint shall keep confidential the fact that the person has filed a complaint under this section as well as the contents of the complaint filed." Page 4, line 25, following "complaint.": Insert "Dismissal of a complaint under this subsection does not affect the right of the committee or any person other than the complainant to initiate a complaint based on the same factual allegations." 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3973 Representative Rokeberg moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 10 be adopted. Representative Gara objected and withdrew the objection. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 10 was adopted. Amendment No. 11 was offered by Representative Rokeberg: Page 3, line 30, following "20": Insert "and less than 90" Page 3, line 31, following "agrees to": Delete "an earlier" Insert "a later [AN EARLIER]" Representative Rokeberg moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 11 be adopted. There being no objection, it was so ordered. Amendment No. 12 was offered by Representative Rokeberg: Page 4, following line 25: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 4. AS 24.60.170 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (r) At any point in the proceedings when the subject of a complaint appears before the committee, the subject of a complaint may choose to be accompanied by legal counsel or another person who may also present arguments before the committee. The choice of counsel or another person is not subject to review and approval or disapproval by the committee. The choice by the subject of a complaint to be accompanied under this subsection does not constitute a waiver of any confidentiality provision in this chapter." Renumber the following bill section accordingly. Representative Rokeberg moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 12 be adopted. There being no objection, it was so ordered. 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3974 Amendment No. 13 was offered by Representative Rokeberg: Page 2, lines 19 - 20: Delete "The legislative open meetings guidelines are subservient to the Uniform Rules adopted by the Alaska State Legislature." Page 2, line 21, following the first occurrence of "Rules": Insert "adopted by the Alaska State Legislature" Representative Rokeberg moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 13 be adopted. Objection was heard and withdrawn. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 13 was adopted. Amendment No. 14 was offered by Representatives Gruenberg and Rokeberg: Page 1, line 14: Delete "legislative" Insert "legislation" Page 3, line 16, following "leadership": Insert "meetings" Representative Gruenberg moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 14 be adopted. There being no objection, it was so ordered. Amendment No. 15 was offered by Representative Gruenberg: Page 4, line 25: Delete "shall immediately dismiss the complaint" Insert "may dismiss the complaint or take any other action it deems appropriate" Representative Gruenberg moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 15 be adopted. 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3975 Representative Rokeberg objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 15 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 563(JUD) am(efd add) Second Reading Amendment No. 15 YEAS: 16 NAYS: 22 EXCUSED: 2 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Berkowitz, Cissna, Crawford, Croft, Dahlstrom, Gara, Gatto, Gruenberg, Guttenberg, Holm, Joule, Kapsner, Kerttula, Lynn, McGuire, Stoltze Nays: Anderson, Chenault, Coghill, Fate, Foster, Harris, Hawker, Heinze, Kohring, Kott, Masek, Meyer, Morgan, Ogg, Rokeberg, Samuels, Seaton, Stepovich, Weyhrauch, Williams, Wilson, Wolf Excused: Kookesh, Moses And so, Amendment No. 15 was not adopted. CSHB 563(JUD) am(efd add) was automatically in third reading. The question being: "Shall CSHB 563(JUD) am(efd add) pass the House?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 563(JUD) am(efd add) Third Reading Final Passage YEAS: 30 NAYS: 8 EXCUSED: 2 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Anderson, Chenault, Coghill, Dahlstrom, Fate, Foster, Gatto, Gruenberg, Harris, Hawker, Heinze, Holm, Joule, Kapsner, Kohring, Kott, Masek, McGuire, Meyer, Morgan, Ogg, Rokeberg, Samuels, Seaton, Stepovich, Stoltze, Weyhrauch, Williams, Wilson, Wolf Nays: Berkowitz, Cissna, Crawford, Croft, Gara, Guttenberg, Kerttula, Lynn 2004-05-07 House Journal Page 3976 Excused: Kookesh, Moses And so, CSHB 563(JUD) am(efd add) passed the House. Representative Berkowitz gave notice of reconsideration of the vote on CSHB 563(JUD) am(efd add).