Legislature(2025 - 2026)
2025-04-25 House Journal
Full Journal pdf2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0901 HB 16 The following was before the House in second reading with Amendment No. 10 (page 899) moved and pending: CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 16(STA) "An Act requiring a group supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot proposition in a state or local election to maintain an address in the state; amending campaign contribution limits for state and local office; directing the Alaska Public Offices Commission to adjust campaign contribution limits for state and local office once each decade beginning in 2031; relating to campaign contribution reporting requirements; relating to administrative complaints filed with the Alaska Public Offices 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0902 Commission; relating to state election expenditures and contributions made by a foreign-influenced corporation or foreign national; and providing for an effective date." The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 10 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 16(STA) Second Reading Amendment No. 10 YEAS: 16 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 3 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes Excused: Allard, Ruffridge, Tomaszewski And so, Amendment No. 10 was not adopted. Amendment No. 11 was offered by Representative Bynum: Page 2, line 23: Delete "$2,000" Insert "$5,000" Page 2, line 27: Delete "$5,000 each [PER]" Insert "$8,000 each [$5,000 PER]" Page 3, lines 2 - 3: Delete all material and insert: "(2) $5,000 each year to another group or [,] to a nongroup entity; (3) $8,000 each year [, OR] to a political party." Page 3, lines 10 - 11: Delete all material and insert: 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0903 "(2) $5,000 each year to another group; (3) $8,000 each year [, TO A GROUP, OR] to a political party." Page 3, line 15: Delete "$4,000" Insert "$10,000" Page 3, line 20, following "(c)(2)": Insert "and (3)" Representative Bynum moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 11 be adopted. There was objection. Amendment No. 1 to Amendment No. 11 was offered by Representative Bynum: Page 1, lines 5-7: Delete all material and insert "Page 2, line 27: Delete all material and insert: "(2) $5,000 each year to another group. (3) $8,000 each year to a political party."" Representative Bynum moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 1 to Amendment No. 11 be adopted. Objection was heard and withdrawn. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 1 to Amendment No. 11 was adopted. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 11 as amended be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 16(STA) Second Reading Amendment No. 11 as amended YEAS: 14 NAYS: 23 EXCUSED: 3 ABSENT: 0 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0904 Yeas: Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Saddler, Stapp, Tilton, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, McCabe, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Schwanke, Story, Stutes Excused: Allard, Ruffridge, Tomaszewski And so, Amendment No. 11 as amended was not adopted. Amendment No. 12 was offered by Representative Vance: Page 1, line 5, following "2031;"(title amendment): Insert "prohibiting certain state and municipal contractors and agents or immediate family members of those contractors from making contributions in state or local elections;" Page 3, following line 28: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 9. AS 15.13.074 is amended by adding new subsections to read: (j) If payment for the performance of a state or municipal contract for goods and services in an amount of $100,000 or more, or property or construction in the amount of $250,000 or more, includes funds appropriated by the legislature, the person under contract may not make a contribution to a candidate, group, or nongroup entity during the term of the contract. An agent or immediate family member of a person subject to this subsection may not make a contribution to a candidate, group, or nongroup entity during the term of the person's contract. (k) A person who enters into a contract subject to (j) of this section shall provide the state or municipality with a list of the person's agents or immediate family members. The state or municipality shall provide the commission with the information necessary to administer (j) of this section. The state or municipality shall report the information electronically to the commission. The commission shall then make the information available to the candidate, group, and nongroup entity on an electronic, password-protected basis. (l) In this section, 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0905 (1) "immediate family member" has the meaning given in AS 39.52.960; (2) "state or municipal" includes state and municipal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 4, following line 5: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 11. AS 15.13.114 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (c) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, if a candidate, group, or nongroup entity does not return a contribution prohibited by AS 15.13.074(j) within 10 days after receipt of the contribution, the contribution shall be delivered to the Department of Revenue as unclaimed property under AS 34.45." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Representative Vance moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 12 be adopted. Representative Schrage objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 12 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 16(STA) Second Reading Amendment No. 12 YEAS: 10 NAYS: 27 EXCUSED: 3 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Saddler, Tilton, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Bynum, Carrick, Costello, Coulombe, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Moore, Schrage, Schwanke, Stapp, Story, Stutes Excused: Allard, Ruffridge, Tomaszewski And so, Amendment No. 12 was not adopted. 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0906 Amendment No. 13 was offered by Representative Vance: Page 2, line 23: Delete "election cycle [$500 PER YEAR]" Insert "[$500 PER] year" Page 2, line 31: Delete "election cycle" Insert "year" Page 3, line 7: Delete "election cycle [$1,000 A YEAR]" Insert "[$1,000 A] year" Page 3, lines 15 - 16: Delete "election cycle [$1,000 PER YEAR]" Insert "[$1,000 PER] year" Page 3, lines 17 - 18: Delete "election cycle [$2,000 PER YEAR]" Insert "[$2,000 PER] year" Representative Vance moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 13 be adopted. Representative Schrage objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 13 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 16(STA) Second Reading Amendment No. 13 YEAS: 16 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 3 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0907 Excused: Allard, Ruffridge, Tomaszewski And so, Amendment No. 13 was not adopted. Amendment No. 14 was offered by Representative Rauscher: Page 1, following line 9: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to read: LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that the people of the state believe that political power and influence with public officials should not be allocated solely based on wealth. Instead, reasonable limits on the amount of campaign contributions are necessary to secure equal rights for Alaskans and to preserve the integrity of our elections. * Sec. 2. AS 15.13.050(a) is amended to read: (a) Before making an expenditure in support of or in opposition to a candidate or before making an expenditure in support of or in opposition to a ballot proposition or question or to an initiative proposal application filed with the lieutenant governor under AS 15.45.020, each person other than an individual shall (1) register, on forms provided by the commission, with the commission; and (2) provide the person's physical address in the state or the physical address of the person's agent registered under (d) of this section. * Sec. 3. AS 15.13.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (d) A person may not register under (a) of this section unless the person has a physical address in the state or registers with the commission an individual resident of the state who maintains a physical address in the state or a domestic corporation authorized to transact business in this state as the person's agent. A person shall notify the commission within 10 days after a change to the person's in- state address, registered agent, or the physical address of the person's registered agent. * Sec. 4. AS 15.13.070(b) is amended to read: (b) Except as provided in (h) of this section, an [AN] individual may contribute not more than 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0908 (1) $2,000 each election cycle [$500 PER YEAR] to a nongroup entity for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of a candidate, to a candidate, or to an individual who conducts a write-in campaign as a candidate [, OR TO A GROUP THAT IS NOT A POLITICAL PARTY]; (2) $5,000 each [PER] year to a political party or other group. * Sec. 5. AS 15.13.070(c) is amended to read: (c) Except as provided in (h) of this section, a [A] group that is not a political party may contribute not more than [$1,000 PER YEAR] (1) $4,000 each election cycle to a candidate [,] or to an individual who conducts a write-in campaign as a candidate; (2) $5,000 each year to another group, to a nongroup entity, or to a political party. * Sec. 6. AS 15.13.070(f) is amended to read: (f) Except as provided in (h) of this section, a [A] nongroup entity may contribute not more than (1) $4,000 each election cycle [$1,000 A YEAR] to another nongroup entity for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of a candidate, to a candidate, or to an individual who conducts a write-in campaign as a candidate; (2) $5,000 each year [, TO A GROUP, OR] to a political party or other group. * Sec. 7. AS 15.13.070(g) is amended to read: (g) Where contributions are made to a joint campaign for governor and lieutenant governor, (1) an individual may contribute not more than $4,000 each election cycle [$1,000 PER YEAR]; and (2) a group may contribute not more than $8,000 each election cycle [$2,000 PER YEAR]. * Sec. 8. AS 15.13.070 is amended by adding new subsections to read: (h) The contribution limits set out in (b)(1), (c)(2), and (f) of this section do not apply to an individual, group, or nongroup entity contributing to a group or nongroup entity that makes only independent expenditures. (i) Beginning in the first quarter of calendar year 2031 and once every 10 years thereafter, the commission shall by regulation adjust the contribution limits set out in this section by a percentage equal to the percentage of increase over the preceding 10-year period in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for urban Alaska 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0909 prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, rounded to the nearest $50 increment. * Sec. 9. AS 15.13.110(i) is amended to read: (i) During an election cycle [A CAMPAIGN PERIOD], the commission may not change the manner or format in which reports required of a candidate under this chapter must be filed. [IN THIS SUBSECTION, "CAMPAIGN PERIOD" MEANS THE PERIOD BEGINNING ON THE DATE THAT A CANDIDATE BECOMES ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER THIS CHAPTER AND ENDING ON THE DATE THAT A FINAL REPORT FOR THAT SAME CAMPAIGN MUST BE FILED.] * Sec. 10. AS 15.13.380(e) is amended to read: (e) If the commission accepts the complaint for consideration on a regular rather than an expedited basis, the commission shall notify the respondent within seven days after receiving the complaint and shall investigate the complaint. The commission shall complete an investigation under this section within 90 days after the date the commission receives the complaint unless the commission extends the investigation for good cause. The respondent may answer the complaint by filing a written response with the commission within 15 days after the commission notifies the respondent of the complaint. The commission may grant the respondent additional time to respond to the complaint only for good cause. The commission shall hold a hearing on the complaint not later than 45 days after the respondent's written response is due. Not later than 10 days after the hearing, the commission shall issue its order. If the commission finds that the respondent has engaged in or is about to engage in an act or practice that constitutes or will constitute a violation of this chapter or a regulation adopted under this chapter, the commission shall enter an order requiring the violation to be ceased or to be remedied and shall assess civil penalties under AS 15.13.390. * Sec. 11. AS 15.13.380 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (l) Beginning 50 days after a complaint is filed, the commission shall provide the complainant a report on the status of the commission's investigation at least every 10 days. * Sec. 12. AS 15.13.400 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: (20) "election cycle" means the period beginning on the date that a candidate becomes eligible to receive campaign 2025-04-25 House Journal Page 0910 contributions under this chapter and ending on the date that a final report for that same campaign must be filed. * Sec. 13. AS 15.13.068(b) and 15.13.068(c) are repealed. * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to read: APPLICABILITY. This Act does not apply to contributions made to influence the outcome of an election that occurred before the effective date of this Act. * Sec. 15. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c)" Renumber the following sections accordingly. Representative Rauscher moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 14 be adopted. There was objection. Representative Rauscher moved and asked unanimous consent to withdraw Amendment No. 14. There being no objection, it was so ordered. Representative Kopp moved and asked unanimous consent that CSHB 16(STA) be considered engrossed, advanced to third reading, and placed on final passage. There was objection. CSHB 16(STA) will advance to third reading on the April 28 calendar.