03/15/2021 01:30 PM House JUDICIARY

          HB 3-DEFINITION OF "DISASTER": CYBERSECURITY                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:47:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 3(STA),  "An Act relating to the definition                                                               
of 'disaster.'"  [Before the committee was CSHB 3(STA).]                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:47:52 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN opened  public  testimony on  CSHB  3(STA).   After                                                               
ascertaining there  was no one  who wished to testify,  he closed                                                               
public testimony.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN invited committee questions.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN  noted that  a switch  had been  made from                                                               
natural  disasters  to manmade  disasters.    He asked,  "Is  the                                                               
intent  of  the sponsor  to  draw  distinction between  accidents                                                               
versus  the kinds  of  attacks and  intentionality  that we  were                                                               
talking about?"                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:49:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ERICK  CODERO-GIORGANA, Staff,  Representative Mike  Prax, Alaska                                                               
State Legislature, answered  that the intent is "to  cover all of                                                               
that."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:50:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS   asked  Mr.   Codero-Girogana  to                                                               
confirm he is staff for Representative Mike Prax.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR.  CODERO-GIORGANA answered  yes.   He added,  "I'm allowed  to                                                               
help today  - Representative  Johnson - for  the bill,  because I                                                               
was helping her carry that bill."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:50:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN explained  a  recent switch  of  staff between  the                                                               
offices  of  Representatives  Johnson  and Prax  to  explain  Mr.                                                               
Codero-Giorgana's involvement.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:52:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  CODERO-GIORGANA, in  response to  a follow-up  question from                                                               
Representative Eastman  as to whether  the bill would  cover both                                                               
cyber  attacks   and  cyber  security  attacks,   answered,  "The                                                               
sponsor's intention is to cover all of it."                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:53:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND indicated she  had, at a previous hearing                                                               
on CSHB  3(STA), asked  about political  subdivisions.   She then                                                               
noted that  Mr. Wyatt, the  information technology  (IT) director                                                               
of the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su)  Borough, had testified about a                                                               
cyberattack  in 2019.    She  asked whether  the  state would  be                                                               
assisting  boroughs  in  protecting themselves  and  whether  the                                                               
definition of "disaster" in CSHB 3(STA) should be amended.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR.  CODERO-GIORGANA   answered  that  it  will   depend  on  the                                                               
circumstances of each disaster.   He explained that each district                                                               
can  seek assistance  and would  do so  depending on  whether the                                                               
disaster was  or was  not contained.   He  stated that  when that                                                               
cyberattack occurred, the Mat-Su  Borough tried to get additional                                                               
assistance  from  the  state  by having  the  state  declare  the                                                               
situation a disaster.  He said  because this was not clarified in                                                               
statute,  it  did  not  happen.    The  district  still  received                                                               
assistance, but "it wasn't as easy to  get as if this had been in                                                               
statute."  He then referred  to questions Representative Drummond                                                               
had asked previously and noted one  had not been answered at that                                                               
time, which  was that the  Alaska Railroad is  an instrumentality                                                               
of the state "and therefore would be covered under the statute."                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND indicated she  had just received from her                                                               
staff a  list of political  subdivisions of the state,  which she                                                               
said addressed her questions.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:56:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   EASTMAN,  considering   the  broadness   of  the                                                               
language in  CSHB 3(STA), asked  whether there was a  good reason                                                               
not to  allow the governor  to declare a  disaster if there  is a                                                               
potential  for  federal aid,  for  example.   He  indicated  that                                                               
currently  statute limits  the governor's  ability  to declare  a                                                               
disaster.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  CODERO-GIORGANA responded  that under  CSHB 3(STA),  certain                                                               
criteria must  be met to declare  a disaster, and whether  or not                                                               
the  governor should  or should  not have  the authority  to call                                                               
more  disasters or  fewer disasters  is a  policy call  not being                                                               
address under the proposed legislation.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:57:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that CSHB 3(STA) was held over.