Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120
01/31/2023 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB48 | |
| HB25 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 48 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 25 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 48-HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT
3:04:45 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 48, "An Act relating to reports from the State
Commission for Human Rights."
3:05:10 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:05:20 PM
[Due to technical difficulties, sound was lost briefly.]
3:06:15 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:07:12 PM
BARBARA HANEY, Staff, Representative Mike Prax, Alaska State
Legislature, provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled "Alaska
State Commission for Human Rights House Bill 48" [hard copy
included in the committee packet]. She began on slide 2,
revealing that the request for the statute change in HB 48 came
as a result of a unanimous vote by the Alaska State Commission
for Human Rights (ASCHR) in their meeting on December 13, 2022.
On slide 3, she cited current statute pertaining to annual
reports from the commission, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Article 3. Commission Reports and Publications.
Sec. 18.80.150. Annual report.
The commission shall report annually to the governor
on civil rights problems it has encountered in the
preceding year and may recommend legislative action.
The commission shall provide the Legislative Affairs
Agency with 40copies of the report during the week
preceding the convening of the annual legislative
session for library distribution. The commission shall
make copies of the report available to the public and
notify the legislature that the report is available.
Annual Report Archives
https://humanrights.alaska.gov/human-rights-
commission-annual-reports/
3:08:52 PM
MS. HANEY outlined the number of required copies of the report
on slide 4, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
The current legal number of copies leaves sufficient
copies for the Alaska State House. However, there are
then no copies available for the Alaska State Senate.
Increasing the number of copies makes the report
available to the Senate.
House Bill 48 ensures that there are copies for each
member of the Alaska Senate.
3:09:17 PM
MS. HANEY addressed the limited time for completion of analysis
on slide 5, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
The Report Due Date in Statute limits the Commissions
ability to perform analysis or find a printer to
create the current number of reports.
House Bill 48 ensures the Human Rights Commission has
sufficient time to meet statutory requirements for the
Annual Report and the 3-year Assessment.
3:09:49 PM
MS. HANEY proceeded to slide 6, which displayed a calendar of
January 2023. She indicated that the statutory due date of the
report left little time for analysis of the data. The data set
ended on January 1, she said, noting that session began on
th
January 17, 2023. The report would have been due on January 7.
She turned to slide 7, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Under current statute, the ASCHR had only 4 days to
complete the report, find a printer, and distribute
the reports.
MS. HANEY continued to slide 8, stating that under HB 48, the
th
due date of the annual report would be on the 30 day of the
legislative session.
3:11:37 PM
MS. HANEY conveyed that HB 48 would also provide additional time
for the three-year assessment. Slide 9 highlighted current
statutory language pertaining to the three-year assessment,
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Sec. 18.80.060. Powers and duties of the commission.
(6) make an overall assessment, at least once every
three years, of the progress made toward equal
employment opportunity by every department of state
government; results of the assessment shall be
included in the annual report made under AS 18.80.150.
MS. HANEY opined that HB 48 would improve the assessment
process. She directed attention to slide 10, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
The reality is that the 3-year assessment with state
agencies competes with the agency budget cycles. It
takes two months to complete the scheduling process.
This leaves the Commission competing with budget,
holidays, and other agency requests to do their
review. It leads to a rushed qualitative analysis and
publication.
The Commission records indicate that since1980, these
reports are typically printed in February or March,
and the 3-yearassessment reports have been published
in April. House Bill 48AnImprovement in the Assessment
Process
MS. HANEY concluded on slide 11 by outlining the following
benefits of HB 48: more time for the commission to complete its
work; allow time for improved qualitative results in the three-
year assessment; allow for improved statistical analysis in the
annual report; put into statute the practical reality of the
commission's work.
CHAIR SHAW invited questions from committee members.
3:14:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked why the number of copies would be
increased from 40 to 60.
MS. HANEY said increasing the number from 40 to 60 would provide
enough copies for all 60 members of the Alaska State
Legislature.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER pointed out that current practices were
transitioning largely from print media to digital. He inquired
about the need for printing hard copies.
MS. HANEY agreed; however, she shared her understanding that
some people still prefer paper copies.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER inquired about the size of the annual
report.
MS. HANEY approximated 20-30 pages.
3:15:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed her preference that the report
be emailed to the legislature. She asked whether the commission
had discussed that option. She suggested that electronic copies
could be printed by the recipients.
MS. HANEY shared her belief that the bill sponsor would be
amenable to those suggestions.
3:17:22 PM
CHAIR SHAW asked how long it took to produce the report
referenced in the proposed legislation.
ROB CORBISIER, Executive Director, ASCHR, stated that this year,
most of the vignettes for the report were completed prior to
January 1. The edits were finalized by January 19, he added.
He shared that the proof was received one week later, and the
subsequent revisions were submitted shortly after.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked how much it cost to publish the
report. She suggested that digital distribution would be a
cost-saving measure.
MR. CORBISIER estimated $1,500. He speculated that
transitioning to digital distribution methods would save around
$1,000. Nonetheless, he clarified that the commission had not
considered switching to a different method of distribution.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed concern that the state was in
dire straights with the fiscal budget.
MR. CORBISIER noted that the commission offered a digital
version of the report, which was published on the [ASCHR]
website. He explained that the commission received a price
break for printing a minimum of 200 copies, of which 60-80 were
sent to the legislature as a matter of routine.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD inquired about the hours of labor that
went into creating the report.
MR. CORBISIER said a lot of time was spent producing the
materials.
3:21:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked which agencies were on the
distribution list aside from the governor and the legislature.
MR. CORBISIER explained that, per statute, the governor and the
legislature were the only two entities on the distribution list.
3:22:29 PM
CHAIR SHAW opened public testimony on HB 48.
3:22:38 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:23:14 PM
CHAIR SHAW closed public testimony on HB 48 after ascertaining
that no one online or in person wished to testify. He announced
that HB 48 would be held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 48 Supporting Document - Human Rights Commission Resolution 12-13-22.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 48 |
| HB0048A.PDF |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 48 |
| HB 48 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 48 |
| HB 48 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 48 |
| HB 25 Version A.PDF |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 25 |
| HB 25 Research About NOAA Commissioned Officers Corps 1.25.2023.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 25 |
| HB 25 Research About USPHS Commissioned Corps 1.25.2023.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 25 |
| HB 25 Sectional Analysis 1.25.2023.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 25 |
| HB 25 Research NOAA Research Scientist Profiles 1.25.2023.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 25 |
| HB 25 Sponsor Statement 1.27.2023.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 25 |
| HB 25 Invited Testimony List 1.28.2023.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 25 |
| HB 48 - Sponsor Presentation.pdf |
HSTA 1/31/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 48 |