Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
02/17/2011 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB98 | |
| HB111 | |
| HB74 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 98 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 111 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 74 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 74-INFO ON MATTERS IN ELECTION PAMPHLET
8:40:49 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the final order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 74, "An Act relating to election pamphlets; relating to
information that must be provided for a bill under consideration
by the legislature that authorizes the issuance of state general
obligation bonds and to information that must be provided before
the issuance of state general obligation bonds is submitted to
the voters for ratification; and providing for an effective
date."
8:41:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 74, Version 27-LS0008\O, Bullard,
2/16/11, as a work draft. There being no objection, Version O
was before the committee.
8:41:44 AM
TED MADSEN, Staff, Representative Max Gruenberg, Alaska State
Legislature, presented HB 74 on behalf of Representative
Gruenberg, sponsor. He said the proposed legislation would
increase the amount of information available to voters for both
primary and general elections by modifying the corresponding
election pamphlets. Furthermore, it would increase the amount
of information available to legislators working on general
obligation bond legislation.
MR. MADSEN stated that under the original bill version, Section
1 would have required the lieutenant governor to prepare,
publish, and mail an election pamphlet to every registered
voter, but under Version O, the language is restored to the
original language of AS 15.58.010, wherein the pamphlet would be
mailed to "each household identified from the official
registration list." He noted that Section 1 would also delete
"at least" before "one election pamphlet". He said Section 2
would amend AS 15.58.020 to include the general obligation bond
prepared under Section 10. He related that Section 3 would
repeal and reenact AS 15.58.020(b), which addresses
informational material presented in primary and special election
pamphlets. He explained that presently the only requirement is
that information be presented regarding ballot propositions and
voting procedures. The reenactment of the statute would
include: information on candidates for primary or special
elections; a map of the districts; samples ballots; an absentee
ballot application; bond information; and notice to changes to
precincts.
MR. MADSEN relayed that Section 4 would amend AS 15.58.030(b),
regarding submittal of a candidate's photograph and statement of
candidacy, by adding a deadline of July 22 for a general
election and June 1 for a primary election. It would also allow
a candidate to change his/her photo and statement from a primary
pamphlet to a general election pamphlet. He said Section 5
would amend AS 15.58.060(a), regarding fees for filing for
candidacy, so that the fees would apply to the primary and
general elections. He said Section 6 would amend AS
15.58.080(a), regarding the mailing of the election pamphlet.
He said Section 6 would require the pamphlet to be mailed not
less than 22 days before each primary or general election. He
related that Section 7 would amend AS 15.58.080 by adding a new
subsection requiring all information in a primary, general, or
special election pamphlet to be published on the division's web
site not later than the date the pamphlet is mailed to
registered voters.
MR. MADSEN said Section 8 would amend AS 24.08.037 by adding a
new subsection to read as follows:
(b) In addition to the fiscal note requirements
of AS 24.08.035 and the requirements of (a) of this
section, before a bill authorizing the issuance of
state general obligation bonds is referred to the
rules committee, there shall be attached to the bill a
statement with the following information:
(1) the current general obligation and other
bonded indebtedness of the state and the effect of the
proposed bonding on that indebtedness;
(2) the average cost of the annual debt
service on the current general obligation bonded
indebtedness and the effect of the proposed bonding on
the average cost of the annual debt service;
(3) the amount of state general obligation
debt principal that could be issued and paid for from
the Alaska debt retirement fund (AS 37.15.011);
(4) the estimated debt service requirements
for the bond issue proposed under the bill;
(5) whether the bond issue proposed under
the bill will be repaid with amounts from the Alaska
debt retirement fund (AS 37.15.011).
MR. MADSEN said Section 9 would amend AS 37.13.170, regarding
the biennial publishing of a report related to the Alaska
Permanent Fund, to require that that be published in the general
election pamphlet. He said Section 10 would amend AS
37.15.015(a), which requires the state bond committee to publish
a notice in newspapers when a bond issue will on the ballot, so
that a notice would also be required in the election pamphlet.
He stated that the statute would be further amended to require
the following information be included in the publication: the
information that is presented to legislators when voting on
general obligation bond packages, as well as a description, the
location, and the cost of each capital project currently in the
package. Mr. Madsen related that Section 11 would repeal AS
15.15.040(b), which is made unnecessary with the inclusion of
Sections 2 and 3. He said Section 12 provides the effective
date.
8:46:54 AM
MR. MADSEN stated his belief that the proposed legislation is a
valuable tool with which to increase the amount of information
available to both the public and legislators.
8:47:20 AM
CHAIR LYNN relayed that he has always found the State Election
Pamphlet a valuable tool when choosing candidates. He pointed
out that although every candidate pays the $100, almost half of
those in the primary election will not be in the general
election.
8:49:44 AM
MR. MADSEN said there is a Legislative Legal and Research
Services report that shows that approximately 40 percent of
races are effectively decided in the primary election.
8:52:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON directed attention to the addition of
primary elections to the language in Section 10, on page 5, and
surmised that there would not be a significant cross-section of
the voting public showing up at primary elections. He asked if
it is the sponsor's intent to "have general obligation bonds in
primary elections."
8:54:08 AM
MR. MADSEN responded as follows:
That was not the intent of this section. It was the
intent that ... in case there ever is a change in
state law to include general obligation bonds at the
primary election that this would still cover that
statute.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON indicated that he thinks adding "primary"
would put the state in the position of saying that "we can't
have a general obligation bond at a state election."
8:55:19 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON directed attention to Section 3, regarding
ballot propositions at primary elections, said results at
primary elections are not the same as when the broader spectrum
of the electorate is present. He recommended the bill sponsor
consider including ballot propositions only on general election
ballots.
CHAIR LYNN questioned whether the bill title is broad enough to
include that change. He then suggested this is a point to
revisit.
8:58:41 AM
GAIL FENUMIAI, Director, Division of Elections, Office of the
Lieutenant Governor, in response to Representative Seaton's
question regarding Section 10, said it would be a policy call
for the committee to decide whether to put general obligation
bond information on primary election ballots. In response to
another question from Representative Seaton, she offered her
understanding that under HB 74, a candidate's photograph and
statement for a primary election would be due by June 1. She
said the process undertaken by the division to ready the
pamphlets is labor-intensive, but that the division should be
able to handle the proposed June 1 date.
9:00:49 AM
MS. FENUMIAI, in response to Representative Petersen, confirmed
that under HB 74, a candidate running in the primary election
would have to submit his/her photograph and statement no later
than June 1. In response to Chair Lynn, she said someone who
filed at the last minute would still have to submit his/her
photograph and statement by June 1 or it would not be included
in the primary pamphlet.
CHAIR LYNN suggested that there could be one day between the
last day to file and the day that the photograph and statement
would be due.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked if a five-day lag would work.
MS. FENUMIAI said the division starts processing the information
as it is received, so she said she thinks an extra four days
would be okay.
9:04:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN directed attention to Section 6, which
would require the lieutenant governor to mail the election
pamphlet to each household not less than 22 days before each
primary or general election. He said with primary elections
taking place in the latter half of August, the pamphlets would
be mailed out around the first of August. He asked Ms.
Fenumiai, then, if giving candidates 10 days after June 1 to
submit photographs and statements would give the division
sufficient time.
9:04:51 AM
MS. FENUMIAI offered her recollection that two to three weeks
prior to the mailing date, the pamphlet is printed. For
example, she said for an August 28 mailing, the printing would
occur August 6, and the information would be sent to the printer
in mid-July. She surmised that there would not be that many
candidates who waited until June 1 to declare their candidacy,
and if they were given until June 8 or 9 to submit their photos
and statements, the division would be able to work with that
schedule.
9:06:13 AM
MS. FENUMIAI, in response to the chair, estimated that
approximately 200,000 pamphlets are printed, because one is sent
out to each household, not to each registered voter. In
response to a follow-up question, he said who gets the job to
print the pamphlets is decided through an invitation to bid
process; the only vendor that met the criteria in 2010 was a
vendor in Portland, Oregon.
CHAIR LYNN said he would like business to go to Alaskan
companies as much as possible.
MS. FENUMIAI indicated that the division agrees.
CHAIR LYNN recollected that in 2008, someone running for a House
seat had issued a provocative candidate statement saying that
the justice system had aided and abetted the rape of court
employees. He asked if there are guidelines regarding what is
and is not acceptable to print in a statement.
MS. FENUMIAI answered that the division has been told by the
Department of Law that unless statute is changed, the division
must print all statements as submitted. She said the division
can write a disclaimer that the statement does not reflect the
views of the division.
CHAIR LYNN said he would like to pursue the matter further with
the Department of Law.
MS. FENUMIAI offered to bring information from the department to
Chair Lynn.
9:09:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, in response to Representative Johansen,
clarified that there are two issues he is addressing. The first
is in Section 10, which is solely addressing general obligation
bonds. The other issue is in Section 3, which addresses ballot
propositions. He said he would like to know what the number of
voters is at primary and general elections.
9:11:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN offered his understanding that general
obligation bonds are addressed in statute, while guidance
related to timing on initiatives and referendums is located
within the constitution. He asked if that is correct.
MS. FENUMIAI responded that there is both a reference in the
constitution and statutory language that once an application is
received and deemed ready to be placed on the ballot, a
legislative session must convene and adjourn, and then 120 days
must pass, at which point the [initiative] is allowed to go on
the next ballot.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN emphasized his interest in ballot
referendums and propositions.
9:12:41 AM
MS. FENUMIAI noted that the language regarding initiatives is
found in Article 11, Section 4 of the Constitution of the State
of Alaska, and she reiterated that there is related language in
statute.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN said it is apparent to him that a
strategy has been in play to put certain issues on the primary
rather than on the general election ballot, which he said
"speaks to the broadness of the statewide issue that
Representative Seaton is getting at."
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said he is not trying to incorporate a
constitutional amendment into the scope of HB 74; however, he
said he thinks this is a big issue.
9:14:34 AM
MS. FENUMIAI, in response to Representative Petersen, confirmed
that the bill, as currently written, is not aimed at changing
the state's initiative process; ballot initiative information is
printed in primary election pamphlets. She offered her
understanding that Section 3 is saying that in addition to that
information, a primary election pamphlet would also include
"everything except judicial candidates and information about the
permanent fund dividend." She further relayed that under
Version O, the fiscal note would be substantially reduced,
because the original bill required a pamphlet to be sent to
every voter in the state, while Version O would require one
pamphlet for every household. In response to Chair Lynn, she
confirmed that the fiscal note in the committee packet pertains
to the original version of the bill.
9:15:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON pointed out that the language on page 3,
lines 23-24, would, for a general election, require the
candidate's photograph and statement to be filed no later than
July 22. He then noted that the language on page 4, lines 1-3,
would allow a candidate who filed a photograph and statement in
the primary election pamphlet to file a different photograph and
statement in the general election pamphlet. He said the primary
would not have occurred, so he is not sure what "the interaction
between those dates" would be. He asked Ms. Fenumiai to address
that conflict of dates.
MS. FENUMIAI asked for clarification from the bill sponsor.
9:17:38 AM
MR. MADSEN said the intent is that the statement supplied by
June 1 would be published in the primary election pamphlet,
while the statement supplied by July 22 would be published in
the general election pamphlet; therefore, he said a candidate
would not be able to change his statement [and photograph]
between the primary to the general election pamphlets.
9:18:52 AM
MS. FENUMIAI said it looks like Version O is having the
candidate prepare two statements, but as Representative Seaton
pointed out, a candidate would not know by July 22 if he/she was
going to be advancing to the general election. She said the
division would most likely prepare two sets of photographs and
statements to be prepared for both pamphlets.
CHAIR LYNN suggested that "somebody might wish to change it for
the general election as opposed to voting within your political
party."
9:20:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, in response to Ms. Fenumiai, confirmed
that he would like to coordinate the dates "so that they make
sense," without compromising the time need to adequately prepare
the pamphlets. He opined that the opportunity to change
photographs and statements should most likely be given to those
individuals who win their primary elections, but said he does
not know if the timing would work.
9:21:12 AM
MS. FENUMIAI said results of the primary are not official until
mid-September, which is too close to the general election.
9:21:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN said under HB 74, candidates who want to
write a second statement for the general election would have to
do so during the last three weeks before the primary election in
order to make the deadline, and those are the most critical
weeks before a primary election. He then questioned how this
would work for close or contested races. He opined that a
person's statement reflects who he/she is and should remain the
same for both election pamphlets. He concluded, "I'm not really
a fan of this bill at first blush."
9:23:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON suggested that some candidates -
especially those running for the first time - may want to
communicate what they have learned during the primary process by
submitting a new statement. He said he thinks 5 to 8 days would
suffice; he clarified that he is not thinking that candidates
should have to wait for certification before submitting a new
statement for the general election.
MS. FENUMIAI said she would talk to her staff to see what they
think would be workable.
9:25:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN asked Ms. Fenumiai if it is common
practice in other states to send out pamphlets to everyone.
MS. FENUMIAI said she would have to check. She said she knows
that some states mail their pamphlets. She noted that the
division published pamphlets on line in 2010.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN said he would be interested to find out
how the state could supply the information without spending so
much money.
MS. FENUMIAI related that the cost of sending the general
election pamphlet to every household is approximately $209,000,
and a new fiscal note for Version O would reflect that.
9:27:25 AM
DEVEN MITCHELL, Debt Manager, Treasury Division, Department of
Revenue, referred to Section 10 and said the division already
follows the requirements there, with the exception of [paragraph
(6)], which read as follows:
(6) a brief description of each capital
project, its location, and, in dollars, that portion
of the total bond issue offered for ratification to be
allocated to the project.
MR. MITCHELL said he thinks it would be beneficial to include
this type of information in the voter pamphlet, and there would
be no fiscal impact in doing so. In response to Representative
Seaton, he confirmed that projects are well-defined at the point
at which they are brought to the division.
9:30:40 AM
MR. MITCHELL, in response to Representative Keller, said there
are a lot of obligations that the state has aside from general
obligation bonds - the unfunded liability related to the Public
Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and Teachers' Retirement
System (TRS) pensions is one. He said although the topic is
germane, he does not know if it would warrant inclusion in this
bill, and including it may lead to people questioning various
other items that the state is responsible for paying. He said
recently Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's") made more
public its inclusion of the unfunded liability in its analysis
of public credits, and Fitch, Inc. came out with a report today.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said, "I was thinking of all the above,
and I ... would like a little time to consider that ...."
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN asked if the division has an analysis of
"how that's going to affect our debt ratings" that could be
shared with the committee.
MR. MITCHELL responded that Moody's release was not a surprise,
and the company is well informed of the state's position
regarding PERS and TRS. He said the state received the highest
rating from Moody's last year prior to the issue of the 2010
bonds and does not expect any change of that rating or any other
ratings of the state.
9:33:45 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that he would hold public testimony open.
9:34:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked the Division [of Elections] to
consider a possible change on page 3, line 30, regarding the
primary election, to change the date from June 1 to June 8, with
the provision that the photograph and statement would be
received by the department by that date, not just mailed by that
date. He further asked the division to look at page 3, line 24
- language regarding the general election - to consider a
possible change from July 22 to, perhaps, eight days after the
primary election. He said the same comment would apply to the
language at the top of page 4.
9:36:02 AM
CHAIR LYNN expressed a favorable opinion of the bill, but said
it needs some changes.
9:36:36 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that HB 74 was held over.