01/26/2010 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

          HB  76-LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL & LB&A MEMBERSHIP                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:50:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN announced  that the final order of  business was HOUSE                                                               
BILL NO.  76, "An Act  relating to  the membership of  the Alaska                                                               
Legislative Council and the membership  of the Legislative Budget                                                               
and Audit Committee."                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:50:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR  SEATON moved to  adopt the committee  substitute (CS)                                                               
to HB 76, Version 26-LS0335\S,  Chenoweth/Cook, 3/3/09, as a work                                                               
draft.   There  being  no  objection, Version  S  was before  the                                                               
committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:50:57 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG  introduced HB  76 as  co-prime sponsor.                                                               
He said  the bill would  ad parity  and fairness with  respect to                                                               
proportional   representation   in    Legislative   Council   and                                                               
Legislative Budget &  Audit.  He related that in  the late 1980s,                                                               
at  the  request  of  the   minority  leader  at  the  time,  the                                                               
legislature,  in which  he was  serving as  the majority  leader,                                                               
adopted amendments  to Uniform Rule  1, which applied  more equal                                                               
representation to  all the standing  committees.   However, joint                                                               
committees  were not  included  at  that time.    The only  joint                                                               
committee that is not being  included in the proposed legislation                                                               
is the Joint  Armed Services Committee, and that  is because that                                                               
committee does not do "the same kind of work the others do."                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRUENBERG  said  he   could  find  no  reason  or                                                               
discussion related to why the  two aforementioned committees were                                                               
not included.   He said Representative Stoltze  imparted that the                                                               
reason may have been that  Legislative Council was "a little more                                                               
political" and  "they didn't want  to get  into it at  the time."                                                               
Representative Gruenberg  opined that 20  years later it  is time                                                               
to have full parity.  He  noted the Minority names who are listed                                                               
as co-prime  sponsors [as shown on  page 1 of Version  S], and he                                                               
invited any member of the Majority  to become a sponsor.  He said                                                               
in  the future  when he  looks back  at his  time serving  in the                                                               
legislature,  he  will  consider  [the  support  of  proportional                                                               
representation in  standing committees] one of  the better things                                                               
the legislature  has done,  because it improved  the system.   He                                                               
opined that HB 76 would make the system work better, as well.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   GRUENBERG   expressed  appreciation   that   the                                                               
committee members adopted  Version S as a work  draft, because it                                                               
contains an  applicability clause  which clarifies that  the bill                                                               
will  not  apply  until  the next  legislature,  which  will  not                                                               
disrupt  the  legislature.    He   said  he  thinks  people  want                                                               
bipartisanship, and  HB 76  is "as much  a symbolic  statement of                                                               
that as anything else."                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:56:27 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GATTO  questioned if  the  issue  of fairness  is                                                               
enough  of a  reason [to  support HB  76] or  whether it  is more                                                               
important  for  the  Majority,   which  will  be  making  serious                                                               
decisions, to  "maybe have an  over-weighted presence."   He said                                                               
he is not  ready to support the bill right  now, because he needs                                                               
more time to study it.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
9:57:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN  said all representatives are  elected to                                                               
represent districts  of more  or less  equal size;  therefore, if                                                               
there is less  representation of one party in  a given committee,                                                               
then "maybe  some of the  people from that member's  district may                                                               
not  have equal  representation that  they deserve."   He  opined                                                               
that it  is an  issue of fairness.   He stated,  "It seems  to me                                                               
like if we're going  to do it for the committees  that are set up                                                               
that way now, ... we should do it for all the committees."                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:58:25 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR SEATON noted that  language would be deleted from page                                                               
1, beginning  on line 9,  of Version  S, which requires  at least                                                               
one  member from  each of  the two  major political  parties, and                                                               
would be substituted  with "the idea of Majority  and Minority of                                                               
unaffiliated  political   parties."    He   asked  Representative                                                               
Gruenberg if he  thinks that would be the affect  of the language                                                               
being deleted.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
[VICE CHAIR SEATON handed the gavel back to CHAIR LYNN.]                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
10:01:36 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN  interjected, "It  is."  He  noted the  time, remarked                                                               
that the  bill merits substantial discussion  time, and committed                                                               
to hearing HB 76 again.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
10:02:14 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG  told Representative Seaton,  "I believe                                                               
the language covers  your problem."  He said he  would check with                                                               
the bill  drafter[s].  Regarding Representative  Gatto's concern,                                                               
he said, "I  will put that on  the record in a  very succinct way                                                               
when we reconvene."                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  LYNN said  there may  be other  bills that  may have  some                                                               
affect on HB 76.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
10:04:13 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN announced that HB 76 was held over.