03/14/2024 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

            HB 101-CAMPAIGN FUNDS FOR DEPENDENT CARE                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:29:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHAW  announced that  the next order  of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL NO.  101, "An  Act relating  to the  use of  campaign                                                               
funds for dependent care, protection, and supervision."                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:29:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ARMSTRONG,  Alaska  State Legislature,  as  prime                                                               
sponsor, presented HB 101.   She provided a sponsor statement for                                                               
HB 101 [included in the  committee packet], which read as follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Political campaigns are  incredibly demanding and time-                                                                    
     consuming.    Having   support    to   manage    family                                                                    
     responsibilities  can  be   central  to  a  candidate's                                                                    
     decision  to  run  for  office  and  their  ability  to                                                                    
     successfully  campaign.  However,  under  current  law,                                                                    
     it's  unclear whether  campaign  funds can  be used  by                                                                    
     candidates   for  dependent   care.  This   bill  would                                                                    
     explicitly permit  candidates to use campaign  funds to                                                                    
     provide for the care of  dependent children, as well as                                                                    
     elderly  and  disabled  dependents.  To  date,  sixteen                                                                    
     other  states  have  enacted  similar  legislation.  By                                                                    
     passing  this  bill,  we can  take  a  meaningful  step                                                                    
     towards making Alaska a truly  pro-family state, at the                                                                    
     ballot box and beyond.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ARMSTRONG explained  that campaigning  for office                                                               
is  unpaid, hard  work  and  occurs after  work  on evenings  and                                                               
weekends.  Working full-time, campaigning  for office, and paying                                                               
for  supplemental childcare  on top  of existing  childcare costs                                                               
can be  prohibitive for many who  hope to run for  office.  There                                                               
are  fewer parents  with young  children who  run for  office and                                                               
thus  the perspectives  of  those  parents are  underrepresented.                                                               
She noted the outmigration of young families from Alaska.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG said that she  is the only mother in the                                                               
legislature who has  a toddler or an infant.   She described long                                                               
waitlists  for  childcare.    She   explained  that  she  is  not                                                               
presenting  this bill  for  herself  as she  is  not running  for                                                               
reelection.  This legislation  has widespread bipartisan support.                                                               
In  2018,  the  Federal  Election  Commission  approved  spending                                                               
campaign  funds   on  child  and   dependent  care   for  federal                                                               
candidates with unanimous bipartisan support.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG said that HB  101 has a zero fiscal note                                                               
and  is   regulated  and  monitored   like  any   other  campaign                                                               
expenditure.  She noted some of  the ways that campaign funds are                                                               
utilized   including  gala   tickets,  car   and  private   plane                                                               
maintenance,  wine, fancy  food, professional  photos, and  more.                                                               
She argued  that childcare  is aligned with  the intended  use of                                                               
campaign funds.   She said HB  101 would put Alaska  in line with                                                               
campaign regulations in 31 other states.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG, regarding the  proposed use of campaign                                                               
funds  and the  definition of  "dependent" directed  attention to                                                               
the language on page 1, lines 5-11, which read as follows:                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     A  candidate who  requires  assistance  with the  care,                                                                    
     protection, and  supervision of a dependent  because of                                                                    
     the demands of the  candidate's campaign activities may                                                                    
     use  campaign   contributions  for  the   direct  care,                                                                    
     protection, and  supervision of the dependent.  In this                                                                    
     subsection, "dependent" means                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     (1) the candidate's minor child;                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
      (2) a person with a disability or medical condition                                                                       
          for whom the candidate has direct caregiving                                                                          
     responsibility.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:35:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD  asked how many fathers  in the legislature                                                               
have toddlers.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG responded that there are several.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ALLARD asked  if any  fathers in  the legislature                                                               
have wanted to utilize campaign money to be used for childcare.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG said  that she didn't think  it would be                                                               
appropriate  to share  information  about other  representatives'                                                               
childcare situations on the record.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:36:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY expressed her  appreciation of the inclusion                                                               
of "persons with disabilities or medical condition" in the bill.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:36:47 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ALLARD  expressed   her  concern  about  "faulty"                                                               
candidates who may take advantage of campaign funds.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG responded that  abuse of expenditures is                                                               
a  common  concern  regarding  all   campaign  fund  uses.    She                                                               
explained  that there  is  a robust  public  process with  ethics                                                               
standards that  would be applied  just as  with any other  use of                                                               
campaign  funds.   She made  note  of the  Alaska Public  Offices                                                               
Commission (APOC).                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed her dislike of APOC.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SHAW asked  Representative Allard  to adhere  to the  bill                                                               
discussion.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:38:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK  asked if  there is a  current prohibition                                                               
on the use of  campaign funds for dependent care or  if it is not                                                               
explicitly stated as an acceptable use of campaign funds.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ARMSTRONG  said  that current  statute  does  not                                                               
explicitly state  that campaign funds  can be used  for dependent                                                               
care and is ambiguous.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:38:56 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
HEATHER  HEBDON,  Executive  Director, Anchorage  Office,  Alaska                                                               
Public   Offices   Commission,  Department   of   Administration,                                                               
confirmed that there  is not a prohibition  on utilizing campaign                                                               
funds  for dependent  care.   She  said that  current statute  is                                                               
written  broadly   and  only  requires   that  the   expenses  be                                                               
reasonably related to campaign activities.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK  expressed her appreciation of  the intent                                                               
of HB  101.  She  mentioned many major financial  challenges that                                                               
may  prevent a  person from  running for  office.   She asked  if                                                               
there  are other  life circumstances  that could  prevent someone                                                               
from  running besides  strictly  their salary,  for example  high                                                               
energy costs.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHAW  asked Representative Carrick  to stay focused  on the                                                               
subject of  the bill, which  is campaign money use  for dependent                                                               
care.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ARMSTRONG  emphasized  the global  struggle  with                                                               
representation.    She explained  that  HB  101 is  targeted  for                                                               
people  who  wouldn't be  able  to  attend  a campaign  event  or                                                               
fundraiser without dependent care.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:41:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER  commented that  he finds  HB 101  to be                                                               
intriguing.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked  about the chair's intention with                                                               
the bill.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:42:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHAW announced that HB 101 was held over.