02/27/2013 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

       HB 104 - ELECTION PROCEDURES; REAA ADVISORY BOARDS                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:27:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KELLER announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 104, "An  Act relating to election  practices and                                                               
procedures; relating to the election  of an advisory school board                                                               
in a regional  educational attendance area; and  providing for an                                                               
effective date."  [Before the committee was CSHB 104(STA).]                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:27:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LYNN  moved  to   adopt  the  proposed  committee                                                               
substitute  (CS)  for  HB   104,  Version  28-GH1983\O,  Bullard,                                                               
2/27/13,  as the  working document.   There  being no  objection,                                                               
Version O was before the committee.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:28:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TOM  WRIGHT, Staff,  Representative Mike  Chenault, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  referred   to  Version  O's  proposed   repeal  and                                                               
reenactment of  AS 15.25.150 via  Section 24, and  explained that                                                               
this provision would  address an issue that's  arisen with regard                                                               
to  candidates   for  political  office  seeking   nomination  by                                                               
petition, whose names  appear only on the ballot  for the general                                                               
election and  who [therefore may  not necessarily  have submitted                                                               
their  documents in  time to]  be subject  to the  same campaign-                                                               
disclosure [deadlines]  as candidates  whose names appear  on the                                                               
ballot for  the primary  election.   Under Section  24's proposed                                                               
changes  to  AS  15.25.150,   candidates  seeking  nomination  by                                                               
petition would  be required to  submit their documents by  June 1                                                               
and   thereby  be   subject  to   the  same   campaign-disclosure                                                               
[deadlines]   as   all    other   candidates   [except   write-in                                                               
candidates].                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KELLER   characterized  Version  O's  Section   24  as  an                                                               
improvement.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX indicated favor  with Section 24's proposed                                                               
changes.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. WRIGHT  mentioned that the  Alaska Public  Offices Commission                                                               
(APOC), after  having spoken with  the drafter, now  concurs that                                                               
Section  24  accomplishes the  intended  goal.   In  response  to                                                               
questions, he  relayed that  [Section 24 of  the bill]  would not                                                               
apply to  write-in candidates, and  reiterated that  its proposed                                                               
changes to  AS 15.25.150 would  result in all  candidates [except                                                               
write-in  candidates]  being  subject   to  the  same  disclosure                                                               
deadlines.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:35:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
GAIL FENUMIAI,  Director, Central Office, Division  of Elections,                                                               
Office of the Lieutenant Governor,  added that under current law,                                                               
candidates  seeking  nomination  by   petition  must  file  their                                                               
[declaration  of  candidacy]  by  June 1,  and  must  submit  the                                                               
required  documents  by 5:00  p.m.  on  the  day of  the  primary                                                               
election.    Under  both  current  law  and  under  Section  24's                                                               
proposed  changes   to  AS   15.25.150,  any   candidate  seeking                                                               
nomination  by petition  who  misses the  June  1 deadline  would                                                               
instead have  to run  as a  write-in candidate.   In  response to                                                               
further questions, she clarified  that under existing Alaska law,                                                               
a  candidate  must  [sign  under  oath] that  he/she  "is  not  a                                                               
candidate for any  other office to be voted on  at the primary or                                                               
general election  and that the  candidate is not a  candidate for                                                               
this office  under any other  nominating petition  or declaration                                                               
of  candidacy";   and  concurred  that  under   Section  24,  all                                                               
candidates [except  for write-in candidates] would  be subject to                                                               
the same disclosure deadlines.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:44:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ALPHEUS   BULLARD,    Attorney,   Legislative    Legal   Counsel,                                                               
Legislative  Legal  and  Research Services,  Legislative  Affairs                                                               
Agency (LAA), as  the drafter of HB 104,  paraphrased Version O's                                                               
Section  37  -   proposing  to  add  a  new   subsection  (h)  to                                                               
AS 15.58.030  - and  explained  that  its requirements  regarding                                                               
posting candidate  photographs and statements on  the Division of                                                               
Election's  Internet web  site pertains  to  those of  candidates                                                               
running for  the office of  U.S. President, U.S.  Vice President,                                                               
U.S.   senator,   U.S.   representative,   governor,   lieutenant                                                               
governor, state  senator, or state  representative, and  to those                                                               
of judges and justices seeking  retention; Version O's Section 37                                                               
reads:                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     (h) The  lieutenant governor shall prepare  and publish                                                                    
     on the  division's Internet website the  photograph and                                                                    
     statement  of  a  candidate for  an  office  designated                                                                    
     under  (a),  (b),   or  (g)  of  this   section.    The                                                                    
     lieutenant governor shall  indicate that the photograph                                                                    
     and  statement  are  provided  and   paid  for  by  the                                                                    
     candidate.     A  photograph  and  a   statement  of  a                                                                    
     candidate  that   have  been  timely  filed   with  the                                                                    
     lieutenant governor  shall be published on  the website                                                                    
     at  least  15 days  before  an  election at  which  the                                                                    
     candidate will appear on the ballot.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG  questioned whether Section 37  could be                                                               
changed to  require candidates' photographs and  statements to be                                                               
published  on  the web  site  earlier  than  15 days  before  the                                                               
election.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  FENUMIAI  explained that  15  days  was chosen  because  the                                                               
division  knew it  could meet  that deadline,  particularly given                                                               
that the  majority of  candidates submit items  on the  very last                                                               
day possible,  and it  takes a  great deal of  time to  get those                                                               
items  into  a  format  suitable   for  publishing  as  required.                                                               
Changing  the  bill  such  that  those items  would  have  to  be                                                               
published  immediately upon  receipt, for  example, would  not be                                                               
practical  for  the division,  she  warned.    In response  to  a                                                               
question,  she  indicated  that the  election  pamphlet  for  the                                                               
general election is  available online about three  weeks before a                                                               
general election, and that for  last year's primary election, for                                                               
example,  candidates' photographs  and statements  were available                                                               
online about two weeks before the primary election.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  PRUITT  referred,  then,  to  Sections  27-32  of                                                               
Version O -  proposing changes to how vacancies in  the office of                                                               
U.S. senator  or U.S. representative  are filled,  via conforming                                                               
changes to  AS 15.40.140,  the creation of  new AS  15.40.141 and                                                               
AS 15.40.142,   and   conforming   changes   to   AS   15.40.160,                                                               
AS 15.40.165,  AS 15.40.170,  and  AS 15.40.220  - and  indicated                                                               
that  the   proposed  new  procedures  and   voting  requirements                                                               
pertaining to special elections  and special runoff elections for                                                               
such  congressional  seats  somewhat  model what  occurs  at  the                                                               
municipal level in Anchorage.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MILLETT  referred,  then,  to  what  she  termed,                                                               
"running  from  a safe  seat,"  and  noted that  incumbent  state                                                               
representatives  cannot, and  that the  bill doesn't  yet address                                                               
that issue.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:58:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   SHELLEY   HUGHES,  Alaska   State   Legislature,                                                               
referring to  Version O's  proposed change  to AS  15.20.081(e) -                                                               
deleting  the reference  to AS  15.20.081(h) contained  therein -                                                               
and proposed  repeal of  AS 15.20.081(h) via  Sections 9  and 41,                                                               
respectively,  requested  that  HB   104  be  changed  such  that                                                               
[proposed AS  15.20.081] would  stipulate that  [mailed] absentee                                                               
ballots  may not  be  counted  unless received  by  the close  of                                                               
business on the fifteenth day  after the election.  Currently the                                                               
bill  is  proposing a  ten-day  deadline  for [all  such  mailed]                                                               
absentee ballots, whereas existing law  provides for [both a ten-                                                               
day deadline  for those absentee  ballots mailed from  within the                                                               
U.S.,  and] a  fifteen-day  deadline for  those absentee  ballots                                                               
mailed from outside the U.S.  or from a qualified overseas voter.                                                               
She offered  her understanding  that for  the 2012  election, for                                                               
example, several valid absentee  ballots which were counted would                                                               
not have been  under the bill's current proposed  changes [to the                                                               
deadline].   All  who mail  in  an absentee  ballot, she  opined,                                                               
should  be subject  to the  same rules  regardless of  where they                                                               
mail their ballot from.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
[HB 104, Version O, was held over.]