01/29/2024 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

        HB 170-MISUSE OF PUB. OFFICER OFFICIAL POSITION                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:03:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE announced  that the first order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL  NO. 170,  "An  Act  relating  to  the misuse  of  an                                                               
official position."                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:04:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MIKE  CRONK,   Alaska  State  Legislature,  prime                                                               
sponsor,  presented HB  170.   He  shared  the sponsor  statement                                                               
[included  in  the  committee  packet],  which  read  as  follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     There's an old saying "An  ounce of prevention is worth                                                                    
     a pound of cure."                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Like our  existing ethics laws,  House Bill 170  is all                                                                    
     about prevention.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     It  is  intended to  prevent  any  public official  who                                                                    
     might be  tempted to personally  use their  position or                                                                    
     influence  to punish  or put  pressure on  a person  or                                                                    
     business not to do so.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     This   addition  to   the   existing  ethics   statutes                                                                    
     expressly prohibits  such punitive  action by  a public                                                                    
     official and  makes it punishable under  existing ethic                                                                    
     act provisions.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
         Providing this protection will increase public                                                                         
     confidence knowing it is unlawful for public officials                                                                     
     to use their authority for personal reasons.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:05:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DAVE STANCLIFF,  Staff, Representative  Mike Cronk,  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature, on  behalf of  Representative Cronk,  prime sponsor,                                                               
further  contextualized the  proposed  legislation.   He  stated,                                                               
"When  a person  who  has the  ability to  regulate  or put  into                                                               
effect  policy, goes  beyond what  the public  purpose for  doing                                                               
that is,  persons and businesses  can be severely damaged."   The                                                               
purpose of  the bill,  he explained, was  to protect  people from                                                               
their government,  adding that  it was  the first  legislation in                                                               
the country to enact legal  restraints to prevent a policy person                                                               
from taking  punitive action against  a person for  reasons other                                                               
than  appropriating  state business.    He  noted that  the  bill                                                               
language  was an  extension of  the  Ethics Act.   Penalties  for                                                               
violating the law range from a $5,000 fine to a misdemeanor.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE sought questions from committee members.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
1:08:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRAY asked  for  the  definition of  "justifiable                                                               
public purpose."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR.  STANCLIFF,  referencing page  2,  lines  15-16, defined  the                                                               
phrase as a purpose related to the best interests of the state.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked for an example  of a case in which this                                                               
law would be used.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK  recounted a scenario in  which a government                                                               
official  misled a  constituent, resulting  in the  constituent's                                                               
inability to finance a piece of equipment for his business.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:11:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRAY shared  his  understanding  that should  the                                                               
bill  pass, it  would  no  longer be  legal  to send  misleading,                                                               
misinformed information as a department official.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. STANCLIFF  said the bill  would allow  a guilty person  to be                                                               
held responsible and charged with a  fine or a misdemeanor.  From                                                               
the  constituent's  perspective, he  said,  the  letter from  the                                                               
state official was  retaliatory behavior for opposing  a piece of                                                               
legislation that the division was advocating for.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:14:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SUMNER asked,  in  terms  of "justifiable  public                                                               
purpose," whether  flipping a  coin or  consulting a  magic eight                                                               
ball  on a  decision  would be  considered  unethical or  whether                                                               
malign intent was necessary.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. STANCLIFF responded  that the evidence would need  to be more                                                               
substantial.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SUMNER asked  whether  proof  of [malintent]  was                                                               
required  for   criminal  prosecution  or   whether  inconsistent                                                               
decisions would suffice.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. STANCLIFF shared his understanding  that "the weight would be                                                               
pretty heavy" to bring forth  a misdemeanor conviction.  He added                                                               
that intent was factor.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:17:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took a brief at-ease.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:18:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ALLARD   asked  for   the  legal   definition  of                                                               
"misleading."                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK did not know the answer.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ALLARD   requested  the  definition   of  "public                                                               
officer."  In addition, she posed  a scenario in which an elected                                                               
official consistently  recuses himself/herself from votes  due to                                                               
a  conflict  of  interest.    The  elected  official  sits  on  a                                                               
nonprofit  "body" that  distributes funds  into the  individual's                                                               
nonprofit from which his/her salary  is drawn.  She asked whether                                                               
the bill would cover that scenario.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. STANCLIFF said, "It very well  could."  He explained that the                                                               
bill would come into play  when a public official misuses his/her                                                               
power.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GROH  emphasized the  need for  legal advice.   He                                                               
referenced  the definition  of "justifiable  public purpose"  and                                                               
asked  Mr.   Klein  to  address   the  question  of   intent  and                                                               
termination of evidence.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:24:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
NOAH  KLEIN, Attorney,  Legislative  Legal Services,  Legislative                                                               
Affairs Agency (LAA), said he  did not understand the question in                                                               
the context of the bill.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GROH summarized  the scenario  that inspired  the                                                               
bill.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:25:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took a brief at-ease.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:26:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ALLARD expressed  concern that  the bill  sponsor                                                               
was being impugned.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE asked  the bill sponsor to clarify  the scenario that                                                               
inspired the bill.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK restated the scenario as follows:                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     A person  was asking  for something that  he previously                                                                    
     had gotten  through the state  and a person  that works                                                                    
     for the state  figured out a way around  and denied him                                                                    
     that.  And through that  process, we realize that there                                                                    
     ... was a lot of false  statements for the denial.  And                                                                    
     we  feel  justified  in   bringing  this  bill  forward                                                                    
     because that  person felt that because  he opposed some                                                                    
     prior  legislation that  this  was  punishment for  him                                                                    
     being very vocal against it.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:28:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GROH asked  Mr.  Klein to  describe  the role  of                                                               
intent  in  the   proposed  legislation  and  how   it  would  be                                                               
determined.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:29:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.   KLEIN  stated   that  the   prohibition  in   the  proposed                                                               
legislation did  not speak to  a specific mental state  or intent                                                               
of the public  official.  Instead, it was a  prohibition on doing                                                               
something  that does  not  meet the  standard  of a  "justifiable                                                               
public purpose," as defined in the act.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE asked whether the bill  would allow a citizen to take                                                               
action against a  state-employed plow for what's  perceived to be                                                               
a  punitive  act of  piling  large  amounts  of snow  in  his/her                                                               
driveway unless a "justifiable public purpose" was displayed.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR.  STANCLIFF  said  he  had  a  list  of  complaints  involving                                                               
questionable decisions that  were much more serious  than snow in                                                               
a  yard.   He  reiterated that  the bill  would  expand upon  the                                                               
existing Ethics Act.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
1:34:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SUMNER shared  his  understanding  that the  bill                                                               
would create  a "strict liability  crime" and asked  whether that                                                               
was the intent.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  KLEIN said  the bill  would be  making, in  addition to  the                                                               
Ethics  Act,  a  paragraph  that  would  be  interpreted  by  the                                                               
attorney general and the personnel  board.  Although there was no                                                               
express  intent  or  mental  state requirement,  the  lack  of  a                                                               
"justifiable public purpose"  would need to be  determined by the                                                               
executive branch.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:36:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE announced that HB 170 would be held over.