Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
03/29/2007 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing, Apoc: Elizabeth Hickerson | |
| SB100 | |
| SB101 | |
| SB135|| HB171 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 135 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | SB 100 | ||
| = | SB 101 | ||
SB 135-ACCOMMODATE 90-DAY SESSION
[Comparison to HB 171 is included in the discussion.]
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SB 135. She noted
that there is a comparison with the companion bill, HB 171, in
the committee packet. She also said there were three amendments
passed in the House State Affairs committee this morning.
SENATOR STEVENS noted that only two amendments passed.
9:47:13 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE referred to the side-by-side comparison of the
house and senate bills and said Section 3 is still in the house
bill, and it adds a section that the first regular legislative
session would start on the second Monday in January and the
second session on the second Monday in February. Representative
Johnson offered that language because with a late start date in
an election year, there is the potential for the governor to
call a lame duck session of people who are only technically
serving because the newly elected members have not yet been
sworn in. If the newly elected members aren't aligned with the
governor, such a situation could upset the public's will. She
said she has no opinion.
9:50:22 AM
SENATOR GREEN said that happened in the third special session
with non-re-elected members participating. "This makes it so
difficult." She asked if the bill changed the reporting date of
the governor. That may solve the problem, she said.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said it is commiserate.
RYNNIEVA MOSS, Staff to Representative Jack Coghill, said
Amendment 2 that passed in the house this morning addresses some
of the reporting dates. "I hope this matches your bill." She
referred to Page 6, line 18. It addresses the supplemental
appropriations and the budget amendments. The first year was
adjusted to allow 30 days to submit the supplemental budget, and
it is 5 days in the second year.
9:52:35 AM
JOHN BOUCHER, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said he has
been working with the house regarding the deadlines, and there
is only one OMB suggestion that the house has not adopted. In
the odd-number years, OMB proposed to have the amended budget by
the 45th day, and the house has it on the 30th day. He
understands it would be half way through the 90-day session, but
"in terms of the calendars that are set up in the odd year,
which would begin in January, they provide adequate time for us
to prepare a budget."
CHAIR MCGUIRE said there have been lame duck sessions and the
earth didn't fall off the axis. The governor is still sworn in
on December 4, so he or she could still call a lame duck session
even with the house language. She asked Mr. Boucher if the
staggered dates would cause OMB any difficulty.
9:55:17 AM
MR. BOUCHER said the only real concern is moving the deadline
for the final budget up with a January start date, because the
revenue forecast for the current year won't be quite as robust.
There may be a slightly larger group of amendments the following
year, he surmised. But revenue forecasts can change dramatically
based on the price of oil, so the budget release is timed to be
as close to the end of the fiscal year as possible. It will be
best to give the Department of Revenue the advantage of having
the time to incorporate the tax information from the previous
year into the spring forecast.
SENATOR BUNDE asked the rationale for starting later instead of
the normal time. He has heard that airport problems are worse in
January, but he is not sure that is a reason to establish public
policy. With a 90-day session members may not be leaving Juneau
as often. There may be more special sessions, which may have
less impact to families if they happen in April or May, rather
than June. He asked the reason for beginning the session later.
9:58:05 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the Senate bill also calls for a February
start date, "but this is wide open; it's for us to decide."
SENATOR STEVENS said it would be nice to have a little more time
at home during the winter holidays.
SENATOR GREEN said it had more to do with deadlines for reports
and the governor's budget. It reduces pressure, especially
during an election year, and it will result in fewer substitutes
and amendments.
9:59:27 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the staggered start dates are confusing. If
it is a citizen legislature and members have jobs, it is nice to
have a predictable schedule. She said, "I don't share the
heightened degree of paranoia that something terrible is going
to happen, maybe because I lived through it this last year."
There were only 12 people that were not re-elected who were
making decisions [during that lame duck special session].
MS. MOSS said the February date is for the revenue forecast, and
the January amendment was added when Representative Gruenberg
noted that the constitution defines the term of a representative
as two years. Starting the session on the second Monday of
February, "the term of the outgoing representatives would end on
January 15, so technically you would have no members of the
house. Their term has expired." Currently that situation exists
for about eight days in the gubernatorial election years, and it
hasn't been a problem. "This would only occur once, because if
you had a session in February, they would be sworn-in in
February, and the two-year term would match."
10:02:11 AM
TAMARA COOK, Director, Legislative Legal and Research Services,
said Ms. Moss is correct. The constitution says that the term of
office for house members is two years and four for the senate,
so with a staggered start date on gubernatorial election years,
some members have a term that expires early. She said this might
not be a problem. As an administrative matter, the legislative
affairs agency has treated legislators as if they remain in
office until their successors are sworn in. It has not come
before the court, she said. If the term is moved radically
backward, then there is a bigger gap for one cycle. The
convening date can be changed by law. The problems are inherent
in the constitutional language, which says that the term is a
set period of years, but it also gives the legislature the
opportunity to change the beginning date. "I'm inclined to think
that a court would somehow…construe those two provisions
together to avoid a situation where we had a lot of empty seats
during a critical period."
10:04:40 AM
SENATOR FRENCH recalled testimony saying the revenue forecast
can be moved. "There is nothing fixed about the world economic
cycle or other reporting agencies that bring us the raw data for
preparing the revenue forecast. That date can be pushed around,"
he said. The real problem is the fiscal year is set at a certain
date. He surmised that the revenue folks would like to wait
until as close as possible to the beginning of the fiscal year
before they give the forecast. He said that makes sense, but it
is July 1. So why not move up the revenue forecast?
MR. BOUCHER said the forecast can be moved; it is a matter of
what information is available at the time. With a new tax
structure and other new components, "you want to have the best,
most latest information available, and I believe that those
would be provided for in the annual tax return." Forecasting
should begin shortly after those are filed.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said that is in April.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if he is referring to the PPT [profit-based
petroleum tax of 2006] law or just the general list of laws
passed each year.
MR. BOUCHER said in this case it is the PPT. Regarding this
spring forecast, the true-up payments are coming in around the
first of April, and that is critical information for this fiscal
year and next. This is unique, and once comfort is developed
with the PPT tax structure, it won't be so important.
10:07:32 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the state is so dependent on oil and gas
revenue, and the filing deadline is in April. That is when the
legislature gets the most accurate information.
SENATOR FRENCH said the PPT question will go away soon. He asked
if there are other April reports, because the PPT payments come
every month.
MR. BOUCHER said he believes that there is a true-up at the end
of the year.
SENATOR FRENCH said that on April 2 there will be the true-up
from the transition to the PPT, and it is a one-time event.
"We're looking for a billion dollars to enter the state bank
account on Monday," but it is a one-time event.
10:09:00 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the law states that legislators remain
in office until the successors are in.
MS. MOSS said the only law is the constitution that defines a
term as two years.
SENATOR STEVENS suggested clarifying that a person is in office
until a successor is sworn in.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said that is a great idea and she asked for that
amendment from legal services.
MS. COOK said she presumes that would be limited to the period
at the end of a session. "You would not want a person to remain
in office until a successor is appointed by the governor in case
of vacancies that occur mid-term." If someone resigns, there is
a system for filling vacancies.
10:11:15 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said yes, and she asked for a draft for both bills
in that narrow context, because it will likely be the house bill
that moves forward.
SENATOR BUNDE said the ability of committees to take action
while not in regular session is not addressed in the bill.
MS. MOSS said in the House State Affairs Committee this morning
there was an amendment that a person could vote telephonically
and move a bill out of committee, but it failed. The committees
can now meet in the interim but cannot move a bill. The bill
would sit in limbo because it needs to be read across the floor
before going to the next committee.
MS. COOK said both standing and special committees are allowed
under the uniform rules to meet and hold hearings on bills.
There is nothing prohibiting a committee from reporting a bill
from committee, but there is no mechanism to deliver the report
to the Chief Clerk or Senate Secretary. If the matter remains
unaddressed in the bill, then there is the problem that the
uniform rules require the physical presence at the site where a
committee is held for a vote to report a bill from committee. A
member attending by teleconference cannot vote, and that may be
a greater problem in the interim when members are scattered.
10:14:46 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the legislature would have to call itself
back in for technical sessions.
SENATOR STEVENS asked why Amendment 3 by Representative
Gruenberg did not pass because it addresses those issues.
MS. MOSS said the members want eye-to-eye contact with other
members. A legislator may call in from home and have someone
passing notes and providing information or influence that other
members would not have access to or have knowledge of.
10:17:03 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said he understands that, but he asked about the
issue of reporting the bill from committee.
MS. MOSS said there was no concern about that, it was just about
having the same information and access to people. "The only
thing this amendment really does is it allows a telephonic vote
to move the bill out of committee."
SENATOR BUNDE said this is interesting that in the internet age,
eye contact is needed. Members have wanted to participate from a
hospital and haven't been allowed to. "How many times on the
floor would a fellow legislator or a staff member give you a
note?" The members in the front might not be privy to that, he
stated. If the 90-day session is to save money, requiring
flights and per diem of far-flung members needs more discussion.
10:19:36 AM
SENATOR FRENCH asked about the requirement of reading a bill
across the floor before moving it to the next committee, and if
that is in the constitution or in the uniform rules.
MS. MOSS said it is in the uniform rules.
MS. COOK said the constitution requires three readings, but it
is silent with regard to moving the bill to the next committee.
The bill is not in second reading until it appears on the floor
having been calendared. It is public policy because the
legislature can control its own internal procedure, including
the referral of bills to committees and the accepting of
reports. If a committee report travels from one committee to the
next without going to the floor, there is no opportunity for a
member to object to that report. That will be lost, she stated.
SENATOR FRENCH said he has never seen that happen in his short
experience. He asked, "Are we recreating the wheel?" The voters
said they wanted a 90-day session. What does it mean to do an
enormous amount of interim work? Did the voters not want the
members in Juneau for very long, did they want them not
legislating for very long, or did they want to save money? He
said there will be pressure to get the work done in 90 days.
10:22:02 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said the public said a 90-day session, and we
have to find a way to cut a quarter out of the time spent. He
said there must be a way to allow committees to operate [in the
interim], or else the legislature is setting itself up for
failure. Serious consideration needs to be given to allow bills
to move between committees.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the committee may want to incorporate that
into the bill.
SENATOR BUNDE said lobbyists would love the provision that a
bill dies if it doesn't move out of its originating house the
first year because "it will give them another pressure point to
really focus on." The voters may want less legislation. If that
can't be done, perhaps the number of bills should be limited.
10:24:38 AM
MS. MOSS said that provision of a bill dying in the first
session died quickly. There has been discussion on limiting the
number of bills a legislator could file.
SENATOR STEVENS said there is a lot of opposition to limiting
the number of bills, but the next step is requiring bills to be
introduced prior to session. That would reduce the number of
bills, he said. Perhaps only committee bills could be introduced
after the beginning of session.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said there is a version of that after the 24-hour
rule goes into effect.
MS MOSS said that is in the second session only, and that
deadline may be about the 45th day.
10:26:26 AM
MS. COOK said she thinks the personal bill deadline is the 35th
day after convening the second session.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said there is some precedence for it.
SENATOR BUNDE said Senator Steven's idea would increase the
influence of the committee chair. He expects there could be a
lot of slippage.
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced she would hold SB 135 for further
consideration.
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