Legislature(2013 - 2014)BARNES 124
03/17/2014 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Adjourn | |
| Start | |
| HB316 | |
| HB282 | |
| SB159 | |
| HB288 | |
| HB281 |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 159 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 288 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 281 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 316 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 282 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 282-LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
3:26:32 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 282, "An Act relating to the rights and
obligations of residential landlords and tenants; and relating
to the taking of a permanent fund dividend for rent and damages
owed to a residential landlord." [Before the committee was
Version O, labeled 28-LS0930\0, Bullock, 2/22/14 adopted on
2/28/14.]
3:27:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DOUG ISAACSON, Alaska State Legislature,
introduced himself.
3:27:45 PM
CHAIR OLSON said that the bill has had several hearings and a
proposed committee substitute for HB 282, Version O, was
adopted. He said the committee had questions about "normal wear
and tear."
3:28:16 PM
CLYDE (ED) SNIFFEN, JR., Senior Assistant Attorney General,
Commercial/Fair Business Section, Civil Division, Department of
Law (DOL), as the assistant attorney general for consumer
protection was asked by the sponsor to address Mr. Block's
concern about "normal wear and tear." He explained that it is a
difficult term to define and the more attempts that are made to
define it, the more problematic it becomes. He compared the
term as being similar to the "reasonable person" standard, which
is the standard used for most torts in Alaska. Although the
term is always used to set a standard of care, it is best left
to the judge and jury to decide its meaning. He said that
"normal wear and tear" is another one of those terms, and the
language in the statute is probably as close as one might get.
He offered to work with Mr. Block to attempt to further refine
the language. He cautioned the committee against trying to
"drill down" on something too detailed since the more detailed
it becomes the bigger the target it becomes in potential
disputes. For example, he asked whether the definition will
include the quality of construction or be related to the number
of people living in the residence. He suggested that if some
things are included it might mean that everything not included
automatically does not fall under "normal wear and tear." In
its current form the bill addresses "normal wear and tear" such
that in reasonable fact finding a judge or jury can consider it
on a case-by-case basis. He suggested that trying to get to
something more specific can definitely be problematic.
3:30:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON pointed out that the term has been
defined in other states and other states have explored the term,
such as California and New York. He explained that a body of
work can be relied on since courts rely on precedent.
CHAIR OLSON stated that Mr. Sniffen "carries the most weight"
and it is less important what other states have done.
CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HB 282.
3:32:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD moved to report the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 282, Version O, labeled 28-LS0930\O,
Bullock, 2/22/14, as amended, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being
no objection, CSHB 282(L&C) was reported from the House Labor &
Commerce Standing Committee.