03/11/2010 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

         HB 289 - EXEC ETHICS: LEGAL FEES/FAMILY TRAVEL                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:59:56 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 289,  "An Act authorizing  state agencies  to pay                                                               
private legal  fees and costs  incurred by persons  exonerated of                                                               
alleged Alaska  Executive Branch Ethics Act  violations; allowing                                                               
certain  public officers  and former  public  officers to  accept                                                               
state payments to offset private  legal fees and costs related to                                                               
defending  against   an  Alaska   Executive  Branch   Ethics  Act                                                               
complaint; and  creating certain  exceptions to  Alaska Executive                                                               
Branch Ethics  Act limitations on  the use of state  resources to                                                               
provide or pay for transportation  of spouses and children of the                                                               
governor  and the  lieutenant governor."   [Before  the committee                                                               
was CSHB 289(STA).]                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:00:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRUENBERG,  speaking  as the  sponsor,  explained                                                               
that HB  289 would amend  the Alaska Executive Branch  Ethics Act                                                               
to   include   proposed   regulatory  language   addressing   the                                                               
reimbursement  of  travel  expenses   for  the  families  of  the                                                               
governor and  lieutenant governor in certain  situations, and the                                                               
reimbursement  of legal  fees and  costs to  exonerated executive                                                               
branch employees accused of ethical  violations.  Such provisions                                                               
should be in statute rather  than in regulation, and the proposed                                                               
regulatory language  has been  simplified via  HB 289  to address                                                               
the  fact  that   in  at  least  three   respects,  the  proposed                                                               
regulations were  too loose:   they could  have been read  as not                                                               
requiring  that  the  executive branch  employees  be  exonerated                                                               
before  reimbursement occurs,  they could  potentially have  been                                                               
read to  allow reimbursement  of legal  costs and  fees [stemming                                                               
from charges filed prior to  the enactment of the provision], and                                                               
the  procedure for  reimbursing  legal costs  and  fees was  very                                                               
cumbersome and convoluted.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
[HB 289 was held over.]