03/03/2022 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS

         HB 309-APOC; CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS/REPORTING                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
8:04:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HANNAN announced that the  first order of business would                                                               
be  HOUSE  BILL  NO.  309,   "An  Act  exempting  candidates  for                                                               
municipal office  and municipal office holders  in municipalities                                                               
with a  population of 15,000  or less from financial  or business                                                               
interest  reporting requirements;  relating  to campaign  finance                                                               
reporting  by  certain groups;  and  providing  for an  effective                                                               
date."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:05:24 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR   SCHRAGE  moved   to  adopt   the  proposed   committee                                                               
substitute  (CS)  for  HB   309,  Version  32-LS0540\G,  Bullard,                                                               
2/24/22,  as  a working  document.    There being  no  objection,                                                               
Version G was before the committee.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
8:05:50 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 8:05 a.m. to 8:06 a.m.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:06:50 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CLAIRE  GROSS,  Staff,  Representative  Jonathan  Kreiss-Tomkins,                                                               
Alaska  State   Legislature,  presented  HB  309   on  behalf  of                                                               
Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins, prime  sponsor.   She paraphrased                                                               
the  sponsor  statement  [hard copy  included  in  the  committee                                                               
file], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     HB 309  seeks to remedy  two issues that will  make the                                                                    
     Alaska Public Offices Commission more effective.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     HB  309   provides  a  campaign   disclosure  reporting                                                                    
     exemption for smaller groups who  don't intend to raise                                                                    
     or spend  more than $2,500  in a calendar  year ($5,000                                                                    
     during  an  18 month  election  cycle).  The bill  also                                                                    
     exempts  these   groups  from  the   electronic  filing                                                                    
     requirement for  these reports.  This is  beneficial as                                                                    
     smaller groups  generally require much more  APOC staff                                                                    
     time and  interaction because they are  usually novices                                                                    
     who are only interested in  a single topic on a ballot,                                                                    
     unlike ongoing  groups that  participate every  year. A                                                                    
     similar   exemption   already   exists   for   judicial                                                                    
     retention candidates and municipal candidates.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     HB   309   would   also  exempt   smaller   communities                                                                    
     (population of  15,000 or  less), from  Public Official                                                                    
     Financial  Disclosure  (POFD)  reporting  requirements.                                                                    
     There  is already  a minimum  population exemption  for                                                                    
     campaign disclosures, but none  for a POFD filing. Many                                                                    
     of  the smaller  communities  who  struggle with  clerk                                                                    
     turnover, connectivity, and  regular mail service often                                                                    
     find  themselves at  a disadvantage  when  it comes  to                                                                    
     timely  notifications  and   filing.  This  results  in                                                                    
     disproportionate civil penalties  for these rural areas                                                                    
     where  most, if  not all,  of their  municipal officers                                                                    
     are serving in a volunteer capacity.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  GROSS pointed  to conforming  language in  the bill  and the                                                               
effective date of January 1, 2023.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:09:44 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HANNAN  noted the  following individuals  were available                                                               
for  questions:    Heather  Hebdon,  Executive  Director,  Alaska                                                               
Public Offices Commission; and Alpheus  Bullard, the bill drafter                                                               
from Legislative Legal Services.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
8:10:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked how  many municipalities in Anchorage                                                               
have populations under 15,000.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
8:10:32 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
HEATHER  HEBDON,   Executive  Director,  Alaska   Public  Offices                                                               
Commission (APOC),  answered that although  she did not  have the                                                               
exact figure available  at that moment, her estimate  would be 25                                                               
communities.  In  response to a follow-up  question regarding the                                                               
need for HB 309, she  explained that the smaller communities that                                                               
struggle  with "clerk  turnover,  connectivity  issues, and  mail                                                               
service"  are at  a distinct  disadvantage compared  to those  in                                                               
urban issues  that do not struggle  with those issues.   In these                                                               
smaller  communities,  the  vast majority  are  submitting  forms                                                               
manually and are serving in  a volunteer capacity, and APOC finds                                                               
it  is continually  penalizing  them "for  many  things that  are                                                               
beyond their control."                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:12:47 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  DRUMMOND asked  how the  bill sponsor  determined                                                               
the number should be 15,000,  and she named some [municipalities]                                                               
that would qualify but would  not be considered small or "without                                                               
robust Internet."                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS. GROSS  answered that the  number was  derived as a  result of                                                               
talks with Ms. Hebdon, to whom she deferred.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:14:01 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  HEBDON  proffered that  the  minimum  threshold that  exists                                                               
under campaign disclosure currently  is [municipalities] of 1,000                                                               
or  more.   She said  the 15,000  captures [municipalities]  that                                                               
APOC  was  not necessarily  concerned  about,  but it  exists  in                                                               
statute in  terms of [municipalities  of 15,000 and up]  that are                                                               
required to file electronically.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND told Co-Chair  Hannan that she would like                                                               
a list of [municipalities] with populations of 15,000 or less.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
8:15:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   MCCARTY   questioned  what   "community"   could                                                               
encompass.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. GROSS noted  that she may have used the  term "community" but                                                               
what  is being  discussed are  municipalities, which  are defined                                                               
under statute.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
8:17:28 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE  observed he  saw only  five municipalities                                                               
listed that are  greater than 15,000, and he said  he, too, would                                                               
like a list.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HANNAN   clarified  that   the  committee   needs  more                                                               
information on  who is impacted  and what  the bill is  trying to                                                               
fix, because  there is concern  by members  not to make  the bill                                                               
too  broad.   She  then  point out  that  one  of the  exemptions                                                               
created under HB 309 states  that the municipalities under 15,000                                                               
in  population would  still be  allowed  to file  electronically;                                                               
they would not be required to do so.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
8:19:07 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND  noted that  the Alaska  Municipal League                                                               
has  a  directory of  all  the  municipalities in  Alaska,  which                                                               
includes population.  She then  asked if the provisions under the                                                               
bill   would   apply   to   first-class   cities   or   only   to                                                               
municipalities.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HANNAN asked whether  the legislation addressed regional                                                               
educational attendance area (REAA) elections.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:20:33 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. HEBDON answered that the  REAA elections are not regulated by                                                               
APOC.    She noted  that  currently  municipalities are  able  to                                                               
exempt themselves  from POFD,  and a vast  majority have  done so                                                               
going back to approximately 1975.   She offered her understanding                                                               
that  currently there  are 30  municipalities  and boroughs  that                                                               
fall under POFD regulations.  Of  those, 5 are over 15,000, so HB
 would impact approximately 25 municipalities.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HANNAN  suggested Ms. Hebdon  could provide how  many of                                                               
those  municipalities that  are "covered  by it"  and which  ones                                                               
"already exempted themselves from the disclosure law."                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS. HEBDON said she would be happy to do that.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
8:22:09 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR SCHRAGE asked  about the motivation for  the $2,500 cap.                                                               
He asked if there  are a lot of groups that  raise less than that                                                               
amount involved in elections.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS.  HEBDON  answered  that the  $2,500  was  identified  through                                                               
currently  existing statute  related  to  municipal and  judicial                                                               
candidates  that  agree  to  raise  less  than  $5,000  during  a                                                               
campaign cycle  of 18 months or  two years.  She  said, "So, this                                                               
was  an effort  to try  to make  ... it  equal for  these smaller                                                               
groups."  She  said APOC finds there are smaller  groups that are                                                               
interested in  one election, one  candidate or issue, and  do not                                                               
have  major  expenditures,  and  APOC  spends  considerable  time                                                               
assisting those groups  because they are novices  requiring a lot                                                               
of attention.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:23:40 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PATKOTAK  commented that  his district,  the North                                                               
Slope  Borough, has  a population  under 15,000,  and he  filed a                                                               
POFD when  he ran  for assembly and  had no issue  doing so.   He                                                               
said  the borough  does not  experience turnover  of clerks.   He                                                               
asked where  the language was in  HB 309 which allows  the option                                                               
of continuing  to file  POFDs.   He then  pointed to  the sponsor                                                               
statement and noted  that there is already  "a minimum population                                                               
exemption  for   campaign  disclosures."    He   asked,  "Are  we                                                               
mirroring  that  number  with  that  15,000 mark  or  is  that  a                                                               
different number?"                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS. GROSS deferred to Ms. Hebdon.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
8:25:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  HEBDON asked  Representative Patkotak  to confirm  his first                                                               
question  as being  whether municipalities  exempted out  of POFD                                                               
under APOC  could elect  to "manage  it themselves"  and "require                                                               
that their officials file POFDs or something similar."                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PATKOTAK responded yes.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS. HEBDON  confirmed that is correct.   She said she  knew a few                                                               
municipalities  already  doing   so.    Regarding  Representative                                                               
Patkotak's  second question,  she  said  the campaign  disclosure                                                               
threshold is a population of less than 1,000.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PATKOTAK,  regarding the idea of  municipal office                                                               
holders following POFD  filing, asked whether, under  HB 309, and                                                               
considering  the responsibility  of  APOC, that  would "still  be                                                               
able to  be something that  could be  accomplished on line."   He                                                               
added  that he  wanted to  know whether  that is  something "that                                                               
still can  be accomplished with the  way the bill is  written, as                                                               
far as online  filing, if we do self-elect, and  we do fall under                                                               
that population threshold."                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. HEBDON  said she does not  know the answer and  would have to                                                               
think about the question further.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  PATKOTAK  emphasized  the  importance  of  proper                                                               
disclosure.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:29:06 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HANNAN announced that HB 309 was held over.