04/10/2012 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

            HB 355-APOC: MEMBERSHIP; USE OF REPORT INFO                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:09:57 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  LYNN announced  that the  next order  of  business was  HOUSE                                                            
BILL NO.  355, "An  Act relating  to the membership  of, and  member                                                            
qualifications   for,   the  Alaska   Public   Offices  Commission;                                                             
prohibiting  certain  uses  of  names  and  addresses  contained  in                                                            
certain   reports  to   the  commission;   and   providing  for   an                                                            
effective date."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
8:10:20 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  DAVID  GUTTENBERG,   Alaska  State  Legislature,  as                                                            
sponsor,  presented  HB  355.   He  said when  a  person  goes to  a                                                            
commission  that oversees  the work  he/she does,  there are  people                                                            
in that  occupation  serving on  that commission.   Alaska  appoints                                                            
members to  the Alaska Public  Offices Commission  as follows:   two                                                            
members  of the  Republican  Party, two  members  of the  Democratic                                                            
Party,  and another  member  at large.   He  said  he was  perturbed                                                            
when  he saw  the  list  of Democrats  appointed  to  APOC,  because                                                            
none of  them had  campaign filing  experience.   He said  reporting                                                            
can be problematic; it is all about disclosure.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GUTTENBERG directed  attention  to language  on page                                                            
2, lines  8-9,  of the  proposed committee  substitute  (CS) for  HB
,  Version  27-LS1388\I,  Bullard,  4/3/12,  which  would  ensure                                                            
that  one  APOC  member   from  each  political  party   would  have                                                            
"extensive  experience  in  the  financing  of  political  campaigns                                                        
and compliance  with  disclosure and  reporting  requirements."   He                                                        
said  there  are three  opportunities   for that  definition  to  be                                                            
vetted:   when the parties  decide whose name  to put forward,  when                                                            
the  governor  decides who  to  appoint, and  when  the legislature                                                             
makes   the  final   decision  whether   that   person  has   enough                                                            
experience.    He  said  the  rest  of  the  language   pertains  to                                                            
"having  two non-voting  members  on  [the commission]  as  advisors                                                            
until  all the  members  have been  replaced  with people  with  the                                                            
campaign experience."                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:13:28 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   SEATON  moved  to  adopt  the  proposed   committee                                                            
substitute   (CS)  for   HB  355,  Version   27-LS1388\I,   Bullard,                                                            
4/3/12,  as a  work draft.    There being  no objection,  Version  I                                                            
was before the committee.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:13:46 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   GUTTENBERG   explained  that   the  original   bill                                                            
version included  language  that mirrored language  in federal  law,                                                            
which  prohibits information  from  on line disclosures  from  being                                                            
used  for  building   a  database  for  campaigning   or  any  other                                                            
commercial  purpose.    That  language  [formerly  Section  11]  was                                                            
removed   from  Version  I,   which  now   focuses  solely   on  the                                                            
qualifications of the APOC board.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN  opined that  the proposed legislation  makes sense;  the                                                            
experience a candidate has needs to be brought to APOC.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:15:46 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  PETERSEN  noted that  HB 355 would  not require  the                                                            
people  whose  names are  submitted  by  the  parties to  have  been                                                            
candidates.    He  asked  if that  means  they  could  have  been  a                                                            
campaign volunteer or manager.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GUTTENBERG answered  that is  correct.  He  said the                                                            
point  is not  to influence  the  decision  making process,  but  to                                                            
have people on the commission with a shared experience.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:16:38 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRUENBERG  offered  his  understanding  that HB  355                                                            
is the  only proposed legislation  still  in circulation related  to                                                            
APOC.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN ascertained that no one else wished to testify.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
8:17:55 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SEATON  offered  his  understanding  that  under  HB
 there  would  be seven  members of  APOC, instead  of five,  but                                                            
there  would still  be five voting  members;  therefore, the  actual                                                            
decision-making  process would  not be changed,  but there  would be                                                            
more expertise available.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GUTTENBERG answered  that is  correct.  He  said the                                                            
two,  non-voting members  "rotate  out."   He clarified,  "When  all                                                            
the  members   have  campaign   experience,   the  two,   non-voting                                                            
advisory  members  are  gone.    They  sit ...  there  to  help  the                                                            
board; they don't vote."                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:19:07 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report CSHB 355, Version 27-                                                                     
LS1388\I,  Bullard,   4/3/12,  out  of  committee  with   individual                                                            
recommendations  and the  accompanying  fiscal notes.   There  being                                                            
no objection,  CSHB  355(STA) was  reported out  of the House  State                                                            
Affairs Standing Committee.