Legislature(2009 - 2010)CAPITOL 106
03/09/2010 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s)|| Commissioner, Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs | |
| HCR20 | |
| HB409 | |
| HB251 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 409 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 251 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HCR 20 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 409-CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES
8:30:28 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the next order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 409, "An Act relating to state election campaigns, the
duties of the Alaska Public Offices Commission, the reporting
and disclosure of expenditures and independent expenditures, the
filing of reports, and the identification of certain
communications in state election campaigns; and providing for an
effective date."
8:31:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 409, Version 26-LS1495\E, Bullard,
3/2/10, as a work draft.
8:31:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG objected for discussion purposes.
8:32:03 AM
MICHAEL SICA, Staff, Representative Bob Lynn, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of the House State Affairs Standing
Committee, prime sponsor, which is chaired by Representative
Lynn, discussed the changes to HB 409 proposed in the committee
substitute (CS), Version E. He said the intent of the proposed
CS is to enact laws that address disclosures and disclaimers for
independent expenditures by corporations, labor unions, and
limited liability companies (LLCs). He highlighted the
following proposed new language: on page 3, Section 4,
regarding disclosures; on page 5, Section 10, regarding
disclaimers; and on page 6, Section 11, regarding personal
liability for a chief officer in a corporation in the event of
statements that are defamatory. He directed attention to
Section 12, and said the committee had passed an amendment that
"basically creates a 24-hour rule for reporting the
expenditure." Mr. Sica noted that in the committee packet is a
checklist regarding Version E, as well memorandums from
Legislative Legal and Research Services.
8:35:03 AM
MR. SICA, in response to Chair Lynn, reminded the committee that
Amendment 3a, which changed the requirement for filing an
independent expenditure report with the Alaska Public Offices
Commission (APOC) from "not later than three days after an
expenditure has been made" to "not later than 24 hours after an
expenditure has been made", was adopted. He mentioned the
language in Amendment 3b, which had been tabled.
8:36:26 AM
CHAIR LYNN moved to take from the table Amendment 3b. [There
being no objection, Amendment 3b was before the committee.]
8:36:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1,
[Amendment 3b, with line numbers changed to reflect Version E],
which read as follows:
Page 6, lines 13 - 17:
Delete "An expenditure report filed under this
subsection must include any expenditure not yet
reported that was made before the filing of the
report. However, an expenditure that exceeds $250 and
that is made within nine days of an election shall be
reported to the commission not later than 24 hours
after the expenditure is made."
There being no objection, Conceptual Amendment 1, to Version E,
was adopted.
8:38:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG removed his objection to the motion to
adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 409, Version
26-LS1495\E, Bullard, 3/2/10, as a work draft. There being no
further objection, Version E was before the committee.
8:38:40 AM
CHAIR LYNN moved to adopt Amendment 2, labeled 26-LS1495\E.1,
Bullard, 3/3/10, which read as follows:
Page 4, following line 9:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 7. AS 15.13.067 is amended to read:
Sec. 15.13.067. Who may make expenditures. Only
the following may make an expenditure that is not an
independent expenditure in an election for candidates
for elective office:
(1) the candidate;
(2) an individual;
(3) a group that has registered under
AS 15.13.050; and
(4) a nongroup entity that has registered
under AS 15.13.050."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 4, line 29, through page 5, line 6:
Delete all material.
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 7, line 13:
Delete "AS 15.13.067 and 15.13.140(a) are"
Insert "AS 15.13.140(a) is"
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG objected for discussion purposes.
8:39:32 AM
MR. SICA explained that at the last hearing, the committee
adopted an amendment that inserted "independent" before
"expenditure" and "expenditures", and unintentionally did not
speak to the fact that there are expenditures beyond independent
expenditures, for example, expenditures made by "candidates or
someone in coordination with a candidate." Amendment 2 relates
to AS 15.13.067 and specifies who may make expenditures that are
not independent expenditures.
8:40:50 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted grammatical changes currently
proposed in Version E, throughout the language in Section 9, on
page 4, line 29, through page 5, line 6: "[IN]" would be
changed to "on". He said that is an important change that would
be lost if Amendment 2 is adopted. He said he thinks that the
bill drafter probably wants to delete the reference on page 6,
line 5, to AS 15.13.067(3).
8:42:41 AM
ALPHEUS BULLARD, Attorney at Law, Legislative Legal Council,
Legislative Legal and Research Services, Legislative Affairs
Agency, indicated that Representative Gruenberg's suggestion to
leave the grammatical changes in the bill would do no harm.
8:43:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1
to Amendment 2, so that Section 9 of the bill would not be
deleted, [and the reference in Section 9 to AS 15.13.067(3)
would remain in Version E].
CHAIR LYNN asked Mr. Bullard if Conceptual Amendment 1 to
Amendment 2 speaks to the heart of the bill and is necessary.
8:45:58 AM
MR. BULLARD answered that Conceptual Amendment 1 to Amendment 2
would have no substantive effect, and while it may be "nice" for
all grammar in statute to be perfect, it is not legally
necessary.
8:46:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected to Conceptual Amendment 1 to
Amendment 2. He said the new Section 7 proposed in Amendment 2
seems to conflict with Section 9, because the language in each
varies regarding those who can make expenditures.
MR. BULLARD clarified that Section 9 speaks to who may make
expenditures on behalf of a candidate, while the proposed new
Section 7 "is a little bit more global," because "it speaks to
who may make expenditures that are not independent expenditures
under the chapter, not just on behalf of a candidate." In
response to a follow-up question, he said while paragraph (1),
in Section 9, addresses expenditures authorized by or on behalf
of a candidate, paragraph (2) proposes that only a group's
campaign treasurer may make expenditures for that group. He
said under the proposed Section 7 in Amendment 2, a group
campaign treasurer would be allowed to make campaign
expenditures, if that group is registered.
8:52:26 AM
MR. BULLARD, in response to Chair Lynn, reiterated that
Conceptual Amendment 1 to Amendment 2 would have no substantive
effect of which he is aware.
8:52:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted that the language in the
aforementioned AS 15.13.067 is included in the proposed new
Section 7 in Amendment 2. He asked Mr. Bullard why it is
important to take out the reference to AS 15.13.067(3), as
proposed in Version E.
8:54:11 AM
MR. BULLARD explained that in Version E, AS 15.13.067 would be
repealed, which is why the reference to that statute would be
removed.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG reiterated that if Amendment 2 is
adopted, reference to that statute would be in the bill.
8:54:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG withdrew [Conceptual] Amendment 1 to
Amendment 2.
8:54:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt Amendment 2 to Amendment
2, so that Section 9 of the bill would not be deleted, and the
reference in Section 9 to AS 15.13.067(3) would be left in
Version E.
8:55:48 AM
MR. BULLARD offered his understanding that Amendment 2 to
Amendment 2 is the same conceptual amendment as was the
withdrawn Conceptual Amendment 1 to Amendment 2. In response to
a follow-up question, he said he would describe the reference
[to AS 15.13.067(3), on page 5, line 5, of Version E], as a
"helpful reference." He stated that currently a group that
makes expenditures is required to be registered under AS
15.13.050, whether or not that is referenced in 15.13.067.
8:57:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON said she does not understand why [the
reference to AS 15.13.067] is being retained when it is covered
in another statute.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG opined that it is helpful to have
reference to current law in this section.
8:57:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected to Amendment 2 to Amendment 2.
8:57:54 AM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Gatto, Gruenberg,
and Petersen voted in favor of Amendment 2 to Amendment 2.
Representatives Johnson, Seaton, Wilson, and Lynn voted against
it. Therefore, Amendment 2 to Amendment 2 failed to be adopted
by a vote of 3-4.
CHAIR LYNN said he would like the committee to focus on the
substance of the bill rather than "tweaking the grammar."
8:58:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG removed his objection to Amendment 2.
8:59:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO noted that throughout Version E, references
to candidate, group, nongroup entity, and individual were
replaced with the term, "person"; however, the proposed
Amendment 2 includes all those eliminated terms. He asked if
that is intentional.
9:00:06 AM
MR. BULLARD responded as follows:
That language does different things in different
sections of the bill. In Section 1, that's a section
that just provides to whom the chapter is applicable.
There, by removing that language, "candidate",
"group", "nongroup entity", "municipality", or
"individual", ... it makes clear that AS 15.13 - state
elections - applies to all persons equally.
In the amendment, for example, the restored Section 7
speaks to who may make expenditures that are not
independent expenditures: a candidate, individual,
group, or nongroup entity. I did not want there to be
any risk that there may be some perceived loophole
that a corporation or a union - the subject of
Citizens United - would be able to make ...
expenditures. Citizens United deals only with
independent expenditures. That's why that language is
restored.
9:01:16 AM
CHAIR LYNN asked if there was any further objection to Amendment
2. No objection was stated, therefore, Amendment 2 was adopted.
9:01:34 AM
CHAIR LYNN moved to adopt Amendment 3, labeled 26-LS1495\E.2,
Bullard, 3/8/10, which read as follows:
Page 4, following line 9:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 7. AS 15.13 is amended by adding a new
section to read:
Sec. 15.13.068. Expenditures and contributions by
foreign nationals. (a) A foreign national may not,
directly or indirectly, in connection with an election
under this chapter, make a contribution or expenditure
or make an express or implied promise to make a
contribution or expenditure.
(b) In this section, "foreign national" includes
(1) a foreign government, every political
subdivision of a foreign government, every official,
agent, or representative of a foreign government, and
every agency, corporation, or instrumentality of the
foreign government or of a political subdivision of a
foreign government;
(2) a person outside of the United States,
unless it is established that the person is an
individual and a citizen of and domiciled in the
United States, or that the person is not an individual
and is organized under or created by the laws of the
United States or of any state or other place subject
to the jurisdiction of the United States and has its
principal place of business in the United States;
(3) a partnership, association,
corporation, organization, or other combination of
persons organized under the laws of or having its
principal place of business in a foreign country; or
(4) a domestic subsidiary of an entity
described in (1) - (3) of this subsection or a
domestic corporation controlled by an entity described
in (1) - (3) of this subsection, if that entity
finances, participates in, or selects a person who
participates in the making of a contribution or an
expenditure of the domestic subsidiary or domestic
corporation.
(c) The provisions of this section apply only to
the extent permitted by federal law."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
9:01:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected for discussion purposes.
9:01:49 AM
MR. SICA noted that since the adopted Amendment 2 added Section
7, the Section 7 in Amendment 3 would most likely be changed to
Section 8. He said Amendment 3 essentially parallels federal
law on prohibition of foreign nationals making independent
expenditures. He noted that there is a memorandum in the
committee packet with further details.
CHAIR LYNN said his prime concern relates to the issue of
foreign nationals influencing elections.
9:02:43 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON recalled that the committee had heard from
[Mr. Ptasin], an attorney from the Office of the Attorney
General who represents the Alaska Public Offices Commission
(APOC), who had testified that it would be difficult to take a
violation to either APOC or the state court without language in
state law paralleling existing federal law.
9:03:51 AM
MR. SICA noted that Mr. Ptasin was available telephonically to
answer questions.
9:04:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON removed his objection to Amendment 3.
There being no further objection, Amendment 3 was adopted.
9:04:10 AM
MR. SICA directed attention to Amendment 4, labeled 26-
LS1495\E.3, Bullard, 3/8/10, which read as follows:
Page 5, line 22, following "the":
Insert "name and city and state of residence or
principal place of business, as applicable, of each of
the"
Page 5, line 24:
Delete ", with the words "top five
contributors."[.]"
Insert "."
Page 6, following line 9:
Insert a new subsection to read:
"(d) To satisfy the requirements of (a)(2)(C) of
this section and, if applicable, (a)(2)(D) of this
section, the following statement or statements must be
read, in a manner that is easily heard, or placed in
the communication so as to be easily discernable, or,
in a communication that is transmitted by a method
that includes both audio and video components, be read
in a manner that is easily heard and placed in the
communication so as to be easily discernable:
This communication was paid for by (person's name
and city and state of principal place of business).
The top contributors of (person's name) are (the
name and city and state of residence or principal
place of business, as applicable, of the largest
contributors to the person under
AS 15.13.090(a)(2)(D))."
MR. SICA explained that if Amendment 4 was adopted, Section
10(a)(2)(D), on page 5, beginning on line 22, would read as
follows:
(D) identify the name and city and
state of residence or principal place of business, as
applicable, of each of the person's five largest
contributors under AS 15.13.040(e)(5), if any, during
the 12-month period before the date of the
communication.
CHAIR LYNN said Amendment 4 would add the audio component to
campaign advertising.
9:06:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON said he thinks the audio would be read so
fast that it would not be discernable. People who want to know
who sponsors a campaign advertisement can go to a website to
find out that information. He said he does not want to clutter
the air or obliterate the message, and he warned that doing so
could lead to law suits. He said he does not support listing
the top contributors.
9:09:33 AM
CHAIR LYNN moved to adopt Amendment 4 [text provided
previously], then he withdrew his motion to adopt Amendment 4.
9:10:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt Amendment 5, [which is
identical to the withdrawn Amendment 4].
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON objected.
9:10:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG spoke to Amendment 5. He said the
proposed disclaimer is shorter than existing law, which will
save time, because it will not require that the physical street
or post office box be read - only the company name, city, and
state would have to be read.
9:11:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt a conceptual amendment
to Amendment 5, which would insert "three" between "The top" and
"contributors", and would not require a company's full name. As
an example of the latter, Representative Gruenberg said The
Coca-Cola Company could shorten its name to Coca-Cola.
9:12:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON objected to the conceptual amendment to
Amendment 5, saying it would make no difference.
9:12:42 AM
CHAIR LYNN noted that [Representative Johnson has experience
related to television and radio].
9:13:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG maintained that the conceptual
amendment to Amendment 5 would shorten the process, and further
changes in that direction could be made with further amendments.
9:13:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG in response to Representative Gatto
clarified the changes that would be made by the proposed
conceptual amendment to Amendment 5.
9:14:41 AM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Gruenberg,
Petersen, Seaton, Wilson, and Gatto voted in favor of the
conceptual amendment to Amendment 5. Representatives Johnson
and Lynn voted against it. Therefore, the conceptual amendment
to Amendment 5 was adopted by a vote of 5-2.
9:15:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON maintained his objection to Amendment 5
[as amended].
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG stated that the purpose of the proposed
bill is to provide transparency. He said Amendment 5, as
amended, would help those who are visually impaired know who is
behind a (television) advertisement, because they would be able
to hear the names of campaign contributors announced.
9:17:42 AM
MR. BULLARD, in response to Representative Seaton, directed
attention to the following language in Amendment 5, as amended:
"(d) To satisfy the requirements of (a)(2)(C) of this section
and, if applicable, (a)(2)(D) of this section, the following
statement or statements must be read". Mr. Bullard explained,
"The last two words - 'if applicable' - make that second
required disclosure of the top contributors applicable only if
the entity has contributed. If there are no contributors, there
is no need to disclose the contributors."
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked if that provision would still be in
the bill without Amendment 5, as amended.
MR. BULLARD directed attention to language on page 5, [lines 22-
24], of Version E, which read as follows:
(D) identify the person's five largest
contributors under AS 15.13.040(e)(5), if any, during
the 12-month period before the date of the
communication, with the words "top five contributors."
MR. BULLARD stated that the words, "if any" serve that same
function.
9:19:06 AM
MR. BULLARD, in response to Representative Johnson, said he is
not sure how the language of Amendment 5, as amended, would be
interpreted if there were 10 contributors donating exactly the
same amount.
9:19:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he thinks that issue is not
problematic, because APOC would issue some kind of regulation on
the subject. He said, "Anytime you have a number there, that's
something that's going to have to be interpreted."
CHAIR LYNN suggested the line could be drawn by determining the
six largest corporations, and that that could be done by
regulation.
9:20:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO said if there were six contributors who all
gave the same highest amount, they would all be tied for first
and, thus, would all have to be listed. Then, if there were two
contributors who gave less than the six contributors gave, but
the same amount as each other, they would be have to be listed
in second place, and so on, he said.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG pointed out, "That's in the bill
itself, not in the amendment."
9:21:17 AM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Gruenberg,
Petersen, Seaton, and Gatto voted in favor of Amendment 5, as
amended. Representatives Wilson, Johnson, and Lynn voted
against it. Therefore, Amended 5, as amended, was adopted by a
vote of 4-3.
9:22:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, in response to Representative Seaton,
said the adopted Amendment 5, as amended, speaks only to listing
contributors during an audio portion of an advertisement. He
said it does not relate to other language in the bill related to
numbers of contributors, but said he would not object to a
conforming amendment.
9:23:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 6, so
that any references to the top five contributors in Version E
would be changed to the top three contributors. There being no
objection, Conceptual Amendment 6 was adopted.
9:24:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN moved to adopt Amendment 7, labeled, 26-
LS1495\E.5, Wayne/Bullard, 3/8/10, which read as follows:
Page 6, line 4:
Delete "a new subsection"
Insert "new subsections"
Page 6, following line 9:
Insert a new subsection to read:
"(d) If a foreign government holds more than a
10 percent ownership interest in a person paying for a
communication under (a) of this section, the foreign
government must be clearly identified in the
communication as a partial owner of the person. If a
foreign government holds more than 50 percent of the
ownership interest in a person paying for a
communication under (a) of this section, the foreign
government must be clearly identified in the
communication as the majority owner and controlling
interest holder of the person. A foreign government
identified in a communication under this subsection
must be identified by the foreign government's common
or usual name. In this subsection, "foreign
government" includes every political subdivision of
the foreign government, every official, agent, or
representative of the foreign government, and every
agency, corporation, or instrumentality of the foreign
government or of a political subdivision of the
foreign government."
REPRESENTATIVES SEATON and WILSON objected for discussion
purposes.
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN said there are many companies from
around the world who get involved with the extraction of Alaska
resources, and in many instances, these corporations form an
Alaskan corporation subsidiary. He opined that it is important
that citizens of Alaska know when a foreign-based corporation is
making expenditures to influence an Alaska election. He said
Amendment 7 allows for transparency.
9:25:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON offered his understanding that by adopting
Amendment 3 previously, the committee adopted the federal
prohibition on any such subsidiary, which is why he objects to
Amendment 7.
9:26:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG questioned if Amendment 7 is wholly
unnecessary or just partly.
9:27:25 AM
MR. BULLARD relayed that Amendment 7 applies to entities that
the prohibition in Amendment 3 does not address. He explained
that Amendment 3 speaks to entities that are controlled by a
foreign national, while Amendment 7 speaks to foreign
governments that hold more than a 10 percent ownership interest.
He emphasized that there is a difference between the two.
9:28:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG offered his understanding that the
language in Amendment 7 that is redundant and should be deleted
is that which addresses a foreign government that holds more
than 50 percent of the ownership interest in a person paying for
a communication.
MR. BULLARD said Representative Gruenberg is correct. In
response to a query from Representative Gruenberg as to whether
the last sentence of Amendment 7 should also be removed, he
stated:
The topic is covered, but there is no common
definition provided for the chapter, so without
further review of how these two work together, it
would be my recommendation if you wish to adopt the
substance of Amendment 7 ..., that you leave that
ultimate sentence.
9:31:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt an amendment to
Amendment 7, to delete the following language:
If a foreign government holds more than 50 percent of
the ownership interest in a person paying for a
communication under (a) of this section, the foreign
government must be clearly identified in the
communication as the majority owner and controlling
interest holder of the person.
There being no objection, the amendment to Amendment 7 was
adopted.
9:33:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON cited language in Amendment 3, which read
as follows:
(b) In this section, "foreign national" includes
(1) a foreign government, every political subdivision
of a foreign government
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked, "How is that not what we're talking
about in Amendment 7?"
MR. BULLARD responded as follows:
It is absolutely what is discussed in Amendment 7, but
that is not a definition that is provided for all of
AS 15.13; that is confined to that particular
statutory section.
9:34:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON removed his objection to Amendment 7, as
amended. [Representative Wilson's previously stated objection
was treated as removed.] There being no further objection,
Amendment 7, as amended, was adopted.
9:34:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN moved to adopt Amendment 8, labeled 26-
LS1495\E.6, Wayne/Bullard, 3/8/10, which read as follows:
Page 3, line 27, following "contributor":
Insert ";
(6) for a person that is a for-profit
entity, the address used by the person for federal
income tax purposes, if different than the address
provided under (1) of this subsection"
Page 5, line 21, following "business":
Insert "if the person is a nonprofit entity, or
the address used by the person for federal income tax
purposes if the person is a for-profit entity"
9:35:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected for discussion purposes.
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN explained the reason for Amendment 8 is
because there are corporations who move their home offices to a
foreign location for the purposes of avoiding income taxes.
9:37:30 AM
MR. BULLARD, in response to Representative Seaton, said the
language in Version E - which requires each person required to
file an expenditure report under this section to include the
name, address, principal occupation, and employer of the
individual filing the report - is found on page 3, lines 8-9.
Amendment 8 would require that if that person has a different
address for tax purposes, that that address would be the address
used instead.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON questioned how it would be possible to
determine if a person is correctly reporting an address. In
response to Representative Petersen, he offered his
understanding that under the proposed bill, foreign nationals
and foreign corporations are already not allowed to make
campaign contribution expenditures.
9:40:29 AM
MR. BULLARD, in response to Representatives Seaton and Petersen,
stated that if the sole purpose of Amendment 8 is to identify
companies that have taken their tax address offshore, it is his
understanding that any business or entity that has provided an
offshore address would be prohibited, not only under federal
law, but also under Amendment 3.
CHAIR LYNN offered his understanding that Amendment 8 is not
needed.
9:41:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN withdrew his motion to adopt Amendment
8.
9:41:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 9, to
change Section 8 in Version E so that it read as follows:
*Sec.8.AS 15.13.084 is amended to read:
Sec. 15.13.084. Prohibited expenditures. A person
may not make an expenditure
(1) anonymously or using a fictitious name
or using the name of another person.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON explained that Conceptual Amendment 9
would remove all exceptions to the provision prohibiting
expenditures made anonymously.
9:43:11 AM
MR. BULLARD related:
The U.S. Supreme Court, in [McIntyre, Executor of
Estate of McIntyre, Deceased v. Ohio Elections
Commission], recognized a certain right for
individuals to make certain anonymous contributions if
they limited limited rights, and that's what Section
15.13.084 currently provides for. It's crafted to the
... individual who's making certain sort of de minimis
contributions for billboards, et cetera. It ... does
not apply to ... people spending great amounts of
money or persons other than individuals.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON remarked that buying a full-page
newspaper advertisement anonymously is neither inexpensive nor
de minimis.
9:44:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO said it is common to see names like
"Americans for Progress" or "Americans for Health" and wonder
who is behind the name. He said he thinks Representative
Johnson is "on to something here," and he related that he does
not like anonymous advertising.
9:44:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG emphasized his support of Amendment 9.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt an amendment to
Conceptual Amendment 9 to add a severability clause so that if
any provision in the proposed legislation is declared
unconstitutional, it shall not affect the remainder of the bill.
He asked Mr. Bullard to provide a legal memorandum to the next
committee of referral - the House Judiciary Standing Committee -
regarding the aforementioned McIntyre case and how it relates to
"this point."
9:46:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON said he supports the proposed amendment
to Conceptual Amendment 9.
9:46:11 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that there being no objection, the
amendment to Conceptual Amendment 9 was adopted.
CHAIR LYNN asked if there was any objection to Conceptual
Amendment 9, [as amended]. There being none, it was so ordered.
9:47:09 AM
MR. BULLARD, in response to Representative Seaton, confirmed
that he would send a legal memorandum to the House Judiciary
Standing Committee explaining the intent of the amendment to
Conceptual Amendment 9.
9:48:43 AM
CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining that there was no one else who
wished to testify, closed public testimony.
9:48:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON directed attention to advice given by
Mr. Bullard in the last paragraph of a memorandum, dated March
3, 2010, [included in the committee packet], which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
Similarly, if all independent expenditures must be
reported to the Alaska Public Offices Commission
within 24 hours of being made, there is no need to
require an independent expenditure report to include
expenditures "not yet reported that [were] made before
the filing of the report." This sentence was included
in HB 409 (26-LS1495\R) to ensure against the
possibility that, in the sentence's absence the
statute could be interpreted to permit expenditures
that are made 10 days before an election to not be
reported until the day following the election, where
an expenditure made within nine days of an election
would have to be reported within 24 hours of the
expenditure being made. If all independent
expenditures must be disclosed within 24 hours, this
sentence is no longer necessary for the purposes for
which it was originally included, is redundant, and
should be removed from the bill.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked if that issue had been addressed
or if another amendment was necessary.
9:49:41 AM
MR. BULLARD said he believes that was reconciled through
[Amendment 3, labeled 26-LS1495\R.3, Bullard, 3/1/10].
9:50:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON said he will be working on another
amendment in the next committee of referral regarding
expenditures made to influence specific legislation and "other
things that don't appear in the election." He offered an
example.
CHAIR LYNN said he understands what Representative Johnson is
saying and concurs.
9:51:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON said she does not like misleading
information.
9:52:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN opined that the committee has made some
good changes to the proposed legislation.
9:53:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to report the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 409, Version 26-LS1495\E, Bullard,
3/2/10, as amended, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being
no objection, CSHB 409(STA) was reported out of the House State
Affairs Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Draft CSHB 409 Version E |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 409 |
| Draft CSHB 409 Version E memo |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 409 |
| 3-9-10 HB 409 Amendment Packet including CS Version E and all legal memos.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 409 |
| 01 HB 251 Version R.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 3/11/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 251 |
| 02 HB 251 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 3/11/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 251 |
| 03 HB 251 LETTER Alaska Towing Assn.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 3/11/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 251 |
| HB251-CED-COM-3-8-10.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 3/11/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 251 |
| HB251-DOT&PF-COM-3-8-10.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM HSTA 3/11/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HB 251 |
| 01 HCR20.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 02 HCR20 SS.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HCR 20 |
| 03 DVSA Stats.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HCR 20 |
| 3-8-10 HCR 20 Fiscal Note.pdf |
HSTA 3/9/2010 8:00:00 AM |
HCR 20 |