04/09/2022 10:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

         HB 412-PERM FUND CORP & AIDEA BD CONFIRMATION                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:17:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS  announced that the final  order of business                                                               
would  be   HOUSE  BILL  NO.   412,  "An  Act  relating   to  the                                                               
confirmation  of  appointees to  the  Board  of Trustees  of  the                                                               
Alaska Permanent  Fund Corporation;  relating to  the appointment                                                               
of  public  members  of the  Alaska  Industrial  Development  and                                                               
Export Authority; and providing for an effective date."                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:18:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
XANNIE  BORSETH, Staff,  Representative Jonathan  Kreiss-Tomkins,                                                               
Alaska  State Legislature,  on behalf  of Representative  Kreiss-                                                               
Tomkins, prime sponsor,  provided a sectional analysis  of HB 412                                                               
[included  in  the  committee  packet],  which  read  as  follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Section  1  adds  language  to  statute  requiring  the                                                                  
     public members of  the Board of Trustees  of the Alaska                                                                    
     Permanent  Fund  Corporation  (APFC) to  be  separately                                                                    
     subject to  confirmation by a  majority of  the members                                                                    
     of the legislature in a joint session.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2  states that public  members of the  Board of                                                                  
     Trustees  of APFC  who are  reappointed are  subject to                                                                    
     confirmation  by  a  majority  of the  members  of  the                                                                    
     legislature in a joint session.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                              
     Section  3  deals  with  vacancies   of  the  Board  of                                                                  
     Trustees of APFC and asserts  that (1) a vacancy on the                                                                    
     board  which  has been  filled  by  appointment by  the                                                                    
     governor  will then  be subject  to  confirmation by  a                                                                    
     majority of the  members of the legislature  in a joint                                                                    
     session;  and  (2)  if  a   vacancy  occurs  while  the                                                                    
     legislature  is  not  in   session,  the  governor  may                                                                    
     appoint an interim board member  who shall exercise the                                                                    
     powers of  the board member  until the next  session of                                                                    
     the legislature, at which time  the name of the interim                                                                    
     board member shall be presented  to the legislature for                                                                    
     appointment.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                              
     Section  4  adds  language  to  statute  asserting  the                                                                  
     membership  of  the  authority  consists  of  the  five                                                                    
     public members  of the board  of the  Alaska Industrial                                                                    
     Development and  Export Authority (AIDEA)  appointed by                                                                    
     the  governor  and  confirmed  by  a  majority  of  the                                                                    
     members of the legislature in a joint session.                                                                             
                                                                                                                              
     Section 5 amends uncodified law  by adding this section                                                                  
     which addresses applicability of the bill:                                                                                 
     (a) this act does not apply  to members of the Board of                                                                    
     Trustees of APFC who are  serving on the effective date                                                                    
     of  this Act;  (b) on  or after  the effective  date of                                                                    
     this  Act, members  of the  board  who are  reappointed                                                                    
     shall be confirmed by a  majority of the members of the                                                                    
     legislature  in joint  session; (c)  this Act  does not                                                                    
     apply  to  members of  AIDEA  who  are serving  on  the                                                                    
     effective date  of this Act;  and (d) in  this section,                                                                    
     "board" means, "the Board of Trustees of the Alaska                                                                        
     Permanent Fund Corporation."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                              
     Section 6  establishes an effective date  of January 1,                                                                  
     2023.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:20:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS said he would  be drafting an amendment that                                                               
adjusted the  effective date to  make it  prior to the  ending of                                                               
the current gubernatorial term.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:21:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  VANCE  directed  attention to  Section  3,  which                                                               
provided that the governor "may"  appoint an interim board member                                                               
to  fill  a vacancy  on  the  Alaska Permanent  Fund  Corporation                                                               
(APFC)   Board  of   Trustees.     She  opined   that  additional                                                               
clarification would  be helpful, suggesting that  the appointment                                                               
should  be  made  within  30  days  [of  the  vacancy]  to  avoid                                                               
ambiguity and an empty seat on the board.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:22:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether  the word "promptly" on page                                                               
2, line  8 of  the bill applied  to the  legislative confirmation                                                               
process  in   addition  to  the  governor's   appointments.    He                                                               
suggested "nudging" the legislature  to conduct its confirmations                                                               
expeditiously.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KREISS-TOMKINS  questioned   what  "nudges"  would  affect                                                               
change in that regard.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN asked  whether the  reappointment process                                                               
was  followed  by  both the  Alaska  Industrial  Development  and                                                               
Export Authority (AIDEA) and APFC.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS. BORSETH explained  that three sections in  statute applied to                                                               
APFC,  one  of  which  directly  addressed  reappointment.    She                                                               
indicated that if the bill  were to pass, the provision regarding                                                               
reappointment would apply to AIDEA in addition to APFC.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN asked  whether  the  current process  was                                                               
broad enough  to "encompass some  of the same actions  that we're                                                               
looking at  with regard to the  permanent fund board, or  do they                                                               
just have a different way of doing things?"                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. BORSETH deferred to Ms. Nauman.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:25:56 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
EMILY  NAUMAN,  Deputy   Director,  Legislative  Legal  Services,                                                               
Legislative Affairs  Agency, reiterated  that the  AIDEA statutes                                                               
were silent  as to reappointment; however,  no statute prohibited                                                               
a member of  AIDEA from being reappointed.  She  said the process                                                               
would work the same way for AIDEA as it did for APFC.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:26:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMPKINS announced HB 412 would be held over.