05/07/2002 03:50 PM Senate STA

                                                                                                                                
             HB 517-SURPLUS/OBSOLETE STATE PROPERTY                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
BILL LAWRENCE, staff to Representative  Carl Morgan, introduced HB
 as  a bill  to fix  a problem dealing  with surplus  property.                                                              
Specifically, it was  written to address surplus  fax machines and                                                              
require that  all electronic identifiers  be removed before  a fax                                                              
machine  is  sent  to  surplus.  There  are  instances  where  the                                                              
electronic identifiers  have not been  removed so they  decided it                                                              
would  be  in  the  best  interest  of  the  state  to  place  the                                                              
requirement  in  statute.  It  will   prevent  the  appearance  of                                                              
impropriety and  should prevent a party from  intentionally faxing                                                              
material  identified as  from  the State  of  Alaska. Federal  law                                                              
requires that all faxes be identified  with a phone number and the                                                              
name  of  the sender.  When  the  state  surpluses a  machine  all                                                              
headers  should be  removed  so the  new  owner  receives a  clean                                                              
machine.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN THERRIAULT asked why the  owner's manuals aren't with the                                                              
machines when they go to surplus.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHRIS  PARCE, Director  of  General  Services, replied  the  state                                                              
doesn't generally buy owner's manuals  to go with all the machines                                                              
because they are  expensive. Most machines the state  buys are put                                                              
onto servers, which are networked  to serve multiple stations, and                                                              
they  don't  come with  full  manuals,  just basic  "cheat  sheet"                                                              
instructions.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR PHILLIPS asked if this couldn't be done internally.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS.  PARCE said  they do  this internally.  They  have a  property                                                              
control handbook  that instructs employees to remove  all programs                                                              
and accompanying data, and delete all headers.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR PHILLIPS interjected, "Then why are we here."                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS. PARCE replied  she didn't know who introduced  the bill. Their                                                              
surplus  handbook instructs  employees  to  remove the  electronic                                                              
headers from  machines before  they are sent  to surplus  but they                                                              
don't always  follow all the rules.  She said it  probably doesn't                                                              
hurt for this to be a law.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR PHILLIPS  didn't think individuals  that don't  follow the                                                              
rules could be expected to follow the law.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN  THERRIAULT  said  it  probably   doesn't  hurt,  but  he                                                              
understood his questions.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR PHILLIPS commented this constitutes minutia management.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN  THERRIAULT noted  the one  zero fiscal  note. He  had no                                                              
prepared CS  and there  were no amendments  offered. He  asked for                                                              
the will of the committee.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR STEVENS made  a motion to move HB 517  and attached fiscal                                                              
note from committee with individual recommendations.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
There being no objection, it was so ordered.