02/06/2018 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

           HB 168-REPEAL ADMIN. REG. REVIEW COMMITTEE                                                                       
            HCR 10-UNIFORM RULES: REGULATION REVIEW                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:38:58 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KREISS-TOMKINS  announced  that  the  next  two  orders  of                                                              
business  would  be  HOUSE  BILL  NO. 168,  "An  Act  relating  to                                                              
regulation notice  and review by the legislature;  and relating to                                                              
the  Administrative   Regulation  Review  Committee."   and  HOUSE                                                              
CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION  NO.  10,  Proposing an  amendment  to  the                                                              
Uniform  Rules of  the Alaska  State Legislature  relating to  the                                                              
jurisdiction of standing committees.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:39:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE  CHENAULT, Alaska State Legislature,  as prime                                                              
sponsor of HB  168, paraphrased from the sponsor  statement, which                                                              
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     The  purpose  of  House  Bill   168  is  to  repeal  the                                                                   
     statutes  pertaining  to the  Administrative  Regulation                                                                   
     Review Committee.   According  to the analysis  provided                                                                   
     by Legislative  Research, included in your  packets, the                                                                   
     ARRC  [Administrative Regulation  Review Committee]  has                                                                   
     not  overturned any  regulations  as a  result of  these                                                                   
     committee  hearings.   Although  AS  24.20.445  provides                                                                   
     that  the  committee  can   suspend  regulations  for  a                                                                   
     "certain  time period," the  Alaska Supreme Court  found                                                                   
     in  a 1980  case [State  v. ALIVE  Voluntary], that  the                                                                 
     Legislature  has   no  implied  power  to   veto  agency                                                                   
     regulations  by  informal legislative  action  and  such                                                                   
     actions   would  violate   Article  II   of  the   state                                                                   
     Constitution.   The  actions available  to the ARRC  are                                                                   
     to  introduce   legislation  to  supersede   or  nullify                                                                   
     regulations.    However, Legislative  Research  was  not                                                                   
     able  to find  any  effort to  do so  from  2003 to  the                                                                   
     present.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT  relayed  that  HCR 10  would  allow  the                                                              
jurisdiction  of  standing  committees  to  oversee  proposed  and                                                              
adopted  regulations  to  replace  regulation  oversight  that  is                                                              
currently under the jurisdiction of ARRC.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:41:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL  referred to page 1 of the  document, entitled                                                              
"Administrative  Regulation   Review,"  prepared   by  Legislative                                                              
Research  Services  and  included  in the  committee  packet,  and                                                              
noted the 15 ARRC meetings during one legislature.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT suggested  that it may  have been  one of                                                              
the  few  periods  of time  ARRC  met  on  a regular  basis.    He                                                              
mentioned that the  15 meetings occurred during  the Twenty-Eighth                                                              
Alaska  State Legislature,  2013-2014,  and Representative  [Lora]                                                              
Reinbold was committee chair.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:42:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP  asked if HCR  10 would repeal ARRC  and give                                                              
jurisdiction  back   to  the  standing  committees   to  review  a                                                              
regulation and propose legislation to amend or repeal it.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:43:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TOM  WRIGHT, Staff,  Representative  Mike  Chenault, Alaska  State                                                              
Legislature, on  behalf of Representative Chenault,  prime sponsor                                                              
of HB  168 and  HCR 10,  responded, "Yes,  that is  correct."   He                                                              
relayed  that standing  committees have  jurisdiction now  through                                                              
[Uniform Rule}  regulations and can  propose any changes  they see                                                              
fit.   The  proposed  legislation  would  repeal the  language  in                                                              
Alaska  Statutes  that  refers   to  ARRC  and  clarify  that  the                                                              
standing  committees can  undertake regulation  review if  they so                                                              
choose.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:44:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH  stated that his understanding  of the Alaska                                                              
Supreme Court case  is that the legislature was  dissatisfied with                                                              
the  way the  regulations  were  written  for statutes  that  were                                                              
adopted  during a  specific administration.    The legislature  is                                                              
fully empowered  to subsequently  rewrite  the statute to  realign                                                              
the regulatory  interpretation.  He  summarized by saying  that it                                                              
is  not   necessary  to  have   a  review  committee,   because  a                                                              
regulation can be "fixed".                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT  agreed  and  said  whether it  is  by  a                                                              
review  committee or  by  a standing  committee,  the  only way  a                                                              
regulation  can  be changed  is  through  legislation;  it can  be                                                              
accomplished by the committee or an individual.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  BIRCH  suggested  that there  is  a  corresponding                                                              
federal  process   whereby  regulations   can  be  revised   after                                                              
Congress  has adopted  [a law].   He  asked whether  there is  any                                                              
opposition to the proposed legislation and resolution.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT replied  that he  knows of no  opposition                                                              
and  added that  funding  for regulation  review  is  not in  this                                                              
year's budget.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KREISS-TOMKINS  commented  that  Representative  Birch  may                                                              
have  been  referring  to  the   Congressional  Review  Act  (CRA)                                                              
[1996].                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:46:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX  inquired as to  the last time ARRC  had the                                                              
funds  to hire an  attorney to  review the  myriad of  regulations                                                              
and did so.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT   stated  that  his  guess   is  that  it                                                              
occurred  in  the Twenty-Ninth  Alaska  State  Legislature,  2015-                                                              
2016, and  the committee chair at  that time was  [former] Senator                                                              
Lesil McGuire.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:47:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS  announced that  HB 168  and HCR 10  would be                                                              
held over.