Legislature(2015 - 2016)CAPITOL 106
04/07/2016 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SCR16 | |
| SB123 | |
| SCR20 | |
| SB6 | |
| SB24 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SCR 16 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 123 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SCR 20 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 6 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 24 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 24-LEGIS. ETHICS ACT: CONTRACTORS, INTERNS
9:36:55 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the final order of business would be
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 24(JUD) "An Act relating to the
applicability of the Legislative Ethics Act to legislative
interns, legislative volunteers, legislative consultants,
legislative independent contractors, sole proprietorships, and
other legal entities."
9:37:13 AM
SENATOR BERTA GARDNER, Alaska State Legislature, presented SB 24
as prime sponsor. She stated that during the summer of 2014,
the former administrator for the Select Committee on Legislative
Ethics pointed out a problem. She explained that, currently,
the ethics statute applies to legislators, staffers, interns,
many people working in the [Capitol] Building, contractors, and
consultants, and there is a requirement, under the statute,
requiring them to attend training. However, she related, it is
not necessary that bill drafting, for example, attend training
related to newsletters, office accounts, and such. Senator
Gardener said that the provisions that would be pulled out,
under SB 24, do not benefit the state and are impediments to
people who may want to respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
She stated the statutes on the books are not being enforced, the
Select Committee on Legislative Ethics does not have the
resources to do it, and there is little benefit in enforcing
provisions that do not make sense. She opined that it is poor
public policy to ignore enforcement of statutes on the books;
therefore, the right thing to do is simply pull out these
provisions.
9:39:20 AM
SENATOR GARDNER, in response to Chair Lynn, agreed the
provisions should either be reinforced or removed from statute,
or, she added, change them so they're appropriate.
9:40:01 AM
JERRY ANDERSON, Administrator, Select Committee on Legislative
Ethics, in response to Chair Lynn, noted that extensive efforts
were made on the provisions of this bill from the Select
Committee on Legislative Ethics, Legislative Legal and Research
Services, and the experienced public members on the Select
Committee on Legislative Ethics, who worked with Senator
Gardner.
9:40:38 AM
CHAIR LYNN asked whether there had been any activity directed to
the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics regarding any
contractor or anything similar.
MR. ANDERSON answered that the committee had received requests
from time to time for ethics training for specific contractors
not in the state system, and online ethics training is made
available to those particular individuals as they request it.
CHAIR LYNN inquired as to whether there had been any ethics
complaints against these types of individuals.
MR. ANDERSON stated he was not aware of any.
9:41:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES moved to report CSSB 24(JUD), out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSSB 24(JUD) was
reported from the House State Affairs Standing Committee.