03/28/2011 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

                  SB 61 - 2011 REVISOR'S BILL                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:43:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GATTO  announced that the  next order of business  would be                                                               
CS  FOR  SENATE  BILL  NO. 61(STA),  "An  Act  making  corrective                                                               
amendments to the  Alaska Statutes as recommended  by the revisor                                                               
of statutes; and providing for an effective date."                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:43:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KATHRYN KURTZ,  Assistant Revisor of Statutes,  Legislative Legal                                                               
Counsel,  Legislative Legal  and  Research Services,  Legislative                                                               
Affairs  Agency   (LAA),  explained  that  revisor's   bills  are                                                               
prepared  annually to  correct or  remove deficiencies,  obsolete                                                               
provisions, and  conflicts in statute; and  that members' packets                                                               
contain a  sectional analysis of SB  61.  [Sections 6-8,  14, 23-                                                               
35, 39-40,  and 44  would amend various  provisions in  Titles 9,                                                               
18, 22,  24, 33, 36,  39-40, and  44] to create  uniformity among                                                               
the statutory  references to the  administrative director  of the                                                               
Alaska Court  System (ACS).   [Sections 1 and 36-37  would change                                                               
references in  AS 03.22.050  and AS 38.07]  to the  United States                                                               
Soil  Conservation Service,  to references  to the  United States                                                               
Department   of  Agriculture,   Natural  Resources   Conservation                                                               
Service,   to  reflect   a  1994   renaming   of  that   service.                                                               
Sections 42 and  45 would  amend references  to federal  laws [in                                                               
AS 42.06.430(7)(A)  and AS  45.68.120(a)] to  reflect renumbering                                                               
changes in those referenced federal  laws.  [Sections 10-12 would                                                               
remove  references in  AS 14.40.809(b)  and  AS 14.42.015(a)  and                                                               
(d)]  to  Sheldon Jackson  College  because  that institution  no                                                               
longer exists.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS. KURTZ explained that Sections  15, 18-19, and 41 would delete                                                               
obsolete,   and  therefore   unnecessary,   date  references   in                                                               
[provisions of AS  29, and in AS 42.04.080(b)].   Section 2 would                                                               
add  a  definition of  the  term,  "department"  in AS  08.02  to                                                               
clarify  that  as used  in  that  chapter,  that term  means  the                                                               
Department   of  Commerce,   Community  &   Economic  Development                                                               
(DCCED).    Section  9  would  make a  conforming  change  in  AS                                                               
14.07.020(a)(16)(B) by replacing the term,  "math" with the term,                                                               
"mathematics",  which  is the  term  used  elsewhere in  Alaska's                                                               
statutes.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  KURTZ,  in  response  to  a  question,  clarified  that  for                                                               
purposes  of   avoiding  the  use   of  a  split   infinitive  in                                                               
AS 14.40.809(b)(5),  [Section 10]  is also  proposing to  replace                                                               
the phrase, "to annually report  on", with the phrase, "to report                                                               
annually on".   In response to further  questions, she reiterated                                                               
that  [Sections  10-12]  are proposing  to  delete  the  obsolete                                                               
references  to  Sheldon  Jackson   College,  and  explained  that                                                               
although the  legislature could choose to  remove [Sections 10-12                                                               
of the  bill -  thereby leaving existing  AS 14.40.809(b)  and AS                                                               
14.42.015(a)  and  (d)  as  is] -  retaining  the  references  to                                                               
Sheldon Jackson  College could put  [the Board of Regents  of the                                                               
University of  Alaska and the Alaska  Commission on Postsecondary                                                               
Education]  in  the  difficult   position  of  being  statutorily                                                               
required  to   treat  with,  and  include   individuals  from,  a                                                               
nonexistent entity.   Should another private college  come to the                                                               
legislature's  attention  at  some point,  then  the  legislature                                                               
could  decide  at  that  time  whether  to  add  the  appropriate                                                               
statutory references via a substantive bill.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GATTO  indicated favor with  the bill's proposal  to delete                                                               
the  obsolete references  to Sheldon  Jackson College;  retaining                                                               
such  references   would  only   serve  to  mislead   people,  he                                                               
predicted.  In  response to a question, he pointed  out that even                                                               
if  the   legislature  was  already  considering   other  private                                                               
colleges, it couldn't insert statutory  references to any of them                                                               
via  SB 61  because SB  61 is  a revisor's  bill and  as such  is                                                               
precluded from proposing substantive changes.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS.  KURTZ,  in  response  to  comments,  ventured  that  perhaps                                                               
researching legislative  history could  provide insight  into the                                                               
reasoning behind  the initial inclusion of  references to Sheldon                                                               
Jackson College in AS 14.40.809(b) and AS 14.42.015(a) and (d).                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:00:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLER  moved  to  report  CSSB  61(STA)  out  of                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations and  the accompanying                                                               
fiscal  notes.    There  being no  objection,  CSSB  61(STA)  was                                                               
reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.