Legislature(2015 - 2016)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/06/2016 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SJR12 | |
| SB164 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SJR 12 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 164 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SJR 12-CONST. AM: ELECTED ATTORNEY GENERAL
1:37:35 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of SJR 12.
CHAIR MCGUIRE closed public testimony.
1:38:18 PM
SENATOR STOLTZE, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of SJR 12,
thanked the committee for its thoughtful deliberation of the
legislation. He related that he thought hard about the concept
that Senator Wielechowski brought forward to make the attorney
general election nonpartisan. He said that's the ideal because
it provides an opportunity for less partisanship.
CHAIR MCGUIRE expressed appreciation for the sponsor's open-
mindedness and Senator Wielechowski for proposing the amendment.
She said the idea of specifying that the position would be
nonpartisan is important and she considered co-sponsoring the
amendment. However, she ultimately decided not to slow the bill
because the point of having an elected attorney general is more
important than the nonpartisan point. She noted that the legal
drafters said it would be very difficult to draft the amendment.
She shared that as chair of the Judiciary Committee in the
House, she wrote a statute to implement the ruling in Democratic
Party of California v. Jones, which provided a strong foundation
for Citizens United v. FEC. She related that if she were queen
for a day, she would overturn that statute. She trusts the
voters and doesn't believe they need a party to tell them what
to think. She believes the opportunity to participate in a party
process is so elite and removed from the average Alaska that few
people feel that they influence the party.
CHAIR MCGUIRE shared that in the 2012 election a neighbor called
and said she felt her right to privacy was violated and her
right to vote denied. This neighbor wanted to vote for Senator
McGuire but was denied the opportunity to vote the Republican
ballot because she is registered as an Alaska Independent.
1:48:28 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI thanked the sponsor for being
accommodating. He thought it would be an easy amendment to draft
but legislative legal said it would be very complex to insert in
the constitution, the process for conducting an election.
SENATOR STOLTZE distinguished between being political and
partisanship.
CHAIR MCGUIRE suggested that a constitutional amendment to elect
the attorney general is more likely to succeed if the term
"nonpartisan" is included.
SENATOR STOLTZE agreed there may be creative ways to do it that
don't interfere with the election process.
SENATOR COGHILL reminded the committee that the discussion is
about electing an attorney general, not the primary election
process.
1:52:16 PM
SENATOR COGHILL moved to report SJR 12, version \W, from
committee with individual recommendations and attached zero
fiscal note.
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced that without objection, SJR 12 is
reported from the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 108 ACLI Statement on Alaska Securities Law Amendments 2016-SB 108 HB 194 as amended.pdf |
SJUD 4/6/2016 1:30:00 PM |
HB 194 SB 108 |