03/10/2014 05:00 PM Senate FINANCE

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 21                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Proposing amendments  to the Constitution of  the State                                                                    
     of  Alaska to  increase the  number of  members on  the                                                                    
     judicial council  and relating to the  initial terms of                                                                    
     new members appointed to the judicial council.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
6:17:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Kelly  MOVED  to   ADOPT  the  proposed  committee                                                                    
substitute  for  SJR  21, Work  Draft  28-LS1364\O  (Wallace                                                                    
3/10/14) as  a working  document. There being  NO OBJECTION,                                                                    
it was so ordered.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
HEATHER SHADDUCK,  STAFF, SENATOR PETE KELLY,  explained the                                                                    
change in the  new CS and related that it  could be found on                                                                    
page 2  on lines 1  and 2.  She explained that  the original                                                                    
version of the  bill stated that the  judicial council shall                                                                    
act by a  concurrence of a majority of its  members who were                                                                    
participating  in  a vote;  this  had  been changed  in  the                                                                    
current CS to  say that the judicial council shall  act by a                                                                    
majority vote  of a  quorum of at  least seven  members. She                                                                    
added that  this was the only  change in the new  version of                                                                    
the bill.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
6:19:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Kelly  thought that  the Alaska  State Constitution                                                                    
was a  very fine  document, but like  all things  worldly it                                                                    
was not perfect. He offered that  one of the things that the                                                                    
founding fathers  of the constitution  had gotten  wrong was                                                                    
the  judicial  council  wrong;   their  desire  was  to  de-                                                                    
politicize  it,  but  he  felt that  had  not  occurred.  He                                                                    
recalled testimony that had indicated  that it was very rare                                                                    
that  the people's  will as  represented through  non-public                                                                    
members on  the judicial  council was  overridden; it  was a                                                                    
rare occurrence.  He clarified that  four times in  the last                                                                    
two years, public member who  were appointed by the governor                                                                    
and  confirmed by  the legislature  had  been overridden  by                                                                    
attorney members  of the  council who  not confirmed  by the                                                                    
legislature  or appointed  by any  elected officials  in the                                                                    
state; furthermore,  the Supreme Court Justice,  who was the                                                                    
tie break in  these situations, would usually  side with the                                                                    
attorney members to forward nominations  to the governor. He                                                                    
noted that attorney members of  the council had great power,                                                                    
but were not  required to go through  a confirmation hearing                                                                    
like other  state board and  councils. He  thought something                                                                    
needed to be addressed in  the constitution to prevent a tie                                                                    
from happening where public members  were being overruled by                                                                    
people   who  had   never  stood   before  the   public  for                                                                    
confirmation.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Kelly  related that  the resolution  would increase                                                                    
the number of public members  to six and keep three attorney                                                                    
members; it  would also increase  the required quorum  to 7.                                                                    
Hew  related that  the addition  of public  members and  the                                                                    
quorum  of 7,  there would  never  be a  scenario where  the                                                                    
public  was against  the attorneys  and the  justice had  to                                                                    
break a tie against the people.  He added that in Article 4,                                                                    
Section  8  of  the  state's constitution,  it  stated  that                                                                    
appointments  to  the  council   should  be  made  with  due                                                                    
consideration to  area representation and without  regard to                                                                    
political affiliation. He offered  that the problem was that                                                                    
there had  been no real way  to represent vast areas  of the                                                                    
state with so  few members and thought that  the addition of                                                                    
the  members  would give  the  council  a shot  at  regional                                                                    
diversity. He assumed that members  had their packets a list                                                                    
of  the public  and non-public  members of  the council.  He                                                                    
requested a brief AT EASE.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
6:24:12 PM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
6:24:24 PM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
6:24:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Kelly noted  that  the  state constitution  stated                                                                    
that  there  shall be  regional  diversity  on the  judicial                                                                    
council.  He noted  that the  attorney  members were  mostly                                                                    
from Juneau,  Ketchikan, Fairbanks, and anchorage  and there                                                                    
were never any rural members;  there were a few non-attorney                                                                    
rural members,  but the  last two instances  of that  was in                                                                    
1987 and 1916 before that. He  did not think that anyone was                                                                    
trying to keep  rural members off the  judicial council, but                                                                    
that naturally, most  of the attorney members  would be from                                                                    
urban areas.  He asserted  that with  the current  number of                                                                    
members on the  council, it could not  maintain the regional                                                                    
diversity that the constitution called for.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Meyer observed  that there was a  small fiscal note                                                                    
attached  to the  bill  that was  associated  with having  a                                                                    
larger judicial council.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
6:26:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Kelly  MOVED to  REPORT CSSJR  21 out  of committee                                                                    
with individual recommendations  and the accompanying fiscal                                                                    
notes.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
6:26:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Meyer  questioned which version of  the legislation                                                                    
Co-Chair Kelly had moved.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
6:26:49 PM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
6:27:38 PM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
6:27:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Kelly  MOVED to  REPORT CSSJR  21 out  of committee                                                                    
with individual recommendations  and the accompanying fiscal                                                                    
notes. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
6:28:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CSSJR(FIN)  21 was  REPORTED  out of  committee  with a  "do                                                                    
pass"  recommendation and  with previously  published fiscal                                                                    
impact note:  FN1(GOV) and  with a  fiscal impact  note from                                                                    
the Alaska Court System.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
6:28:11 PM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
6:29:19 PM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED