03/17/1993 01:00 PM House CRA

  HB 206: ELECTIONS AND ELECTRIC COOP ELECTIONS                                
                                                                               
  Number 025                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE ELDON MULDER, PRIME SPONSOR OF HB 206, read                   
  his sponsor statement into the record.  (A copy of this                      
  sponsor statement may be found in the House Community and                    
  Regional Affairs Committee Room, Capitol 110, and after the                  
  adjournment of the second session of the 18th Alaska State                   
  Legislature, in the Legislative Reference Library.)  He                      
  added, "I have a work draft of a committee substitute (CS),                  
  that would make the bill applicative to telephone                            
  cooperative elections also.  ...The CS also makes clear                      
  that...the bill would only apply to elections for a seat of                  
  the Board of Directors electrical or telephone cooperative                   
  if the cooperative provides power or service to at least                     
  10,000 customers or more."                                                   
                                                                               
  Representative John Davies arrived at 1:14 and                               
  Representative Con Bunde arrived at 1:15.                                    
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER continued, "The original fiscal note                   
  has been revised for the committee substitute and...is pared                 
  down to $1,900 annually."                                                    
                                                                               
  Number 100                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE JOHN DAVIES MOVED to ADOPT CSHB 206 (CRA).                    
  There were no objections.                                                    
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES referred to an additional AMENDMENT.                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER said he had never seen that AMENDMENT,                 
  but on hearing it he said, "If I understand the gist of the                  
  AMENDMENT...the essence here is to allow these different                     
  cooperatives to exempt themselves.  ...The question is a                     
  philosophical one, when there are thousands of dollars being                 
  spent on an election, and trying to determine the outcome of                 
  an election, is it or is it not in the public's interest to                  
  know who's trying to influence the election."                                
                                                                               
  Number 137                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE ED WILLIS asked if Native corporations could                  
  also be included in CSHB 206 (CRA).                                          
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER said, "I believe they're private...I                   
  think we have limited ability to influence or effect their                   
  elections.  If you notice, we don't with the bill (HB 206)                   
  and the new committee substitute (CSHB 206 (CRA)), address                   
  only public cooperatives, not all telephone companies                        
  because we cannot influence the other telephone companies,                   
  only the cooperatives...they are subject to public laws."                    
                                                                               
  Number 162                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES addressed the AMENDMENT, "It's a                       
  simple amendment...  I would just point out that the                         
  existing law as it applies to the municipalities, allows the                 
  municipality a similar option.  That is, they can put an                     
  election before their respective constituency as to the                      
  question of whether or not their particular officials will                   
  be subject to APOC (Alaska Public Offices Commission)                        
  monitoring.  And this would afford the effected utilities                    
  cooperatives in exactly the same way."                                       
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES then MOVED to DISCUSS the AMENDMENT.                   
                                                                               
  VICE CHAIR JERRY SANDERS OBJECTED, but WITHDREW his                          
  OBJECTION when it was pointed out that the motion was only                   
  to discuss the amendment, not adopt it.                                      
                                                                               
  Number 211                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER said, "There's a self-interest                         
  involved in the entire affair.  If they don't want to                        
  disclose, they'll opt out of it.  More or less it's self-                    
  defeating.  ...I think you're granting them an abuse in                      
  self-interest."                                                              
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES said, "I think there's a slight                        
  misunderstanding here, this does not suggest that the board                  
  can do this unilaterally.  This proposed new language that                   
  Representative Mulder is bringing forth, if adopted would                    
  apply to every utility unless the utility or the cooperative                 
  put a vote before their membership and a majority of their                   
  membership voted to exclude the officers from this                           
  provision.  And I would point out that's exactly the process                 
  that's in law right now with respect to municipalities."                     
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN OLBERG asked, "You are adding the words 'electrical                 
  cooperative or telephone cooperative' to the existing                        
  statute in effect, is that correct?"                                         
                                                                               
  Number 255                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES confirmed that was correct.                            
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER apologized for his misunderstanding                    
  and said he had no objection to this amendment.                              
                                                                               
  KAREN BOORMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA PUBLIC OFFICES                     
  COMMISSION, testified via teleconference from Anchorage                      
  saying, "The Commission has taken a neutral position on this                 
  bill (HB 206).  Our fiscal note is a modest fiscal note for                  
  training, changing materials to be current with the law, and                 
  overtime for current staff.  But there is one other item                     
  that would be of assistance to us if this bill passed, and                   
  that is, there is no direct connection between APOC and the                  
  electric and telephone cooperatives, and their is a                          
  provision in regulation right now...which requires the                       
  municipal clerk to notify APOC after the filing deadline of                  
  the names of candidates and their addresses.  If there was                   
  something similar in the statutes for electric and telephone                 
  cooperatives, it would make administration of these                          
  provisions much easier."                                                     
                                                                               
  Number 288                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER said, "I think it's appropriate...it                   
  makes a lot of sense to include that provision."  He then                    
  asked if that would add costs to the fiscal note.                            
                                                                               
  MS. BOORMAN replied in the negative.                                         
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER asked Ms. Boorman if she had specific                  
  language for this change to CSHB 206 (CRA).                                  
                                                                               
  MS. BOORMAN suggested adapting the existing language for                     
  municipalities.                                                              
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN OLBERG suggested CSHB 206 (CRA) be brought up again                 
  Tuesday, March 23, 1993, after a redraft.                                    
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER asked if it was the wish of the                        
  committee to incorporate Representative Davies' change as                    
  well.                                                                        
                                                                               
  Number 333                                                                   
                                                                               
  VICE CHAIR SANDERS OBJECTED to the inclusion of                              
  Representative Davies' change and said, "I feel that by                      
  allowing the organization to exempt themselves we actually                   
  gut the bill (CSHB 206 (CRA))...  If they're spending money                  
  to get elected, they can spend money to get it exempted just                 
  as easily."                                                                  
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN OLBERG paraphrased, "You're suggesting that the                     
  same powers that are being brought to bare now to influence                  
  the election could influence the election of the                             
  membership..."                                                               
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE MULDER said, "I think Representative Sanders                  
  has a pretty good point in the sense that, (with) a                          
  municipality you don't have an interest group, per se,                       
  lobbying to exempt itself.  But you definitely would in the                  
  case of an electrical or telephone cooperative where you do                  
  have dominant players who would see a disadvantage for                       
  disclosure."                                                                 
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES said, "I just think we ought to                        
  provide the same ability for the voters to decide the                        
  question we've provided in the case of the municipalities."                  
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE BILL WILLIAMS asked that this discussion be                   
  continued when CSHB 206 (CRA) is brought back Tuesday.                       
                                                                               
  Number 374                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN OLBERG suggested Representative Mulder return on                    
  Tuesday with two drafts of CSHB 206 (CRA), one incorporating                 
  both changes discussed, another just incorporating Ms.                       
  Boorman's change.  He called an at ease at 1:30 and                          
  reconvened at 1:34.