Legislature(2015 - 2016)CAPITOL 106
03/18/2015 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): || Board of Education and Early Development | |
| Professional Teaching Practices Commission | |
| HB107 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 107 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 107 - BD OF REGENTS REGIONAL RESIDENCY QUALIF.
8:58:16 AM
CHAIR KELLER announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 107, "An Act relating to the composition of the
Board of Regents of the University of Alaska."
8:59:17 AM
ANDREW FORD, Staff, Representative Lynn Gattis, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor of HB 107, Representative
Gattis, paraphrased from the sponsor statement included in
members' packets, and explained that HB 107 is proposing changes
to [the statute pertaining to] the makeup of the University of
Alaska Board of Regents. The Board of Regents currently
consists of eleven members, one of whom must be a student, and
under the changes proposed by Section 1 of the bill - repealing
and reenacting AS 14.40.130(a) - only four of the other ten
regents may serve at large, and there must be one regent each
from the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Municipality of
Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the Kenai Peninsula
Borough, the City and Borough of Juneau, and a community that is
not connected by either road or rail to either Anchorage or
Fairbanks. He offered his understanding that both the
Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) valley and the Kenai peninsula, for
example, have experienced considerable population growth over
the last 40 years, but only two regents have ever been from the
Kenai peninsula and none have ever been from the Mat-Su valley.
MR. FORD offered his understanding that Section 2 of the bill
merely provides conforming language and doesn't change the
intent of AS 14.40.130. Section 3 provides transition language
pertaining to proposed AS 14.40.130(a)'s new residency
requirements; under Section 3, current regents may serve out
their term. In response to a question regarding Section 2, he
indicated that under it, board membership terminates when a
person appointed under Section 1's proposed AS 14.40.130(a)(1)-
(6) moves.
CHAIR KELLER questioned whether the number of regents should be
reduced.
9:06:53 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN GATTIS, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of
HB 107, indicated that she would be amenable to such a change.
In response to comments and questions regarding a memorandum
from Legislative Legal and Research Services dated September 10,
2014, in members' packets, she acknowledged that it is not yet
known whether the changes proposed by the bill would be found by
the court to be unconstitutional, and shared her belief that all
areas of the state should be represented on the Board of Regents
but that thus far the Matanuska-Susitna Borough has not been.
9:10:26 AM
KIM FORD, mentioning that she once chaired an "economic
development advisory council," indicated that she shared the
sponsor's belief that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough has not been
represented on the University of Alaska Board of Regents.
Ms. Ford opined that such representation is important for the
economic development of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough because
back in 2009, people hired to research certain issues
recommended that a "university medical district" be developed,
but a workgroup further researching that issue claimed that such
could never happen until someone from the Matanuska-Susitna
Borough was appointed to serve on the Board of Regents. She
proffered that the first step, therefore, would be to ensure
that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is represented on the Board
of Regents, and opined that it should be, because of the area's
[population] growth. She also offered her belief that a lack of
such representation on the Board of Regents is preventing the
Matanuska-Susitna College from offering any four-year degree
programs. In response to a question, she indicated that she
supports HB 107.
9:15:33 AM
JOHN DAVIES, Regent, University of Alaska Board of Regents,
University of Alaska - noting that he was recently appointed to
the Board of Regents in February, and acknowledging the interest
being expressed in having certain areas of the state
specifically represented on the Board of Regents - relayed that
he nonetheless has concerns with HB 107, concerns that he
believes the entire Board of Regents shares, as evidenced by the
letter in members' packets from the chair of the Board of
Regents [dated February 24, 2015]. One of the things to
consider is that appointments to the Board of Regents are for
eight years with the expectation that since students are
generally entering four-, five-, and six-year programs, that the
policies that get developed will be long-term, will be developed
in a thoughtful way, will be implemented over a long period of
time, and any changes to them will occur in a slow and
deliberative manner. That's not to say the Board of Regents
shouldn't be responsive to new programs, but regents must be
careful to consider possible changes from a complete statewide
perspective, particularly given current budget shortfalls.
MR. DAVIS said that over the past 15 years or so, the Board of
Regents has worked very hard to reduce the focus on regionalism
and to work much more strongly as a board that represents the
entire state. This is why there are concerns with any bill that
would explicitly regionalize the appointment process.
Furthermore, the administration at the university has developed
mechanisms in order to function much more as a single system
rather than as several different systems. Passage of HB 107
could have the unintended consequence of moving backward in
terms of ensuring that the Board of Regents represents the
entire state. He then referred to the language in Section 2
that says board membership terminates if a regent ceases to meet
the residency requirements, and opined that that language flies
in the face of the intent of having eight-year appointments,
because there could be much more turnover on the Board of
Regents - something he said he doesn't think would be a good
thing in terms of ensuring the board's ability to develop long-
term, consistent policy.
9:19:25 AM
MIKE POWERS, Regent and Vice Chair, University of Alaska Board
of Regents, University of Alaska - mentioning that he has thus
far served four years of his eight-year term - relayed that upon
joining the Board of Regents, he was struck by the regents'
collegiality and their statewide perspective - not regional
perspective. He, too, acknowledged the interest being expressed
in having certain areas of the state specifically represented on
the Board of Regents, but surmised that everyone also has an
interest in ensuring that the Board of Regents makes the best
use of precious resources operating the state's three
separately-accredited universities and associated community
campuses. The current fiscal situation is requiring that the
Board of Regents therefore prioritize the academic programs
being offered at the state's various universities/campuses, and
discontinue certain programs, and this in turn requires that
regents maintain a statewide perspective, rather than the
regional perspective that would result from the passage of
HB 107.
9:23:43 AM
JYOTSNA "JO" HECKMAN, Regent and Chair, University of Alaska
Board of Regents, University of Alaska - mentioning that she,
too, has thus far served four years of her eight-year term -
referred to the aforementioned letter she'd provided to the
committee, and to a letter provided by regent Mary K. Hughes
[dated March 14, 2015,] also expressing concerns with HB 107.
Ms. Heckman said that although the regents can understand and
appreciate the reasoning behind HB 107 - that of having the
Matanuska-Susitna Borough specifically represented on the Board
of Regents - creating geographical constituencies and promoting
an atmosphere of regionalism by instituting regional residency
requirements, as would occur under the bill, is of concern,
particularly given the university's current budgetary
constraints, because it would impede the Board of Regents'
ability to make difficult decisions and take prompt action.
Under the bill, any time a regent moves, actions and decisions
by the Board of Regents would have to be delayed until a new
regent is appointed, confirmed, and brought up to speed, and all
regents must be able to make decisions involving the welfare of
the university as a whole and all of its students across the
state, but the bill could result in the formation of regional
factions within the Board of Regents, thereby further delaying
decisions and actions. Furthermore, passage of the bill could
result in constitutional issues arising, issues that would have
to be dealt with by the court, and this, too, could result in
delays on the part of the Board of Regents.
9:29:46 AM
RICHARD HELLER, MatSu Business Alliance, Inc., provided some
information about himself, the campus at the Matanuska-Susitna
College, and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; offered his
understanding that only one regent has ever been from the
Matanuska-Susitna Borough; and indicated that his organization
is in complete support of HB 107, believing that its passage
will address certain issues at the campus and will help the
Matanuska-Susitna Borough continue to grow.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON referred to the term "residency" as used
in the bill, and asked to be provided with a definition.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS, in response to a question, indicated that
some believe the area's population growth warrants requiring the
Board of Regents to have a regent from the Matanuska-Susitna
Borough.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ read items from a table entitled, "Break
Down of the University's Board of Regents 1917-2015" produced by
Representative Gattis's Office and provided in members' packets,
and said it appears that there is a wide, dramatic inequity in
terms of regional representation on the Board of Regents. She
suggested that the committee conduct more research on the issue.
CHAIR KELLER referred to some of the other items in members'
packets, and reminded members that the committee would soon be
considering the governor's recent appointments to the University
Of Alaska Board Of Regents.
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND asked whether a resolution has ever been
passed recommending that the governor consider geographic
[representation], and, if not, why that approach wasn't taken
this time, particularly in light of the potential for the bill
to be subject to a legal challenge.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS indicated that the thought was that
addressing the issue [of geographic representation on the Board
of Regents] via a resolution would not accomplish the goal.
CHAIR KELLER closed public testimony on HB 107, and indicated
that HB 107 would be held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB107.pdf |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/27/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |
| HB107 Sponsor Statement.PDF |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |
| HB107 Press and Public Input.PDF |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |
| HB107 Fiscal Note UA-SYSBRA-3-12-15.pdf |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |
| HB107 Fiscal Note UA-SYSBRA 3-12-15.pdf |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |
| HB107 Supporting Documents.PDF |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |
| HB107 Support MSB Resolution in Support.pdf |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |
| HB107 Support Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce.pdf |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |
| HB107 Opposing Hughes.pdf |
HEDC 3/18/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 107 |