Legislature(1993 - 1994)
04/02/1993 03:00 PM House HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 148: EXEMPT UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FROM APA PROCEDURES Number 028 REP. GENE THERRIAULT testified as PRIME SPONSOR of HB 148. He said the need for the bill had arisen from court cases. He said the adjudication procedures were not designed for student or employee grievances, but for grievances against state boards and commissions. Student and employee grievance procedures traditionally involve several levels of peer review, with several appeal options, he said. He read his sponsor statement, which is on file, which said that requiring APA (Administrative Procedure Act) procedures for university grievances would be very costly. (Rep. Olberg arrived at 3:14 p.m.) Number 082 MIKE KELLY, A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA, testified in Juneau in support of HB 148. He cited the cost of formal outside hearings on everything from parking citation appeals to student discipline to faculty or employee grievances. He said legislation passed in 1977 was never intended to cover those kinds of issues, and contained intent language leaving to the university the management of the university. He said the APA process can take months. He said adding the extra layer of due process would cost the state $250,000 per year. He said due process was already available for such grievances. Number 119 CAROLYNE WALLACE, AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE DEAN OF AGRICULTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS, testified via teleconference from Fairbanks in support of HB 148. She said she had been on the university grievance committee for eight years. She agreed with the previous two testifiers, saying the APA was not intended to apply to UAF and that the university already had an adequate grievance process. She said the university did not need an expensive, time- consuming grievance procedure. Number 138 BONNIE WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE STATEWIDE ADMINISTRATION ASSEMBLY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA, AND DIRECTOR OF ADVANCED COLLEGE TUITION, testified via teleconference in support of HB 148. She said that since the lawsuit that put the university into its current situation, the university had been deprived of a reasonable and speedy grievance procedure. In times of tight budgets, she said, use of the APA grievance procedure would mean cutting employee positions and reducing programs. Number 172 CHAIR BUNDE, hearing no further testimony, closed public testimony on HB 148 and invited discussion by the committee. REP. B. DAVIS distributed copies of an amendment to HB 148 and moved the amendment, which she said would delay the effective date of the bill until such time as both the regents adopted a formal grievance procedure for employees to which the university employees' general assembly had agreed. REP. VEZEY asked whether the motion had been made. Number 206 REP. B. DAVIS said that she had. REP. VEZEY objected to the motion, saying that when the same amendment had been considered in the House State Affairs Committee, it became clear that the amendment gave two separate groups the right effectively to veto the legislation. He recommended voting against the amendment. CHAIR BUNDE invited Rep. B. Davis to speak to her amendment. Number 220 REP. B. DAVIS denied that the amendment would allow two sides an effective veto. She noted that the regents wanted a speedy resolution of grievances. She said that the amendment would ensure that the needs of all people involved would be met. She said that some people felt they would have no recourse for their grievances absent the procedures established in the APA. REP. THERRIAULT said the amendment was unnecessary as UAF had a functional grievance procedure in place before the court instructed it to use the APA procedures, and the university would resume its normal grievance procedures with passage of HB 148. Number 259 CHAIR BUNDE asked if there was a general grievance procedure for UAF, and was answered that there was. REP. OLBERG restated Rep. Vezey's concern about granting outside organizations the power effectively to veto legislation by not agreeing to a grievance procedure. Number 270 CHAIR BUNDE expressed concern that the university general assembly could use its approval of a grievance procedure, which would save the university $250,000, to hold the university captive. REP. B. DAVIS said she understood that there were people who were unhappy with the current grievance procedure. She asked if the federation of teachers had reached a satisfactory agreement with the university. She said she would withdraw her amendment if she could be sure all of the university's bargaining units would support HB 148. Number 300 WENDY REDMAN, VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA, testified in Juneau on HB 210. She said she could give Rep. B. Davis that assurance. She said all university employees in collective bargaining units were covered by the state PARA ?? Act, which defines grievance procedures in collective bargaining agreements. REP. B. DAVIS asked if anyone would be left out of that act. MS. REDMAN answered that most university employees were not covered by collective bargaining, by their own choice, but were covered by an internal grievance procedure in operation at the university for 75 years. Number 313 REP. B. DAVIS asked the pitfalls of her amendment. MS. REDMAN said that the pitfalls had already been stated by others at the meeting. She said that while she and the university employees appreciated the intent of the amendment, it was unnecessary. She said that most employees were eager to return to a university grievance policy which had received a year's work by the grievance council, and which was about to be implemented when the court decision concerning the APA was delivered. She said the policy had recently been distributed in anticipation of the passage of HB 148, in hopes it could be placed into effect at the June board meeting. Number 332 REP. B. DAVIS asked why, if what Ms. Redman said was true, would anyone think that the university board or general assembly would try to block the bill. MS. REDMAN said that the objections to the amendment were not with its intent, but with the technical problems dealing with whether the legislature could grant other organizations power over the effective date of the bill. REP. G. DAVIS said he had initially supported the amendment, but opposed it after additional research and discussion with Ms. Redman. He said it leaves it up to one or two people to delay the bill's effective date, for legitimate or illegitimate reasons. Number 350 REP. VEZEY said personnel grievances were only a small part of the scope of the APA. He thought the APA addressed boards and commissions and quasi-judicial responsibilities, but, according to a court decision, the APA procedures applied to university procedures great and small. He said one person had successfully avoided paying a parking ticket by asking for an APA hearing. REP. B. DAVIS said Rep. Vezey's point was well-taken and she believed it was true that not all employee grievances were intended to be heard under APA procedures. She said that those people who had expected their grievances to be heard under APA procedures would need extra time to find out how their grievances would be addressed in a different process. After noting that the university general assembly would meet in June 1993, and that HB 148 would take effect immediately, she withdrew her amendment and expressed her intention to introduce another amendment to change the effective date. Number 378 CHAIR BUNDE noted that the bill still had to be signed by the governor before taking effect. REP. B. DAVIS observed that the bill could be passed by the legislature and be signed by the governor and take effect. CHAIR BUNDE noted that while that would not be typical, it would be possible. He asked whether Rep. B. Davis had withdrawn her amendment. Number 384 REP. B. DAVIS indicated that she had. She then moved an amendment changing the effective date of HB 148 to June 30, 1993. She noted that even without an effective date, the bill would take effect 90 days after it was signed by the governor. REP. TOOHEY asked if a 90-day delay would be harmful. REP. THERRIAULT said he did not think there was a need for a delay. He noted that the bill allowed any grievance process which had started under APA to be completed under APA, and a delay in the effective date would leave a large window of opportunity for many grievances to be started and completed under the costly APA process. CHAIR BUNDE noted the motion and asked if there were any objections. REP. VEZEY objected. CHAIR BUNDE called for a roll call vote. He noted that Rep. Brice was on-line from Fairbanks. REP. BRICE greeted the committee members and encouraged them to proceed. CHAIR BUNDE repeated his call for a vote on the motion. Those voting yes were Reps. B. Davis and Nicholia. Those voting no were Reps. G. Davis, Vezey, Kott, Olberg, Toohey and Bunde. The motion failed 2-6. Chair Bunde asked the will of the committee. REP. VEZEY moved passage of HB 148 with individual recommendations. CHAIR BUNDE asked for objections and, hearing none, declared HB 148 passed with individual recommendations. CHAIR BUNDE then brought HB 210 to the table.
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