Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 120
04/05/2013 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
Audio | Topic |
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Start | |
HJR10 | |
HB173 | |
HJR10 | |
HB104 | |
HB3 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= | HB 3 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | HB 104 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED | ||
+= | HB 173 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | HJR 10 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 104 - ELECTION PROCEDURES; REAA ADVISORY BOARDS 1:21:31 PM CHAIR KELLER announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 104, "An Act relating to election practices and procedures; relating to the election of an advisory school board in a regional educational attendance area; and providing for an effective date." [Before the committee was CSHB 104(JUD).] CHAIR KELLER noted that the bill, as amended, was previously reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee, but was then referred back to the committee for additional amendments. CHAIR KELLER turned the gavel over to Vice Chair Lynn. 1:23:04 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT made a motion to adopt Amendment 1, labeled 28-GH1983\R.5, Bullard, 4/4/13, which read: Page 7, line 19: Delete "second" Insert "third" REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG objected. REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT explained that Amendment 1's proposed change to Section 19 of the bill was requested because of a concern that one of the unintended consequences of that section's proposal to move the date of the primary election from the fourth Tuesday in August to the second Tuesday in August would be that ballot initiatives would be voted upon in the general election rather than in the primary election. This was not the intent, however, and so Amendment 1 would address this concern by instead proposing to move the date of the primary election to the third Tuesday in August. 1:24:14 PM GAIL FENUMIAI, Director, Central Office, Division of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, concurred that Amendment 1's proposed change would ensure that ballot initiatives would still be voted upon in the primary election. In response to questions and comments, she explained that the division had initially proposed moving the date of the primary election to the second Tuesday in August for administrative purposes - seeking two extra weeks in which to prepare ballots for the general election - but had not given any consideration to the impact the proposed change would have on ballot initiatives; assured the committee that being given even just the one extra week between the primary election and the general election as proposed under Amendment 1 would still be helpful to the division; relayed that statistically, a lot more people vote in the general election than in the primary election; and acknowledged therefore that retaining Section 19 as currently written, resulting in ballot initiatives being voted upon in the general election, could possibly also result in more people voting on ballot initiatives. REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT shared his belief, however, that only when voted upon during a primary election is a ballot initiative's proposed change comprehended by the voters. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX expressed a preference for addressing at some other time the policy question of whether to require ballot initiatives to be voted upon in the general election. She therefore indicated support for Amendment 1. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG - offering his recollection that up until just a few years ago, ballot initiatives were voted upon in the general election - indicated a preference for addressing the policy question now, particularly given that [not adopting Amendment 1] could result in more people voting on ballot initiatives, because a lot more people vote in the general election. He opined that voters in the general election are indeed capable of comprehending a ballot initiative's proposed change. A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Pruitt, Foster, LeDoux, and Lynn voted in favor of adopting Amendment 1. Representative Gruenberg voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 1 was adopted by a vote of 4-1. 1:40:14 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT made a motion to adopt Amendment 2, labeled 28-GH1983\R.4, Bullard, 4/1/13, which read: Page 1, line 2, following "expenditures;": Insert "relating to identification requirements for a communication paid for by a political party;" Page 3, following line 30: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Sec. 7. AS 15.13.090(a) is amended to read: (a) All communications shall be clearly identified by the words "paid for by" followed by the name and address of the person paying for the communication. In addition, except as provided by (d) of this section, a person shall clearly (1) provide the person's address or the person's principal place of business; (2) for a person other than an individual or candidate, include (A) the name and title of the person's principal officer; (B) a statement from the principal officer approving the communication; and (C) unless the person is a political party, identification of the name and city and state of residence or principal place of business, as applicable, of each of the person's three largest contributors under AS 15.13.040(e)(5), if any, during the 12-month period before the date of the communication. * Sec. 8. AS 15.13.090(c) is amended to read: (c) To satisfy the requirements of (a)(1) of this section and, if applicable, (a)(2)(C) of this section, a communication that includes a print or video component must have the following statement or statements placed in the communication so as to be easily discernible; the second statement is not required if the person paying for the communication has no contributors or is a political party: This communication was paid for by (person's name and city and state of principal place of business). The top contributors of (person's name) are (the name and city and state of residence or principal place of business, as applicable, of the largest contributors to the person under AS 15.13.090(a)(2)(C)). * Sec. 9. AS 15.13.090(d) is amended to read: (d) Notwithstanding the requirements of (a) of this section, in a communication transmitted through radio or other audio media and in a communication that includes an audio component, the following statements must be read in a manner that is easily heard; the second statement is not required if the person paying for the communication has no contributors or is a political party: This communication was paid for by (person's name). The top contributors of (person's name) are (the name of the largest contributors to the person under AS 15.13.090(a)(2)(C))." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT indicated that Amendment 2 would exempt political parties from the existing statutory requirement [in AS 15.13.090] that when paying for a communication, the three largest contributors shall be identified in the communication. He offered his understanding that the top two political parties in Alaska aren't complying with that statutory requirement anyway, and opined that they shouldn't have to, since the political party paying for a communication would still be identified. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG expressed disfavor with Amendment 2's proposed change because it would result in less disclosure; Amendment 2 would allow political parties to conceal information from the voters. REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT disagreed. 1:48:03 PM PAUL DAUPHINAIS, Executive Director, Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), Department of Administration (DOA), in response to questions, offered his understanding that Amendment 2 would result in political parties being exempted from the existing statutory requirement that when paying for a communication, the three largest contributors shall be identified in the communication. The political party paying for such a communication, however, would still be statutorily required to be identified. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, mentioning that he would be conducting further research, relayed that he would be voting against the adoption of Amendment 2 at this time. A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Lynn, Pruitt, Foster, and LeDoux voted in favor of adopting Amendment 2. Representative Gruenberg voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 2 was adopted by a vote of 4-1. VICE CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 104. 1:52:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT moved to report CSHB 104(JUD), as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 104(2d JUD) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
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HB 173 Letter of Support-AK Family Medical Care.pdf |
HJUD 4/5/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 173 |
CSHB 104 (JUD) Amendment R.4.pdf |
HJUD 4/5/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 104 |