Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120
04/14/2023 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB80 | |
| HB28 | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s):|| Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar|| Alaska Judicial Council|| Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct|| Confirmation Hearing(s): | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | SB 80 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 28 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 80-2023 REVISOR'S BILL
1:03:21 PM
CHAIR VANCE announced that the first order of business would be
SENATE BILL NO. 80, "An Act making corrective amendments to the
Alaska Statutes as recommended by the revisor of statutes; and
providing for an effective date."
1:03:48 PM
SENATOR ELVI GRAY-JACKSON, Alaska State Legislature, presented
SB 80, on behalf of the Senate Rules Standing Committee, sponsor
by request of the Legislative Council. She paraphrased the
sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read
as follows [original punctuation provided]:
This is the revisor's bill, which the revisor is
required by statute to prepare and submit to the
Legislative Council (AS 01.05.036). Its purpose is to
clean up the statutes, without making any policy
changes. Some sections amend provisions that have
become obsolete due to other legislative action. Some
sections correct drafting errors or oversights in
previous legislation.
Most of the errors corrected in this bill were
discovered by legislative drafters or the revisor in
reviewing the statutes. Some were discovered by the
Department of Law or others and brought to the
revisor's attention. This bill was reviewed by the
relevant agencies in the executive branch before it
was introduced. The Department of Law has identified
no legal issues with the bill and supports these
proposed amendments to the Alaska Statutes.
The draft legislation was reviewed and approved by the
Legislative Council on February 21, 2023, and
forwarded to the Senate Rules Committee for
introduction.
I urge your support of the 2023 Revisor's Bill.
1:05:56 PM
KATHRYN KURTZ, Assistant Revisor, Legislative Legal Services,
Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA), stated that the revisor's bill
was an important tool for maintaining the Alaska Statutes in
good order. She explained that a revisor could clean up some
issues under the authority of AS 01.05.031; however, those
powers were limited to editing and revising without changing the
meaning within statute. For that reason, the proposed
legislation was an opportunity to address issues that "require
something more," such as: adding and deleting words; repealing
obsolete paragraphs and subsections; and changing references to
federal law to reflect renumbering by the federal government.
1:07:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked why Ms. Kurtz didn't want to present
the sectional analysis.
MS. KURTZ reminded committee members that, in the interest of
time, the sectional analysis was included in the committee
packet. Alternatively, she offered to present the sectional
upon request.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked Ms. Kurtz to present the sectional
analysis.
1:07:41 PM
MS. KURTZ presented the document, titled "2023 Revisor's Bill
Sectional Summary," [included in the committee packet].
1:14:49 PM
CHAIR VANCE inquired about section 9, which deleted an obsolete
date reference in AS 34.45.430. She asked why "before or after
September 7, 1986" was replaced with "of a period of time."
MS. KURTZ clarified that "of a period of time" was existing
language. She noted that if any of the proposed changes caused
concern or made a substantive difference, it could be removed
from the bill.
CHAIR VANCE expounded on her question, suggesting that "a period
of time" was less clear than a specific date.
1:17:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether SB 80 complied with the
single subject rule.
MS. KURTZ answered no; however, there was an exception to the
single subject rule for budget bills and revisor's bills.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked which exemption, under Article 2,
Section 13, of the Constitution of the State of Alaska, SB 80
qualified under.
MS. KURTZ said she was confident that the proposed legislation
qualified under the exception for revisor's bills.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether a law, which was no longer
being followed, could be eliminated without causing a
substantive change to the law.
MS. KURTZ said the statutory assignment was to address obsolete
provisions in statute.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN requested the definition of "obsolete."
MS. KURTZ stated that the examples in SB 80 were illustrative.
She expounded on those specific examples.
1:20:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN recalled legislation from a previous
legislative session that attempted to remove a requirement for
the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) to maintain offices
in every Senate district. He questioned the purpose of such a
bill if a revisor's bill would provide the same opportunity for
cleanup.
MS. KURTZ explained that revisor's bills were extremely
conservative in scope, limited to corrections within the
statutory mandate to delete, repeal, or update obsolete
provisions; correct errors in oversight; and improve the former
substance of the law. She acknowledged that there may be other
obsolete or unfunded provisions in statute; however, that would
fall into the category of a policy choice for the legislature,
she said.
1:23:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether Ms. Kurtz had worked on a
previous revisor's bill that included a "compound effective
date."
MS. KURTZ said she could not recall.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked why a "complex" effective date was
required in SB 80. He questioned whether Section 2 could be
made effective immediately.
MS. KURTZ responded, "Because the section that the change is
being made to has not yet taken effect, so it would be
incongruous to have a change take effect before the actual
subsection takes effect." She added that it made the change
align with the effective date of the subsection.
1:25:08 PM
CHAIR VANCE returned to Section 9 and asked whether changing
"period of time" to "date" [on page 4, line 1] would change the
meaning or intent.
MS. KURTZ said she appreciated the chair's desire to phrase
statutes succinctly; however, she expressed concern about
changing "a period of time," which might encompass multiple
days, to the word "date." She suggested that "a period of time"
was broader, and as such, she was not comfortable making that
additional change.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY, in response to Chair Vance, shared the
example of "180 days" as a period of time, as opposed to a
specific date. He opined that a period of time may be more
applicable in certain cases.
1:28:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN inquired about the significance of
removing Section 7 from the bill.
MS. KURTZ explained that without Section 7, the reference would
remain at "50 U.S.C. 3808 (Military Selective Service Act)",
leaving the reader of the statutes to locate the relevant law.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether the reference to a repealed
law would impact the applicability.
MS. KURTZ declined to offer a definitive answer to the
hypothetical, adding that she was confident about recommending
the two changes to U.S.C. cites because she had reviewed the
language.
1:30:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN remarked:
So, are you drawing a distinction then between if the
federal law changes, they repeal one section, then
move it to another section, versus if they repealed it
and don't move it another section. DO you think
that's legally significant for the purposes of Alaska
law?
MS. KURTZ shared her belief that it was useful to the reader to
direct him/her to the spot where it currently appears.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether a statutory reference to
federal code [that was moved or repealed] was legally
significant from an attorney's perspective.
MS. KURTZ shared her belief that there was a distinction between
a federal statute that had been repealed and a federal statute
that had been renumbered for the purposes of SB 80.
1:33:22 PM
CHAIR VANCE opened public testimony on SB 80. After
ascertaining that no one online or in person wished to testify,
she closed public testimony. She invited closing remarks from
the bill sponsor and members of the committee.
1:34:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN deliberated the substantive nature of
"housekeeping" items. He expressed his "exquisite" concern that
the [collective] understanding of "housekeeping" was now being
added to how the legislature might deal with things that weren't
related to one subject.
1:36:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER moved to report SB 80 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN objected.
1:36:59 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Carpenter, C.
Johnson, Gray, and Groh voted in favor of SB 80.
Representatives Eastman and Vance voted against it. Therefore,
SB 80 was reported out of the House Judiciary Standing Committee
by a vote of 4-2.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 80 - Sponsor Statement v.S.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB 80 - v.S.PDF |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB 80 - Sectional Summary v.S.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB 80 - Letter from DOL re 2023 Revisor Bill 02.12.23 Supporting Document.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB 80 - Alaska Statutory References Supporting Document.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB 80 - Fiscal Note -- Dept of Law 02.27.23.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| AK Judicial Council Appointee - Dennis DeWitt.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
|
| AK Commission on Judicial Conduct - Todd Fletcher.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
|
| Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar Appointee - William Granger Application.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
|
| William Granger Resume.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
|
| HB 28 - Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/8/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM SFIN 4/23/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 28 |
| HB 28 - v.A.PDF |
HJUD 3/1/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 3/8/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 28 |
| HB 28 - Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 3/8/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 28 |
| HB 28 - Support Letter.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 3/8/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM SFIN 4/23/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 28 |
| HB 28 - AMIA Support for HB 28 - 2.9.23.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 3/8/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 28 |
| HB 28 - v.S.pdf |
HJUD 4/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 28 |