03/23/1993 08:00 AM House STA

  HB 37:  OPEN MEETINGS LAW AMENDMENTS                                         
                                                                               
  Number 156                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN VEZEY read the title to the 2D SSHB 37 and invited                  
  its sponsor to the table.                                                    
                                                                               
  Number 166                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE JOHN DAVIES, PRIME SPONSOR OF HB 37, outlined                 
  his reasoning behind the bill's introduction.  He stated the                 
  latest version (2D SSHB 37) makes several changes in the                     
  existing law, including the requirement of 72 hours' notice                  
  of a public meeting; the posting of a meeting's subjects;                    
  and, the definition of how many members of a body constitute                 
  an official meeting.  He noted several lawsuits have yielded                 
  conflicting court opinions on the current law, and said the                  
  confusion is keeping good people from running for public                     
  office.  He also cited his own experience on the Fairbanks                   
  Borough Assembly, in which a Borough attorney was unable to                  
  make sense of the law, and urged members to clarify that law                 
  with HB 37.                                                                  
                                                                               
  Number 425                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN VEZEY agreed the Open Meetings Act was "broken" and                 
  needed to be "fixed."  He told the committee he had also                     
  been at work on a bill similar to 2D SSHB 37, but had                        
  several differences in mind.  Those differences included:                    
  1) making an official meeting a gathering of a quorum as                     
  opposed to a simple majority of a quorum; 2) excluding                       
  attorney-client privilege, because it is guaranteed in the                   
  constitution; 3) mandating all parties in an open meetings                   
  lawsuit pay their own costs; and, 4) that agency                             
  publications need not be provided at teleconference sites.                   
  He then called for further testimony on 2D SSHB 37.                          
                                                                               
  Number 492                                                                   
                                                                               
  ROSALEE WALKER, PRESIDENT, ALASKA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE,                          
  testified in favor of 2D SSHB 37, saying the League supports                 
  the idea of open meetings and the current law is too                         
  cumbersome.  She pointed out in small communities, people                    
  are violating the law every day because in some court                        
  opinions, two people talking constitutes a meeting.  She                     
  also cited the last Cordova election, where people refused                   
  to run for office because of the open meetings law, and a                    
  newcomer was able to win election with a write-in campaign.                  
                                                                               
  Number 529                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE FRAN ULMER asked if it was critical to pass a                 
  new law this year.                                                           
                                                                               
  Number 531                                                                   
                                                                               
  MS. WALKER replied, "The sooner the better."  She noted many                 
  cities have already lost money fighting lawsuits, and other                  
  lawsuits are pending action on 2D SSHB 37.                                   
                                                                               
  Number 538                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE ULMER asked if Ms. Walker had a preference on                 
  what constituted a meeting, a quorum or a majority of a                      
  body's membership.                                                           
                                                                               
  Number 543                                                                   
                                                                               
  MS. WALKER replied she did not care which one became law.                    
  Her primary concern was that cities would have a definite                    
  guideline.                                                                   
                                                                               
  Number 551                                                                   
                                                                               
  KENT SWISHER, DIRECTOR, ALASKA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, testified                   
  in favor of 2D SSHB 37, saying the League's official                         
  position was that a quorum should qualify as the standard                    
  for a meeting, and the League would like to see a provision                  
  allowing groups to see an individual member of a body                        
  without violating the law.  He stated that in smaller towns                  
  of less than 300, some of the restrictions in 2D SSHB 37                     
  might not be practical.                                                      
                                                                               
  Number 578                                                                   
                                                                               
  WENDY REDMAN, VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS FOR                    
  THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM, testified in favor of 2D SSHB 37, but                 
  said the university system would also like to see further                    
  clarification of what kinds of meetings would be subject to                  
  the law.                                                                     
                                                                               
  Number 586                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE ULMER asked which standard for an official                    
  meeting the university favored, the majority or a quorum.                    
                                                                               
  MS. REDMAN responded that the university favored a quorum to                 
  be the standard.                                                             
                                                                               
  Number 590                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE ULMER stated the revision of the open                         
  meetings law had been held up long enough and it might be                    
  best to compromise several points of view in a committee                     
  substitute (CS).                                                             
                                                                               
  Number 601                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN VEZEY declared he did not submit his version as a                   
  CS out of respect to the sponsor of 2D SSHB 37, and asked if                 
  Representative Davies had any objection to the idea.                         
                                                                               
  Number 614                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES had no opposition to working on a CS                   
  to 2D SSHB 37, but was concerned that under a quorum                         
  standard, three or four people on a committee could meet                     
  without it constituting an official meeting, and still                       
  control an issue.  He was also concerned about preventing a                  
  series of smaller meetings that would effectively convene a                  
  quorum.