Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 106
04/28/2005 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB22 | |
| HB161 | |
| HB283 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 22 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 161 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 283 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 22-90-DAY LEGISLATIVE SESSION CHAIR SEATON announced that the first order of business was HOUSE BILL NO. 22, "An Act relating to the terms of legislators, to a 90-day regular session of the legislature, to the date of convening a regular session, and to procedures of legislative committees during the interim; and providing for an effective date." 8:10:09 AM REPRESENTATIVE RALPH SAMUELS, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 22, as co-sponsor. He noted that the current legislative session is nearing its end for the year and many bills are stacked up. However, he said he doesn't think it would matter what the length of the session is; it is always the dynamic choice to save many bills until the end. He mentioned getting younger people involved in the legislature. He said it's difficult for people with full-time jobs to serve as legislators or legislative staff if they have jobs already, and shortening the session may help. Furthermore, holding a shorter session would save money - an estimated $1 million in staffing and per diem costs. Representative Samuels opined, "I honestly believe that more laws aren't necessarily a good thing." 8:12:03 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS presented what he described as probably the only legitimate argument against HB 22: "Constitutionally speaking," he said, "the State of Alaska has a very strong governor ..., and as long as we're here, we have more power over what that office does." He countered, "The reality is that if something particularly egregious happens, we can always call ourselves back into session with our own agenda. 8:12:52 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS noted that in the original bill version, he and Senator Guess had included ways to "do a whole lot more during the Interim." For example, he said the start date of session could be flexible. Committees could meet in various locations around the state, although bills could not be passed to another committee outside of session without altering the Uniform Rules. He indicated that a simpler version exists [labeled, 24-LS0163\A, Cook, 11/15/04], and he said it is his preference to choose the simpler bill and work from there. 8:14:19 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS directed attention to a chart included in the committee packet [entitled, "ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE SESSION LENGTH AND PERCENTAGE OF DAYS WITH FLOOR SESSIONS, 1981- 2000"]. He noted that the total "days in session" are approximately only 60 percent. He said, "I ... personally would rather come a month later and work on Saturdays." He spoke of the cost to go home for visits on weekends. 8:15:12 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN stated that he is amazed at the amount of work that goes on in the legislature. 8:15:57 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS clarified that he thinks that all legislators and staff work hard. He said, "Having a citizen legislature that is not near the population center ..., you can't have a job working for somebody else and come down and do this." He said he thinks shortening the length of a legislative session will "increase the pool of people that can participate." 8:17:25 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said there is a stereotype that [the legislature] doesn't do anything, yet he has experienced being too busy to see constituents who try to visit him. 8:17:55 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON noted, for example, that one legislator from Fairbanks owns a plant nursery and goes home each weekend to conduct his business. He suggested that shortening the session and working on weekends would prevent that representative from doing that. 8:18:52 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS asked, "Trying to run a business from here, would you rather have every weekend, or would you rather have an extra month?" He said his own employer allows him to leave during session, and he said he could not to afford to do so otherwise. 8:19:18 AM REPRESENTATIVE ELKINS noted that in the past, the legislature "was made up mostly of young people" and the pay was much higher. Today, he indicated, legislators get paid less; their pay is equivalent to that of a page. He recommended to Representative Samuels that if he wants to see more young people in the legislature, then the pay scale needs to be raised. REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS suggested that that step could be taken up after HB 22. 8:20:17 AM REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS pointed out that he is a co-sponsor of the bill. He named some Representatives with various jobs and some of the things that have happened to businesses while the Representatives are away. He observed that there seem to be three dominate classes of Representatives: those who are college graduates, who may have become legislative staff before becoming legislators; those who are retired and offer a wealth of life experience; and those who belong to "an organization." The last group struggle to juggle "both lives." 8:24:26 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS, in response to a question from Representative Ramras, said those who would take a hit from the bill would be those for whom the legislature is their living, because the already meager paycheck would be further reduced. 8:26:09 AM CHAIR SEATON said he is trying to weigh the benefits of having a shorter session and then having more meetings throughout the year. He pointed out that the House State Affairs Standing Committee has already been meeting Saturdays. 8:27:45 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS said, "I believe it'd be a separate debate on every question." He opined that the legislature doesn't need to conduct every overview in Juneau. He said he and Senator Guess discussed a constitutional problem regarding when to swear in the Representatives. He said, "We believe that we should swear in the new legislators when [we] swear in the governor." He explained that that would give new legislators more time to get their feet wet. He surmised that the turnover in the House is 15 percent. 8:30:18 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG responded that he thinks people are staying longer, perhaps serving an average of eight years, whereas earlier they served an average of four. 8:30:42 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS stated that there will be "push back" on having meetings in Anchorage by the community of [Juneau], because the perception will be that the bill is one step towards moving the legislature. He said he doesn't believe that that's true. 8:31:21 AM CHAIR SEATON, regarding allowing time for new legislators to get their feet wet, said the House has to organize and vote for a committee chair and speaker. He queried, "Until that is accomplished, there really isn't anybody to conduct ... meetings, is there?" 8:31:55 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS said that's a good question. He suggested, "You gavel in, have the committee on committees, and take a day." He indicated that it could be decided whether it is even necessary to come to Juneau for that purpose. 8:32:07 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN observed that when redistricting occurs, greater numbers of new legislators are a result. He estimated that the last time that happened there were 13-14 new people. 8:33:11 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER said one of the most important parts of being a new legislator is hiring and learning to use staff. She said it seems that reducing the session to 90 days would reduce the pool of staff that would be available. 8:34:00 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS said he did not [keep] the idea of having legislators sworn in early in the bill, because there is a problem of overlap; the legislator on the way out doesn't leave until January 15, while the one coming in would - if sworn in early - be in office in December. Regarding staff, he said there may be problems to debate. He noted that some staff is year-round. He indicated that the bill - in it's simple form - asks, "Can we do a more efficient job down here?" 8:35:38 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, referring to the original bill version, said he strongly supports Section 5 [regarding holding meetings during the interim]. He said, "Regardless of where the capital is, we've got to bring the legislature to the people; the state's too big not to do that." 8:38:11 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS, in response to a request for clarification, said [Version 24-LS0163\A, Cook, 11/15/04, which at this point was not adopted as a work draft], was simplified to only change the number of days in a session to 90. 8:39:20 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked Representative Samuels if he would oppose including Section 5 [from the original bill version]. 8:39:36 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS said he would not. 8:39:41 AM REPRESENTATIVE ELKINS indicated that it is more difficult to schedule for shorter periods of time. For example, he surmised that it would be hard for the chair of the committee to "lose one of his packers in the middle of packing season" in order for that packer to attend a legislative hearing. He said he would rather have a longer session and meet around the state during the session, than to try to meet around the state during the interim. 8:40:45 AM JEAN WOODS, testifying on behalf of herself, told the committee that she has been an observer of government in Alaska from territorial days when there were sessions that lasted 60 days every other year. She stated her support of having 90-day sessions. She explained, "I think that you would make ... the legislature available to people that have to work for a living. It's easier to get away for a quarter of the year than it is for a third of the year." In response to a remark by Chair Seaton, she expressed her appreciation of the sacrifices that legislators make to serve the state. 8:43:03 AM CHAIR SEATON, ascertaining that there was no one else to testify, closed public testimony. 8:43:21 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN moved to adopt a committee substitute (CS), labeled 24-LS0163\A, Cook, 11/15/04, as a work draft. [This is an unnumbered piece of legislation that is being used as a committee substitute.] CHAIR SEATON objected for discussion purposes. 8:44:20 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER said, "I think that Representative Samuels' suggestion that this might be the simplest way to start the process and then discuss all the issues that fall out from it separately is wise." 8:44:37 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said, "It seems to me that it's very difficult if you parcel this out, because I don't see how you can do this without addressing the other issues here; they're all part and parcel of the same problem." 8:45:14 AM CHAIR SEATON asked if Representative Lynn would like him to maintain his objection so that the committee would hold a roll- call vote. 8:45:23 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN answered no. 8:45:27 AM CHAIR SEATON removed his objection. Therefore, Version A was before the committee. 8:45:41 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he is not "a great fan of the 90- day session." He reemphasized his support of Section 5 from the original bill version. 8:46:26 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS said he thinks it's probably a good idea [to meet during interim] whether or not session is shortened. In response to a question from Representative Gruenberg, he said he would have a second bill drafted over the interim and limit the discussion at hand to the concept of the 90-day session. 8:47:13 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he would like to sponsor that bill when it is drafted. He mentioned that thought should be given regarding how many days notice would be given for interim meetings. 8:47:24 AM REPRESENTATIVE ELKINS stated: This is how Oregon started, you know. First they were ... paying too much, so they cut the salaries, and they were spending too much time meeting, and they cut that back ... [repeatedly], and now they're into referendum government and they're in a terrible mess down there. So, I think there's more than one way of looking at this. I see this as heading towards referendum, which is bad [emphasis on "bad"] government. I'll support moving it out of committee, but in general I don't think I'll support it. 8:48:13 AM CHAIR SEATON said scheduling meetings in the interim becomes difficult, and if a 90-day session was adopted, more meetings would have to be scheduled during the interim. He said he is not sure that would allow for continuity of discussion. Regarding Representative Samuels' previous mention of the balance between the legislature and the governor, he said he thinks the bill would "shift things towards the administration." Notwithstanding that, he said he would will support moving the proposed legislation out of committee. 8:50:07 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he sees a benefit in holding meetings during the interim: There would be the opportunity of people seeing their legislators in action around the state, and people would have the ability to get involved. 8:51:15 AM REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS reiterated his support of the bill. 8:52:02 AM REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS moved to report CSHB 22, Version 24- LS0163\A, Cook, 11/15/04, out of committee [with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes]. There being no objection, CSHB 22(STA) was reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
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