Legislature(2015 - 2016)CAPITOL 106
02/12/2015 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB65 | |
| HB68 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 68 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 65 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 68-ELECTRONIC DISTRIB. OF REPORTS
8:28:19 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the final order of business was HOUSE
BILL NO. 68, "An Act relating to the preparation, electronic
distribution, and posting of reports by state agencies."
8:28:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS, as prime sponsor, introduced HB
68 and said the proposed legislation sought to save the state
money and create a more efficient process of distribution and
dissemination of [state-mandated reports]. He said similar
legislation was introduced during the Twenty-Eighth Legislative
Session that contained some controversial provisions. He said
HB 68 focuses on simple electronic distribution language. He
indicated that recent discussions with Representative Keller
brought him to consider changes to the proposed legislation;
however, he expressed his hope that today's hearing could serve
as an opportunity to introduce the legislation, and a committee
substitute could be introduced another day.
CHAIR LYNN requested a brief overview of HB 68.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS said when the legislature creates
state agencies, task forces, commissions, and other entities, it
often mandates that those entities produce reports. For
example, he explained, reports are generated to all legislative
offices, the Office of the Governor, and the Alaska State
Library, and often hundreds of those reports end up in the trash
or the recycling bin. He noted the cost of each report is
sometimes in excess of $10 to $20.
8:31:12 AM
CHAIR LYNN pointed out there may be small communities that
cannot access electronically produced reports, and asked whether
that was a concern of the sponsor.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS responded there is a provision in
the proposed legislation allowing such communities to opt to
receive hard copies of reports.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER opined that HB 68 was a great idea, and he
thanked the sponsor for bring it forward and for considering
incorporating some new ideas into a committee substitute.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS, in response to Chair Lynn, said
he would be working with Representative Keller on a committee
substitute that would be available soon. In response to a
follow-up question, he said one change that could be anticipated
in the committee substitute would be to have a requirement for
notification regarding any subsequent changes made to reports.
He explained that would prevent reports from being changed on
line without any record or documentation of those changes. He
said he would be consulting with the Office of the Lieutenant
Governor on the matter. He related the second proposed change
in the upcoming committee substitute would be a provision to
ensure anyone needing a hard copy of a report would not be
"whacked with a fifty dollar bill" from the State Library system
for printing it out. Further, he said the committee substitute
would propose a fair means of ensuring that people could access
whatever documents they wanted from the Alaska State Library.
8:34:45 AM
CHAIR LYNN asked whether the committee substitute would be ready
soon.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS answered that he thought so. He
said he first needed to converse with representatives from the
Alaska State Library regarding printed copy requests, as well as
work with Representative Keller on the aforementioned revisions.
CHAIR LYNN announced he would keep public testimony open.
CHAIR LYNN announced that HB 68 was held over.