Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120
04/27/2023 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB129 | |
| HB42 | |
| HB146 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 129 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 42 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 146 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 129-VOTER REGISTRATION
3:07:06 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 129, "An Act relating to voter registration; and
providing for an effective date."
3:08:06 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:08:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY moved to adopt Amendment 1 to HB 129,
labeled 33-LS0668\A.1, Klein, 4/5/23, which read:
Page 2, line 8:
Delete "any"
Insert "a"
Following "kept.":
Insert "This subsection may not be construed to
authorize entry into a private residence in which
fireworks may be stored for personal use."
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON objected.
3:08:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY explained that Amendment 1 would move the
date that the director shall examine the master registration
voter list from January to April of each calendar year. In
talking to local election officials, she said, the Permanent
Fund Dividends (PFDs) are collected through March 31 of each
year, thereby providing the [Division of Elections (DOE)] with
current addresses for registrants. For that reason, she
suggested that that moving the date until after PFD registration
period would provide the most recent addresses for individuals
whose mail had been returned to the division.
CHAIR SHAW invited the bill sponsor to comment on Amendment 1.
3:09:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, prime
sponsor of HB 129, deferred to DOE.
CHAIR SHAW asked whether the objection was maintained.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON asked whether the division was available
to answer questions.
3:10:19 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:12:22 PM
CHAIR SHAW asked whether the objection was maintained.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON said he was prepared to remove his
objection to Amendment 1 with the caveat that it would be
reviewed in the next committee of referral.
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW objected.
3:12:56 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:13:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed concern that moving the date to
April could interfere with municipal elections. She requested
clarification from DOE as to whether that was the case.
3:14:25 PM
CAROL BEECHER, Director, Division of Elections (DOE), Office of
the Lieutenant Governor, asked Representative Allard to repeat
the question.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed concern that updating the voter
rolls in April could interfere with the Municipality of
Anchorage's (MOA's) local elections. She opined that doing it
in January would be more efficient.
CHAIR SHAW clarified that Amendment 1 proposed the replacement
of January [for examining the master register] with April of
each calendar year.
3:15:30 PM
MS. BEECHER said she was unsure how municipal elections would be
impacted, as the division did not run those elections.
Nonetheless, she confirmed that April was "close to the middle
of the work" conducted by DOE during an election year. She
added that inputting the PFD records was manual and time
consuming.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether Amendment 1 was considered a
friendly amendment.
CHAIR VANCE responded, per the comments from the director,
Amendment 1 may create additional hardship, which would not be
favorable towards the division's workload. For that reason, she
said Amendment 1 was not considered friendly at this time.
3:17:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY clarified that Amendment 1 was not related
to cleaning up the voter rolls. The proposed amendment
concerned individuals whose mail had been returned and had not
contacted the division in the two years preceding the election
or voted in the last few elections. She opined that the PFD
information could be valuable for the division to have the most
current addresses for this subset of people. She withdrew
Amendment 1.
3:18:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER moved to adopt Amendment 2 to HB 129,
labeled 33-LS0668\A.2, Klein, 4/11/23, which read:
Page 1, line 3, through page 2, line 1:
Delete all material and insert:
"* Section 1. AS 15.07.130(a) is amended to read:
(a) Periodically, at times of the director's
choosing, but not [NO] less frequently than in January
of each calendar year, the director shall examine the
master register maintained under AS 15.07.120 and
shall send, by nonforwardable mail to the voter's
registration mailing address, and to the voter's
electronic mail address, if available, a notice
requesting address confirmation or correction. The
notice must explain that the voter's registration will
be inactivated unless the voter responds to the notice
within 45 days after the date the notice is sent. The
director shall send the notice to each voter
(1) whose mail from the division has been
returned to the division in the two years immediately
preceding the examination of the register;
(2) who has not contacted the division in
the two years immediately preceding the examination of
the register and [; OR (3)] who has not voted or
appeared to vote in the two years [GENERAL ELECTIONS]
immediately preceding the examination of the register;
or
(3) who, after registering to vote in this
state and in the two years immediately preceding the
examination of the register, has
(A) registered to vote in another state;
(B) received a driver's license from
another state;
(C) registered a vehicle in another state;
(D) received public assistance in another
state;
(E) served on a jury in another state;
(F) obtained a resident hunting or fishing
license in another state; or
(G) moved to a different residence,
according to information from the United States Postal
Service national change of address program.
* Sec. 2. AS 15.07.130(b) is amended to read:
(b) If a registered voter does [HAS] not respond
to a notice sent under (a) of this section within 45
days after the date the notice is sent, the director
shall inactivate the voter's registration [, WITHIN
THE PRECEDING FOUR CALENDAR YEARS, CONTACTED THE
DIVISION AND HAS NEITHER VOTED NOR APPEARED TO VOTE IN
A LOCAL, REGIONAL SCHOOL BOARD, PRIMARY, SPECIAL, OR
GENERAL ELECTION DURING THE LAST FOUR CALENDAR YEARS
AND A NOTICE SENT TO THE VOTER UNDER (a) OF THIS
SECTION WAS RETURNED AS UNDELIVERABLE, THE VOTER SHALL
BE ADVISED BY A NOTICE SENT BY FORWARDABLE MAIL TO THE
VOTER'S LAST KNOWN ADDRESS THAT REGISTRATION WILL BE
INACTIVATED UNLESS THE VOTER RESPONDS TO THE NOTICE NO
LATER THAN 45 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE NOTICE SENT
UNDER THIS SECTION]. The director shall maintain on
the master register the name of a voter whose
registration is inactivated. The director shall cancel
a voter's inactive registration in accordance with the
procedures set out in 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6 (sec. 8,
National Voter Registration Act of 1993) after the
second general election that occurs after the
registration becomes inactive if the voter does not
contact the division or vote or appear to vote.
* Sec. 3. AS 15.07.130(d) is amended to read:
(d) The notice sent under (a) [(b)] of this
section must include a postage prepaid and pre-
addressed return card on which the voter may state the
voter's current address. The notice must indicate
(1) that the voter should return the card
not later than 45 days after the date of the notice if
the voter did not change residence;
(2) that failure to return the card by the
45-day deadline could result in removal of the voter's
name from the official registration list for a
subsequent election;
(3) that the voter's registration will be
cancelled if the voter does not contact the division
during, or vote or appear to vote in an election held
during, the period beginning on the date of the notice
and ending on the day after the last day of the fourth
calendar year that occurs after the date of notice;
and
(4) how the voter can continue to be
eligible to vote if the voter has changed residence."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON objected for the purpose of
discussion.
3:18:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that various markers indicate
whether a person was taking up residence outside of Alaska.
Amendment 2, she said, listed those markers, thereby sending a
message to DOE that a person did not have an intent to return to
the state. The pertinent markers were listed as follows:
registered to vote in another state; received a driver's license
from another state; registered a vehicle in another state;
received public assistance in another state; served on a jury
duty in another state; obtained a resident hunting or fishing
license in another state; and moved to a different residence,
according to information from the United State Postal Service
national change of address program. The proposed amendment also
outlined a method for [contact], which included a notice sent by
the division that required a response within 45 days. Failure
to do so would result in removal from the active voter roll
list. She noted that the amendment allowed for electronic
response, as opposed to responding to the notice by mail.
3:20:57 PM
JAKE ALMEIDA, Staff, Representative Sarah Vance, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Vance, prime sponsor of
HB 129, clarified that subparagraphs (A)-(G) in Section 1 did
not automatically take someone off the voter rolls.
3:21:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG asked where the 45-day timeframe came
from.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE opined that 45 days was a reasonable amount
of time to respond.
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG pointed out that many Alaskans split
the year between Alaska and other places. She expressed concern
that [45 days] was not enough time.
3:22:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY stated similar concerns about the 45 days,
particularly for rural Alaska where mail moved slower. She
asked Director Beecher to opine on the 45-day timeline.
MS. BEECHER shared her understanding that the "non-forwardable"
component could be problematic according to the national Voting
Rights Act. Additionally, she was unsure how the division would
receive the information listed in subparagraphs (C)-(F) of
Amendment 1.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY sought to confirm that the word
"nonforwardable" on page 1, line 6 was problematic.
MS. BEECHER confirmed that the Voting Rights Act required that
voter notices be forwardable to allow for an opportunity to
respond.
3:24:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked how information was received from
PFD registrants.
MS. BEECHER said the division received a list of names on a
regular basis.
3:25:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER pointed out that the "nonforwardable"
language was already statute, adding that it was not being
changed by Amendment 1. He asked, "Are we currently not doing
that? We're currently sending forwardable mail because the
federal requirement?"
MS. BEECHER offered to follow up with the requested information.
3:26:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON removed his objection.
3:26:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY objected.
3:26:49 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Carpenter, C.
Johnson, Allard, Wright, and Shaw voted in favor of Amendment 2.
Representatives Story and Armstrong voted against it.
Therefore, Amendment 2 to HB 129 passed by a vote of 5-2.
3:27:30 PM
CHAIR SHAW invited closing comments from members of the
committee on HB 129, as amended.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD thanked the sponsor for bringing the
legislation forward.
3:27:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT moved to report HB 129, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE commented on Representative Story's concern
about the timing of the division's receipt of information from
the Permanent Fund Dividend Division and the examination of the
master register. She explained that after the Permanent Fund
Dividend Division collected the information from dividend
registrants, the raw list of data was sent to DOE; however, some
PFD applicant were ineligible. For that reason, she said she
had suggested that the Permanent Fund Dividend Division send a
second batch of data that was "cleaned up." She indicated that
the process was not a one-time event, adding that the division
was looking to receive more thorough information. Regarding Ms.
Beecher's concern about Amendment 2, she shared her
understanding that the Electronic Registration Information
Center (ERIC) system offered much of the information listed in
subparagraphs (C)-(F). She further stated that the bill
required the use of government sources of information to find
relevant information on voters and ensure that every eligible
voter was, indeed, an Alaskan.
3:30:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON objected to the motion to report HB
129, as amended, out of committee.
3:30:53 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Wright, Carpenter,
C. Johnson, Allard, Armstrong, and Shaw voted in favor of moving
HB 129, as amended, out of committee. Representative Allard
voted against it. Therefore, CSHB 129(STA) was reported out of
the House State Affairs Standing Committee by a vote of 6-1.
3:31:38 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 3:31 p.m. to 3:36 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 42 - Fiscal Note - OMB - Statement of Zero Fiscal Impact.pdf |
HSTA 4/27/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 42 |
| HB 42 - Section 22 Report Details.pdf |
HSTA 4/27/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 42 |
| HB 42 - Supporting Documents - Agency Publications Elimination or Change Recommendation List 2022.pdf |
HSTA 4/27/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 42 |
| HB 146 Fiscal Note - DPS - 0.0.pdf |
HSTA 4/27/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 146 |
| HB 42 Sectional Analysis on Letterhead.pdf |
HSTA 4/27/2023 3:00:00 PM |
HB 42 |