Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120

04/21/2022 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= SB 161 POLITICAL PARTY DEFINITION TELECONFERENCED
Moved HCS CSSB 161(STA) Out of Committee
-- Public Testimony <Time Limit May Be Set> --
+= HB 66 ELECTIONS, VOTING, BALLOTS TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
-- Public Testimony <Time Limit May Be Set> --
+ SB 66 MEMBERS LEG COUNCIL; LEG BUDGET & AUDIT TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --
+ Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled TELECONFERENCED
+= HB 396 DIVEST INVESTMENTS IN RUSSIAN ENTITIES TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
-- Public Testimony <Time Limit May Be Set> --
+= HB 316 STANDARDIZED IMPROVEMENT TRACKING SYSTEM TELECONFERENCED
Moved CSHB 316(STA) Out of Committee
-- Public Testimony <Time Limit May Be Set> --
+= HB 271 AIDEA: MEMBERSHIP; RESPONSIBILITIES TELECONFERENCED
<Bill Hearing Rescheduled to 4/26/22>
+= HB 256 LAW ENFORCEMENT: REGISTRY; USE OF FORCE TELECONFERENCED
Moved CSHB 256(CRA) Out of Committee
-- Public Testimony <Time Limit May Be Set> --
**Streamed live on AKL.tv**
         SB  66-MEMBERS LEG COUNCIL; LEG BUDGET & AUDIT                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:23:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS  announced that the final  order of business                                                               
would  be  SENATE  BILL  NO.  66 am,  "An  Act  relating  to  the                                                               
membership  of  the  legislative  council; and  relating  to  the                                                               
membership of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee."                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:24:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  TOM BEGICH,  Alaska  State  Legislature, prime  sponsor,                                                               
introduced  SB   66.    He  paraphrased   the  sponsor  statement                                                               
[included  in  the  committee  packet],  which  read  as  follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     As outlined  in AS  24.20, the Legislative  Council has                                                                    
     the essential role of  conducting internal business for                                                                    
     the  Alaska Legislature,  while the  Legislative Budget                                                                    
     and  Audit (LB&A)  Committee plays  a  pivotal role  in                                                                    
     managing   state   finances  and   expenditures.   Both                                                                    
     committees  are established  in statute  with authority                                                                    
     to  conduct business  anytime  throughout  the year  so                                                                    
     that internal legislative business  may be conducted in                                                                    
     a timely manner.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska   State   Statute  establishes   membership   on                                                                    
     Legislative Council  and the LB&A Committee  to include                                                                    
     "at  least  one  member  from each  of  the  two  major                                                                    
     political parties  of each house." However,  the Alaska                                                                    
     Legislature has  a long  history of  coalition caucuses                                                                    
     and  unaffiliated legislators.  In addition,  following                                                                    
     passage of  voter initiative Ballot Measure  2 in 2020,                                                                    
     candidates are  not required to name  a political party                                                                    
     affiliation,  and therefore  may be  elected to  office                                                                    
     without  one.  Senate  Bill  66  seeks  to  update  the                                                                    
     membership  statutes for  both Legislative  Council and                                                                    
     the LB&A Committee to reflect  these changes in law and                                                                    
     practice to ensure fair  caucus representation on these                                                                    
     committees.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Every committee  established in the  Alaska Legislature                                                                    
     Uniform  Rules  ensures   representation  of  organized                                                                    
     minority  caucuses.  Under  current law,  there  is  no                                                                    
     guarantee that these two  joint interim committees will                                                                    
     include  representation of  all organized  caucuses. SB
     66  also  reflects  the  Uniform  Rules  definition  of                                                                    
     "minority"  as constituting  at least  25 percent  of a                                                                    
     chamber's membership.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     As  all  Alaskans  have  a  right  to  vote  for  their                                                                    
     legislators, who in turn have  a right to form caucuses                                                                    
     if they  choose, those organized caucuses  have a right                                                                    
     to  have their  voices and  visions represented  on all                                                                    
     committees. Senate  Bill 66 seeks  to ensure  this fair                                                                    
     representation is established in law.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:27:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MERCEDES  COLBERT,  Staff,  Senator   Tom  Begich,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  on   behalf  of  Senator  Begich,   prime  sponsor,                                                               
presented  a  sectional  analysis  of  SB  66  [included  in  the                                                               
committee packet],  which read  as follows  [original punctuation                                                               
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Section 1. Amends AS 24.20.020  to include at least one                                                                    
     member  of the  minority  on  the legislative  council.                                                                    
     Includes  language from  Uniform Rule  1(e) to  entitle                                                                    
     minority  caucus  membership  on the  council  that  is                                                                    
     proportional to their total house membership.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2. Amends AS 24.20.161  to include at least one                                                                    
     member of  the minority  on the Legislative  Budget and                                                                    
     Audit Committee, and changes "chairman" to "chair."                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Section 3.  Adds a new  section to AS. 24.20  to define                                                                    
     "minority"  as a  group of  members who  have organized                                                                    
     and  elected a  minority leader  and who  constitute at                                                                    
     least 25 percent of the total house membership.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:29:09 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN directed attention to  page 2, line 1, and                                                               
asked what would  happen if no one was appointed  from each house                                                               
within  the 15-day  deadline after  convening  the first  regular                                                               
session of each legislature.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BEGICH  stated that the  bill was silent on  that matter;                                                               
nonetheless, he  indicated that he  was open to  suggestions from                                                               
the committee.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:30:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN  expressed his  concern about  the language                                                               
on  page 1,  lines  9-14,  and the  provision  on  page 2,  which                                                               
defined  the  minority as  having  at  least  25 percent  of  the                                                               
membership in the body.  He remarked:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     If  you  had a     16-member  majority and  a  4-member                                                                    
     minority, under this definition,  there is no minority,                                                                    
     and yet,  the first section  of the bill  would suggest                                                                    
     that there should  be some proportional representation.                                                                    
     And  A,  you  don't  have a  minority,  so  in  theory,                                                                    
     there's no  minority entitled to sit,  but in addition,                                                                    
     if you had  4 minority members,   you're  at 20 percent                                                                    
     and    of 6 Senate  seats, that would justify  1 Senate                                                                    
     seat even though there's no  minority.  That seems like                                                                    
     a math problem, but it's more than a math problem.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  BEGICH  contended that  per  the  Uniform Rules  of  the                                                               
Alaska  State Legislature,  a minority  was defined  as having  5                                                               
members  in the  case of  the  Senate.   He remarked,  "If I  and                                                               
another of  my colleagues had elected  to lead my body,  we would                                                               
not have  an official  minority; consequently,  when you  look at                                                               
the definition of  minority on Page 1,   they  would have no seat                                                               
because there  would be no  minority and that is  consistent with                                                               
Uniform  Rules."   He  pointed out  that  currently, the  Uniform                                                               
Rules did  not offer proportional  representation, except  by the                                                               
goodness of a presiding officer to an unrecognized minority.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CLAMAN  considered  the  scenario  in  which  the                                                               
Senate had  6 members in the  minority.  He asked  how many seats                                                               
would  be   entitled  to  the  legislative   council  under  this                                                               
provision.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. COLBERT stated  that with a 6-member minority  for a 7-member                                                               
committee,  2   members  would  be  appointed   from  the  Senate                                                               
minority.  For the 18-member  House minority, she reported that 3                                                               
members would be appointed to the legislative council.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:34:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN shared his  understanding that the language                                                               
in the bill made no reference  to the Uniform Rules.  Instead, it                                                               
provided that  the minority was  entitled to the number  of seats                                                               
on the  council proportional  to the  number of  minority members                                                               
compared to the total house membership.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. COLBERT  clarified that the  language in question on  page 1,                                                               
lines 9-14,  was adopted from  uniform Rule 1(e).   Likewise, the                                                               
definition  of  "minority"  in  Section 3  was  lifted  from  the                                                               
Uniform  Rules.   Therefore,  although the  bill  made no  direct                                                               
reference  to  the  Uniform  Rules,  it  essentially  placed  the                                                               
Uniform Rules into statute.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CLAMAN  maintained  his   belief  that,  per  the                                                               
existing bill  language, a strict proportional  analysis would be                                                               
conducted  to   determine  the   minority's  membership   on  the                                                               
legislative council.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:36:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   EASTMAN  shared   his  understanding   that  the                                                               
language in  Section 3 was  found in the Legislative  Ethics Act.                                                               
He shared his  preference that the minority  leader would appoint                                                               
the  minority  members serving  on  the  legislative council,  as                                                               
opposed to allowing the majority to make that selection.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:39:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BEGICH  said the  intent was to  make the  legislation as                                                               
consistent with the  Uniform Rules as possible.   He acknowledged                                                               
that the  language in Section  3 mirrored the  Legislative Ethics                                                               
Act; however, it was also  taken directly from the Uniform Rules.                                                               
He  explained  that  the  Uniform Rules  directed  the  power  of                                                               
appointment  to the  presiding  officers, which  was  a topic  of                                                               
debate in the Senate.  He  expressed his hope that the minority's                                                               
preferences would  be considered;  nonetheless, he had  no desire                                                               
to codify  that, as  it would  create another  inconsistency with                                                               
the Uniform Rules.  He suggested  passing the bill in its current                                                               
form, pointing out that without  some form of representation, the                                                               
minority would be  subject to potentially being denied  a seat on                                                               
the legislative council during the  next legislative session.  He                                                               
suggested that the Unfirm Rules  and how they were applied should                                                               
be addressed in the future in the interest of fairness.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:41:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR  wondered whether Legislative  Legal Services                                                               
would recommend further clarification of  the language on page 1,                                                               
lines 9-14.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  BEGICH sought  to confirm  that Representative  Tarr was                                                               
suggesting  that  there  should  be a  direct  reference  to  the                                                               
Uniform  Rules in  statute.    He offered  to  follow  up with  a                                                               
response from Legislative Legal Services.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:42:56 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN  pointed out  that Uniform Rule  1(e) only                                                               
applied to  standing committees,  which excluded  the legislative                                                               
council, and  the Legislative Budget and  Audit Committee (LB&A).                                                               
He  asked  for  the  bill   sponsor's  perspective  on  providing                                                               
alternate members for the legislative council.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  BEGICH  conveyed that  the  statutes  pertaining to  the                                                               
legislative council  did not provide  for an alternate  while the                                                               
LB&A  statutes allowed  for  a  single alternate.    He shared  a                                                               
personal anecdote.   He reported that at  present, the alternates                                                               
were of  the majority,  adding that  he was open  to the  idea of                                                               
allowing alternates from the minority.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN  pointed out  that if the  minority leader                                                               
was unable to  attend a council meeting, the  minority would have                                                               
no representation without an alternate.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BEGICH  agreed that it  was a  deficit that needed  to be                                                               
fixed.   He welcomed  a proposal  from Representative  Eastman on                                                               
this issue to ensure fairness and equity.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:48:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY emphasized the need for bipartisanship.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BEGICH thanked the committee  and expressed his hope that                                                               
the bill would move forward.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:49:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS aligned  himself with Representative Story's                                                               
comments.   He  highlighted  the importance  of having  equitable                                                               
systems in place.  He announced that SB 66 was held over.                                                                       

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
HB 316 Fiscal Note GOV-OMB-3-18-2022.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
HB 316
SB 66 Sectional Analysis 4.15.2022.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 66
SB 66 Sponsor Statement 4.15.2022.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 66
SB 66 Statement of Changes Version A to A.A 4.15.2022.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 66
SB 66 Supporting Document 4.15.2022.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 66
SB 66 Fiscal Note 1 02.22.22.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 66
SB 66 Hearing Request Memo 4.15.2022.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 66
HB 66 Letter of Opposition - Hykes 04.17.22.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
HB 66
SB 161 Amendment 4 B.1 - Eastman.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 161
SB 161 Amendment 5 B.4 - Eastman.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 161
SB 161 Amendment 6 B.5 - Eastman.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 161
SB 161 Amendment 1 B.2 - Eastman.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 161
SB 161 Amendment 2 B.3 - Eastman.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 161
SB 161 Amendment 3 B.6 - Eastman.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 161
HB 271 - AIDEA Letter_Public Comment Procedures_04212022.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
HB 271
HB 271 Amendment I.1 - Kreiss-Tomkins.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
HB 271
HB 396 Work Draft for CS Version I.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
HB 396
HB 396 Explanation of Changes from Version A to Version I.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
HB 396
SB 161 Amendment Packet with Votes 04.21.22.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
SB 161
HB 66 Additional Info - Response from Dept of Law 04.21.22.pdf HSTA 4/21/2022 3:00:00 PM
HB 66