02/04/2026 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): Select Committee on Legislative Ethics | |
| HB262 | |
| HB20 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 262 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 20 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
February 4, 2026
1:01 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Andrew Gray, Chair
Representative Chuck Kopp, Vice Chair
Representative Ted Eischeid
Representative Genevieve Mina
Representative Sarah Vance
Representative Jubilee Underwood
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Mia Costello
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): SELECT COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE ETHICS
- HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 262
"An Act increasing the number of superior court judges in the
third judicial district; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 20
"An Act relating to fees for paper documents; and relating to
unfair trade practices."
- MOVED CSHB 20(JUD) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 262
SHORT TITLE: NUMBER OF SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST
01/23/26 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/23/26 (H) JUD, FIN
02/04/26 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 20
SHORT TITLE: PROHIBIT FEES FOR PAPER DOCUMENTS
SPONSOR(s): SADDLER
01/22/25 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/25
01/22/25 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/25 (H) L&C, JUD
02/14/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
02/14/25 (H) Heard & Held
02/14/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
02/19/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
02/19/25 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
05/12/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
05/12/25 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
05/14/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
05/14/25 (H) Scheduled but Not Heard
05/15/25 (H) L&C AT 9:00 AM BARNES 124
05/15/25 (H) Heard & Held
05/15/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
05/16/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
05/16/25 (H) Moved HB 20 Out of Committee
05/16/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
05/18/25 (H) L&C RPT 3DP 3NR
05/18/25 (H) DP: BURKE, SADDLER, FIELDS
05/18/25 (H) NR: COULOMBE, CARRICK, NELSON
01/28/26 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
01/28/26 (H) Heard & Held
01/28/26 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
02/04/26 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
CHASE BERENSON, Appointee
Select Committee on Legislative Ethics
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Select
Committee on Legislative Ethics.
DEBORAH FANCHER, Appointee
Select Committee on Legislative Ethics
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Select
Committee on Legislative Ethics.
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel
Alaska court system
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 262 on behalf of the House
Rules Standing Committee, sponsor by request of the governor.
REPRESENTATIVE DAN SADDLER
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, offered final comments on
HB 20.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:01:39 PM
CHAIR GRAY called the House Judiciary Standing Committee meeting
to order at 1:01 p.m. Representatives Kopp, Eischeid, Mina,
Vance, Underwood, and Gray were present at the call to order.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): Select Committee on Legislative Ethics
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): Select Committee on Legislative Ethics
1:02:57 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the first order of business would be
confirmation hearings for the Select Committee on Legislative
Ethics.
1:03:43 PM
CHASE BERENSON, Appointee, Select Committee on Legislative
Ethics, testified as appointee to the Select Committee on
Legislative Ethics ("the committee"). He said this is a great
opportunity to maintain public trust in the legislature and
ensure things keep "rolling smoothly."
1:04:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA inquired as to Mr. Berenson's interest in
serving on the committee.
MR. BERENSON said it's important for the state to have trust in
the legislature, and the legislature to have trust in the
system. He emphasized the importance of the committee, adding
that he's not serving with a particular [motive].
CHAIR GRAY asked Mr. Berenson to speak to his qualifications.
MR. BERENSON recounted his years of experience in business
leadership roles, mostly for Alaska Native corporations in rural
Alaska, which entailed ethical decision making and impartiality
while serving a variety of stakeholders. He said the committee
service requires ethical clarity, transparency, sound judgment,
and impartiality.
CHAIR GRAY opened public testimony on the appointment of Mr.
Berenson. After ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he
closed public testimony.
1:07:16 PM
DEBORAH FANCHER, Appointee, Select Committee on Legislative
Ethics, testified as appointee to the Select Committee on
Legislative Ethics. She said if appointed, this would be her
second year serving on the committee and shared her biographical
background. She said she is "not qualified" to serve on the
committee, as she does not have any legal training; however, she
offers an analytical perspective from being a science teacher.
She said she is volunteering to practice what she preaches to
her students.
1:08:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked whether Ms. Fancher has a guiding
rubric to evaluate ethics.
MS. FANCHER answered "firm, fair, and consistent," the same way
one would run a good classroom.
1:10:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked what Ms. Fancher learned from her time
on the committee.
MS. FANCHER responded, "That adults behave much like high school
students." She said she learned a lot about the Ethics Act and
emphasized the importance of the committee because topics like
social media and AI are not covered [in the Ethics Act]. She
opined that the Ethics Act needs to be modernized and expressed
her appreciation for the legislators serving on the committee,
specifically Senator Stevens.
1:12:31 PM
CHAIR GRAY opened public testimony on the appointment of Ms.
Fancher. After ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he
closed public testimony.
1:13:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP shared that he's known Ms. Fancher's
brothers since high school, and that he is proud to support her
appointment.
1:13:39 PM
CHAIR GRAY moved to advance the confirmation of Chase Berenson
and Deborah Fancher, appointees to the Select Committee on
Legislative Ethics, to the joint session of the House and Senate
for consideration. He reminded members that signing the reports
regarding appointments to boards and commissions in no way
reflects individual members' approval of disapproval of the
appointees, and that the nominations are merely forwarded to the
full legislature for confirmation or rejection. There being no
objection, the confirmations were advanced.
1:14:04 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 1:14 p.m. to 1:16 p.m.
HB 262-NUMBER OF SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES
1:16:17 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 262, "An Act increasing the number of superior
court judges in the third judicial district; and providing for
an effective date."
1:16:46 PM
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Alaska court system, on behalf of
the House Rules Standing Committee, sponsor by request of the
governor, presented HB 262. She paraphrased the sponsor
statement [included in the committee file], which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
The Alaska Supreme Court is seeking a change to AS
22.10.120 to add one new superior court judge to serve
in Palmer. The judge will handle a mix of civil and
criminal cases to better serve the justice needs of
Alaskans in the busiest court in the state.
An additional judge is needed because the Palmer
superior court judges have the highest caseloads in
the state. The four current Palmer judges and are
handling a workload that is unsustainable: they are
assigned an average of 683 cases per judge, compared
to the statewide average of 458 cases per superior
court judge. Adding a fifth judge to the Palmer
Superior Court will mean that those judges would have
546 cases each. This would still exceed the statewide
average number of cases per judge, and Palmer judges
would still have the highest caseload per judge of any
court in the state, but it would be a welcome and
needed improvement.
The last time the legislature changed the law to add a
new superior court judge in Palmer was 20 years ago.
The population of the Mat-Su Borough increased by
approximately 40% since 2006 when the last judge was
added. With such a marked increase in population
comes, of course, a marked increase in all the
government services that those citizens require,
including from the courts and judges.
The number of cases filed in the Palmer superior court
has increased by 55% since FY 07, when the fourth
(newest) judge took his seat. The filings in Palmer
(from 1,746 cases in FY 07 to 2,732 cases in FY 25)
have been handled by the same four superior court
judge positions. For many years, this growing burden
was mitigated with the increased use of technology and
other efficiencies, but continuing with the same
number of judges we have had in Palmer for 20 years
while the population increased 40% and case filings
increased by 55% has become untenable.
The Chief Justice and the Administrative Director
carefully study caseload trends, filing patterns, and
judicial coverage in the entire state. Along with the
entire Supreme Court, they determine the needs of the
Judiciary and how best to provide justice to Alaskans,
and they carefully consider when and where judicial
positions should be changed. After much discussion,
the Court has concluded that adding this superior
court judge in Palmer is necessary, and House Bill 262
is the most effective and fiscally responsible way to
continue to provide equal justice to all Alaskans.
MS. MEADE emphasized that the high case load is a key aspect of
dispensing justice in Palmer, which is driving this legislation,
in addition to the growing complexity of cases over the past 20
years. She spoke to the complexities involved in the expansion
of processing victims' rights laws, Child In Need of Aid (CINA)
cases, Violating Conditions of Release (VCOR) charges, and the
growing number of self-represented litigates, all of which
creates additional workload for judges. She concluded by
detailing the steps taken by the court system to address the
high case load before coming to the legislature to request an
additional judge: temporary reassignment of judges, using
district court judges, and hiring retired judges, pro-temp, who
have offered to assist in a paid position. She noted that this
is not a regional issue, and that these temporary solutions had
a ripple effect throughout the state.
1:37:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked whether statutory authority is
required to increase the number of district court judges.
Further, she asked how the courts came to the decision to
request one additional Superior Court judge and how this would
impact the district court judges.
MS. MEADE responded that the number of district court judges is
set in statute, but the Supreme Court can increase these numbers
by court rule. So no, changing the number of district court
judges does not require legislative approval. One could be
added by court rule along with a normal budgetary request for
the money. She explained that the decision to request only one
judge came out of reluctance to ask for too much in a time of
fiscal austerity. Furthermore, there's not enough space for
more judges. She reminded the committee that there was a large
request for capital money to expand the Palmer Courthouse with
three new court rooms, which was not successful. However, two
years ago, some funding was received for Phase 1, which was not
all expended. The leftover money will be used to build one new
court room in the basement of the Palmer Courthouse, which is
why there's no capital request with this bill, as it would free
up space upstairs to build a court room for this new judge and
their three staff. Without capital funding, she said only one
additional judge can be accommodated in Palmer, but with the
current growth trajectory, she suspected she would be back
before the legislature in future years to ask for more
resources.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked whether ACS conducts a periodic
review of its caseload.
MS. MEADE answered no, but there are meetings between
administrators and the Supreme Court justices to review trends
in case filings, workload, atmosphere, and budget issues on an
ongoing basis.
1:42:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked whether the court has taken a
comparative look at the cost of increasing the number of judges
versus the cost of housing inmates in the Department of
Corrections (DOC) pretrial.
MS. MEADE acknowledged that the cost of pre-trial housing in DOC
is partly due to the length of time it's taking for each case,
which is a systemwide issue and creates longer pretrial stays.
She noted that the time spent in pre-trial status is credited
against the inmate's sentence.
1:45:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP pointed out that bill has an associated cost
of $1 million for the judge and their support staff. He asked
whether the support staff could be shared between judges, as
opposed to permanent assignment to one judge, and whether there
is enough space for these new staff. He also asked whether DOL
would be submitting a fiscal note.
MS. MEADE confirmed that the fiscal note includes four
positions: one judge, one judicial assistant, one law clerk, and
one in-court clerk. She said it would be difficult for a judge
to function without their staff and likened it to legislators
sharing staff, which would be unusual. She reiterated that the
vacant space in the basement would allow them to accommodate the
space for these positions. She declined to speak on behalf of
DOL.
1:50:12 PM
CHAIR GRAY asked what else might be slowing down cases in the
Palmer Courthouse.
MS. MEADE said in palmer in particular, anecdotally there seems
to be issues with attorneys being less collegial and unable to
come to an agreement without judicial intervention.
1:51:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE expressed her hope that the bill would be
prioritized by the House Finance Committee and that the
courthouse facilities would be expanded too.
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP shared his understanding that the judge is
rarely the issue with the backlog. He added that to make the
system work, there needs to be more prosecutors and defense
attorneys as well.
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD expressed her appreciation for the bill
and her hope that this issue would be remedied now and into the
future.
1:55:07 PM
CHAIR GRAY opened public testimony on HB 262. After
ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed public
testimony and announced that the bill would be held over.
HB 20-PROHIBIT FEES FOR PAPER DOCUMENTS
1:55:47 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 20, "An Act relating to fees for paper documents;
and relating to unfair trade practices."
1:56:13
CHAIR GRAY moved to adopt Amendment 1 to HB 20, labeled 34-
LS0237\N.3, Walsh, 2/2/26, which read:
Page 1, line 1:
Delete "and"
Following "practices":
Insert "; and providing for an effective date"
Page 2, following line 6:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2027."
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP objected for the purpose of discussion.
1:56:18 PM
CHAIR GRAY said Amendment 1 sets an effective date of January 1,
2027.
1:56:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DAN SADDLER, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, stated that he has no objection to Amendment 1 and
considers it a friendly amendment.
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP removed his objection. There being no
further objection, Amendment 1 to HB 20 was adopted.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER thanked the committee for their prompt
consideration of the bill and the spirit of discussion.
1:57:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP moved to report HB 20, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 20(JUD) was
reported out of the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
CHAIR GRAY authorized Legislative Legal Services to make any
technical or conforming changes.
1:58:49 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:58 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 262 Fiscal Note - JUD-ACS-01-23-26.pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 262 |
| HB 262 Fiscal Note - DOA-PDA-1-29-26.pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 262 |
| HB 262 Sectional Analysis ver A.pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 262 |
| HB 262 Sponsor Statement ver A.pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 262 |
| HB 262A.pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 262 |
| Public Member Nominee to Select Committee on Legislative Ethics - D. Fancher.pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
Consideration of Nominees to Select Committee on Legislative Ethics |
| Public Member Alternate Nominee to Select Committee on Legislative Ethics - C. Berenson.pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
Public Member Alternate Nominee to Select Committee on Legislative Ethics |
| HB20 Supporting Document-Letter of Support 2.16.2025.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB020-DCCED-DOI-02-13-25.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 version N.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 Supporting Document - ADN Article 2.4.25.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 Sponsor Statement version N 1.31.25.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 Sectional Analysis version N 1.31.25.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 Fiscal Note - DCCED-DOI 1.23.26.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 Public Comment in Opposition - NAMIC's written testimony 12826_Redacted.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 Amendment 1 (N.2) - Rep. Coulombe.pdf |
HJUD 1/28/2026 1:00:00 PM HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 Amendment N.3.pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |
| HB 20 (JUD) Amendment No. 1 (ver. N.3).pdf |
HJUD 2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM |
HB 20 |