Legislature(2021 - 2022)
12/19/2022 01:00 PM House LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
DECEMBER 19, 2022
1:00 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sara Hannan, Chair
Senator Lora Reinbold, Vice Chair
Representative Matt Claman
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Cathy Tilton
Representative Chris Tuck
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Shelley Hughes (alternate)
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Mike Shower
Senator Bert Stedman
Senator Gary Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lyman Hoffman
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Cronk
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Laddie Shaw
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
AGENDA
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
COMMITTEE BUSINESS EXECUTIVE SESSION
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
SPEAKER REGISTER
Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency (LAA)
Emily Nauman, Deputy Director, Legal Services
Tim Powers, Manager, Information and Teleconference, LAA
Tim Banaszak, Chief Information Officer, Integrated
Technology Services, LAA
I.CALL TO ORDER
1:05:07 PM
CHAIR HANNAN called the Legislative Council meeting to order
at 1:05 PM. Present at the call were: Representatives Edgmon,
Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton; Senators Bishop, Micciche,
Hughes, Reinbold, Shower, Stedman, Stevens.
Twelve members present.
Representative Claman joined at 1:07 p.m.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
1:06:30 PM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.
The agenda was approved without objection.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1:06:48 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council approve the minutes dated: June 15, 2022;
June 29, 2022; July 13, 2022; August 18, 2022; September 30,
2022; and October 14, 2022, as presented.
The minutes were approved without objection.
IV. COMMITTEE BUSINESS-EXECUTIVE SESSION
CHAIR HANNAN stated that the Committee would go into Executive
Session to consider a construction contract for the Assembly
Building remodel, an Anchorage security contract, a discussion
of Legal Services drafting volume, and a consideration of
litigation related to social media.
1:07:55 PM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved that Legislative Council go into
Executive Session under Uniform Rule 22(B)(1), discussion of
matters, the immediate knowledge of which would adversely
affect the finances of a government unit and 22(B)(3),
discussion of a matter that may, by law, be required to be
confidential. The following individuals may remain in the room
or on-line during executive session: Jessica Geary, Megan
Wallace, Emily Nauman, Santé Lesh, Molly Kiesel, Rayme Vinson,
JC Kestel, Wayne Jensen, Chris Gilberto, Pat Shanley, Serge
Lesh, Mike Warenda, Hilary Martin, any legislators not on
Legislative Council, and any staff of Legislative Council
members.
1:08:57 PM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton;
Senators Bishop, Micciche, Hughes, Reinbold, Shower, Stedman,
Stevens.
NAYS: None.
The motion passed 12-0.
1:09:44 PM
Council went into Executive Session.
3:16:39 PM
Council came out of Executive Session.
A roll call was taken to establish quorum.
Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton;
Senators Bishop, Micciche, Hughes, Shower, Stedman, Stevens.
Eleven members present.
A. Approval of Construction Contract for Assembly Building
Remodel
3:17:39 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moved that Legislative Council
authorize a construction services contract with Dawson
Construction in an amount not to exceed $8,588,266 for the
Assembly Building Remodel project. He further moved that
Legislative Council request that the Finance Committees
authorize a $2,000,000 grant from the Juneau Community
Foundation in the FY 2024 Capital Budget to be used to offset
the cost of the Assembly Building Remodel project.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked
Ms. Geary to summarize the item.
JESSICA GEARY, Executive Director of the Legislative Affairs
Agency (LAA) said that this construction contract would
authorize work to begin on the Assembly Building, turning the
building into thirty-three separate apartment units that will
be move-in ready. She stated there is an option to realize
savings based on the process undertaken with Dawson
Construction, there is a guaranteed maximum price of
$8,588,266 which means the contract price will not exceed
that. When the $2,000,000 grant from the Juneau Community
Foundation (JCF) is factored in, it reduces the cost to just
over $6,500,00.
SENATOR STEVENS thanked the Juneau Community Foundation for
their donation and ongoing support.
REPRESNTATIVE TILTON thanked the Juneau Community Foundation
for their help and for bringing this issue forward. She stated
that she is not a fan of the legislature being a landlord and
competing with the private sector. She added that she
understands that there is a need for housing in the Juneau
area and the need for keeping staff safe, but said there are a
lot of unanswered questions.
SENATOR SHOWER said he concurred with Representative Tiltons
comments and that he had predicted that the cost of the
project would go up and predicts that it will probably go up
again. He stated that he believes the Committee should explore
other options.
SENATOR HUGHES said she agreed with Representative Tiltons
statements; however, she said she was going to be a yes
because this project will be approved and the legislature
needs to be able to receive the JCF grant. She said that she
also had predicted that the project cost would increase. She
said she is concerned that this project is happening before
providing space in Southcentral to hold floor sessions, which
she believes is important in the future to have a place to
hold special sessions and that should be a priority over this
project.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES said she was grateful to the Juneau
Community Foundation and that this is a positive move to take
care of the members of the legislature. She said she does not
see it as going into the rental business, but rather a way to
provide for legislative members who are serving Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON stated he will be a yes but that this is
an awkward vote because the legislature doesn't evaluate other
projects like this. He said it is a unique situation and a
one-time opportunity to be gifted a building; it is money that
has already been appropriated in addition to the program
receipt authority to receive the grant money.
SENATOR STEDMAN thanked the Juneau Community Foundation. He
said one of the biggest challenges the legislature has is
housing, particularly in the summer months if there is a
special session, which are held in the capital. He said Juneau
will also experience a lot of growth in tourism, along with
the rest of Southeast Alaska, in the next several years so
housing is going to be even tighter. He continued he thinks
this is the right move and we will work through the finances
to ensure legislators do not have a free ride. He concluded
that this will be beneficial to the legislature and the
community of Juneau.
3:26:34 PM
There was no further discussion, and a roll call vote was
taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes; Senators
Bishop, Hughes, Micciche, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: Representative Tilton; Senator Shower.
The motion passed 9-2.
B. Anchorage Legislative Office Building Security Contract
3:27:40 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moved that Legislative Council
authorize a contract for an amount not to exceed $188,000 from
January 1,2023, through December 31, 2023. He further moved
that Legislative Council add an increment to the security
services budget for $100,000 to cover the additional cost.
MS. GEARY stated that approval of this contract would allow
the legislature to enter into a one year contract with the
company currently providing services on a temporary basis. The
total amount of the contract is $188,000, which is about
$100,000 more than currently budgeted; therefore, an increment
of $100,000 is requested for inclusion in the FY 2024 budget.
3:29:12 PM
There was no further discussion, and a roll call vote was
taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton;
Senators Bishop, Hughes, Micciche, Shower, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: None.
The motion passed 11-0.
C. Legal Services Drafting Volume Discussion
3:30:10 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moved that Legislative Council
approve the following language changes to the Legal Services
Priority Policy:
(A) number ten, after the words, drafting of, add, ten or
less new measures per legislator; and
(B) number eleven, delete the words, sectional summaries for
introduced measures.; and
(C) add a new number twelve that states, drafting of eleven
or more new measures per legislator move to the bottom of
the Priority Policy as per Legal Services workload
allows.; and
(D) this motion would allow for conforming and technical
changes by Legislative Legal.
Senate President Micciche, in speaking to the motion, said
that this policy change does not limit legislators from
attempting to write more than ten, it just drops them to the
bottom of the priority list to help manage the workload. He
continued that this eliminates the requirement for sectional
summaries for introduced measures, a task that is not being
done currently, and it leaves on the priority list ten or less
measures per legislator, which drops the workload but still
allows those measures to be considered as a lower priority.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON stated his support and clarified that
while this is a policy that does not have the binding
authority of a uniform rule, it is a directive from
Legislative Council that Legal Services can act upon.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON stated her support for this motion,
which leaves open the possibility that the next legislature
could determine whether they want to have limitations.
SENATOR SHOWER asked Legal for an interpretation of Senator
Micciches amendment; specifically, he wanted confirmation
that Legal Services agreed that these policy changes do not
limit the drafting of measures, but rather, after ten
measures, any additional measures move to the bottom of the
priority list and would be drafted eventually.
EMILY NAUMAN, Deputy Director of Legal Services, stated how
this would function on a practical level is that the first new
bill requests of a legislature would fall in the Priority
Policy where they do now, at number ten. The eleventh bill
request would come after what is currently Priority Policy
number eleven (legal research or opinions that do not relate
to introduced bills) and would be the very last item on the
Priority Policy. She emphasized that it is always Legal
Services goal to finish all the work on their desks, she
believes it would all get done eventually, just at a lower
priority.
SENATOR SHOWER expressed his appreciation for all the
fantastic work done by Legal Services. He asked for the record
that Ms. Nauman make clear that this change does not limit the
filing of bills, it simply means that if a legislator reaches
ten, any additional measures requested by that legislator are
just a lower priority.
MS. NAUMAN confirmed that these changes would not, in any way,
prevent a legislator from filing a bill or from introducing a
bill, it simply puts that eleventh plus bill lower on the
Legal Services Priority Policy. In practice, it may result in
a delay in the legislator getting a draft of that eleventh
bill, but it does not restrict in any way what the legislator
does with that bill once they get it.
3:38:10 PM
There was no further discussion, and a roll call vote was
taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton,
Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche, Shower, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: None.
The motion passed 11-0.
CHAIR HANNAN stated that while Council has now amended the
Legal Services Priority Policy, and as was said in discussion,
Council has not put forward any changes to Uniform Rules nor
proposed any changes to the Uniform Rules. She continued that
todays actions are the start of a discussion that may result
in changes to the Uniform Rules in the future, to modernize
the Rules and any policies to further manage the workload, as
it is her belief that the issues that brought about these
policy changes have not gone away.
3:39:44 PM
SENATOR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve the
following additional changes to the Legal Services Priority
Policy:
(A) number ten, after measures insert, during the first
sixty days of each legislative session.; and
(B) number thirteen, add, drafting of new measures after the
first sixty days of each legislative session.
SENATOR STEVENS, in speaking to the motion, asked Ms. Nauman
if this language works with the amendment that was just
approved.
MS. NAUMAN stated that she believed it could work if Legal
were given the authority to make conforming changes.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding the personal bill deadline in
Uniform Rules (No. 44) and the intent, with this motion, to
include in the Priority Policy only, that personal bills
submitted after the sixtieth day in the first legislative
session will be a lower priority for Legal Services.
MS. NAUMAN, responding to a question by Chair Hannan, said
that that the wording of the motion should include allowing
for conforming changes to ensure all the changes work
together.
SENATOR STEVENS amended his motion to include allowing
conforming and technical changes by Legal Services.
3:43:28 PM
There was no further discussion, and a roll call vote was
taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tuck;
Senators Bishop, Micciche, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: Representative Tilton.
The motion passed 9-1.
CHAIR HANNAN reminded members that Legislative Council
policies can be amended at any time. Some of the topics
currently being discussed may be revisited and refined by a
future Legislative Council.
V. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
A. Approval of Teleconference/Videoconference Integration
Design Services
3:45:15 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moved that the Legislative Council
authorize K2 Audiovisual, Acoustics and Technology Design firm
to design an audiovisual system for the Capitol Complex
committee rooms and chambers in an amount not to exceed
$73,450 using existing capital funds.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purposes of discussion and asked
Tim Powers to speak to this item.
TIM POWERS, Information and Teleconference Manager, said that
this proposal is for K2 to provide audio design services to
modernize the audiovisual (AV) systems throughout the Capitol.
He explained that most of the systems in the Capitol have been
in place since the 1990s or early 2000s; while a few specific
rooms have slightly newer technology, none are at a level that
allows for integration of programs such as Microsoft Teams.
Committee operations during the pandemic made clear that there
was extremely limited ability for third party video streaming
platforms such as Teams or Zoom to interface with the existing
teleconference audio system.
Mr. Powers said that because it was important to find a
company with experience in the unique legislative setting, he
contacted National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL),
for assistance in identifying a company that could design an
AV system for all nine committee rooms, the Speakers
Chambers, and the House and Senate Chambers. He specified
that, for the House and Senate Chambers, he sought input from
the Sergeant-at-Arms who explained that the current design
does not work as they would like and the workarounds in place
are inefficient.
Mr. Powers noted that while prior Alaska AV vendors have done
good work, they did not have experience specific to the
legislative setting, which resulted in systems that do not
work exactly as they should for the particular needs of the
legislature. Initially, NCSL recommended two companies;
however, one was a hardware provider, who also recommended K2
for the design work he was seeking. K2 has worked in many
state legislatures, as well as Congress in D.C.; and he noted
that K2 had two representatives on teleconference for any
questions.
Mr. Powers said that the scope of the work of this $75,000
proposal included K2 representatives flying to Juneau to
assess the layout of the Capitol, including existing wire
paths and specific room needs; designing a turn-key building-
wide AV system that can be used to go out to bid for
installation of the system should Council choose to do so; and
a site visit should a system be installed to ensure it was
installed to the desired standards. He noted that not included
in this proposal is travel for construction oversight, which
can be added as necessary.
Mr. Powers, in response to a question from Representative
Edgmon about whether Wi-Fi improvements could or would be
included in this work, said that Wi-Fi improvements were not
part of the scope of this proposal and that perhaps Mr.
Banaszak and IT could provide some information about improving
Wi-Fi reception in the Capitol.
3:50:49 PM
There was no further discussion, and a roll call vote was
taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton,
Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: None.
The motion passed 10-0.
B. Approval of IT Equipment PurchasesFirewall/VPN Connections
3:51:50 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moved that the Legislative Council
authorize the purchase of replacement firewall and VPN
cybersecurity equipment for a price not to exceed $171,084
using existing capital funds.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purposes of discussion and asked
Tim Banaszak to speak to this item.
TIM BANASZAK, Chief Information Officer, Integrated Technology
Services, joined by teleconference and noted that with him
online was Shay Wilson, Network Supervisor, who is responsible
for the legislatures applications, network, and security
systems. He first responded to Representative Edgmons Wi-Fi
question that IT has been working throughout the interim to
improve Wi-Fi coverage.
Mr. Banaszak, moving back to the current item, said he was
requesting Legislative Councils approval to fund replacement
of current firewalls and secure VPN (Virtual Private Network)
for remote access in Juneau and Anchorage. These items in both
locations have reached their end-of-life and will not be
supported after March 2023. These critical hardware systems
protect and provide the legislatures secure connections to
the internet, including the akleg.gov public website, BASIS,
internal websites with partner agencies in the Executive
Branch, state accounting and payroll systems, and remote
access to legislative systems. In short, without this
hardware, the legislature cannot safely conduct business that
requires secure technology. He noted that through a
competitively sourced cooperative purchasing agreement per
section 37 of the Legislative Procurement Procedures, IT
solicited quotes from three vendors: Structured; Network
Consulting Services, Inc.; and World Wide Technology. The
lowest bid proposal was from Structured for $171,084. He
recommended that Legislative Council authorize the use of
existing capital funds for these necessary cybersecurity
hardware tools in an amount not to exceed the lowest bid of
$171,084.
Discussion followed.
3:56:10 PM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton,
Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche, Shower, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: None.
The motion passed 11-0.
VI. ADJOURN
There being no further business before the committee, the
meeting was adjourned at 3:58 PM.
3:58:29 PM