Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
01/16/2023 10:00 AM House LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
JANUARY 16, 2023
10:00 AM
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 Peter Micciche
Senator Bert Stedman
Senator Gary Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Shelley Hughes (alternate)
Senator Mike Shower
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Dan Ortiz
Representative Calvin Schrage
Senator Tom Begich
Senator Scott Kawasaki
AGENDA
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
SPEAKER REGISTER
Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency (LAA)
Megan Wallace, Legal Services Director, LAA
Emily Nauman, Legal Services Deputy Director, LAA
Mindy Kissner, Finance Manager, LAA
I. CALL TO ORDER
10:05:29 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called the Legislative Council meeting to order
at 10:05 am on January 16, 2023. Present at the call were:
Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes,
Tilton, Tuck; Senators Micciche, Stedman, Reinbold, Stevens.
Eleven members present.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
10:06:35 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved that Legislative Council approve the
agenda as presented. She then objected to amend the agenda to
add a policy discussion regarding legislators facing
litigation in their official capacity.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON agreed there should be discussion on the
item.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK stated out of respect for an outgoing
legislator, he would like to see the item added to the agenda.
10:09:32 AM
A roll call vote was taken to amend the agenda.
YEAS: Representatives Tilton, Tuck; Senator Reinbold
NAYS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,
Stutes; Senators Stedman, Stevens
The motion to amend the agenda failed 3-7.
10:11:09 AM
A roll call vote was taken to approve the agenda as presented.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,
Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Micciche, Stedman,
Reinbold, Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion passed 11-0.
III. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
A. Sanctioning of Charitable Events
10:11:59 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that the
Legislative Council ratify the Chairs sanctioning of the
following charitable events per AS 24.60.080(a)(2)(B) for the
Governors Inaugural Celebration in Juneau on January 20,
2023; Fairbanks on January 28, 2023; and in Anchorage on
February 18, 2023.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for purposes of discussion and noted
that, as Chair, she had sanctioned these events, which now
need to be ratified, and verified the Governor's Inaugural
Committee was a 501(c)(3) organization. There was no
discussion, Chair Hannan removed her objection and the
sanctioning of these events was ratified unanimously.
B. Approval of Legislative Legal Services Priority Policy as
Amended December 19, 2022
CHAIR HANNAN stated that this item includes approval of the
priority policy as amended December 19, 2022; consideration of
an additional amendment; and a determination of the
implementation timeline of the amended policy.
10:13:51 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked that the Legislative
Council adopt the Legislative Legal Services Priority Policy
dated December 19, 2022.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for purposes of discussion and asked
Megan Wallace and Emily Nauman to speak to this item.
EMILY NAUMAN, Deputy Director of Legal Services, stated that
both amendments made to the priority policy in the meeting in
December were done by a verbal motion with nothing in writing.
Additional small changes were made to the language to ensure
the amendments fit with the existing priority policy and to
address details not considered in the meeting [Number 10 of
the priority policy]: (1) clarification that the 10 measure
limit for individual legislators was per session (10 for the
first session and 10 for the second session of a legislature);
(2) the individual legislator request deadline was the first
sixty days of the first session of a legislature and thirty-
five days for the second session to coincide with the existing
personal bill deadline; (3) adding language for special
sessions called by the governor that priority will be given to
measures that are the subject of the special session; and (4)
including committee-sponsored measures that have no limit.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked for clarification that if the
governor calls a special session, the bills are limited to the
scope he proposes, but when the Legislature calls themselves
in, there is no limit.
MS. NAUMAN responded that the ten-bill limit would apply if
the Legislature called a special session.
In response to questions from Senator Stevens, Ms. Nauman
stated that individual drafting requests regularly exceeded
ten measures, referred members to the meeting packet that
included detail showing several members had introduced more
nd
than twenty bills during the 32 Legislature; and noted that
the number of drafting requests greatly exceeded the number of
bills introduced.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if the amended policy would help to
control the Legal Services workload.
MS. NAUMAN said it will have the effect of reorganizing the
work so that after a legislator has requested ten bills and
after the sixtieth day, any new bill requests from that
legislator will be a lower priority in a drafters queue. All
bill requests will eventually be drafted, this just allows
staff to more efficiently prioritize their workload.
SENATOR STEVENS noted that nobody's bill requests would be
disqualified, just fall to the bottom of the priority list. He
asked if Legal Services agreed that before this policy change,
some bill requests were unable to be addressed timely and that
having some controls means the work will be more efficiently
done. Ms. Nauman confirmed that was her belief.
CHAIR HANNAN interjected that the term 'limit' could be
misleading; there is no limit to the number of bills a
legislator can request, it just changes the priority of
individual requests after ten.
MS. NAUMAN, in response to a question from Speaker Stutes
about whether the limit was applied to pre-file requests, said
for the Thirty-Second Legislature a lot of the pre-file
requests occurred before the amended policy was adopted, so it
is something Council will need to address later in this
meeting; however, in the future, pre-file requests will be
counted toward the ten request priority limit.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON asked that in the first session of a
two-year legislature, if an individual member requested ten
bills and workload for Legal continued to be high after the
personal bill deadline, is it presumed that Legal will work
over the interim on some of those lower priority bill draft
requests or will the intent be to get them done during the
regular session.
MS. NAUMAN responded it is always Legal's goal to finish all
drafting in a timely manner. The time it takes to draft a bill
depends primarily on the complexity of the subject. If a bill
request comes in after the personal bill deadline, but is a
very simple bill or a duplicate of a previously drafted bill,
the new draft would be done fairly quickly; the drafting of
more complex bills may continue into the interim.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON, citing an example from a previous
legislature of a member introducing 16 personal bills near the
end of the session, said he thinks this is a good start, and
would support a stronger and more definitive policy in the
future.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked what the numbers were looking like
for the Thirty-Third Legislature.
MEGAN WALLACE, Director of Legal Services, said the requests
for drafts this session range from zero to twelve per
legislator, so there are a few members that have reached ten
this session. Some of those requests may have been made prior
to the policy being amended as Legal Services receives pre-
file requests before the current legislature has adjourned.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK recognized the hard work of Legal Services
on behalf of all legislators and thanked them for their
dedication. He said he felt this policy was a result of the
actions of a small number of legislators and was very pleased
that the recommendation was to prioritize bill requests rather
than limit. He asked for clarification on if it was ten bills
requested or ten bills introduced; Ms. Nauman confirmed it was
ten bills requested. He followed up to ask if a legislator
could withdraw a bill request upon discovering that another
legislator had requested the same bill be drafted; Ms. Nauman
confirmed that canceling a bill request was allowed.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON asked that if an existing bill was
previously drafted but had to be changed, does that count as
part of a legislator's ten bill priority limit.
MS. NAUMAN stated that an update to an existing bill (one
drafted for the current legislature) does not count as a new
bill, but if a bill drafted in a previous legislature was
requested for the current legislature, it would count as a new
bill and toward the ten request priority limit, even if it was
a duplicate of the past bill.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON asked if it was possible for a
legislator to re-prioritize their individual bill requests.
MS. NAUMAN said if the legislation was still in Legal
Services, that would be possible and repeated that it was the
goal of Legal Services to draft all bill requests in a timely
manner.
MS. WALLACE added that an option available to legislators was
to ask leadership to request that their individual bill be
prioritized as leadership requests are a higher priority in
the policy; alternatively, the legislator could ask a
committee to submit the bill request, as committee requests
are the same priority as the first ten measures for an
individual legislator.
MS. NAUMAN, in response to a comment by Senator Reinbold and
to ensure a correct record, said that any bill that requires a
new work order will count toward the priority limit for bill
requests; a new version of an existing bill does not.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding limiting the number of bills
introduced by the governor (beyond the scope of this policy),
if the amendments change the power of the presiding officers
(they do not), and Legal Services staffing options.
MS. WALLACE, in response to a question from Representative
Tuck, said the current priority policy not only prioritizes
based on the number of requests, but also makes a clear
delineation in terms of the timing of those requests. It was a
policy decision that requests made after the sixtieth day of
the first session would fall to the lowest priority
irrespective of how many requests a legislator had previously
made based on the anticipated workload at that stage in the
session.
SENATOR STEDMAN said that looking at the charts, it's clear
that at least half of legislators do not go over ten bills
and, if they do, they can ask a colleague to file their good
idea or be a co-sponsor. He said there is no intent to stifle
the legislative process, so if there are 'barnacles' with this
policy change, Council can modify as necessary. He noted that
one legislator had more than 35 bill requests and while they
may all be good ideas, they aren't all number one good ideas,
so he feels that there has been abuse of the system for
tactical and political reasons and this is a good start.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE said that Council pursued this
option to address those legislators significantly outside of
the mean without limiting access and within existing Legal
Services resources so there wouldn't be a dramatic increase in
cost to the Legislature by adding attorneys. He asked for
confirmation of his assumption that the work necessary to
draft individual bill requests after the priority limit of ten
would not result in attorney overtime, but would occur as the
normal workday and workload allowed.
MS. WALLACE confirmed that his assumption was correct,
continuing that this clear policy direction will allow Legal
Services to better prioritize staff workloads and to limit
overtime to higher priority items.
CHAIR HANNAN indicated she was ready to vote on the motion
then recognized Representative Claman.
10:42:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN moved that Legislative Council amend the
Legal Services Priority Policy dated December 19, 2022, to
specify that priority within each category shall be in the
order the request was taken and in proportion to all
legislators making requests within the same category.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD objected.
10:43:06 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called a brief at ease.
10:44:26 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called the meeting back to order. She apologized
for any confusion and clarified that Representative Claman was
offering an amendment to the motion to approve the Legal
Services Priority Policy dated December 19, 2022.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN stated that that the language he
proposes to amend is the last sentence on page two that reads,
"Priority within each category shall be in the order the
request was taken" his motion would add the language, "and in
proportion to all legislators making requests within the same
category.
Representative Claman, speaking to the reason for his
amendment, provided an example that if there is a floor
session and Legislator X requests fifty amendments and three
other legislators each request one amendment after Legislator
X submitted fifty requests, this policy change would give
Legal Services the ability to draft the single amendment
requests before drafting all fifty amendment requests by
Legislator X. This policy makes the amendment request process
fair and equitable.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN, in response to a request for
clarification by Senator Reinbold, replied that as a matter of
Legal Services managing their workload, it is reasonable for
them to have flexibility in giving all legislators a decent
opportunity to have amendments drafted. He added that if a
legislator submits fifty amendment requests for a bill on the
floor, perhaps they should take some responsibility in
prioritizing their own requests.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding additional requests for
clarification by Senator Reinbold of Representative Claman' s
amendment language and intent, specific mention of fairness,
equity, nonpartisan support, and workload management. Ms.
Wallace summarized that this language provided Legal Services
the flexibility to respond to as many requests from as many
members as possible and noted that the changes to the priority
policy are explained on page five of her memo.
SENATOR STEDMAN said it might help the public to understand
that a lot of the bill requests or amendments never see the
light of day, it is just tactical maneuvering to gum up the
system, drive up the cost and make us less efficient. With
this policy, Council is trying to un-gum the system, lower the
cost, and make us more efficient. If members are uncomfortable
with these limits, they should be doing the work in committee.
He said he looks forward to implementing these changes and
Council can revisit in the future.
10:55:33 AM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes,
Tilton, Tuck; Senators Micciche, Stedman, Stevens
NAYS: Senator Reinbold
The motion to amend passed 10-1.
10:56:35 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called a brief at ease.
10:57:16 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called the meeting back to order.
10:58:38 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved that Legislative Council amend the
Legal Services Priority Policy dated December 19, 2022, and
amended on January 16, 2023.
10:59:42 AM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes,
Tilton, Tuck; Senators Micciche, Stedman, Stevens
NAYS: Senator Reinbold
The motion to adopt the Legal Services Priority Policy as
amended passed 10-1.
C. Further Amendment to Legislative Legal Services Priority
Policy
CHAIR HANNAN explained that the next decision for Council is
to determine the implementation timeline of the priority
policy for the Thirty-third Legislature; specifically with
regard to when the ten request priority limit will go into
effect since several legislators had submitted requests prior
to Council setting the priority limit.
11:01:54 AM
SPEAKER STUTES moved that the policy be implemented effective
on January 17, 2023, and that any drafting that has occurred
prior to that date is not included in the limits of this
policy.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON agreed that the start date should
coincide with the start of the new legislature which would
provide parity to all legislators. She asked that memo should
go out to all members for legislation planning purposes.
MS. WALLACE, in response to a question from Senator Stedman
about the effects of the implementation date on Legal
Services' workload, said that most of the bill requests have
been completed and sent out. She said Legal Services has no
recommendation on this policy decision and believed there
would be minimal impact to the workload either way.
Ms. Wallace, in response to a clarification question by
Representative Tuck, said that the choice before members now
is an implementation date of either December 19, 2022, or
January 17, 2023; the handling of early bill requests was not
discussed at the December 19, 2022, Council meeting so
clarification on the implementation date would be appreciated.
She went on to explain to members that the motions approved to
amend the priority policy in December 2022 were a mixture of
written and verbal, and Legal Services wanted to ensure that
the finally amended policy was what Council had intended and,
additionally, to request an implementation date as that item
was not discussed in the December 2022 meeting.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED to again request that a memo be sent to
all legislators regarding the changes to the Legal Services
Priority Policy; in support of equal access for all
legislators; and in general support for the motion.
11:10:45 AM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes,
Tilton, Tuck; Senators Micciche, Reinbold, Stevens
NAYS: Senator Stedman
The motion to implement the policy effective January 17, 2023,
passed 10-1.
D. Legislative Staff Session Housing Stipend
CHAIR HANNAN explained that this issue has been raised by
several legislators concerned about recruitment and retention
of legislative staff. She asked Ms. Geary and Ms. Kissner,
Finance Manager, to summarize the history of the staff
stipend.
11:12:07 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called a brief at ease.
11:12:37 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called the meeting back to order.
SPEAKER STUTES moved that Legislative Council table this issue
and that it be brought up when the Thirty-Third Legislative
Council has been seated.
11:13:07 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called a brief at ease.
11:15:44 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called the meeting back to order.
CHAIR HANNAN, in response to an objection to the motion,
indicated a motion to table is not debatable and requested a
roll call vote.
11:16:02 AM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Stutes, Tilton; Senators Micciche,
Stedman
NAYS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Tuck,
Senators Reinbold, Stevens
The motion to table failed 4-7.
CHAIR HANNAN asked Ms. Geary and Ms. Kissner, to speak to this
item.
MINDY KISSNER, Finance Manager with the Legislative Affairs
Agency, said that in 2019, Legislative Council adopted a $30
per day lodging stiped for staff relocating to the capital.
This amount matches the long term, noncommercial per diem
allocated by the executive branch. LAA was asked to provide a
break down on what it would cost if the staff lodging stiped
was increased; using $5 increments, the budget impact of
increasing the staff lodging stipend to $35 per day is
$78,000, $40 per day is $156,000, and $45 per day is $234,000.
Ms. Kissner, in response to a question from Senator Stedman,
said that the current long term lodging stipend for executive
branch employees is $30 per day.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED about the rate when adjusted for
inflation; Ms. Geary noted that the average rent on the
Legislative Housing List has increased approximately $200 a
month since 2020 when the policy was first implemented, which
would equate to an increase of about $7 a day to the lodging
stipend. Though the analysis was provided in $5 per day
increments, Council can determine the increase.
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER noted that the original lodging stipend
was approximately $900 a month; with rents averaging $1500 per
month for apartments and $2100 per month for a single-family
home, he said he was comfortable with an increase of $20 per
day, making the monthly stipend $1500.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON stated her support for retaining
legislative staff and that she was concerned that the rental
rates for session housing were increased based on the amount
of the staff lodging stipend. She expressed that it was her
personal opinion that it would be better to have sessions on
the road system and asked if it was possible to do an analysis
of the rate increase from 2020, when the lodging stipend was
implemented, to current rental rates.
MS. KISSNER said that in 2020 the housing list had apartments
averaging $1300, ranging from $800-2000, and houses averaging
$1900 a month, ranging from $1050-3200.
SENATOR STEDMAN said he would be comfortable with an increase
of $7.50 to keep even with inflation and agreed with
Representative Tilton's concern that raising the lodging
stipend could have an impact on rental rates. He said it was
reasonable to adjust the lodging stipend every few years for
inflation or have a periodic review by Legislative Council. He
finished by saying that for those that feel the road system is
a good place, he would recommend putting the Capitol on an
island as it would make everyone more productive.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK, noting that the $900 monthly stipend
amount was about 70% of the average monthly apartment rate of
$1300 in 2020, and 70% of the 2023 average monthly apartment
rate of $1500 is about $1055, so he agreed with Senator
Stedman's recommendation of raising the stipend $7.50 a day.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON said he supports in concept of approving
the highest increase for the lodging stipend but with worker
shortages all across Alaska, he is concerned about the
perception. He mentioned the Assembly Building, which may be
made available to legislative staff at no cost; the call for
pay raises in the public and private sector; the State
Officers Compensation Commission recommending a salary
increase for commissioners from $136,000 to $168,000; and the
issue of legislator compensation which will probably come up.
He said this is difficult for him, that one could argue that
the highest increase is inadequate, but he believes Council
also needs to consider the perception of this policy decision.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE said Council has been reviewing
numbers for months and he believes the information being
provided is correct. There is fierce competition for employees
and members cannot do their jobs without staff. He said he
thought there were several options for the executive branch
and how they pay per diem, but the Legislature has one. He
said looking at the increased costs and trends over the past
decade, taking into account that the Legislature will soon be
adding 33 units, which may relieve some market pressure, he
was willing to make a motion to increase the daily stipend by
$10 for the Thirty-Third Legislature. He said Legislative
Council can re-evaluate going forward. He ended by saying that
he understands staff face a hardship, that he's heard rumors
of new staff sleeping on inflatable beds and said he thinks
the Legislature wants good staff who are well-rested and able
to serve.
11:29:39 AM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moved that Legislative Council add
$10 to the Moving and Travel Policy and staff lodging stipend
for the Thirty-Third Legislature.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON objected to ask since it is still the
Thirty-Second Legislature, would this motion encumber the
Thirty-Third Legislature and are there existing funds to cover
this increase.
MS. GEARY responded that the motion as drafted also requests a
supplemental in the FY23 budget and an increment in the FY24
budget, and the budget request would go before the next
Legislative Council.
SENATOR STEDMAN asked if the Legislature increased salaries
last year for legislative staff.
MS. GEARY stated that there was a five percent cost of living
adjustment effective October 31, 2022. She added that this was
the first one that legislative and other exempt staff
received, while the executive branch employees in bargaining
unions have been getting regular increases.
SENATOR STEDMAN stated that the Legislature has not had a
raise in over a decade or longer. He said he thinks the target
rate is better set at $7.50, which is close to the inflation
rate, and if other issues surface the next Council can deal
with it.
11:32:53 AM
SENATOR STEDMAN moved to amend Senate President Micciche's
motion to change the increase from $10 a day to $7.50 a day.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED regarding the need to state the entire
motion for the record with the figure of $7.50 a day.
11:34:32 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved that the Legislative Council amend
the Moving and Travel Policy to increase the staff lodging
stipend to a total of $37.50 per day effective January 1,
2023. She further moved that the Legislative Council support
the FY 2023 supplemental request and FY 2024 increment request
for the amount of $117,000 for consideration by the Finance
Committee to fund this increase.
11:35:14 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called a brief at ease.
11:38:54 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called the meeting back to order and, following
parliamentary procedure, asked both Senator Stedman and Senate
President Micciche to withdraw their motions.
SENATOR STEDMAN withdrew his motion to amend $10 a day down to
$7.50 a day.
SENATOR MICCICHE withdrew his original motion.
11:39:43 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD, restating the motion, moved that
Legislative Council amend the Moving and Travel Policy to
increase the staff lodging stipend to a total of $37.50 per
day effective January 1, 2023. She further moved that
Legislative Council support the FY 2023 supplemental request
and FY 2024 increment request in the amount of $117,000 for
consideration by the Finance Committee to fund this increase.
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER objected and stated his support of the
$10 increase.
11:42:01 AM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moved to amend the motion for an
increase of $10 per day or a total of $40 per day with a FY
2023 supplemental request and FY 2024 increment request of
$156,000.
SENATOR STEDMAN objected and said he supported the original
motion of $7.50 per day.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK said that a $7.50 increase equates to 75%
of the average rent of $1500 and when combined with the 5%
cost of living adjustment staff received, he thought it was
adequate.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD said this was a difficult vote because
staff are listening. She said that staff receive step
increases, have their moving expenses paid, some are well
compensated already, and this will be an increase to the
budget. She preferred the original motion, so will likely be a
'no' vote on this amendment.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON asked if this policy only pertained to
regular sessions and not special sessions.
MS. KISSNER affirmed that it was only for regular sessions.
11:45:51 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called a brief at ease.
11:46:22 AM
CHAIR HANNAN called the meeting back to order and requested a
roll vote on the motion to amend.
11:47:08 AM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Foster; Senator Micciche
NAYS: Representatives Edgmon, Stutes, Tilton, Hannan, Tuck;
Senators Reinbold, Stedman, Stevens
The motion to amend failed 3-8.
CHAIR HANNAN said that brings Council back to the original
motion of a $7.50 increase to the daily staff lodging stipend.
11:48:25 AM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan, Stutes,
Tilton, Tuck; Senators Micciche, Reinbold, Stedman,
Stevens
NAYS: None
The motion passed 11-0.
IV. ADJOURN
CHAIR HANNAN said this was her last meeting as Chair and
thanked members for their time and service. She said she
learned a lot and gained much knowledge from her fellow
Council members. There have been twenty-five Council meetings
over the last two years that she served as Chair.
Chair Hannan said she specifically wanted to take the time to
recognize the extraordinary work of Executive Director Jessica
Geary whose professionalism and tirelessness are immeasurable.
Until she became Chair, she did not appreciate the 24/7 nature
of the job to keep this institution functioning. Ms. Geary has
proved indispensable to the Legislature during some of the
most challenging times in our history: during the COVID
pandemic, creating policies never before contemplated and
contracts for testing and quarantining. Ms. Geary has been
able to deftly manage the seemingly endless series of crises
in the last two years, though maybe it has always been that
way. When things are running smoothly, legislators are unaware
of the work going on behind the scenes.
Chair Hannan continued that she regularly hears from Director
Geary's staff about the pride they take and the respect they
have for their boss. She is tremendously committed to the
institution of the Legislature and every one of her actions
and decisions is made with that commitment in mind. She said
Ms. Geary was her high school student a long, long, long time
ago, and to have learned so much from her has been a privilege
and an honor. It has been an honor to work with her over the
last two years. She wished Ms. Geary could take a week off,
but since she cannot, Chair Hannan said she offered a small
token of flower bouquets with appreciation and respect.
Addressing Ms. Geary directly, Chair Hannan said it has truly
been an honor to work with her these last two years and she
really wished could turn her phone off at night but knows she
won't. Ms. Geary hears from sixty bosses on a regular basis
and the demands are relentless. She then opened the floor to
other members.
SENATOR STEVENS thanked Ms. Geary as well [somewhat
inaudible].
SPEAKER STUTES requested everyone please give Ms. Geary a big
thank you and a round of applause.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD expressed that it was a privilege to serve
in the Legislature and on Council with all of the members and
offered her appreciation to everyone at Legislative Affairs,
who she said have been amazing from Accounting to Legal
Services to so many others that make the Legislature work at
huge sacrifice. She ended with a reminder that we are a
constitutional republic, not a democracy, and that every
member takes a sacred oath to the constitution which is the
supreme law of the land. She wished all new members good luck
and everyone a nice session.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE expressed his thanks to Chair Hannan
for her service and appreciated her consistency and her
assertiveness when necessary to solve some tough issues. He
offered his thanks to all at this meeting, which is also his
last.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK thanked Chair Hannan and said if Jessica
Geary is an example of one of her students, he is grateful for
her and the impact she has had on all her students.
CHAIR HANNAN closed the meeting by saying it has been a
privilege to learn from her fellow members as Chair of
Legislative Council and said they have been a 'crafty bunch.'
She noted to Ms. Geary that all her staff were in the room as
well as her husband to see this recognition. She said the work
Ms. Geary does keeps the Legislature going and as the Agency
does its work, no one notices because everything is running
smoothly.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved to adjourn the meeting.
With no further business before the committee, the meeting was
adjourned at 11:57 AM.
11:57:06 AM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Staff Lodging Stipend Summary.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |
|
| Senate Leadership Staff Recommendations--Leg Legal Drafting Resources 4.7.22.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |
|
| Leg Legal Priority Policy Showing December 2022 Changes.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |
|
| Sanctioning of a Charity Event - Governor's Inaugural Events in Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |
|
| NCSL--Examples of Bill Intro Limits in Other Legislatures--March 2022.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |
|
| Leg Legal Memo--Bill Introduction Limits--12.1.2022.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |
|
| Agenda--Legislative Council 1.16.2023 Meeting.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |
|
| Leg Legal Memo Appendix A--Bill Introduction Data--12.1.2022.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |
|
| April 3, 1998 Legislative Legal Services Priority Policy.pdf |
JLEC 1/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |