Legislature(2021 - 2022)
03/17/2021 05:00 PM House LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
MARCH 17, 2021
4:49 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sara Hannan, Chair
Senator Lora Reinbold, Vice Chair
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Chris Tuck
Representative Matt Claman
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Cathy Tilton
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Mike Shower
Senator Bert Stedman
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Shelley Hughes (alternate)
MEMBERS ABSENT
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
Senators Myers, Wilson; Representatives Claman, Cronk,
Eastman, Foster, McCabe, Rauscher, Schrage, Tuck, Vance.
AGENDA
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
COMMITTEE POLICIES
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
CONTRACT APPROVALS
SPEAKER REGISTER
JESSICA GEARY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
AGENCY (LAA)
TIM BANASZAK, IT MANAGER, LAA
MEGAN WALLACE, LEGAL SERVICES DIRECTOR, LAA
HILARY MARTIN, REVISOR, LEGAL SERVICES, LAA
AMANDA JOHNSON, VICE PRESIDENT, MEDICAL AND TRAINING
SERVICES, BEACON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY SERVICES
5:04:31 PM
I. CALL TO ORDER
CHAIR HANNAN called the Legislative Council meeting to
order at 5:04pm in the House Finance Room 519. Present at
the call were: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster,
Hannan, Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche,
Hoffman, Shower, Stedman, Stevens, Reinbold.
14 members present.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
5:06:20 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent
that Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.
The minutes were approved without objection.
III. COMMITTEE POLICIES - IT SUBCOMMITEE
CHAIR HANNAN announced that Legislative Council would be
establishing an Information Technology subcommittee,
chaired by Tim Banaszak, IT Manager for the Legislative
Affairs Agency. This committee would be comprised of
members or their designated staff, and members would need
to confirm with the Chair's Chief of Staff, Tim Clark,
interest in membership by Wednesday, March 24.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON asked for clarification on what
outcomes were predicted regarding the IT Subcommittee.
CHAIR HANNAN asked TIM BANASZAK to respond.
TIM BANASZAK stated the outcomes of the IT Subcommittee
would include advising the council on IT related projects
and operations affecting the legislature, as well as
vetting technology proposals to prepare information
before presentation to the full Legislative Council.
Seeing no further questions, CHAIR HANNAN continued the
meeting.
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
5:08:57 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD prefaced her motion for approval of
the previous meeting's minutes by saying that she had let
CHAIR HANNAN know ahead of time that there likely would
be an objection. VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked
unanimous consent that Legislative Council approve the
minutes dated January 18, 2021, as presented.
CHAIR HANNAN asked if there was an objection, and VICE-
CHAIR REINBOLD said she would object.
CHAIR HANNAN invited VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD to speak to her
objection, and the VICE-CHAIR detailed her confusion on
page 57 of the January 18 minutes regarding amendments to
the mask policy.
CHAIR HANNAN called a brief at-ease.
CHAIR HANNAN called the meeting back to order.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD requests clarification on earlier
policy concerns citing "confusion in the workplace."
CHAIR HANNAN stated that she will rule the VICE-CHAIR out
of order, then called an at-ease.
Meeting is called back to order and VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD
again asks for clarification, says she understands now
that the current task at hand is approval of minutes, but
asks for clarification of masking and screening policies
and would like to make that an urgent order of business,
citing again page 57 of the previous meeting's minutes.
CHAIR HANNAN reminds VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD that the current
issue is approval of the minutes, not whether anyone
agrees or disagrees with the policy the VICE-CHAIR is
citing.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON agrees with VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD
that there are issues with the masking and screening
policies. She says while she takes no issue with the
minutes at this time, she respectfully requests mask
policy discussion be added to the agenda.
CHAIR HANNAN reminds the Council that there is a motion
on the floor and asks if anyone would like to speak to
that motion.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE asks for clarification as to
whether or not there is a motion on the floor.
CHAIR HANNAN responds that yes, there is a motion on the
floor to approve the minutes.
SENATOR STEDMAN offers that if there is an objection to
the minutes, he would like to know where in the minutes a
transcriber made an error. If not, he suggests the
Council adopt the minutes as presented and if there is an
issue with the accuracy of the minutes, to note it for
correcting and move on with the meeting.
CHAIR HANNAN again asks if anyone would like to speak to
the adoption of the minutes.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD states that she does not want the
hands of a previous Legislature to bind this Council's
hand, and then removes her objection to adoption of the
minutes.
SENATOR STEVENS requested to speak to the policy in
question.
CHAIR HANNAN suggests that first the Council approves the
minutes, and then she will recognize his concerns
afterwards. She asks if there are any further objections
to the approval of the January 18, 2021, minutes. Seeing
none, the minutes are approved. She notes that Senator
Hughes is present online as an alternate. She returns to
Senator Stevens.
SENATOR STEVENS states that the Legislative Council
approves policies every session, every year. Those
policies continue until they are changed, so in answer to
Senator Reinbold's questions, the remedy to her concerns
is to change the policy if that is what this Legislative
Council wants to do, not to deal with the minutes.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD thanks SENATOR STEVENS for his
comments and voices respect for him. She begins stating
her concern for forced mask-usage for this Legislative
Session and is ruled out of order by CHAIR HANNAN.
SENATOR STEDMAN comments that the Council should stick to
the Agenda.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD requests to speak again.
CHAIR HANNAN approves, with the condition that the
Senator understands she will be ruled out of order if the
Senator's comments do not relate to the Agenda.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD speaks to liability issues that she
thinks are important to discuss.
CHAIR HANNAN rules VICE-CHAIR-REINBOLD out of order.
V. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
A. 2021 MANUAL OF LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING
5:16:35 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moves that the Legislative Council
approve the 2021 Manual of Legislative Drafting.
CHAIR HANNAN objects for purposes of discussion and asks
MEGAN WALLACE and HILARY MARTIN to come to the table,
present the manual, and take questions. She asks MS.
WALLACE if MS. MARTIN is present online, and MS. WALLACE
confirms that she should be, unless other work is taking
precedence.
CHAIR HANNAN asks MS. WALLACE to identify herself for the
record and to present the above manual before taking any
questions, then confirms that MS. MARTIN is online.
MEGAN WALLACE, Legal Services Director for the LAA, said
members should have in their packet a memo dated February
18, 2021, from MS. MARTIN which outlines the changes that
were made in the 2021 version of the Manual of Legislative
Drafting. She continues that Uniform Rule 10 provides that
Legislative Council shall adopt a drafting manual prepared
by the enrolling secretary, Lora Brown, Legal Editor, and
the revisor of statues, Hilary Martin. Every two years,
these two go through the drafting manual and make updates
and revisions as appropriate. The changes made from the
2019 version to the 2021 version are noted in the packet.
The 2019 Manual is beige in color, and if the 2021 version
is approved, the Print Shop will issue a new Manual with a
blue cover. Legal confers with the Chief Clerk's and Senate
Secretary's Offices to make changes from legislature to
legislature. She said this year's changes are relatively
minor and insignificant, but she and MS. MARTIN are
available to take questions as necessary.
CHAIR HANNAN offers MS. MARTIN a chance to speak on the
above.
MS. MARTIN identifies herself for the record and confirms
she is happy to address any questions regarding changes to
the Drafting Manual.
CHAIR HANNAN invites members to ask questions regarding the
Drafting Manual.
Seeing no questions or objections, CHAIR HANNAN requests a
roll call vote.
5:20:20 PM
YEAS: REPRESENTATIVES CLAMAN, EDGMON, FOSTER, HANNAN
STUTES, TILTON, TUCK; SENATORS BISHOP, MICCICHE,
HOFFMAN, REINBOLD, SHOWER, STEDMAN, STEVENS
NAYS: none.
The motion passed 14-0.
CHAIR HANNAN confirms the approval of the 2021 Legislative
Drafting Manual as written and invites members to look for
their blue copy soon.
B. FY20 LEGISLATURE AUDIT
5:21:21 PM
CHAIR HANNAN invites JESSICA GEARY, Executive Director of
the Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA), to speak on the
Legislatures Audit.
JESSICA GEARY said members should have a copy of the
Legislative Audit in their packets. She states that by
statute, every year the Legislature has an independent
audit. The current auditors are Elgee Rehfeld and for FY20
they have issued a clean audit with no exceptions. Copies
of the management letter and a schedule of appropriations,
expenditures and encumbrances are provided to both the
Budget and Audit Committee and Legislative Council. She
said she is happy to answer any questions.
CHAIR HANNAN asks if any members online or in person have
questions about the audit.
There being no questions, CHAIR HANNAN thanked MS. GEARY
for presenting a clean audit and moves forward on the
agenda.
C. FY22 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL BUDGET REQUEST
5:23:02 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moves that the Legislative Council per
AS 24.20.130 approve the FY22 Legislative Council Proposed
Budget and transmit it to the House and the Senate Finance
Committees for their review and action.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON objects for purposes of discussion.
CHAIR HANNAN asks if she would like to speak to her
objection or if she would prefer to hear MS. GEARY present
the budget.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON says that Council members have not
had an opportunity to discuss the budget, and wonders if
the Council is approving the budget itself or the
transmittal to the Finance Committees.
CHAIR HANNAN asks MS. GEARY to please respond.
MS. GEARY clarifies that the Council would be approving the
transmittal to the Finance Committees.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON offers her thanks.
CHAIR HANNAN repeats that the budget, once approved in this
Council, would go through the Legislative Finance
Committees for review.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD requests to speak on a point of
clarification.
CHAIR HANNAN grants the VICE-CHAIR'S request.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD says the motion that was given to her
in her script uses the words "approve and transmit" and
suggests striking the words "approve and" to show that the
Council is not technically approving the budget.
5:24:47 PM
CHAIR HANNAN calls for an at-ease.
5:25:24 PM
Council returns from at-ease.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD suggests going through the budget and
asks if there is anything related to the Beacon contract in
the budget.
MS. GEARY responded no.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asks MS. GEARY to go through the budget
in more detail for anyone who may not have a packet in
front of them.
MS. GEARY responds that is her intention. She states that
before members is the Legislative Council FY22 Proposed
Budget and Sectional Narrative that explains each
appropriation and allocation in the budget. In preparing
this budget, she works with the Presiding Officers, the
Rules Chair, and the Legislative Council Chair. She also
met with the Finance Co-Chairs or their staff.
There are two appropriations in the Legislative Council
request; a Legislative Council appropriation, which
includes the administrative functions of the Legislature,
as well as special committees and offices such as Ethics,
Ombudsman, and Office of Victims' Rights. There's also the
Legislative Operating appropriation, which includes those
functions directly connected to the operations of the
Legislature such as session expenses, House and Senate
operating, and legislator salaries and allowances. In
addition to the actual Legislative Council budget request,
there is a narrative that explains each and every
allocation. She will not read this section aloud, but will
happily answer questions once she concludes her comments.
Ms. Geary continued that as members may know, the budget
before Council is not the Legislature's full budget
requestthere is a third appropriation for the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee which contains allocations for
the Division of Legislative Audit, the Legislative Finance
Division, and the House and Senate Finance Committees, as
well as the Legislative Budget and Audit Committees. This
portion of the Legislature's budget does not come before
Legislative Council and is transmitted directly to the
Finance Committees.
The total request for the Legislature is included in the
overview tab at the front of the budget book, on page 4,
and is where members can see the entire Legislature budget.
There are no increments in the FY22 request, and in each
appropriation FY21 Management Plan equals FY22 Governor's
figures, which equals FY22 Legislative Requests. One item
of note, state facilities rent has an estimated surplus of
$42,000 realized from savings of renegotiated and
consolidated lease space; however, there have been some
requests for district office space in both Tok and
Utqiagvik, that if approved, would use most if not all of
that surplus. She is happy to answer any questions from
members.
SENATOR STEDMAN expresses concern that the budget may be
prepared for a 90-day session, which the Legislature rarely
contains itself to, and wonders if perhaps the Finance
Committees should consider budgeting for a 120-day session.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asked if the Beacon contract is not
under Legislative Council, where does it fall.
MS. GEARY says that this is the Legislative Operating
Budget, so the Beacon contract is a separate contract
outside of the Legislature's regular operating funds and
will be funded by federal funds. Currently it is being held
in a capital appropriation and will be refunded when the
Legislature receives its CARES Act funding.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asked so it is through the Capital
Budget on Legislative Council.
MS. GEARY responds no, it is not in a budget. Existing
capital funds are used to pay for the Beacon contract which
will be submitted for reimbursement through federal CARES
Act money.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asks whether it is from last year's
capital budget, this year's capital budget, or some other
fund as she doesn't recall discussing this Beacon contract
in the budget process.
MS. GEARY explains it was not through a specific budget
item in the budget process, but came from existing unspent
capital funds from a prior fiscal year, so it was not new
money that was used.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asks when this process happened, and
under what purview did it happen.
MS. GEARY says that the Council will be moving on to the
Beacon contract next on the agenda, so perhaps that will be
a good time to discuss the initial contract and the
amendment that we have before the Council today.
SENATOR BISHOP asks MS. GEARY for additional information
about the excess funds that may go toward the Tok LIO,
specifically what a year's worth of rent would be for that
property.
MS. GEARY responds that LAA is still in the process of
approving that property, but the preliminary estimate is
just under $10,000 and has not yet been acted upon.
SENATOR BISHOP thanks MS. GEARY and explains that property
and LIO will be significant to his district.
CHAIR HANNAN clarifies that the LIO already exists, but
that the Legislature is adding a district office for a
member.
MS. GEARY confirms that CHAIR HANNAN is correct, the LIO is
not up for discussion, but there is not enough space in the
LIO for a legislator's office.
SENATOR SHOWER asks if there is any COVID funding that has
been inserted into the budget that the Legislature has
used, as tracking CARES funding has been problematic, and
asks if there have been any investigations as to reduced
cost of facilities that have been shut down over the course
of the pandemic.
MS. GEARY answers the first question saying that aside from
the money that has been approved for the Beacon contract,
the Legislature has not received any federal CARES Act
money and has not submitted for reimbursements, and that
LAA has not done an analysis on his second question,
because as he mentioned, the rental costs on the lease are
the same regardless of the spaces being open or not. She
says if he would like an analysis done, she would be happy
to pursue that for him.
SENATOR SHOWER asks MS. GEARY if she can indeed follow up
to see if there were any utility savings even as the fixed
costs of the lease were met. He says it may be a small
savings, but every penny counts and could be worth looking
into.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD, for clarity, restates the motion with
the amendment she requested earlier, and moves that the
Legislative Council per AS 24.20.130 transmit the FY22
Legislative proposed budget to the House and Finance
committees for the review and action.
CHAIR HANNAN asks that VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD amend the motion
to include the word Senate.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD agrees, and repeats "House and Senate."
CHAIR HANNAN thanks her and asks if there are any
objections to the motion.
SENATOR STEDMAN asks VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD to repeat the
motion.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moves the Legislative Council per AS
24.20.130 transmit the FY22 Legislative Council proposed
budget to the House and Senate Finance Committees for their
review and action.
5:36:16 PM
CHAIR HANNAN says it is not the same motion and calls for
an at-ease.
5:37:07 PM
Legislative Council returns from at east.
MS. GEARY explains that the wording of this motion does not
matter, but since the motion has already been read one way,
the next step is to vote to amend the motion if you want to
use the new motion. Whether the word approve or transmit is
used is not relevant since the statute simply requires that
Legislative Council submit a budget to the Finance
Committees.
5:38:02 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moves that the word "approve" is
removed from the motion and continues to explain her
reasoning.
CHAIR HANNAN asks her to stop, make the motion, then she
can speak to her reasoning for the motion.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moves that the word "approve" is
removed from the motion regarding the budget transmittal
from Legislative Council to the House & Senate Finance
Committees.
SPEAKER STUTES objects to the motion, stating that the
original wording is fine the way it is and that she wants
to move on from this agenda item.
SENATOR STEDMAN agrees with SPEAKER STUTES citing past
practice is that the budget is always approved and
forwarded on to the Finance Committees for review and
believes that this Council should continue in that vein.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON agrees and says that he has been on
Legislative Council for a few years and that the wording is
in some respects a formality.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD withdraws her motion saying she has not
been on this Council since 2015 and she was seeking more
clarity and proper wording for the record.
5:39:37 PM
CHAIR HANNAN requests a roll call vote on the motion to
approve and transmit to the House and Senate Finance
Committees the FY22 Budget.
YEAS: REPRESENTATIVES CLAMAN, EDGMON, FOSTER, HANNAN
STUTES, TILTON, TUCK; SENATORS BISHOP, MICCICHE,
HOFFMAN REINBOLD, SHOWER, STEDMAN, STEVENS
NAYS: None
The motion passed 14-0.
SENATOR SHOWER asks, as a new Legislative Council member,
what is the procedure for asking clarifying questions
during Legislative Council meetings and how this process
differs from other committees and subcommittees on which he
has been a member.
CHAIR HANNAN asks SENATOR STEVENS to speak on the usual
process for this action item before it goes to the Finance
Co-Chairs, based on his experience on procedure as a
previous Legislative Council Chair.
SENATOR STEVENS says that usual process is as it has been
stated, that members are indicating to the Finance
Committees that the Legislative Council has looked at this
budget and have approved it and are transmitting it to them
to do as they will.
SENATOR SHOWER asks again to clarify, may he ask for a
product so he could look at something continuing, is that
acceptable? For example, were my LIO questions during the
budget discussion ok, or should that happen somewhere else.
SENATOR STEVENS confirms to SENATOR SHOWER that he is
absolutely welcome to bring up any issue he wants and have
it discussed at this table.
SENATOR STEDMAN offers that yes, one can bring up budget
discussions, and modifying motions, and that holding
membership on this committee requires them to act as
representatives for all legislators. He continues that
these are not secret documents, and it is just fine to
question the budget.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE states that he has been involved
in various lively discussions around the Legislative
Council table and it is perfectly acceptable to question
and seek discussion and has been part of much longer
conversations surrounding the budget in the past. He states
that a member makes the motion, members ask anything they
want to ask, and vote whether to move it forward. If a
member finds themself not in support, that is okay, but
everything is available to be appropriately questioned in
this committee, always.
SENATOR SHOWER said thank you and that he just wanted to
confirm that asking for a product is an appropriate
question and not handled differently than in other
committees.
VI. CONTRACT APPROVALS
A. AMENDMENT TO BEACON OHSS CONTRACT FOR COVID-19
RELATED SAFEY SERVICES
5:43:38 PM
CHAIR HANNAN moves to the Beacon OHSS contract, an increase
of available funds, and to address vaccination services.
She calls on SENATOR MICCICHE to read the first motion.
5:44:04 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE calls for a brief at-ease.
5:44:21 PM
CHAIR HANNAN calls the meeting back to order.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moves that Legislative Council
approve an amendment to the Beacon OHSS contract to extend
the termination date to June 30, 2021, and to increase the
original amount of the contract by 1.5 million dollars,
with the intent that federal receipts cover the cost of the
contract to the greatest extent possible.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD objects.
CHAIR HANNAN invites her to speak to her objection.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD states that she believes that as
employers, if legislators are indeed employers rather than
elected officials, but that there are people in the room
who are employees and employers. She is concerned that
Legislative Council and leaders will be liable if they set
policies for the Capitol that violate constitutional
rights, forced masks, facial recognition, PCRs and vaccines
that are under emergency use and therefore cannot be
mandated, she is concerned that people are being "volun-
told" that they must wear masks, and adhere to policies
regarding quarantine and isolation. She states that before
she can approve any of this, that the Legislative Council
must hold a thorough discussion regarding those policies.
CHAIR HANNAN explains that what is before members today is
an expansion of the contract, not the policies. She states
she is more than willing to have MS. WALLACE, attorney and
Legislative Legal Director, come to the table to address
liability questions, otherwise AMANDA JOHNSON, from Beacon,
is here to address the contract itself.
AMANDA JOHNSON with Beacon OHSS states that as noted in the
overview letter in the packet that the scope of the initial
contract has changed, as well as the mitigation plans based
on some recent outbreaks. The testing strategies have
changed, and Beacon needs to increase the level of staffing
as well as the amount of testing. These are the reasons for
the changes in intent and in budgetary dollars. Beacon has
put forth a forecast as it relates to the term of this
session as well as any extensions of the session,
accounting for the 1.5 million increase.
CHAIR HANNAN invites members to ask MS. JOHNSON any
questions they have and invites MS. GEARY to add anything
she sees fit.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON asks under whose authority changes
were made to the contract, whether they went through
Legislative Council or some other route.
MS. GEARY responded that when the Legislature reached out
for the RFP for the services Beacon would provide, it had a
different testing strategy in mind. The Legislature
recognized it was not made up of medical experts, which is
why members sought to hire such professionals and it was
recommended that for a congregate setting such as the
Capitol, cycle testing was the most effective way to
control COVID-19 outbreaks and that testing makes up a very
large portion of the budget. Based on the forecast
mentioned earlier, there have been over 6,000 tests
conducted. To answer the question of the authority given in
the contract, she states that the Legislature left it to
the health experts in consultation with the CDC and with
Public Health. Things were left somewhat flexible to allow
for the best outbreak control within the Capitol.
SENATOR SHOWER states that he understands the policy is not
what is currently up for discussion, but that he has a
problem with it feeling like it is putting the cart before
the horse, in that a budget extension approval on policies
he has not yet had a chance to offer input, or discuss, or
question, or modify and that this makes it a budget issue.
To him, it seems like this is approving a budget for a bill
that members have not passed yet, making it harder for him
to want to approve this budget extension without having had
any input into the process of what the Legislature is
paying for. That is a hard road for him as a legislator and
is backwards from what he usually does, he says, "we pass
bills, and then we appropriate for them."
MS. GEARY comments that the policies are written such that
as soon as CDC and Public Health guidelines loosen up, then
the Capitol's policies are flexible and will follow suit.
She again states that the Legislature is taking their
advice from health experts and not other sources. As soon
as CDC and Public Health guidelines relax their standards,
we can adjust legislative policy immediately at the
direction of this committee
SENATOR SHOWER says he understands, but that is the
Legislature's decision whether they would like to follow
CDC guidance or not. He asks for the chance to have a
discussion and a debate within Legislative Council to come
to agreement, stating that this contract was written under
a previous Legislative Council, and this Council has not
yet approved it.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE clarifies that previous
Legislative Councils have made many policies that stand
until they are changed. He says that this Legislative
Council, whether or not they approve this extension, will
continue to have the power to change policy surrounding it
going forward and asks for confirmation from MS. GEARY.
MS. GEARY confirms that the SENATE PRESIDENT is correct.
SENATOR STEVENS agrees and states that Legislative Councils
create policies, and those policies remain until changed by
another Legislative Council, so the policies made last year
continue until changed. Should this Legislative Council
choose to, they can change them any time. He hopes that
members are cautious about that, stating that Council has
been very successful at controlling COVID-19 in this
building through all the things done with Beacon. He offers
his great appreciation to MS. GEARY for her efforts in
getting the Legislature to the right place and speculates
who knows how many people could have contracted COVID-19
had those policies not been in place. He offers that one
can disagree with policy all one wants, but that policy
remains in effect until this Council changes it.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD states that she sent to the
unofficial Senate President, on January 12, 2021, her
numerous concerns with the policy and that she trusted him
to help get them changed. She is uncomfortable funding a
budget within which members have not been able to review
policies. Out of protection for this Legislative Council,
she needs to get it on record that there is a form of
liability that exists between employers and their
employees, called vicarious liability, in which one party
has responsibility for a third party, and if that third
party commits an unlawful action, the employer may be held
liable. For example, masks and regarding violating
constitutional rights
5:55:42 PM
CHAIR HANNAN rules VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD out of order, as
these are not elements of the contract before members.
Discussion continues.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asks for a chance to clarify, saying
she will take the mask issue off.
CHAIR HANNAN says no, that VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD is speaking
to liability, and if the Legislature's legal authority and
lawyer, would like to speak to members about liabilities,
that would be appropriate. She states that what members are
speaking to at present is the contract that Beacon has. She
does not believe it has a liability issue for Council
members to discuss.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD again asks to clarify and speaks about
isolating and quarantining people.
5:56:31 PM
CHAIR HANNAN rules VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD out of order again.
Council takes a brief at ease.
At 5:57:06, Council returns from the at ease and CHAIR
HANNAN recognizes REPRESENTATIVE CATHY TILTON.
REPRENSENTATIVE CATHY TILTON states that in regards to the
contract, she agreed with Senator Shower that there was a
request made to the Chairs office, dated March 12, 2021,
asking when Council could have the discussion on the
mitigation policies to determine whether the contract was
of the right amount and she had not seen a response as of
yet.
5:57:46 CHAIR HANNAN calls a brief at ease.
5:58:13 PM
Council returns from brief at ease.
SENATOR SHOWER thanks CHAIR HANNAN and states that he
understands SENATOR STEVENS but is asking for the chance to
have a meeting and discussion before extending the budget
for Beacon OHSS. He understands that Legislative Council
policy stays until it is changed, but says that he is
asking for a chance to do that and have a meeting with the
Council prior to approval of the motion in discussion. He
thanks CHAIR HANNAN again for allowing him to make this
clarification.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD states that budget drives policy, and
that the Council has not reviewed the policy and she does
believe there are liability issues with facial recognition
and
5:59:28 PM
CHAIR HANNAN rules VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD out of order.
Council takes a brief at ease.
5:59:40 PM
Council returns from brief at ease.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE requests that CHAIR HANNAN have a
future Legislative Council meeting to discuss the concerns
raised. There are bills due beyond what has been
appropriated. He is comfortable moving forward and
approving this motion, but requests that the Council
gathers as a group either as a smaller task force or as a
full Legislative Council to discuss the contract and a
transition plan forward that everyone can understand. He
thinks it is fair to plan for that and it will prevent this
meeting from going all night. He thinks some folks have
different levels of acceptance for the current situation
and that discussion should take place. He requests, for the
record, stating it would be fruitful for everyone in this
group to participate in that exercise.
CHAIR HANNAN agrees to ask her staff to begin polling the
next day for members availability for the next Legislative
Council meeting where members will have that opportunity.
SENATOR STEDMAN states he thinks members need to stick to
the agenda, clearly there needs to be an increase to the
appropriation and he supports that. He says that Council
members can change the policy any time and the money is not
expensed, if there is a majority of Council members who
want to convene at another meeting to have a policy
discussion it can happen any time in the next couple weeks,
but tonight there is business in front of members, it is
dinnertime, and he thinks members need to keep the meeting
on track. Those who do not support the appropriation
request can vote no, and those who do can vote yes, it is
that simple.
CHAIR HANNAN asks SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE to restate the
motion, and he moves that Legislative Council approves an
amendment to the Beacon OHSS contract to extend the
termination date to June 30, 2021, and to increase the
original amount of the contract by 1.5 million dollars with
the intent that federal receipts cover the cost of the
contract to the greatest extent possible.
CHAIR HANNAN says that is the motion before members and
requested a roll call vote.
YEAS: REPRESENTATIVES CLAMAN, EDGMON, FOSTER, HANNAN,
STUTES, TUCK; SENATORS BISHOP, MICCICHE, HOFFMAN,
STEDMAN, STEVENS
NAYS: REPRESENTATIVE TILTON; SENATORS SHOWER, REINBOLD
The motion passed 11-3.
6:03:24 PM
CHAIR HANNAN asks SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE to read the
second motion involving the Beacon OHSS contract.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moves that Legislative Council
approve an amendment to the Beacon OHSS contract to add to
the list of services provided under contract the
administration of the COVID-19 vaccine to all those
eligible as determined by the Executive Director in
consultation with the Council Chair and Legislative
Leadership, and that this amendment be made retroactive to
January 15, 2021.
SENATOR REINBOLD objects.
CHAIR HANNAN invites her to speak to her objection.
SENATOR REINBOLD states that under Emergency Use
Authorization that members talk about this through Health
and Social Services which was passed unanimously on the
Senate floor, that the vaccine cannot be mandated and will
require informed consent. She wants to ensure that as a
contractor, Beacon is fully aware of the above and will
comply.
MS. JOHNSON says that yes, Beacon has followed the informed
consent and it is identical to the State of Alaska's
consent form, it has all of the same protocols and provides
the same documentation, and the vaccinations were not
mandated in any way, shape, or form, they were offered by
invitation to anyone who wished to participate.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asks if there is any anticipation of
mandating these vaccines in any way.
MS. JOHNSON confirms not from Beacon's perspective, as that
would be beyond their objectives.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD asks whether Beacon is aware through
the Emergency Authorization that Beacon cannot mandate
vaccinations.
MS. JOHNSON confirms again that Beacon would not be
mandating any vaccinations.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asks if MS. JOHNSON knows whether the
PCR test falls under the Emergency Use Authorization.
MS. JOHNSON confirms that the PCR lab-based test as well as
the Abbott IDNow test have been federally approved under
Emergency Use Authorization since the beginning of the
pandemic.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE makes a point of order.
CHAIR HANNAN we are speaking to the vaccines on the record
as part of the contract.
SENATOR STEVENS asks how many vaccinations Beacon has
distributed to-date, and states he thinks its remarkable
what the organization has done and has heard the numbers
before but as they change every day, is hoping for an
update. So many people in the Capitol who have received
their vaccines from employees to members of the
Legislature, and it could have saved people untold hardship
and illness.
MS. JOHNSON states that since the efforts started a few
weeks before this meeting, Beacon has administered 240
first doses and coordinated for four individuals to receive
second doses through a transfer from Bartlett Hospital. She
thanks SEARHC and Bartlett for their local support as well
as direct assistance to Beacon's efforts at the Capitol.
SENATOR SHOWER asks if authority mentioned in the motion
(Executive Director, Legislative Council Chair, and
Legislative Leadership) that determines the policy carried
out by Beacon will have the ability to force vaccinations.
In other words, he asks if voting for this motion will
provide the authority to a body or a person to require
legislators or staff to take a vaccine if they wish not to.
MS. GEARY says that authority is specifically related to
who is eligible for the vaccine within the building and
includes members of the media should they choose. If this
motion passes, it will in no way allow anyone to mandate
the vaccine for anyone.
CHAIR HANNAN states that the wording of the motion simply
extends eligible recipients for the vaccine to include
members of the media who work in the building and members
of the Executive Branch who work in the Capitol.
SENATOR SHOWER thanks CHAIR HANNAN and says that while the
first read-through of the motion had him feeling concern
about mandatory vaccines, his question has been answered.
SPEAKER STUTES asks if Beacon will be able to facilitate
the second vaccine dose to the 240 recipients of the first
dose.
MS. JOHNSON states that Beacon will be able to administer
all second doses to anyone who they provided first doses
to.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON asks on behalf of former Legislative
Council member, Representative Drummond, if there is any
record of total number of Capitol campus workers who have
been vaccinated, and if so, who is keeping the running
tally.
MS. GEARY states that she is keeping a running tally of
those who volunteer that information to her. It is not
required for any individual to submit their information,
but doing so would be a useful tool and she is planning on
doing outreach to hopefully help track the number of
vaccinations within the building.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON asks for confirmation that this
effort by MS. GEARY would track both Beacon-administered
vaccinations as well as vaccinations administered by other
entities.
MS. GEARY says that is correct, and she is keeping a
comprehensive list, as the more information she has, the
closer the Legislature may be to loosening up policies.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asks what number the Legislature would have
to achieve to reach herd immunity within the Capitol.
MS. GEARY states that Dr. Zink presented in a Zoom meeting
this morning and that question was asked. Dr. Zink stated
that, "we don't know at this time," due to various variants
changing the COVID-19 landscape daily. She recommends
participating in the next COVID-19 Zoom chat next Wednesday
and asking that question, as Dr. Zink stated that new
information is coming out daily from the CDC on this topic.
SENATOR HOFFMAN states that he believes herd immunity is
something the Capitol campus should seek to achieve for the
safety of workers and their family members. There are many
young staffers who go home to their families and friends
and achieving herd immunity would mean giving greater
protection not only to people in the building, but their
communities as well.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON references questions she emailed to
MS. JOHNSON earlier regarding whether Beacon's employees
within the contract will be following the same guidelines
as the rest of those in the building and acknowledges that
she received answers. She then asks if she could please
explain the certifications for vaccine administrators.
MS. JOHNSON states that in alignment with Alaska State law
about who can administer vaccines, Beacon staff is
certified through an online course and they also have a
medical certification under the authority of the Medical
Director.
SENATOR BISHOP thanks MS. GEARY, Legislative Council, and
Beacon for the professionalism of their employees, saying
they are A-number-one in his book. He thanks their staff
for being here and keeping employees of the Capitol safe
every day.
SENATOR SHOWER asks about Beacon staff having access to the
vaccine and speculates about the possibility of a COVID-19
spreading event due to their location within the building
creating a funnel effect through which all members must
pass, and asks if MS. JOHNSON can speak to their general
vaccination status.
CHAIR HANNAN checks with MS. JOHNSON to see if she would be
concerned about making a HIPAA violation to speak to this
on the record.
MS. JOHNSON states that as she is not going to speak to any
specific individual's status, she is comfortable answering.
She states that Beacon is in compliance with the policies
that Legislative Council has passed. Beacon employees
within the Capitol follow those and ensure they are leading
by example, all wear medical-grade masks, and have been
fit-tested appropriately for those masks, and that all
individuals providing COVID-19 mitigation through Beacon
within the Capitol were eligible for the first round of
vaccine distribution as they were considered front-line
healthcare workers.
SENATOR SHOWER offers his appreciation for her answer.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD says she wants to make it clear that
she is for the freedom for individuals to direct their own
healthcare and if people want the vaccine, to let them get
the vaccine. However, her oath is to the Constitution and
she wants to ensure she upholds constitutional rights
surrounding privacy violations. HIPAA is very important to
her and she looks forward to having an opportunity to talk
about liability. She states that her question involves the
Division of Administration who came before the Judiciary
Committee, which she chairs, and stated that liability lies
with the individual who injects the vaccine into another.
She asks if Beacon is aware of that liability.
MS. JOHNSON responds yes, Beacon is aware.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asks, God forbid, anyone has negative
complications due to vaccination, do you know where the
liability
CHAIR HANNAN ruled SENATOR REINBOLD out of order.
6:17:47 PM
Council takes a brief at ease.
6:18:16 PM
Council returns from brief at ease.
Recording returns in progress as MS. JOHNSON states that as
a medical provider, Beacon holds liability and has medical
directorship in place and would not proceed with any
services that were not appropriately covered.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asks if anyone is injured, where can
they turn.
MS. JOHNSON explains that Beacon has standing orders in
place for providing any medical services as well as
partnerships with local medical health units, as well as
telemedicine support. Everyone who receives the vaccine is
advised if they have any questions to reach out to Beacon
through a medical line available 24/7.
SENATOR STEDMAN states that he believes it is time to wrap
this meeting up, citing that it is late and time for
dinner, and he would like to move forward.
CHAIR HANNAN states that the question has been called and
asks SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE to repeat the motion.
6:19:13 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moves that Legislative Council
approve an amendment to the Beacon OHSS contract to add to
the list of services provided under contract the
administration of a COVID-19 vaccine to all those eligible
as determined by the Executive Director in consultation
with the Legislative Council Chair and Legislative
Leadership and that this amendment be made retroactively to
January 25, 2021.
CHAIR HANNAN requests a roll call vote.
YEAS: REPRESENTATIVES CLAMAN, EDGMON, FOSTER, HANNAN,
STUTES, TILTON, TUCK; SENATORS BISHOP, MICCICHE,
HOFFMAN, SHOWER, STEDMAN, STEVENS
NAYS: SENATOR REINBOLD
The motion passed 13-1.
VII. ADJOURN
CHAIR HANNAN reminds members that she will be polling for
their availability for the next meeting.
There being no further business, Legislative Council was
adjourned.
6:20:36 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 2021.3.17 Legislative Council Agenda.pdf |
JLEC 3/17/2021 5:00:00 PM |
|
| 1.18.2021 Leg Council Meeting Draft Minutes.pdf |
JLEC 3/17/2021 5:00:00 PM |
|
| Manual of Legislative Drafting 2021.pdf |
JLEC 3/17/2021 5:00:00 PM |
|
| Legislative Legal Memo--Manual of Legislative Drafting 2021.pdf |
JLEC 3/17/2021 5:00:00 PM |
|
| Legislature FY20 Audit Letter and Schedule.pdf |
JLEC 3/17/2021 5:00:00 PM |
|
| Leg Council FY22 Budget Request with Narrative.pdf |
JLEC 3/17/2021 5:00:00 PM |