Legislature(2025 - 2026)ANCH LIO DENALI Rm
06/25/2025 01:00 PM House LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
JUNE 25, 2025
1:00 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sara Hannan, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Representative Ashley Carrick
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Calvin Schrage
Representative Louise Stutes
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Jesse Kiehl
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Donna Mears (alternate)
Senator Matt Claman
Senator Bert Stedman
Senator Löki Tobin(alternate)
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
NONE
AGENDA
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
SPEAKER REGISTER
JC Kestel, Procurement Officer, Legislative Affairs Agency
(LAA)
Shay Wilson, Chief Information Officer, LAA
Angela Garay, Executive Director, Office of Victims Rights
(OVR)
I. CALL TO ORDER
1:01:27 PM
CHAIR HANNAN called the Legislative Council meeting to order
at 1:00pm on June 25, 2025, in the Anchorage Legislative
Office Building, Denali Room.
1:03:00 PM
Council took a brief at ease due to teleconference audio
difficulties.
1:10:17 PM
Council returned from the brief at ease.
Present at the call were Representatives Carrick, Edgmon,
Schrage, Stutes, Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson,
Hoffman, Kiehl, Stevens.
Ten members present.
II. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
1:11:23 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved and asked unanimous consent that the
Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.
The motion passed without objection.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1:11:48 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council approve the meeting minutes dated May 7,
2025, as presented.
The minutes were approved without objection.
IV. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a. Fairbanks LIO Lease Extension Renewal No. 5
1:12:17 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve
Renewal No. 5 of the lease for the Fairbanks office space in
an amount of $219,450.48.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked
Procurement Officer JC Kestel to speak to this item.
JC KESTEL, Procurement Officer, LAA, stated that there is a
memo in members' packets about the Fairbanks lease renewal,
which is the final renewal before a possible lease extension
or new RFP. If approved, the lease would run from August 1,
2025, through July 31, 2026. Because the lease exceeds $50,000
annually, Legislative Council approval is required.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked what the square footage is of the
Fairbanks office space and how many legislators use the space.
MR. KESTEL responded that Fairbanks has a total square footage
of 9,049 feet with eight legislators having office space
there.
CHAIR HANNAN added that, in addition to those eight
legislators, six more offices are used by staff of other
legislators who do not represent Fairbanks, explaining that
legislators can have staff based in LIOs outside their
districts.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked if she could have an office in
Sitka if she wanted one.
CHAIR HANNAN responded that the practice has been to
accommodate staff in LIOs if a legislator has staff in that
location.
SENATOR GIESSEL said she has a staff member based in the Kenai
LIO who lives in Soldotna even though she is an Anchorage
legislator.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK commented that the Fairbanks LIO is
heavily used, with all available space converted to offices
and sees high foot traffic. She asked whether alternative LIO
locations have been identified or discussed.
MR. KESTEL answered that no research has been done yet because
they have not exercised the final renewal. If this renewal is
approved, the Agency plans to start that process in the fall
to decide whether a lease extension is practical, or a new
solicitation is needed for possible expansion or relocation
next summer.
CHAIR HANNAN, noting there were no further questions, removed
her objection and asked for a roll call vote.
1:18:15 PM
YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,
Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,
Stevens
NAYS: none
The motion passed 10-0.
b. Mat-Su LIO Lease Extension Renewal No. 4
1:19:22 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve
Renewal No. 4 of the lease for the Mat-Su office space in an
amount of $193,504.44.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked
Procurement Officer JC Kestel to speak to this item.
JC KESTEL, Procurement Officer, LAA, stated that the next memo
in the packet covers Lease Renewal No. 4 for the Mat-Su LIO.
This renewal would be for one year, from August 1, 2025,
through July 31, 2026. After this, only one more one-year
renewal would remain before the Agency must issue a new
solicitation. He noted that the lease exceeds $50,000
annually, so Legislative Council approval is required.
CHAIR HANNAN, seeing no questions or discussion, removed her
objection and asked for a roll call vote.
1:20:41 PM
YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,
Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,
Stevens
NAYS: none
The motion passed 10-0.
c. Westlaw Contract Amendment
1:21:40 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved and asked that Legislative Council
adopt Amendment No. 1 of the Agency's contract for online
legal research services from West, a Thompson Reuters
Business, to increase the number of access accounts by four
and increase the contract amount by $15,826.13, to a total of
$242,321.75.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked
JC Kestel to speak to this item. She further noted that Emily
Nauman and Megan Wallace with Legislative Legal were available
on teleconference, and Angela Garay, with the Office of
Victims' Rights was available in the room.
JC KESTEL, Procurement Officer, LAA, stated that this was an
amendment request. Unlike most items where he asks to spend
money, this request is to save money. The amendment would add
the Office of Victims' Rights (OVR) to the Legislative Legal
Services contract with West to allow OVR attorneys online
legal research access. He said the Agency and OVR got separate
quotes but having OVR on its own contract was quite expensive.
Combining contracts saves over $21,000. With committee
approval, OVR would be added to the existing Legal Services
contract.
SENATOR KIEHL said that legislative offices can have either a
Westlaw or LexisNexis account and asked if those are a
separate contract or part of the Legislative Legal contract.
MR. KESTEL responded that was a separate contract, and that
this particular contract is just for Legislative Legal.
SENATOR KIEHL concluded stating that he did not wish to make
any additional amendments to the contract currently before
Council, but hoped they might create similar savings
opportunities in the future.
MR. KESTEL stated that he would make a note to look into it
internally and see what could be done.
CHAIR HANNAN recognized Ms. Garay, Executive Director of the
Office of Victims' Rights, and asked if she would like to come
forward and address the committee.
ANGELA GARAY, Executive Director, Office of Victim Rights
(OVR),
replied that she was available to answer any questions and
added that she brought updated OVR brochures for anyone
interested.
CHAIR HANNAN seeing no further questions or discussion,
removed her objection and asked for a roll call vote.
1:25:50 PM
YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,
Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,
Stevens
NAYS: none
The motion passed 10-0.
d. FY2026 Microsoft Enterprise Software Agreement Renewal No.
2
1:27:18 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve the
expenditure of $313,077 for the second of five annual
installments to Software House International (SHI) that
licenses the Legislature to use Microsoft's software.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked
Chief Information Officer Shay Wilson to speak to this item.
SHAY WILSON, Chief Information Officer, LAA, stated that
members have a memo in their packets about the Microsoft
Enterprise Agreement. In 2024, Legislative Council approved a
five-year contract with Microsoft that includes annual
renewals, and this is the second renewal. He explained that
the Microsoft software licenses cover a wide range of
applications used daily, including the computer operating
systems; Office programs like Word and Excel; email; storage;
Teams; SharePoint; and all the server software supporting
BASIS, file system storage, and databases required to store
and track the bill process. The contract was negotiated in
conjunction with the Executive and Judicial Branches and used
Software House International to get the lowest pricing. The
total cost for year one is $313,077, to be paid from FY2025
Division of Technology and Information operating funds.
CHAIR HANNAN, seeing no questions or discussion, removed her
objection and asked for a roll call vote.
1:29:45 PM
YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,
Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,
Stevens
NAYS: none
The motion passed 10-0.
e. Darktrace Cybersecurity Software Renewal
1:30:36 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve the
expenditure of $67,404 to Software House International (SHI)
to license the legislature to continue to use Darktrace.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked
Shay Wilson to speak to this item.
SHAY WILSON, Chief Information Officer, LAA, stated that
members have a memo about the Darktrace renewal in their
packets. He said Darktrace is one of several cybersecurity
tools the Division of Technology and Information (DTI) uses to
help protect the legislature. The software learns the normal
work habits of each device on the network and monitors
traffic, alerting the cybersecurity team if something deviates
from usual behavior. He noted they have used Darktrace for
three years, but until now it stayed below the cost threshold
requiring Legislative Council approval. Without this renewal,
the team would lose valuable visibility into network activity.
The renewal cost is $67,404.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED between Senator Kiehl and Shay Wilson
regarding: the types of information the monitoring software
collects and how it tracks user interactions on the network;
the limits of the technology's visibility, including whether
it can read email contents, view VPN traffic, or monitor
activity on external Wi-Fi; the system's ability to detect
connections from foreign locations; and assurances that data
collected by the software remains secure, including
clarification that the legislature uses the locally hosted
version where all data stays under legislative control.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked whether this cybersecurity system
acts as a failsafe against users clicking on links in emails
that could be threats.
MR. WILSON responded that while there are multiple
cybersecurity tools in place to help with that, this
particular system likely would not prevent it. However, it
could alert his cybersecurity team if it happens. He added
that they also use Proofpoint to filter email and Palo Alto
systems, which Legislative Council approved, to block such
malicious activity.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked if the company does not have
access to legislative information, how is DTI notified if
there is a problem.
MR. WILSON, explained that when problems arise, DTI's
cybersecurity team is notified by email and text message
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
CHAIR HANNAN noted that the legislature has used this system
for three years and asked if the Council's IT Subcommittee has
discussed this issue with the DTI cybersecurity team.
MR. WILSON responded that DTI discussed it internally and
procured the system after several high-profile cybersecurity
incidents elsewhere. DTI has not yet discussed it with the IT
Subcommittee but will make a point to do so.
CHAIR HANNAN followed up to ask if his team has been satisfied
with the system's performance over those three years.
MR. WILSON said his team is very happy with the visibility and
notifications it provides, explaining that they are aware of
much more activity than they would be otherwise.
CHAIR HANNAN, seeing no further questions or discussion,
removed her objection and asked for a roll call vote.
1:42:22 PM
YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,
Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,
Stevens
NAYS: none
The motion passed 10-0.
V. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
Legislative Council meeting was adjourned at 1:43pm.
1:43:34 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| III. a.--May 7 LC Meeting Minutes.pdf |
JLEC 6/25/2025 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. a.--Fairbanks Office Space and LIO Lease Renewal No. 5.pdf |
JLEC 6/25/2025 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. b.--Mat-Su Office Space and LIO Lease Renewal No. 4.pdf |
JLEC 6/25/2025 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. c.--Westlaw Contract Amendment Request.pdf |
JLEC 6/25/2025 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. d.--FY26 SHI Microsoft Software Renewal.pdf |
JLEC 6/25/2025 1:00:00 PM |
|
| IV. e.--Darktrace Software Renewal.pdf |
JLEC 6/25/2025 1:00:00 PM |
|
| Legislative Council Meeting Agenda June 25, 2025.pdf |
JLEC 6/25/2025 1:00:00 PM |