Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
02/24/2011 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Department of Administration, Commissioner | |
| Board of Parole|| Alaska Police Standards Council|| Alaska Public Offices Commission | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 24, 2011
8:04 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bob Lynn, Chair
Representative Wes Keller, Vice Chair
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Max Gruenberg
Representative Pete Petersen
Representative Kyle Johansen
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
Department of Administration, Commissioner
Becky Hultberg - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Board of Parole
Daniel Morris - Soldotna
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Alaska Police Standards Council
Kelly Alzaharna - Barrow
Richard L. Burton - Ketchikan
Rebecca Hamon - King Salmon
Mark T. Mew - Eagle River
Bernice "Berni" Troglio - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Alaska Public Offices Commission
Kenneth Kirk - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
State Commission for Human Rights
Jerrad Hutchings
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
BECKY HULTBERG, Acting Commissioner
Department of Administration
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke as a commissioner appointee to the
Department of Administration.
DANIEL MORRIS, Appointee
Board of Parole
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Board of
Parole.
KELLY ALZAHARNA, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Barrow, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
RICHARD L. BURTON
Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Had his testimony as appointee to the
Alaska Police Standards Council presented by Terry Vrabec,
Director, Alaska Police Standards Council.
TERRY VRABEC, Director
Alaska Police Standards Council
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to the Alaska
Police Standards Council during the confirmation hearing for
appointees to the council.
REBECCA HAMON, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
King Salmon, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
MARK T. MEW, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Eagle River
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
BERNICE "BERNI" TROGLIO, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
KENNETH KIRK, Appointee
Alaska Public Offices Commission
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Public
Offices Commission.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:04:20 AM
CHAIR BOB LYNN called the House State Affairs Standing Committee
meeting to order at 8:04 a.m. Representatives Keller, Seaton,
Petersen, and Lynn were present at the call to order.
Representatives Wilson, Johansen, and Gruenberg arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):...
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):...
^Department of Administration, Commissioner
8:04:53 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the first order of business was the
confirmation of Becky Hultberg, commissioner appointee to the
Department of Administration.
8:05:58 AM
BECKY HULTBERG, Acting Commissioner, Department of
Administration, informed the committee that she grew up in
Alaska, went to college out of state, and returned to Alaska.
She said she is deeply invested in the state. She said she is
no stranger to state government, having served under the
administration of Governor Frank Murkowski. She related that
her work experience has afforded her the opportunity to gain
management experience in an environment that supported its
leaders, and she said this experience should serve her well as
commissioner.
8:08:30 AM
MS. HULTBERG talked about leading from the heart and adhering to
values. She said she values respect, justice, compassion,
transparency, and integrity. She emphasized the importance of
setting high standards. She said she believes in maintaining a
balance between time at work and away from work, and encourages
others to do the same. She posited that if people enjoy their
work, they are better at it. Ms. Hultberg said she believes in
collaborative effort at work and said the best ideas do not
always come from management. She stated that part of her job is
to take down barriers so that others can do their jobs
effectively.
8:10:09 AM
MS. HULTBERG said her goal is to leave the department in better
condition than that in which she found it. She relayed another
goal is to focus on efficiency and productivity - to find better
value for the dollars spent in the department and encourage
people to change the way they do things in order to improve work
flow. She emphasized the importance of providing better value
through Enterprise Technology Services (ETS), making sound
information technology (IT) investments on behalf of all
departments, and refining the personnel processes and the human
resources function.
8:14:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN asked which issues Ms. Hultberg
considers as her biggest challenges.
8:16:02 AM
MS. HULTBERG answered that ETS will be a challenge. She
explained that in the support function there is tension between
centralization, which is demonstrated to save money, and
decentralization, which is demonstrated to serve the customer.
She related that there are 15 separate IT departments, which are
not as collaborative as could be. Further, she stated that the
state's unfunded liability is an ongoing challenge, which will
affect the number of things that can be funded. In response to
a follow-up question, she said her philosophy is to hire good
people she trusts, and then let them do their jobs; however, she
said she will be very involved in labor negotiations. She said
there is a negotiating team in place currently, but as she has
been in this position for only two months, she is still in the
process of developing those relationships.
8:21:29 AM
MS. HULTBERG, in response to another question, said she is not
aware of a steady increase in lease costs, except as it relates
to what is happening in the current market; however, she said
she would check into that. To another question related to the
fees collected by the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), she said
although she is not philosophically opposed to profit, she can
understand that from the standpoint of state government that
issue might be a concern. She expressed concern that if that
revenue was replaced with general fund monies, then that may
result in a reduction of services or staff somewhere else. She
said she would need to study the matter more closely to comment
further.
8:24:02 AM
MS. HULTBERG, in response to Chair Lynn, said the actual budget
process was well underway when she took her position; however,
the governor has asked the department to focus on the unfunded
liability because of the burden it may put on the state in the
future. She talked about the balance between meeting the
constitutional obligation to retirees, while not overburdening
the state so that it must reduce services elsewhere.
8:25:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER expressed appreciation for Ms. Hultberg's
attention to ETS and emphasized the need for standards.
8:27:04 AM
MS. HULTBERG, in response to Representative Seaton, talked about
plans to hear feedback and make improvements regarding human
resources.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON expressed his wish that the department
will consider the issue of interagency receipts and the cost of
centralized services. He then asked if the department would be
proposing any legislation to address the unfunded liability.
8:32:09 AM
MS. HULTBERG responded that there is no specific legislation to
be brought forth from the department at this time, but many are
involved in seeking answers. In response to a question, she
said EST addresses issues having to do with wires, computers,
and telecommunications.
8:34:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON expressed concern regarding the
inefficiency of transmitting information across the state when
not everyone uses the same system.
8:37:00 AM
MS. HULTBERG responded that connection to broadband and
communication between offices are important issues being
addressed by the department. In response to a follow-up remark,
she reemphasized the importance of identifying work flow, which
she said has not always been done in the past. She offered
further details.
8:39:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN noted that the department is rewriting
policy for the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), and he
said he will be introducing a bill related to APOC. He said he
wants people to know where the money is being spent as quickly
as possible. He also expressed concern about APOC's lack of
enforcement ability.
8:41:13 AM
MS. HULTBERG related that the relationship with APOC is unusual
because it is an independent body housed within the department.
She indicated that APOC has begun a regulations project to
provide the public the opportunity to understand the regulations
and provide feedback. Regarding the issue of whether APOC has
"teeth" in regulating, she said she would need more time to
study that matter.
8:42:49 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON echoed Representative Johansen's stated
concern about the need for there to be consequences to those who
do not adhere to APOC's regulations.
8:43:24 AM
MS. HULTBERG, in closing, said she is honored to have been
appointed as commissioner and takes the role seriously. She
invited the legislature's continued feedback.
8:44:50 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to advance the confirmation of Becky
Hultberg, appointee as commissioner of the Department of
Administration, to the joint session for consideration. There
being no objection, the confirmation was advanced.
8:45:18 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
^Board of Parole
^Alaska Police Standards Council
^Alaska Public Offices Commission
CHAIR LYNN announced that the final order of business was the
confirmation hearings for Daniel Morris, appointee to the State
Parole Board; Kelly Alzaharna, Richard L. Burton, Rebecca Hamon,
Mark T. Mew, and Bernice "Berni" Troglio, appointees to the
Alaska Police Standards Council; and Kenneth Kirk, appointee to
the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
8:47:49 AM
DANIEL MORRIS, Appointee, Board of Parole, told the committee
that he has lived on the Kenai Peninsula for 30 years, and
during that time amassed 23 years of experience working with the
police department, the last 9 of which he served as chief of
police. He relayed that he has served on various boards and
committees, as well as having served the last four years on the
Alaska Police Standards Council. In response to Chair Lynn, he
said he is excited to come back to work within the field of
public safety. He said he anticipates the job will be both
challenging and satisfying.
8:49:24 AM
KELLY ALZAHARNA, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards Council,
informed the committee that she is currently the chief of police
with the North Slope Borough Police Department, based out of
Barrow, Alaska. She said she has served in law enforcement
since [1987], with the North Slope Borough Police Department
since 1990. She listed the positions she has held on her way to
becoming the chief of police. Ms. Alzaharna stated that she has
been with the Alaska Police Standards Council for two years and
likes working with the council to maintain high standards in all
areas of law enforcement. She thanked the committee for its
consideration of her appointment. In response to Chair Lynn,
she said she started her law enforcement career in New Mexico.
8:51:46 AM
RICHARD L. BURTON, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards Council,
had his testimony as appointee to the council presented by Terry
Vrabec, director of the council. Mr. Vrabec said Mr. Burton is
retired, with over 40 years of law enforcement experience, has
worked in various groups, and has served for the last two years
on the council. He noted that Mr. Burton was involved in the
development and writing of most of the state regulations that
are currently enforced within the law enforcement community.
8:53:04 AM
TERRY VRABEC, Director, Alaska Police Standards Council, in
response to a request from Representative Keller, listed the
duties of the Alaska Police Standards Council, and spoke about
the recourse for an officer who may be decertified.
8:56:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN pointed out that Mr. Burton is from his
district and previously served two terms as the commissioner of
the Department of Public Safety, and he opined that Mr. Burton
would be a valuable asset to the Alaska Police Standards
Council.
8:58:30 AM
REBECCA HAMON, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards Council, told
the committee that she has lived in King Salmon for
approximately 12 years, and has been involved in the community,
primarily through the Bristol Bay Chamber of Commerce, the arts,
and issues related to subsistence fishing and hunting. She
offered her understanding that she is being appointed to the
seat on the council reserved for a member from a community with
a population of fewer than 2,500. She related that she
currently is employed by Safe & Carefree Environment, Inc.,
which is a women's shelter and advocacy organization in
Dillingham for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
She said she is a village and legal advocate, which means that
she works directly with victims to assist and support them
during crises and to help them navigate the legal system. She
related that in this capacity she also assists members of law
enforcement, including the police, the Alaska State Troopers,
the local assistant district attorney, and other social services
agencies. She said she works with victims who live in King
Salmon, Naknek, and South Naknek, as well as other jurisdictions
within that court system.
MS. HAMON stated that she is interested in serving on the Alaska
Police Standards Council because police matters affect those
with whom she works. She emphasized that the occurrence of
domestic violence and sexual assault is near to epidemic
proportions in Southwest Alaska. She said she feels that she
can bring a different view to the table as a result of her
experience with law enforcement from the perspective of the
victims she helps and because of her understanding or the
limited resources of those victims.
9:01:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG noted Ms. Hamon's involvement in fine
arts.
9:03:01 AM
MARK T. MEW, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards Council,
informed the committee that he is up for reappointment to the
council, and said he has served as the Chief of Police in the
Anchorage Police Department (APD) for one year. He said he
began his career in Eugene, Oregon, as a corrections officer,
came to Alaska in the late 1970s, and was hired by the Anchorage
Police Department as a patrol officer in 1983. He listed some
of his positions with the APD over the years, and he said he was
involved in the upgrade of technology systems related to 911
systems, computer aided dispatch, and mobile data in police
cars. After 20 years with APD, he related, he worked for the
school district for six and a half years, in a job related to
security and emergency preparedness, before returning to the APD
in his current position in January 2010.
MR. MEW said he thinks the Alaska Police Standards Council
provides a valuable service to the state and to Anchorage. He
indicated that the seat he fills on the council is often the
voice of the larger urban departments. He offered his view that
the main function for the council concerns setting standards for
officer conduct. He offered further details. He stated that he
wants to do his part to keep the state's standards high. He
indicated that simply because of its size, the Municipality of
Anchorage produces opportunities both to excel and to face
difficulty.
9:09:19 AM
MR. VRABEC, in response to Representative P. Wilson, related
that the Alaska Police Standards Council has 13 positions, 5 of
which are being reviewed today. He said those positions are
listed under statute [AS 18.65.150, which read as follows]:
Sec. 18.65.150. Composition of council.
The council consists of the following persons:
(1) four chief administrative officers or chiefs
of police of local governments;
(2) the commissioner of public safety or a
designee of the commissioner;
(3) the commissioner of corrections or a designee
of the commissioner;
(4) two persons, each of whom has been certified
for five years or more by the council under this
chapter, one of whom serves as a police officer and
one of whom serves as a probation officer, parole
officer, municipal correctional officer, or
correctional officer;
(5) one correctional administrative officer who
is employed at the level of a deputy director or
higher; and
(6) four members of the public at large with at
least two from the communities of 2,500 population or
less.
CHAIR LYNN opined that it is good to have a public member on the
council.
9:12:27 AM
MR. VRABEC, in response to Representative Johansen, said it has
worked well to have a public member on the council, and
expressed appreciation for the requirement that that member must
have some experience related to the public safety field.
9:13:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG expressed appreciation for the service
of Mr. Mew.
9:14:21 AM
BERNICE "BERNI" TROGLIO, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards
Council, told the committee that she became a probation and
parole officer for the state in January 1999 and was promoted
through the ranks to her current position as the statewide sex
offender mental health program manager. She said she works
within the Division of Probation and Parole, and has been
serving on the council since November 2008. She stated that she
lives by a high ethical standard on and off duty and said all
officers take an oath in that regard. Ms. Troglio said she is
currently a member of both the Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Force and the Anchorage Child Safety Team Task Force. She
referred to the council's mission statement, which is: "To
produce and maintain a highly trained and positively motivated
professional, capable of meeting contemporary law enforcement
standards of performance." She stated her belief that she is an
asset to the council because she takes her code of ethics
seriously on and off the council.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON expressed appreciation for the pride
she said she perceived in the testimony of Ms. Troglio.
9:18:46 AM
KENNETH KIRK, Appointee, Alaska Public Offices Commission
(APOC), said he is a lifelong Alaskan and has worked as an
attorney in Anchorage for the past 23.5 years. He said he has
been involved as the state legal counsel for one of the major
political parties and, in the last year, has been before APOC as
a result of two contested matters. He said there were a lot of
other matters, for which he reviewed APOC decisions and
regulations. He indicated that his experience would be useful
to APOC. He shared his impression of APOC as a sincere
organization that is trying to do a good job, and he said he
thinks he could help the commission find better ways to operate.
In response to Chair Lynn, he said he is still in private
practice; however, he added that he resigned his party-related
position as soon as he was nominated. He said his specialty
used to be family law, but now he is involved in estate
planning, adoptions, and Medicaid planning.
9:20:51 AM
MR. KIRK, in response to Representative Gruenberg, said although
the vast majority of people are trying to do a good job, it is
too easy for people to make a mistake. He suggested that APOC
could be flexible for those cases. He said another concern
relates to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
("Citizens United") which addresses limitations on First
Amendment rights. He stated, "I think they need to be narrowly
tailored to meet whatever the compelling state interest is." He
said APOC is not really limiting financial contributions, but
limiting speech in a way that is concerning. In response to a
question, he said he is not sure if he would be the only lawyer
on APOC.
9:27:04 AM
MR. KIRK, in response to Representative Gruenberg, said
Citizen's United is a U.S. Supreme Court decision to which the
state will have to adhere. He indicated that the [executive
director] of APOC had recommended that the chair of the party
for which Mr. Kirk was an attorney seek an advisory opinion
regarding Citizens United. He said it was a long-standing
policy of that party to divide state contributions under state
law into three categories as they came in: House candidates,
Senate candidates, and gubernatorial candidates. There was
concern that doing so for gubernatorial candidates may be acting
as a conduit for a particular candidate, which is not
permissible. Mr. Kirk offered further details, concluding that
APOC ruled against it and the party changed its method to comply
with the ruling. He said, given the recent nature of the
decision, he is reluctant to be disloyal to his former client,
but he said the party has accepted the decision.
9:30:42 AM
MR. KIRK, in response to Representative Gruenberg, said he holds
a somewhat different philosophy to APOC's past rulings, but
mostly agrees with the commission's philosophy. In response to
another question, he talked about a column in which he used
humor to portray how lawyers often overreact to keep their
clients from stepping out of bounds and how frustrating that may
be for politicians and elected officials.
9:34:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN opined that Mr. Kirk would be a great
asset to APOC.
9:35:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said he has no reason to think Mr. Kirk
would not serve well on APOC.
MR. KIRK, in response to Representative Keller, said he had
represented the Republican Party. He noted that of the five
positions on APOC, four have to be appointed from the two major
political parties, and he has been nominated for one of the
Republican positions.
9:37:11 AM
MR. KIRK, in response to a question from Representative Petersen
regarding current disclosure requirements for groups and
candidates, said he has not seen much in statutes that he
disagrees with, but opined that some regulations go further than
statute intended. He offered an example.
9:39:39 AM
MR. KIRK, in response to Representative Gruenberg, said the
Alaska Supreme Court does not give APOC any more discretion than
any other agency. He said regulations and interpretations have
to be consistent with statute, but [APOC and other agencies] can
"flesh out the statute or interpret it where it's not 100
percent clear." He indicated that APOC currently is considering
standards in regulation related to reducing or waiving a fine,
but he remarked that "that's specifically given by the statute."
MR. KIRK, in response to a question regarding whether Citizens
United goes far enough in protecting First Amendment rights,
characterized Citizens United as a problematical case. He
explained that the although the basic point - that there are
restrictions being made on free speech - is fair, saying that a
corporation has the same rights as an individual raises many
other questions, which APOC will have to address. He said
although Citizens United relates only to separate independent
expenditures, some of the same principles could apply to
contributions. Mr. Kirk ventured that Citizens United probably
goes far, and he is not sure the state needs to go further than
that. He concluded that the Alaska Supreme Court gives greater
protection in some situations, but he does not know if there is
"a particular need to go farther than that in this particular
instance with Citizens United."
9:44:56 AM
MR. KIRK, in response to a question, said he does not think that
a contest in a judicial retention election would be treated
differently from a contest in any other election. Furthermore,
he said most of those elections are not contested. He indicated
that the [Alaska] Judicial Council published some statements
that it had reviewed "all of those" and taken public comment and
believed that all the judges should be retained or, in a recent
election, all but one should be retained. He said [the
council's] view has been that "that has not been beyond the
boundaries of what's allowed" and is just a statement "that's
not particularly advocating." Mr. King said he thinks that is
somewhat questionable; however, since that is an issue that may
come before APOC, he said he does not want to take a position on
it now before considering all the viewpoints.
9:46:53 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN expressed concern that Jerrad "Shea"
Hutchings, appointee to the State Commission for Human Rights,
was not present for his confirmation hearing today, and he said
he would like an explanation and a contact number.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked that Mr. Hutchings be rescheduled
so that the committee has the opportunity to talk with him.
CHAIR LYNN concurred that it would be beneficial to have some
sort of interaction with [Mr. Hutchings] before his name is
brought to a vote on the House floor.
9:49:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to advance the confirmations of
Daniel Morris, appointee to the State Board of Parole; Kelly
Alzaharna, Richard L. Burton, Rebecca Hamon, Mark T. Mew, and
Bernice "Berni" Troglio, to the Alaska Police Standards Council;
and Kenneth Kirk to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, to the
joint session for consideration. There being no objection, the
confirmations were advanced. Representative Keller specified
that the name of Jerrad "Shea" Hutchings had not been included
in that motion.
9:51:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG stated for the record that had he been
present during the previous vote regarding Ms. Hultberg, he
would have voted in favor of advancing her confirmation.
9:51:45 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:51
a.m.
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