Legislature(2017 - 2018)SENATE FINANCE 532
03/10/2017 12:00 PM Senate LEGISLATIVE BUDGET & AUDIT
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Approval of the Agenda | |
| Approval of Minutes | |
| Executive Session | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
March 10, 2017
12:02 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator Anna MacKinnon
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Natasha von Imhof (alternate)
Representative Andy Josephson, Vice Chair
Representative Scott Kawasaki
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Jennifer Johnston
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Dan Ortiz (alternate)
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
EXECUTIVE SESSION
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
No Witnesses to Record
ACTION NARRATIVE
12:02:54 PM
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee meeting to order at 12:02 p.m. Senators Stevens,
Hoffman, Giessel, Bishop, MacKinnon, and Von Imhof (alternate)
and Representatives Josephson, Johnston, Spohnholz, Seaton, and
Kawasaki were present at the call to order.
12:03:44 PM
^Approval of the Agenda
Approval of the Agenda
CHAIR STEVENS announced that the first order of business would
be approval of the agenda.
12:03:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion that the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee approve the agenda. There being no
objection, it was so ordered.
^Approval of Minutes
Approval of the Minutes
12:04:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion to approve the minutes of
the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee of February 23, 2017.
There being no objection, the minutes from the meeting of
February 23, 2017 were approved.
^Executive Session
Executive Session
12:04:17 PM
CHAIR STEVENS announced that the next order of business would be
to move into Executive Session.
12:04:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion to move to executive
session under Uniform Rule 22(b)(1), discussion of matters, the
immediate knowledge of which would adversely affect the finances
of a government unit. There being no objection, the committee
went into executive session at 12:04 p.m.
12:04:49 PM
The committee took an at ease from 12:04 p.m. to 12:23 p.m.
12:23:37 PM
CHAIR STEVENS brought the committee back to order.
12:23:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion that the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee approve an amendment to the contract
with Castle Gap Advisors, LLC, in the amount of $65,000, for a
not to exceed amount of $100,000, and an exemption from
solicitation requirements of sections [AS 36.30] .030 and .145
of the Alaska Legislative Procurement Procedures.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there was any discussion.
12:24:17 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL stressed that the committee members were very
cognizant of the current fiscal times. She reported that the
proposed amendment for an additional $65,000 to the contract had
been carefully considered. She pointed out that Mr. Ruggiero
[Castle Gap Advisors] was charging an hourly rate of $375 and
his daughter was charging $250 an hour. She acknowledged that
the additional $65,000 to the contract would "buy approximately
100 hours of his time." She expressed her concern that a
previous authorization of $35,000 had been spent in about a
week. She offered her belief that $6,000 of that previous
authorization had been related to travel and lodging in Juneau
during that week. She reported that the committee had discussed
"the careful use of his time; that, as questions arise, groups
of legislators would meet together to maximize the efficiency of
using this rather expensive consultant." She emphasized that a
consultant with this expertise was necessary to give the
legislature a global picture of the oil industry.
12:25:45 PM
CHAIR STEVENS clarified that the aforementioned cost for travel
and lodging was $3000.
12:25:57 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Senators Stevens, Hoffman, Giessel,
Bishop, and MacKinnon, and Representatives Josephson, Johnston,
Spohnholz, Seaton, and Kawasaki voted in favor of the amendment
to the contract with Castle Gap Advisors, LLC. Therefore, the
amendment to the contract passed by a vote of 10 yeas - 0 nays.
CHAIR STEVENS reiterated that every attempt would be made to
control the consultant's time, that the meetings would only be
with committees and not with individual legislators, and to
ensure that the legislature received its money's worth. He
added that any assistance with the RFP (Request for Proposal)
for long term future consultant contracts would be accepted.
12:27:18 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee meeting was adjourned at
12:27 p.m.
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