Legislature(2017 - 2018)Anch LIO Lg Conf Rm
07/12/2018 10:00 AM Senate LEGISLATIVE BUDGET & AUDIT
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Approval of Agenda | |
| Approval of Minutes | |
| Executive Session | |
| Other Committee Business | |
| 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
July 12, 2018
10:11 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bert Stedman, Chair
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Natasha von Imhof (alternate)
Representative Andy Josephson, Vice Chair
Representative Scott Kawasaki
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Jennifer Johnston
Representative Dan Ortiz (alternate)
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Anna MacKinnon
Senator Lyman Hoffman
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
EXECUTIVE SESSION
OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor
Legislative Audit Division
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered a question regarding a statement
made during a prior hearing and provided information regarding
audits and a sexual harassment policy.
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:11:26 AM
CHAIR BERT STEDMAN called the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee meeting to order at 10:11 a.m. Representatives
Josephson, Spohnholz, Johnston, Seaton (via teleconference) and
Kawasaki (via teleconference), and Senators Stedman, Giessel,
Bishop (via teleconference), and Von Imhof (alternate)(via
teleconference) were present at the call to order.
Representative Ortiz (alternate)(via teleconference) arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
^APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
10:12:33 AM
CHAIR STEDMAN announced the first order of business would be the
approval of the agenda. He noted that there would be a proposed
modification to the agenda.
10:12:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON moved that the Legislative Budget and
Audit Committee approve the agenda with an amendment to move the
topic of Sexual Harassment Policy to [Other Committee Business].
10:13:17 AM
SENATOR BISHOP objected.
SENATOR STEDMAN, upon determining Senator Bishop's objection
related to the minutes of June 5, 2018, clarified that a motion
for approval of minutes would be forthcoming.
SENATOR BISHOP removed his objection. There being no further
objection, the modified agenda was approved.
^APPROVAL OF MINUTES
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
10:14:24 AM
SENATOR STEDMAN announced that the next order of business would
be the approval of the minutes.
10:14:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion to approve the minutes of
the June 5, 2018, meeting as presented.
10:14:41 AM
CHAIR STEDMAN objected for the purpose of discussion.
10:14:52 AM
SENATOR BISHOP asked for clarification from Kris Curtis as to
her remark on page 6 of the June 5, 2018, minutes regarding a
gas and development organization.
10:15:35 AM
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Audit Division,
Alaska State Legislature, clarified that the name of the
corporation to which she had referred on June 5, 2018, was the
Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC).
CHAIR STEDMAN removed his objection.
10:16:00 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL objected.
SENATOR GIESSEL made a motion to amend the aforementioned
sentence on page 6 of the June 5, 2018, minutes to include the
name Alaska Gasline Development Corporation. There being no
objection, it was so ordered.
SENATOR GIESSEL removed her objection. There being no further
objection, the minutes of June 5, 2018, as amended, were
approved.
^EXECUTIVE SESSION
EXECUTIVE SESSION
10:18:14 AM
SENATOR STEDMAN announced that the next order of business would
be executive session, as amended in the adoption of the
[agenda].
10:18:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion that the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee go into executive session under
Uniform Rule 22 of the Alaska State Legislature and AS 24.20.301
for the purpose of considering the release of a Statewide Single
Audit for fiscal year 2017 (FY 17); release of the final audit
of the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development,
Regulatory Commission of Alaska FY 17 Annual Report; and the
preliminary audit of the Department of Commerce, Community &
Economic Development, Board of Marine Pilots sunset.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked if there was any objection. [No objection
was stated.]
CHAIR STEDMAN asked that the following individuals remain in the
room or online: legislative auditor, Kris Kurtis; necessary
staff of the Legislative Audit Division; any legislators not on
the committee; and any legislative staff for the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee.
10:19:36 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 10:20 a.m. to 11:06 a.m. for
the purpose of executive session.
11:06:30 AM
CHAIR STEDMAN brought the committee back to order. Present at
the call back to order were Representatives Kawasaki (via
teleconference), Seaton (via teleconference), Spohnholz,
Johnston, Josephson and Senators Bishop (via teleconference),
Giessel, Von Imhof (alternate, via teleconference), and Stedman.
CHAIR STEDMAN announced there was a quorum, as there were nine
members of the committee present.
11:08:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion that the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee approve the release of the
preliminary audit of the Board of Marine Pilots to the agency
for formal comment.
CHAIR STEDMAN objected for the purpose of discussion.
11:08:23 AM
MS. CURTIS remarked that the preliminary audit of the Board of
Marine Pilots would be released to agencies for formal comment
while the two final audits would be released to a final public
document.
CHAIR STEDMAN removed his objection. There being no further
objection, the release of the preliminary audit of the Board of
Marine Pilots to the agency for formal comment was so ordered.
11:09:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion that the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee approve the release of the final
audit for the Regulatory Commission of Alaska FY 17 Annual
Report to the public. There being no objection, it was so
ordered.
11:09:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion that the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee approve the release of final
Statewide Single Audit for FY 17 to the public.
CHAIR STEDMAN objected for the purpose of discussion. He asked
Ms. Curtis for a brief description of the timeline of the audit.
11:09:44 AM
MS. CURTIS stated that the Statewide Single Audit for FY 17 was
due to the federal government by March 31, 2018, and it was late
for three reasons. The first reason was that the financial
audit was delayed. She said the opinion of the Legislative
Audit Division was due in mid-December [2017] but was issued the
beginning of February. She explained the tardiness was mainly a
result of issues surrounding a new state accounting system. The
second reason was there were 78 recommendations - a high number
- which had to be written after the financial audit was
complete, and "those didn't get out until end of March." The
third reason, she indicated, was related to the Department of
Health & Social Services' federal programs for audit by an
outside auditor. She said that report was submitted to the
Legislative Audit Division in May - six months late and
significantly beyond the March 31 deadline.
CHAIR STEDMAN removed his objection. There being no further
objection, the motion passed.
^OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS
11:10:54 AM
CHAIR STEDMAN announced that the final item on the agenda would
be the Sexual Harassment Policy, which he said had been
addressed by legislative groups over the last year.
11:11:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion that the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee approve the adoption of the Sexual
Harassment Policy for all Legislative Budget and Audit Committee
employees other than those for Legislative Audit.
CHAIR STEDMAN objected for the purpose of discussion. He
requested Ms. Curtis offer an explanation.
11:11:32 AM
MS. CURTIS stated as follows:
A general sexual harassment policy applicable to all
legislative employees was adopted by Legislative
Council this past session; however, Legislative
Council does not set personnel rules for Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee employees per AS 24.20.061.
So, there really is not compelling reason to alter
this policy for LB&A employees, except for Legislative
Audit. So, I do recommend that the committee adopt
that Legislative Council policy.
But for Legislative Audit: we must maintain our
independence ... to ensure our actions are nonbiased,
both in appearance and in fact. To ensure our
independence, Legislative Audit reports directly to
this committee, the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee.
In general, [under] the Legislative Council Sexual
Harassment Policy, complaints are directed to the
Legislative Affairs Agency, and complaints can also be
filed with the House Chief Clerk, the Senate
Secretary, the Senate President, [and the] Speaker of
the House. So, this process totally circumvents the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, when there are
complaints with Legislative Audit, which was
inappropriate in this specific instance ....
To address this, we ... took that [Legislative]
Council policy and we tailored it ... specifically for
Legislative Audit to ensure harassment complaints are
reported to [the] legislative auditor ... and/or the
chair of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee.
11:13:01 AM
MS. CURTIS noted that each committee member had a copy of the
Sexual Harassment Policy [included in the committee packet].
She said the Legislative Audit Division made the minimal changes
necessary to the Legislative Council's Sexual Harassment Policy
to tailor it to the division. [The changes are outlined in a
memorandum from Ms. Curtis, dated June 28, 2018, included in the
committee packet]. She offered a summary of the changes. She
said all references to legislators were removed. She explained
there were many references regarding what to do in case of a
legislative complaint. She related that instead of the
Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA) manager, Legislative Audit
Division employees would report to the appointing authority,
which is the legislative auditor, and the legislative auditor
would report to the LB&A chair; however, all Legislative Audit
Division employees would have the choice to report directly to
the LB&A chair. Ms. Curtis said the LAA standard complaint form
was tailored to the Legislative Audit Division; under the formal
reporting section of that policy the reporting authority was
limited to the reporting authority or LB&A chair; under the
investigation section, the division identified that the
appointing authority or the LB&A chair may hire an outside
investigator at his/her discretion, which includes asking the
LAA human resource manager to do the investigation. Ms. Curtis
stated that no changes were made in regard to "definitions or
timelines or any other content of the policy."
11:14:50 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL directed attention to the second paragraph on
page 1 of the policy, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
All legislative branch employees and Legislators who
knowingly instigate or participate in harassment in
violation of this policy will be subject to
disciplinary action as described in this policy.
Supervisors and managers who knowingly permit
harassment activity without taking corrective action
will be subject to disciplinary action up to and
including suspension or discharge.
SENATOR GIESSEL questioned why "and Legislators" was included if
the policy was being tailored specifically for the [Legislative
Audit Division].
MS. CURTIS, regarding both the first and second paragraphs of
the policy, indicated that she did not see the need to change
any language regarding the policy of the legislature itself "to
maintain a workplace that is free of all illegal
discrimination." She said, "I kept those two policies as is a
policy to the legislature itself." She referred to the first
part of the first sentence of the second paragraph and said it
is true. She further offered that she could change it; however,
she remarked that she was interested in making as few changes as
possible in the actual policy, and "because this was more
background information on the need for the policy, I didn't
think ... anything to that as I was trying to minimize it."
SENATOR GIESSEL noted that the rest of the sentence states that
those who violate the policy will be subject to disciplinary
action; therefore, she opined that it is inappropriate to have
"and Legislators" in the first sentence of the second paragraph.
11:16:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said he thinks Senator Giessel has a
point. He asked what the procedure would be if a legislator
harassed an employee in the Legislative Audit Division.
MS. CURTIS offered her understanding that the complaint would be
brought under the LAA policy because the complaint would be
against the legislator. She suggested that the first sentence
in the second paragraph could be amended to read: "All
Legislative Audit employees who knowingly instigate or
participate in harassment in violation of this policy will be
subject to disciplinary action as described in this policy."
11:17:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ said she thinks Senator Giessel's point
is a fair one. She suggested a need for more clarity. She
explained that it is not clear that an employee of the
Legislative Audit Division who is harassed by a legislator
should take his/her complaint to Legislative Council.
MS. CURTIS replied that it never occurred to her that a
situation could occur in which [a legislator harassed an
employee within the Legislative Audit Division].
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ said there have been instances where
legislators have been accused of sexual harassment that occurred
"not in the building" and was taken through official reporting
channels. She said she would be more comfortable if the
[policy] was more explicit.
11:19:20 AM
MS. CURTIS suggested a reference be added at the end stating,
"[For] complaints involving legislators or other legislative
employees, please see [Legislative] Council policy adopted on
..."
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ said she would feel more comfortable
with that language added.
MS. CURTIS suggested the language could be inserted after the
second paragraph.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ responded, "In its own paragraph."
11:19:51 AM
CHAIR STEDMAN removed his objection to the motion that the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee approve the adoption of
the Sexual Harassment Policy for all Legislative Budget and
Audit Committee employees other than those for Legislative
Audit. He then suggested two amendments be offered to the
policy.
11:20:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON suggested Senators Giessel and
Spohnholz make the motions.
11:20:36 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL made a motion to adopt [Amendment 1] to the
Legislative Audit Sexual and Other Workplace Harassment Policy,
as follows:
On page 1, paragraph 2, first sentence:
Between "All" and "employees"
Delete "legislative branch"
Insert "Legislative Audit"
Following "employees"
Delete "and Legislators"
SENATOR GIESSEL clarified that with Amendment 1, the first
sentence would read: "All Legislative Audit employees who
knowingly instigate or participate in harassment in violation of
this policy will be subject to disciplinary action as described
in this policy." There being no objection, Amendment 1 was
adopted.
11:21:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ [moved] to adopt [Amendment 2] to the
Legislative Audit Sexual and Other Workplace Harassment Policy,
to add a new sentence following paragraph 2, which read:
"Complaints involving non-Legislative Audit staff or legislators
should be filed according to the Legislative Council Anti-Sexual
Harassment Policy." She asked that the statute number be
inserted.
MS. CURTIS interjected, "Or the date it was adopted."
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ said, "The date it was adopted. All
right. Enter the date that it was adopted."
CHAIR STEDMAN asked if there was any objection to Amendment 2.
There being none, Amendment 2 was adopted.
11:22:18 AM
CHAIR STEDMAN asked if there was any objection to the
Legislative Audit Sexual and Other Harassment Policy, as
amended.
11:22:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON made a motion that the Legislative
Budget and Audit Committee approve the adoption of the
Legislative Audit Sexual and Other Harassment Policy, as
amended.
CHAIR STEDMAN objected for the purpose of discussion.
11:23:05 AM
MS. CURTIS stated, "This additional policy is necessary to
ensure Legislative Audit sexual harassment complaints are
funneled through to the [Legislative Budget and Audit] Committee
as opposed to the Senate President or the Speaker of the House
or any other LAA personnel ... to maintain our independence and
be free from influence from outside [entities]."
11:23:33 AM
CHAIR STEDMAN removed his objection to the amendment. There
being no further objection, it was so ordered.
11:23:44 AM
CHAIR STEDMAN discussed the timing of future meetings.
11:24:10 AM
MS. CURTIS said the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee may
meet on September 10, 2018, and October 29, 2018.
11:25:14 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee meeting was adjourned at
11:25 a.m.
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