Legislature(2021 - 2022)
08/16/2021 03:00 PM Senate LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
AUGUST 16, 2021
3:00 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sara Hannan, Chair
Senator Lora Reinbold, Vice Chair
Representative Matt Claman
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Cathy Tilton
Representative Chris Tuck
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Shelley Hughes (alternate)
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Mike Shower
Senator Gary Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Bert Stedman
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
COMMITTEE BUSINESS EXECUTIVE SESSION
ADJOURN
SPEAKER REGISTER
Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency (LAA)
JC Kestel, Procurement Officer, LAA
3:06:40 PM
I. CALL TO ORDER
CHAIR HANNAN called the Legislative Council meeting to
order at 3:06PM in the House Finance Committee Room.
Present at the call were: Representatives Claman, Edgmon,
Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Bishop,
Hughes, Micciche, Reinbold, Shower, Stevens.
Members absent were: Senators Hoffman, Stedman.
Thirteen members present.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
3:08:08 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.
The agenda was approved with no objections.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
3:08:41 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council approve the minutes dated February 25,
2021, as presented.
The minutes were approved with no discussion or objections.
IV. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD said that she had deep problems with
this action item, so Senator Micciche would be making the
motion.
3:09:32 PM
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE moved that Legislative Council
adopt the COVID-19 Mitigation Policy as amended.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON objected.
CHAIR HANNAN introduced Jessica Geary, Executive Director,
LAA to discuss and take questions about the proposed
changes to the mitigation policy.
JESSICA GEARY stated her name and position for the record,
and said she worked with the Chairs office to draft these
recommended updates to the Legislatures current policy.
She said this policy would reinstate the mask mandate
within the Capitol and Legislative Facilities and the other
items were basically unchanged from the current policy. She
thought the draft included a section encouraging social
distancing, and said the language added regarding masks
took the policy back to the language approved last session,
and said she was happy to answer any questions.
SENATOR STEVENS thanked Ms. Geary for her efforts and asked
about testing who, where, would it be like last session?
MS. GEARY stated that the Legislature was working with
Bartlett Regional Hospital and the City and Borough of
Juneau to offer voluntary testing twice-weekly in the
Transportation Committee Room. The only requirement would
be an online registration, and she would send out that link
to members and staff shortly. It was not a rapid test like
the ones previously used with Beacon, but a lab-based test,
meaning that specimens would be collected, sent to the
Bartlett lab, and results would take less than twenty-four
hours.
SENATOR STEVENS offered his thanks and praise for the
Beacon test providers for their painless testing and
professional aptitude. He expressed hope that these new
test providers would be able to perform similarly.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE stated he just came back from a
trip to the Lower 48 and his family went to Pike Place
Market where thousands of people were moving through, and
they saw a huge sign that said, Masks are Recommended. He
said most people probably had masks on; he did not know the
vaccination status of the unmasked. He said he would be
much more supportive of this policy change if Members
amended the word required to recommended. He said he
would probably wear a mask, especially around LAA folks
that made it clear they preferred him to wear one, or other
legislators who preferred the same, he had no problem with
that. He believed that use of the word required would put
members back into the battle of last session and reminded
them of the audible cheer heard when the mask requirement
was eliminated. He speculated that the Capitol Complex was
probably in the 90% range for vaccinated individuals and
said he had read everything the CDC had ever put out. He
then moved that Legislative Council change required to
recommended and let individuals make the choice.
He then said there were a couple ways members could limit
exposure in the Capitol, including closing the building to
non-residents. He noted the halls were emptier than usual
due to fewer staff coming to Juneau for special session,
more legislators than usual would be in and out, and most
legislators were vaccinated. If he were in a crowded place
and knew there were people who were uncomfortable, he would
wear a mask, if he were somewhere where people were not
uncomfortable, he would make that personal choice, but said
he wished the committee would consider changing the word
required to recommended and said he would make that motion.
CHAIR HANNAN asked Senate President Micciche to state his
motion.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE said on page one, section one,
"Face covering/masks are recommended in all legislative
facilities instead of required.
CHAIR HANNAN said the motion is to substitute the word
recommended for the word required, under item one, Face
Coverings/Masks.
SENATOR SHOWER said he seconded Senate President Micciches
very reasonable and prudent recommended change for many
reasons, saying the Senate President did a good job
explaining some very good reasons why this would make
sense. He pointed out that the Legislature had been
receiving conflicting guidance that was changed from pro-
mask to anti-mask. He said that Senator Micciche made a
great point about how almost the entirety of state
legislators were vaccinated and since they have
acknowledged that masks do not actually stop the
transmission or the reception, he thought that members were
in a reasonable place to allow people to make the choice to
mask or not themselves. He said it would also keep members
from having to deal with continuous tension and be able to
keep their focus on the mission at hand. He said he wanted
to make those comments for the record and said he supported
Senator Micciches recommendations and that it would be a
reasonable and prudent decision.
SENATOR STEVENS asked what the situation was in Juneau as
far as mask-wearing.
CHAIR HANNAN said that the City of Juneau required masks in
public buildings.
SENATOR STEVENS said that it seemed to him, the Legislature
needed to honor the community of the city they operated in
and if Juneau required masks, he thought masks should be
required in the Capitol. He thought it was premature,
taking into consideration information from the CDC and
other sources, that Alaska could be facing an uptick in
cases it seems like this is not the time to be making
things easier for the virus to travel. In conclusion, he
said, he believed members should honor Juneau and do what
they recommended.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN said that if this amendment were
adopted, it would require changes to the next paragraph
dealing with LAA and Lounge staff coming into offices
because under the current way it was written, if there was
a mandatory policy and an office was not following mask
protocol, then LAA and Lounge staff does not come into the
office because the offices are not complying. He thought
there should be a level of workplace safety in members
policy, and if they opted for an optional mask policy, it
should be clear that staff would not be required to enter
offices of those without masks. Although the Capitol
Complex belongs to the State and legislators held offices
there, he said they were also visitors to Juneau. He agreed
with Senator Stevens that it would be worthwhile to respect
the community and follow their lead.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON agreed with Senator Micciches
suggestion to use recommend instead of require citing
personal choice, issues with hearing muffled voices, people
who depend on lip-reading, and the fact that the
Municipality of Anchorage, Mat-Su, and Fairbanks North Star
Boroughs had not mandated masks.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON echoed Senator Stevens comments and
thanked LAA and Legislative Council for their mitigation
efforts last session. He agreed with Representative
Clamans statement about being visitors to this community
even as legislators work to represent the state. He felt
the legislature should set an example. He will not support
changing required to recommended, because he wants to
remain consistent with the previous Legislative Council
position that adhered to CDC guidelines. He stated he does
not like wearing masks, but still does, so while he
appreciated the intent of the amendment and respected the
spirit of it, he would not support it.
SENATOR MICCICHE clarified that he was not proposing any
changes and had tried in the past to be a champion for LAA
folks who were uncomfortable in different situations. He
did not believe that paragraph should change and believed
that if LAA employees were uncomfortable that folks should
work their hardest to make those individuals comfortable by
protecting them at the same level. He wanted to be clear
that although his amendment would make masking optional,
when someone came into a legislator's office to serve them,
the legislator should live to their standard as long as the
pandemic continued.
SENATOR BISHOP said he did not like the word recommended
under number four, Testing. He prefers to have Beacon back
at the Capitol providing tests. He said he did not want to
go to Bartlett and this was the weakest part of this
protocol if legislators were really concerned about the
spread of COVID-19.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES said this was difficult for her
because she was very happy to not mask and remove the mask
policy, but that if anyone had been watching the news, her
home community was currently the highest rate of contagious
individuals in the state. She said she personally knew
several of those people who were ill and had been
immunized. Having personally seen these vaccinated people
very sick, she said she would not be able to support this
amendment.
SENATOR HUGHES said she appreciated everyones concern for
the people who work in and out of this building. She cited
two studies out of Israel and the Cleveland Clinic which
said those who have had COVID-19 had six times stronger
immunity than those who had been vaccinated, making
previously infected individuals less likely to carry
because they have a more thorough protection than immunized
people. She said the side effects of wearing masks and
breathing in ones own carbon dioxide including confusion,
garbled thoughts, and anxiety. If there were ever a time
where legislators need to have clear heads and calm
demeanor, she said it would be during this special session,
so she would be supporting this amendment.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD apologized for not being in person, she
said that she had tried to fly, and Alaska Airlines had
canceled her ticket. She said she did not support mandating
CDC guidance as the CDC had been inconsistent in their
recommendations. She supported the amendment proposed by
Senate President Micciche and shared many COVID-19
concerns, including asymptomatic/vaccinated spread,
inconsistent recommendations regarding mask-wearing and
types of masks, liability issues, and focusing on
communicable diseases beyond COVID-19. She closed by saying
personal responsibly and freedom had her in support of the
amendment.
CHAIR HANNAN, seeing no further discussion, requested a
vote on the amendment.
3:31:31 PM
A roll call vote was taken. There was a question whether
Senator Hughes could vote as alternate since Senator
Stedman had joined the meeting, and after a brief at-ease,
it was determined that she was allowed to vote.
YEAS: Representatives Tuck, Tilton; Senators Bishop,
Shower, Micciche, Hughes, Reinbold.
NAYS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,
Stutes; Senators Stedman, Stevens.
The amendment failed 7-7.
CHAIR HANNAN asked if there was further discussion on the
policy as presented.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD referenced roman numeral V on the
policy and asked what the vaccinated and unvaccinated
individuals found to be close contacts of a person who
tested positive would be directed to do.
MS. GEARY said that this section referred to people who
test positive or are a close contact of a known positive.
She said the reason the guidance was not spelled out is
because it is ever-changing; current guidance suggests
vaccinated people do not need to quarantine if they are a
close contact, but if they develop symptoms, they would be
directed to get tested and follow whatever protocols are
for time away from work until their symptoms resolve. If
one is unvaccinated and comes into close contact with a
known positive or are sick and tests positive themselves,
they are supposed to quarantine for ten days to make sure
they did not develop symptoms; she said they could then get
a follow-up test after that period.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD asked what the CDC said about updated
recommendations for camps.
CHAIR HANNAN and MS. GEARY each expressed that they were
not following the Vice-Chairs meaning.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD referenced recent information regarding
shielding and recommendations by the CDC and asked if Chair
Hannan was planning on mandating something.
CHAIR HANNAN asked the Vice-Chair to clarify if she was
talking about face coverings or collective gathering of
people.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD said collective gathering.
CHAIR HANNAN said that the policy did not address events
outside of the Legislature and that as far as she knew,
there were no Legislative camps scheduled, so she did not
believe the question was relevant.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD said her question was not in regard to
Legislative Camps, but in regard to shielding of people.
She spoke to concerns about the ever-changing nature of CDC
guidelines and said there could be future problems if this
policy was not clearly defined, so she could not support
this new policy.
CHAIR HANNAN explained that the policy as drafted related
to COVID-19 protocols and the mitigation policy within this
building. There was effort by both parties to reach
understanding.
3:42:59 PM
There was an at-ease.
CHAIR HANNAN, back on the record, said that Senator Hughes
had helped facilitate some understanding about the term
shielding camp and how it applied to community response and
community quarantines. She said she believed members
addressed that by maintaining that this policy was only
about Legislative facilities.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD further explained shielding camps.
SENATE PRESIDENT MICCICHE asked the Chair to call the
question.
CHAIR HANNAN restated the motion to adopt the Legislative
Council COVID-19 Mitigation Policy as amended in the August
16, 2021, document. She then requested a roll call vote.
3:45:11 PM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,
Stutes; Senators Bishop, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: Representatives Tuck, Tilton; Senators Shower,
Micciche, Reinbold, Hughes.
The motion passed 8-6.
V. COMMITTEE BUSINESS - EXECUTIVE SESSION
A. RFP 646 Anchorage Legislative Office Building Janitorial
Contract
B. Assembly Building Proposed Donation
CHAIR HANNAN introduced the next item of business,
discussion surrounding a janitorial contract for the
Anchorage Legislative Office Building and a proposal to
accept the Assembly Building from the Juneau Community
Foundation, which would bring the Council into Executive
Session.
3:46:47 PM
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council go into 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 and 22(B)(3), discussion of a matter that
may, by law, be required to be confidential. The following
individuals may remain in the room or on-line for the
entirety of the (audio cut out) executive session: Jessica
Geary, JC Kestel, Sante Lesh, Megan Wallace, Emily Nauman,
Helen Phillips, Jodie Murdock, Bree Wylie, any Legislators
not on Legislative Council, and any staff of Legislative
Council members. When the council turns to the matter of
the Assembly Building, Facilities Manager Serge Lesh, CBJ
Mayor Beth Weldon and former Mayor Ken Koelsch, and Reed
Stoops and Wayne Jensen of the Juneau Community Foundation
may also be present in the room.
4:56:20 PM
Council returned from Executive Session.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved that Legislative Council approve
the award of RFP 646 for Anchorage janitorial services to
Q-1 Corporation for a one-year contract and five optional
one-year renewals with a not-to-exceed value of fifty-six
thousand dollars per contract year.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for purposes of discussion and asked
JC Kestel to summarize the contract for the record.
There was brief discussion by Council members about
procedure for exiting Executive Session and if a roll call
vote to determine quorum was necessary.
4:57:34 PM
A roll call vote was taken.
Present at the call were: Representatives Claman, Edgmon,
Foster, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Bishop,
Hughes, Micciche, Reinbold, Shower, Stedman, Stevens.
Fourteen members present.
CHAIR HANNAN briefly reviewed the agenda thus far and
picked back up by asking Mr. Kestel to summarize the
contract.
JC KESTEL, Procurement Officer with the Legislative Affairs
Agency, said RFP 646 closed August 6, there were four
proposals received, the proposals were reviewed by a
proposal evaluation committee; once the evaluation scores
were tallied and finalized, Q-1 Corporations was
considered the most beneficial and awarded the most points.
The Agency recommended the award of 646 to Q-1 Corporation
for the janitorial services of the Anchorage Legislative
Office Building. He said he would be happy to answer any
questions.
CHAIR HANNAN, seeing no members wishing to discuss further,
removed her objection.
SENATOR SHOWER objected.
CHAIR HANNAN asked if he would like to speak to his
objection.
SENATOR SHOWER confirmed and said what he heard today did
not provide a compelling reason that the Council should
accept this.
CHAIR HANNAN said to him that the issue being voted on was
for the janitorial service for the Anchorage Legislative
Office Building.
SENATOR SHOWER apologized, said his audio cut out, and
removed his objection.
CHAIR HANNAN asked again if there were any objections to
awarding RFP 646. Seeing no objection, she said that motion
had been adopted. She then acknowledged a suggestion that a
roll call vote was necessary and called for a vote.
5:00:27 PM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,
Stutes, Tuck, Tilton; Senators Bishop, Hughes, Micciche,
Reinbold, Shower, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: None.
The motion passed 14-0.
CHAIR HANNAN introduced the next action item, receipt of
the Assembly Building from the Juneau Community Foundation.
VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved that the Legislative Council
th
authorize the transfer of the property located at 211 4
Street in Juneau, Alaska to the Legislative Council. She
further moved that Legislative Council authorizes the
Legislative Affairs Agency to act as an agent for the
Legislature and execute and enter into any appropriate
agreements regarding the transfer.
CHAIR HANNAN asked if there were any objections to the
above motion.
REPRESENTATIVE TILTON objected and said she appreciated the
Community Foundation looking at presenting a gift to the
Legislature but had concerns about the environmental
concerns there and that now is a time when government
should be reducing its size and footprint. She said it was
a tough time to take on what could potentially become an
expense, though she knew there were some Capitol funds
available, she believed those funds should be conserved.
CHAIR HANNAN asked if any other members wished to speak.
SENATOR HUGHES expressed her gratitude to the Juneau
Community Foundations gift and said that this vote today
was not putting members on the hook for the $3.8 million,
but she did understand that there was some lead paint,
asbestos-containing materials, and that some offices may be
moved from other locations which would involve remodeling
and updating electrical systems. She said she saw this
putting future line items before the Legislature and that
the State was in a tight spot financially right now. She
said it mattered to her constituents to hold a floor
session perhaps, maybe, someday in Southcentral Alaska. If
she knew, before spending money to update the gift of this
building, that there was going to be the option for a
closer geographical session for more Alaskans, she would
vote yes, but her district would like to see that as a
priority over this, so she would be voting no.
CHAIR HANNAN asked if Senator Shower would like the floor.
SENATOR SHOWER thanked her and said he heard a lot of
concerns from folks who brought up good points: that the
Legislature had potential risk of maintenance costs,
environmental costs, and other unknowns; that members were
on a tight timeline and when things get rushed, bad or
costly decisions can be made, he had not heard a compelling
need of the Legislature for this building, and that the
time was not right due to needing to reduce. He said he did
not think it sent the right message for the Legislature to
risk making a potentially spendy decision and cited
environment concerns as well.
SENATOR REINBOLD said she supported not trying to twine and
intertwine the three branches of government, so for one
small reason she would support the purchase if it meant
getting the Executive branch out of the Capitol. She said
members did not know the risks and liabilities and she
could not vote for this without full knowledge of the risks
associated with it, and additionally she said she did not
believe the Legislature needed an empire in Juneau; she
said the road system was where the people were and that the
Legislature needed access to the people. She stated she was
a big proponent of getting the Legislature out of Juneau
and onto the road system especially now that Alaska
Airlines had banned her from flying, and with that she
would be a passionate no vote.
SENATOR MICCICHE said he would not be a passionate anything
on this deal, but that the building was operating now
legally and that there would be savings in eliminating
long-term leases throughout Juneau. He said members were
aware of the minor environmental issues in the building and
there was a potential chance of an issue with the storage
tank, but this was a gift and members were not agreeing to
spend a penny and there is potential to save substantial
money. He would support this but did strongly suggest that
LAA execute a quick core sample contract to determine if
there were further issues before the end of the week, and
that would make him more comfortable. He said he was okay
with this.
SENATOR STEDMAN said he would like to speak in favor of
taking the gift; rarely would members have opportunities
like this and there would always be challenges. Besides
cutting costs, another benefit of owning a piece of
property right across from the Capitol would be having some
control of the neighborhood, he said. As far as the
Capital, he said, it was Juneau, and it would stay in
Juneau until the constitution changed. The Legislature, he
said, met in the thriving community that had its own road
system and was on a road system; the Alaska Marine Highway
accounted for part, but that there was road travel
available from here to Anchorage, Mat-Su, and Fairbanks. He
thought members should accept the gift and make wise
decisions about how they wanted to remodel itpossibly into
apartments for sessions and rentals or storage during
interim. There were all kinds of benefits, he said, and few
downsides. While the economic climate might not be ideal
currently, he said it would change, and owning a commercial
building with viable, rent-paying tenants would be worth
having. He thought members should move forward, thank the
Juneau Community Foundation for gift of negotiating the
purchase of the building, and helping secure a nice area
near the Capitol. He spoke about the success of
improvements made to the Capitol, the Terry Miller
Legislative Office Building, and the Thomas Stewart
Legislative Office Building, saying that the Assembly
Building was the next step. He said he would be voting yes
for this and future generations.
CHAIR HANNAN hearing no further comments, she requested a
roll call vote.
5:14:06 PM
A roll call vote was taken.
YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,
Stutes, Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche, Stedman, Stevens.
NAYS: Representative Tilton; Senators Hughes, Reinbold,
Shower.
The motion passed 10-4.
VI. Adjourn
CHAIR HANNAN wished Ms. Geary a happy birthday, and said
with nothing else on the agenda, the meeting is adjourned.
5:15:20 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| August 16 2021 Legislative Council Meeting Agenda.pdf |
JLEC 8/16/2021 3:00:00 PM |
|
| COVID-19 Mitigation Policy - August 2021 Proposed Amend.pdf |
JLEC 8/16/2021 3:00:00 PM |
|
| COVID-19 Mitigation Policy - August 2021 Proposed Amend with Track Changes.pdf |
JLEC 8/16/2021 3:00:00 PM |
|
| COVID-19 Mitigation Policy Amendment Memo.pdf |
JLEC 8/16/2021 3:00:00 PM |
|
| Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People _ CDC July 28 2021.pdf |
JLEC 8/16/2021 3:00:00 PM |
|
| Legislative Council Minutes--2.25.2021 Meeting.pdf |
JLEC 8/16/2021 3:00:00 PM |
|
| RFP 646 ALOB Janitorial Services Exec. Session to LC.pdf |
JLEC 8/16/2021 3:00:00 PM |