Legislature(2025 - 2026)ADAMS 519
02/12/2025 05:15 PM Senate LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
FEBRUARY 12, 2025
5:15 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sara Hannan, Chair
Senate President Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Representative Ashley Carrick
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative Donna Mears (alternate)
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Louise Stutes
Senator Matt Claman
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Senator Bert Stedman
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Calvin Schrage
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator L?ki Tobin (alternate)
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
None
AGENDA
COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
COMMITTEE POLICIES
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
SPEAKER REGISTER
Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency (LAA)
Mindy Kissner, Finance Manager, LAA
Emily Nauman, Director, Legal Services, LAA
Hilary Martin, Revisor of Statutes, Legal Services, LAA
I. CALL TO ORDER
5:18:18 PM
SPEAKER EDGMON called the Legislative Council meeting to
order at 5:18pm on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, in room
519 (House Finance) of the State Capitol. Present at the
call were Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Kopp, Prax,
Stutes, Mears, Hannan; Senators Claman, Giessel, Gray-
Jackson, Kiehl, Stevens.
Twelve members present.
Senator Stedman joined the meeting at 5:23pm.
II. COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION
a. Election of the Chair
5:19:29 PM
SPEAKER EDGMON nominated Representative Sara Hannan as the
Chair of Legislative Council and asked unanimous consent
and that nominations be closed.
Without objection, Representative Sara Hannan was elected
Chair of Legislative Council.
b. Election of the Vice Chair
5:20:14 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL nominated and elected Senate President Gary
Stevens as the Vice-Chair of Legislative Council and asked
for unanimous consent and that nominations be closed.
Without objection, Senate President Gary Stevens was
elected Vice-Chair of Legislative Council.
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
5:20:40 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.
The motion passed without objection.
IV. COMMITTEE POLICIES
a. Quorum and Voting Requirements
CHAIR HANNAN stated that it has been a long-standing policy
of the Council to have a requirement of eight members for a
quorum and eight members to pass a motion. With a fourteen-
member joint committee, this policy ensures that any motion
requires at least one member of the other body to prevail
so that no one side of our bicameral body could pass a
motion without collaboration with the others. She said
unless there is an objection, she would like to maintain
this tradition.
The policy was maintained without objection.
CHAIR HANNAN suggested a minor modification to the
Legislative Council's voting practices. She proposed that
roll call votes only be conducted when at least one member
is participating via teleconference or if an objection is
maintained. She explained that this change would streamline
meetings, allowing the Council to proceed more efficiently
when there is no dispute and no remote participants
requiring a roll call. Unless there is an objection, she
proposed adopting the policy of approving votes by stating,
"If there is no objection, it will pass."
The policy was maintained with no objection.
b. Alternate Members
CHAIR HANNAN stated in 2011, the Council adopted the
practice of appointing alternate members, similar to other
committees such as Legislative Budget and Audit and Ethics.
For 2025-2026, the alternate member for the Senate is
Senator Tobin and the alternate member for the House is
Representative Mears.
CHAIR HANNAN elaborated that an alternate may only
participate in the absence of an appointed Council member
of their respective body. In other words, the Senate
alternate may only participate if one of the Senate members
is not present; and a House member may only participate if
one of the House members is not present.
The policy was maintained without objection.
c. Sanctioning of Charitable Events Policy
i. Ratifications
1. Juneau Dance Theater Gala
2. Juneau Animal Rescue Fundraiser
CHAIR HANNAN stated per AS 24.60.080(a)(2)(B), the
Legislative Council sanctions charitable events that have
501(c)(3) tax exempt status. The policy in place since 2003
grants the Chair the ability to sanction these charitable
events and the Committee would ratify the Chair's action at
the next Council meeting.
The policy was maintained without objection.
5:24:14 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council ratify the Chair's sanctioning of the
following charitable events per AS 24.60.080(a)(2)(B):
1) Juneau Dance Theater's 50th Anniversary GalaFebruary 8,
2025
2) Juneau Animal Rescue's annual Love is a Four-Legged Word
FundraiserFebruary 15, 2025
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and
confirmed that the 501(c)(3) status of both organizations
was verified before they were sanctioned.
There was no discussion. Chair Hannan removed her objection
and the sanctioning of the two charitable events were
ratified.
d. Subcommittee Policy
i. IT Subcommittee
CHAIR HANNAN stated that the Legislative Council will form
one subcommittee at this time - the Information Technology
Subcommittee. She appointed Chief Information Technology
Officer Shay Wilson as subcommittee chair, and members will
include: from the Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA) - Chief
Technology and Outreach Officer Tim Powers, Technology
Assistance Center (TAC) Supervisor Drew Gruening, Hardware
Supervisor Frank Wilson; from legislative support offices
- Crys Jones or her designee from the House Chief Clerk's
Office, Liz Clark or her designee from the Senate
Secretary's Office, Lori Roland or her designee from House
Records, Merigwen Kawakami or her designee from Senate
Records, Helen Phillips or her designee from House Finance
Secretaries, Doniece Gott or her designee from Senate
Finance Secretaries; from the leadership offices -
Legislative Council Chair's staff Tim Clark, Senate
President's staff Tim Lamkin, House Speaker's staff Laib
Allensworth; from at-large legislative offices - Senator
Kiehl's staff Aurora Hauke and Representative Foster's
staff Brodie Anderson.
V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. December 12, 2024, minutes
5:27:14 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve
the minutes of the December 12, 2024, meeting as presented.
Chair Hannan objected for purposes of discussion; there was
no discussion, and she removed her objection.
The minutes were approved without objection.
VI. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a. FY24 Legislature Audit
CHAIR HANNAN noted that this was not an action item and
asked Mindy Kissner, LAA Finance Manager, to speak to this
item.
MINDY KISSNER, Finance Manager, Legislative Affairs Agency,
stated that before members was the FY24 Audit conducted by
external auditors Elgee Rehfeld. By statute, the
legislature undergoes an annual independent audit of its
internal controls and financial statements. The outcome of
the FY24 Audit was a clean audit with no exceptions.
There was no discussion.
CHAIR HANNAN thanked Ms. Kissner for a clean audit and for
the hard work of her staff to always make sure the
legislature has clean audits.
b. 2025 Manual of Legislative Drafting
5:29:42 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve
the 2025 Legislative Drafting Manual.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for purposes of discussion and
invited Emily Nauman, Legal Services Director, and Hilary
Martin, Revisor of Statutes, to speak to this item.
EMILY NAUMAN, LAA Legal Services Director, stated that a
primary role of their office is to act as stewards of the
Alaska State Statutes, a responsibility they take very
seriously. She explained that their mission is carried out
by ensuring that statutes and drafted bills comply with the
Legislative Drafting Manual, which instructs that bills and
statutes are to be clear, readable, consistent, and well-
organized. She then introduced Hilary Martin, the Revisor
of Statutes, who works tirelessly to ensure that bills and
the statutes comply with the Legislative Drafting Manual.
She, along with the Legal Editor, are responsible for
updating the drafting manual each legislative cycle. Ms.
Nauman then invited Ms. Martin to discuss recent changes
and answer any questions specific to the updated drafting
manual.
HILARY MARTIN, Revisor of Statutes, stated that Uniform
Rule 10 and AS 24.08.060 require Legal Services to follow
the Legislative Drafting Manual, which must be adopted by
the Legislative Council each legislature. She explained
that the manual is prepared by herself, Legal Editor Lora
Brown, and the enrolling secretary. A memo detailing the
updates was provided, with the only recent change being a
few corrected page numbers due to formatting adjustments
during printing. Martin offered to either review the
changes or answer any questions.
MS. NAUMAN had one comment for clarity, stating that the
color of the drafting manual changes every legislature, and
the one for the 2025-2026 cycle is a peach color. She
continued, if members see a drafting manual that's not
peach, after the presented manual is adopted, members can
recycle it. She concluded stating that this drafting manual
is also available on Legislative Legal intranet page.
CHAIR HANNAN, noting there were no questions by members,
removed her objection.
Without objection, the 2025-2026 Legislative Drafting
Manual was adopted.
c. Janus Litigation Contract Amendment No. 1
5:33:57 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve
Amendment No. 1 to the Stoel Rives contract for the Janus
litigation in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
for a total contract amount of one hundred and ten thousand
dollars ($110,000).
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purposes of discussion and
said that Megan Wallace, Chief Counsel, Legislative Legal
Services, would be speaking to this item via
teleconference.
MEGAN WALLACE, Chief Counsel, LAA Legal Services, stated
that included in the packet is a memo dated February 6,
2025, outlining a request to increase an existing Legal
Services contract by $10,000. This contract, originally
approved by the Legislative Council in December 2023, was
established with Stoel Rives to represent the legislature
in the Janus litigation. The case has progressed through
litigation, with both the legislature and the State filing
cross-motions for summary judgment. Oral arguments are
scheduled for the following day [February 13, 2025] in
Anchorage Superior Court. She explained that the additional
funds are intended to cover the remaining costs at this
stage of litigation and confirmed her availability for any
questions.
VICE CHAIR STEVENS asked for Ms. Wallace to provide a brief
review of the Janus litigation.
MS. WALLACE explained that the Janus litigation stemmed
from a special audit conducted by the legislative auditor
at the legislature's request. The audit examined
appropriations made to the Department of Law in FY2021 and
FY2022, where the legislature had allocated specific funds
for litigation related to the U.S. Supreme Court's Janus
decision while restricting the use of other funds for
contracts related to that litigation. The governor vetoed
the appropriation for contracts that could be used to
retain outside counsel, but the Department of Law proceeded
with using funds to retain outside counsel to pursue those
matters related to the U.S. Supreme Court Janus decision.
The lawsuit seeks a court ruling on whether the Department
of Law had the authority to enter into those contracts or
if the legislature lawfully imposed limits on the amount of
money that could be spent on those outside contracts.
CHAIR HANNAN, noting there was no further discussion,
removed her objection.
Without objection, the motion to add $10,000 to the
existing contract was approved.
d. FY26 Legislative Council Budget Request
5:38:45 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council per AS
24.20.130 approve transmittal of the FY26 Legislative
Council Proposed Budget as amended to the House and Senate
Finance Committees for their review and action.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purposes of discussion and
invited Jessica Geary, Executive Director for the
Legislative Affairs Agency, to speak to the last-minute
budget request that was put forward by the Select Committee
on Legislative Ethics.
JESSICA GEARY, LAA Executive Director, stated that the
Select Committee on Legislative Ethics submitted a funding
request to address its current heavy workload. To provide
additional support, the Ethics Committee unanimously
approved a proposal via email to permanently increase the
sole administrative support position from 30 to 40 hours
per week, requiring an additional $20,000. Additionally, a
one-time request of $90,000 was proposed to hire a
temporary 30-hour-per-week employee to help clear the
backlog, bringing the total funding request to $110,000.
VICE CHAIR STEVENS called for a brief at ease.
5:40:33 PM
Council took a brief at ease.
5:41:24 PM
Council returned from a brief at ease.
5:41:27 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve
the request by the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics
to add to their allocation the following: (1) an increment
in the amount of $20,000 to the legislative secretary
position to a 40-hour workweek, and (2) a one-time
increment in the amount to $90,000 to hire a non-permanent
employee for one year.
Without objection, the motion passed.
CHAIR HANNAN asked Ms. Geary to continue with the budget
narrative and explanation.
MS. GEARY presented the FY26 proposed budget and sectional
narrative, outlining appropriations and allocations for
Legislative Council. She explained that the budget request
includes two main appropriations: the Legislative Council
appropriation, which funds administrative functions,
special committees, and offices such as Ethics, Ombudsman,
and the Office of Victims' Rights; and the Legislative
Operating Budget appropriation, which includes those
functions directly related to operations of the
legislature, such as session expenses, House and Senate
operations, and legislator salaries and allowances. The
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee appropriation is not
included in the budget before Legislative Council and is
submitted separately to the Finance Committees; together,
these three appropriations make up the entire legislature's
budget.
She stated in preparing the budget, she met with Presiding
Officers, Rules Chairs, House and Senate Finance Committee
staff, and the Legislative Council Chair. Council is
responsible for authorizing the transmittal of the budget
request to the finance committees for action. She noted
that by voting yes, members agree to pass this budget to
Finance for any additional work or changes they may make.
Rather than reviewing the narrative in detail, she
highlighted key items and welcomed questions throughout.
Ms. Geary noted that statewide salary adjustments for FY26
include increases related to health insurance, the PERS
contribution rate, and a three percent cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) for legislative and certain exempt and
partially exempt employees under Senate Bill (SB) 259.
These adjustments total $2,327,900, with $614,300 for
health insurance, $527,600 for the PERS rate increase, and
$1,186,000 for COLA. These increases, included in the
governor's budget, affect all allocations except State
Facilities Rent.
Ms. Geary outlined three allocation areas with increment
requests. In addition to the previously discussed Ethics
Committee request, Administrative Services allocation has a
$292,000 increment for two new positions and maintenance
costs associated with relocating the Capitol mailroom's
package screening to an offsite location, a move approved
by Legislative Council in December 2024. Additionally, the
State Facilities Rent budget includes a $42,100 increment
to support the offsite package screening location and a
$10,000 increase for existing leased office spaces. These
increments bring the total increase in the Legislative
Council budget to $441,100 for FY26, with the overall
budget increase, including salary adjustments, totaling
$2,772,000 from FY25 to FY26.
Ms. Geary also highlighted position adjustments made for
transparency and accuracy in budgeting. These adjustments,
which do not increase the overall budget, include
converting several permanent part-time positions to full-
time in Administrative Services, Legal and Research
Services, and Technology and Information, as well as
deleting two temporary positions, and the addition of one
permanent full-time position in the Legislative Council
Chair allocation. She again confirmed that these
adjustments do not have associated increments and do not
increase the budget overall; they are housekeeping
transactions to update the position counts and to reflect
how the positions are being used.
Finally, there were permanent transfers from other
allocations to Security Services per Legislative Council's
direction in September 2024 to fund salary increases for
security officers and align budget authority for the
security contract at the Anchorage Legislative Office
Building.
She concluded by offering to answer any questions regarding
the budget request.
SENATOR KIEHL asked Ms. Geary to clarify how nine 11-month
positions in Legal and Research Services, along with
another nine in Administrative Services, were being
converted to 12-month positions without affecting the
budget.
MS. GEARY explained that while these positions were
officially listed as 11-month roles, they have routinely
been filled as 12-month positions due to workload demands.
The adjustment formalizes existing practice without adding
to the budget; instead, it increases the unfunded portion
accounted for under the vacancy adjustment.
CHAIR HANNAN removed her objection to the original motion
made by Vice Chair Stevens.
With no further objections, the FY26 Legislative Council
Proposed Budget was approved for transmittal to the House
and Senate Finance Committees for their review and action.
e. Committee Records Archiving Policy
5:48:54 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council adopt the
Committee Records Archiving Policy as presented.
CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purposes of discussion. She
called on Senator Cathy Giessel and Emily Nauman, LAA Legal
Services Director, to explain the policy and answer
questions.
SENATOR GIESSEL explained that she proposed the archiving
policy to ensure committee records, most importantly public
comments, are properly archived to ensure transparency,
accountability, and historical record preservation. She
emphasized the importance of future access to public
testimony, allowing people to reference original statements
to understand legislative intent. Concerns had been raised
about the accuracy of archiving public testimony, and she
stressed that maintaining public trust requires both
listening to and accurately recording their input. The
policy would formalize this process, ensuring proper
documentation both immediately and in the Legislative
Reference Library archives. She noted that she consulted
Legal Services while drafting the policy and appreciated
their assistance in refining the language.
CHAIR HANNAN said that while many had presumed this was
already the policy, in practice, the process has been
inconsistent from committee to committee. She emphasized
that formally adopting it as a policy would ensure that a
good practice becomes a consistent requirement for all to
follow.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK expressed strong support for the
policy, emphasizing its importance in ensuring transparency
and consistency in handling committee documents. She noted
that, as both a former committee aide and now a legislator
with committee aides in her office, the handling of
committee documents had often been a political decision
rather than a procedural standard. She cited instances
where committee chairs selectively uploaded supporting
documents while omitting opposing ones, highlighting the
need for a uniform process. The policy, she continued,
seems to remove that discretion from committee chairs and
places the responsibility with committee aides, reinforcing
trust in their work and in the legislative process, which
builds and maintains public trust in the legislature.
SENATOR CLAMAN voiced his full support for adopting the
policy and noted a potential area for future refinement.
After reviewing an earlier draft, he observed that Uniform
Rule 23 does not explicitly reference public testimony. He
asked Ms. Nauman whether, after the policy has been in
place for some time, it might be practical to consider a
future amendment to Uniform Rule 23 to formally incorporate
a specific reference to public testimony.
MS. NAUMAN stated that the decision to amend the Uniform
Rules would be up to the legislature. While such an
amendment would likely carry more procedural authority than
the current policy, she emphasized that it remains a
legislative policy decision. In response to a follow-up by
Senator Claman, Ms. Nauman confirmed that Uniform Rule 23
refers to written testimony only and does not include
public testimony.
CHAIR HANNAN thanked Senator Claman for highlighting the
issue and expressed hope that institutional awareness would
help ensure it is addressed. She also noted that the
Uniform Rules have not been amended in several years.
SENATOR CLAMAN stated that he acknowledges this, and it is
one of the reasons he is not suggesting such a motion
today.
SENATOR GIESSEL explained that she opted to address the
issue through a policy rather than a Uniform Rule change
because it provided a more expeditious solution. She noted
that implementing a Rule change would be a more complex and
time-consuming process, whereas a policy allowed for a
quicker resolution.
CHAIR HANNAN confirmed that policies take effect
immediately, meaning that committee aides should begin
ensuring all public testimony is included right away. She
anticipated the policy would be adopted and opened the
floor for further questions.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked for clarification on whether the
policy also required archiving recordings of oral testimony
in addition to written testimony.
CHAIR HANNAN deferred to legal counsel for interpretation,
seeking clarification from Ms. Nauman on whether the policy
explicitly covered verbal testimony for archiving.
MS. NAUMAN clarified that the policy applies to all public
comments and testimony submitted to the committee,
including those received through an electronic portal or
email. She explained that these records are to be included
in both the physical and electronic legislative record. She
further noted that committee recordings are archived
separately from those uploaded to BASIS, with the
responsibility for archiving resting with the Agency.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX followed up confirming that the oral
testimony is archived somewhere.
MS. NAUMAN stated that was correct.
SENATOR KIEHL noted that Uniform Rule 23 already requires
committee meeting recordings and corresponding logs to be
sent to the Legislative Reference Library, ensuring that
both recordings and witness testimony are archived. He
acknowledged that testimony is not always submitted in
written form and agreed with Senator Claman that
incorporating public testimony into the Uniform Rules
should be considered in the future. He expressed his
support for the policy.
CHAIR HANNAN removed her objection.
With no further objections, the policy was adopted.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
Legislative Council meeting was adjourned at 5:57 p.m.
5:57:15 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 2025.2.12 Leg Council Agenda FINAL.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| IV. c. i. two. Charitable Event--Juneau_Animal_Rescue-Beer_&_Wine_Tasting_Fundraiser.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| VI. a. FY24 Legislative Audit final 2.4.25.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| IV. c. i. one. Charitable Event--Juneau Dance Theatre - 50th Anniversary Gala.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| VI. c. Doc 1--Janus Litigation Contract AM No. 1 Memo.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| VI. b. Doc 2--Manual of Legislative Drafting.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| VI. c. Doc 2--Amendment No. 1 to LEC Stoel Rives Janus Contract.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| VI. d. Doc 1--FY26 Leg Council Budget Narrative.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| VI. d. Doc 2--Legislative Council FY26 Budget Request - DRAFT.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| VI. e. DRAFT Legislative Council Committee Records Archiving Policy.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |
|
| VI. b. Doc 1--Drafting Manual Adoption Memo.pdf |
JLEC 2/12/2025 5:15:00 PM |