Legislature(2017 - 2018)BUTROVICH 205

04/25/2018 08:15 AM Senate RULES

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Audio Topic
08:15:24 AM Start
08:15:45 AM HCR19
08:26:34 AM Adjourn
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ HCR 19 GOVERNOR: AK NATIVE LANGUAGES EMERGENCY TELECONFERENCED
Moved SCS CSHCR 19(RLS) Out of Committee
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --
                    ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE                                                                                  
                SENATE RULES STANDING COMMITTEE                                                                               
                         April 25, 2018                                                                                         
                           8:15 a.m.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Senator Kevin Meyer, Chair                                                                                                      
Senator Pete Kelly                                                                                                              
Senator Peter Micciche                                                                                                          
Senator Anna MacKinnon                                                                                                          
Senator Berta Gardner                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS ABSENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
All members present                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 19(CRA) AM                                                                               
Urging Governor Bill Walker to issue an administrative order                                                                    
recognizing a linguistic emergency.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     - MOVED SCS CSHCR 19(RLS) OUT OF COMMITTEE                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
BILL: HCR 19                                                                                                                  
SHORT TITLE: GOVERNOR: AK NATIVE LANGUAGES EMERGENCY                                                                            
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) ORTIZ                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
02/16/18       (H)       READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS                                                                        
02/16/18       (H)       CRA                                                                                                    
03/06/18       (H)       CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124                                                                              
03/06/18       (H)       Heard & Held                                                                                           
03/06/18       (H)       MINUTE(CRA)                                                                                            
03/08/18       (H)       CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124                                                                              
03/08/18       (H)       Moved CSHCR 19(CRA) Out of Committee                                                                   
03/08/18       (H)       MINUTE(CRA)                                                                                            
03/09/18       (H)       CRA RPT CS(CRA) 5DP                                                                                    
03/09/18       (H)       DP:    SADDLER,    DRUMMOND,    LINCOLN,                                                               
                        RAUSCHER, PARISH                                                                                        
03/19/18       (H)       TRANSMITTED TO (S)                                                                                     
03/19/18       (H)       VERSION: CSHCR 19(CRA) AM                                                                              
03/21/18       (S)       READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS                                                                        
03/21/18       (S)       CRA, STA                                                                                               
04/03/18       (S)       CRA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)                                                                      
04/03/18       (S)       Heard & Held                                                                                           
04/03/18       (S)       MINUTE(CRA)                                                                                            
04/10/18       (S)       CRA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)                                                                      
04/10/18       (S)       Moved CSHCR 19(CRA) AM Out of Committee                                                                
04/10/18       (S)       MINUTE(CRA)                                                                                            
04/11/18       (S)       CRA RPT  3DP                                                                                           
04/11/18       (S)       DP: BISHOP, GARDNER, HOFFMAN                                                                           
04/17/18       (S)       STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205                                                                           
04/17/18       (S)       Heard & Held                                                                                           
04/17/18       (S)       MINUTE(STA)                                                                                            
04/19/18       (S)       STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205                                                                           
04/19/18       (S)       Moved   SCS   CSHCR   19(STA)   Out   of                                                               
                         Committee                                                                                              
04/19/18       (S)       MINUTE(STA)                                                                                            
04/20/18       (S)       STA RPT SCS  5DP   NEW TITLE                                                                           
04/20/18       (S)       DP:   MEYER,   WILSON,  GIESSEL,   EGAN,                                                               
                         COGHILL                                                                                                
04/23/18       (S)       NOT TAKEN UP 4/23 - ON 4/24 CALENDAR                                                                   
04/24/18       (S)       RETURNED TO RLS COMMITTEE UC                                                                           
04/25/18       (S)       RLS AT 8:15 AM BUTROVICH 205                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
WITNESS REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
No witness                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
ACTION NARRATIVE                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:15:24 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  KEVIN MEYER  called the  Senate  Rules Standing  Committee                                                             
meeting to order  at 8:15 a.m. Present at the  call to order were                                                               
Senators MacKinnon, Gardner, Micciche, Kelly, and Chair Meyer.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
         HCR 19-GOVERNOR: AK NATIVE LANGUAGES EMERGENCY                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:15:45 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  MEYER  announced  consideration  of  HCR  19.  [SCS  CSHCR
19(STA), version 30-LS1402\T, was  before the committee.] He said                                                               
this  resolution  had been  heard  in  the Senate  Community  and                                                               
Regional  Affairs and  Senate State  Affairs  Committees; it  was                                                               
amended in the Senate State  Affairs Committee changing the title                                                               
and  emergency  language  to "recognizing  the  urgent  need  for                                                               
language  revitalization efforts."  This  meeting  is being  held                                                               
today to address two amendments.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLY moved Amendment 1.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
                                                 30-LS1402\T.2                                                                  
                                                       Martin                                                                   
                                                      4/24/18                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
                          AMENDMENT 1                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     OFFERED IN THE SENATE                     BY SENATOR KELLY                                                                 
     TO:  SCS CSHCR 19(STA)                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 1:                                                                                                            
          Delete    "issue     an    administrative    order                                                                  
     recognizing"                                                                                                             
          Insert "recognize"                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, line 24:                                                                                                           
          Delete    "issue     an    administrative    order                                                                    
     recognizing"                                                                                                               
          Insert "recognize"                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR MEYER objected for discussion purposes.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLY explained that  current language states that                                                               
the  Alaska  legislature  urges   Governor  Walker  to  issue  an                                                               
administrative  order recognizing  the urgent  need for  language                                                               
revitalization  efforts.  This  amendment   just  takes  out  the                                                               
administrative order words  and conforms the title,  because of a                                                               
separation of  powers issue. The legislature  writes statutes and                                                               
the governor  has the right  to write administrative  orders, but                                                               
the legislature shouldn't  be asking the governor to  do what the                                                               
legislature is able to do in a statute.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
This resolution speaks to something  that the state needs and the                                                               
amendment does  not change the spirit  of it. It just  allows the                                                               
legislature to be vigilant about the separation of powers.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR   MEYER  removed   his   objection.   Finding  no   further                                                               
objections, he said Amendment 1 was adopted.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GARDNER moved Amendment 2.                                                                                              
                                                 30-LS1402\T.1                                                                  
                                                       Martin                                                                   
                                                      4/24/18                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
                          AMENDMENT 2                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     OFFERED IN THE SENATE                   BY SENATOR GARDNER                                                                 
     TO:  SCS CSHCR 19(STA)                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, lines 1 - 2:                                                                                                       
          Delete    "the    urgent   need    for    language                                                                  
     revitalization efforts"                                                                                                  
          Insert "a linguistic emergency"                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, lines 24 - 25:                                                                                                     
          Delete    "the    urgent   need    for    language                                                                    
     revitalization efforts"                                                                                                    
          Insert "a linguistic emergency"                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR MEYER objected for discussion purposes.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:19:26 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  GARDNER related  how one  of her  majors in  college was                                                               
linguistics and she remembers discussions  on how language colors                                                               
culture. For example,  in Gambia, an uncle - any  of the father's                                                               
brothers  - uses  the  same word  as the  father  and a  mother's                                                               
sisters  are  all  called  mother, because  they  all  carry  the                                                               
responsibilities and obligations  of the father and  mother; as a                                                               
child, they  would all  mother you.  Their language  defines that                                                               
very clearly,  and when you lose  a language you really  lose the                                                               
way of seeing the world, and that is why it is an emergency.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:20:45 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  MICCICHE   remembered  about  25  years   ago  when  his                                                               
community  made the  effort of  recording  the Dena'ina  language                                                               
through the help  of two remaining fluent speakers  and he thinks                                                               
this  resolution recognizes  the need  to take  immediate action,                                                               
but when he  thinks of an emergency, he thinks  of life and death                                                               
situations,  and  this  needs  to  be  a  comprehensive  plan  on                                                               
mobilizing  for documenting  existing  languages. "Urgency"  does                                                               
not adequately  capture that.  He just  wants this  resolution to                                                               
get to the floor and  it doesn't need additional complications at                                                               
this point.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  GARDNER  said  they are  really  discussing  degrees  of                                                               
importance. To those  who are relatively new to the  state it has                                                               
little impact,  but to some  Alaskans whose history in  the state                                                               
goes back  thousands of years it  makes a huge difference.  It is                                                               
critically  important  and  that  was heard  in  their  emotional                                                               
testimony.  They  are  talking  about  the  ongoing  death  of  a                                                               
culture, and for some people it is a death.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLY   explained  why   he  won't   support  her                                                               
amendment.  "Emergency" has  a statutory  definition;  it is  not                                                               
just a term  of art. It means the Governor  declares an emergency                                                               
and the  National Guard  or FEMA is  called out.  The legislature                                                               
doesn't do this. This issue  needs some community involvement and                                                               
he feel uncomfortable using the word "emergency" in this regard.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GARDNER  responded that she  will look into  that between                                                               
now and the floor session.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR MEYER maintained his objection.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:25:45 AM                                                                                                                    
A roll call  vote was taken. Senator Gardner  voted yea; Senators                                                               
Micciche,  Kelly,  MacKinnon, and  Meyer  vote  nay. Amendment  2                                                               
failed on a 1:4 vote.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLY  moved  to  report SCS  CSHCR  19(RLS),  as                                                               
amended,  from  committee  with  individual  recommendations  and                                                               
attached zero  fiscal note. There  were no objections and  it was                                                               
so ordered.                                                                                                                     
##                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:26:34 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR MEYER adjourned the Senate  Rules Committee meeting at 8:26                                                               
a.m.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                

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