06/09/2008 09:00 AM Senate RULES

                    ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE                                                                                  
                SENATE RULES STANDING COMMITTEE                                                                               
                          June 9, 2008                                                                                          
                           9:01 a.m.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair                                                                                                     
Senator Lyda Green, Vice Chair                                                                                                  
Senator Gene Therriault                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS ABSENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Senator Johnny Ellis                                                                                                            
Senator John Cowdery                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Adopt a new Personnel Policy to comply with HB 417                                                                              
     POLICY ADOPTED                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
No previous action to consider.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
WITNESS REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SKIFF LOBAUGH, Manager                                                                                                          
Human Resources, Personnel Office                                                                                               
Legislative Affairs Agency                                                                                                      
Alaska State Capitol                                                                                                            
Juneau, AK                                                                                                                      
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained new personnel policy.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
ACTION NARRATIVE                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Senate Rules Standing Committee                                                                 
meeting to order at 9:01:55 AM. Present at the call to order                                                                  
were Senators Therriault, Green and Stevens.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
      ^Adopt a new Personnel Policy to comply with HB 417                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
9:02:11 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR GARY STEVENS announced that the committee would consider                                                                  
the adoption of a new personnel policy to comply with HB 417.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SKIFF  LOBAUGH,  Human   Resource  Manager,  Legislative  Affairs                                                               
Agency,  explained that  this issue  is before  them because  the                                                               
legislature passed  HB 417, which changed  the longevity statutes                                                               
by  extending  out  the  salary   schedules.  The  old  longevity                                                               
statutes were under AS 39.27.022  and had random numbers of years                                                               
between the different  steps. A person would go from  step F to J                                                               
in two  years and J to  K in two years,  but then from K  to L in                                                               
five years and  from L to M in  four years; and then from  L to M                                                               
back to four years and then stayed at that M step forever.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
He  said that  HB 417,  effective July  1, 2008,  will remove  AS                                                               
39.27.022 and uses  a section of AS  39.27.011(h) which basically                                                               
extends the salary schedule out past  step M by 3.75 percent each                                                               
step. It  also uses a set  number of two years  between each step                                                               
instead of the four or five.   However, he said, one section says                                                               
AS  39.27.011(h)  will  only  apply to  the  legislature  if  the                                                               
committee  that is  responsible for  adopting legislative  policy                                                               
adopts  it.  And  the  House  and  Senate  Rules  Committees  are                                                               
responsible for  hiring under AS  24.10.200, which  covers almost                                                               
all of  the political staff.  He informed  them that a  couple of                                                               
other  staff  members  are hired  for  Administrative  Regulation                                                               
Review  and  Legislative  Council  under  the  Permanent  Interim                                                               
Committee Authority of AS 24.10.210.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
9:04:11 AM                                                                                                                    
So, Mr.  Lobaugh explained, those  committees would also  have to                                                               
adopt   this  provision   -  along   with  Legislative   Finance,                                                               
Legislative Budget and  Audit and the Ombudsman in  the Office of                                                               
Victims Rights.  He has also  heard that the GGU  bargaining unit                                                               
had a  Letter of Agreement  to implement  this down the  road. He                                                               
said this  is a recommendation  from the commission on  trying to                                                               
understand  how to  hire and  retain employees  that Commissioner                                                               
Kreitzer set  up a  year ago  and it  is slowly  becoming adopted                                                               
throughout the entire state.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STEVENS  asked how  many employees  under the  Senate Rules                                                               
Committee this affects.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR.  LOBAUGH replied  three employees  in the  entire Senate  are                                                               
affected right  away. Everyone  is affected if  they stay  a long                                                               
time in  one range,  but currently the  entire legislature  has a                                                               
total of 45  people that are either  in the L, K, or  M steps; of                                                               
those, 19 will be affected with the implementation.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR THERRIAULT  asked if the recommendation  was to implement                                                               
this policy for all state employees.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. LOBAUGH  replied that  he was assuming  they would,  but that                                                               
would be  up to the  bargaining units and  Commissioner Kreitzer.                                                               
He  added  that the  exempt  employees  in the  executive  branch                                                               
automatically  start  this  schedule  on  July  1,  2008  without                                                               
adopting anything.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
9:06:50 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  GREEN moved  to  adopt the  Senate  and House  longevity                                                               
policy to be effective on July  1, 2008. There were no objections                                                               
and it was so ordered.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
There being  no further  business to  come before  the committee,                                                               
Chair Stevens adjourned the meeting at 9:07:32 AM.