Legislature(2003 - 2004)
02/27/2003 03:35 PM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 27, 2003
3:35 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator John Cowdery, Vice Chair
Senator Fred Dyson
Senator Gretchen Guess
Senator Lyman Hoffman
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Confirmation Hearings:
Commissioner, Department of Administration - Mike Miller;
Commissioner, Department of Public Safety - Bill Tandeske
CONFIRMATIONS ADVANCED
PREVIOUS ACTION
No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
Commissioner-designee Mike Miller
Department of Administration
PO Box 110200
Juneau, AK 99811-0200
POSITION STATEMENT: Confirmation candidate
Commissioner-designee Bill Tandeske
Department of Public Safety
PO Box 111200
Juneau, AK 99811-1200
POSITION STATEMENT: Confirmation candidate
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 03-5, SIDE A
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. Present were Senators
Cowdery, Guess and Chair Gary Stevens. Senators Dyson and
Hoffman arrived momentarily.
The first order of business was consideration of Mike Miller as
Commissioner of the Department of Administration.
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE MIKE MILLER testified via teleconference
and advised members a copy of his resume was in their packets.
He was born in Fairbanks and currently lives in North Pole. He
attended the University of Alaska, Fairbanks from 1970 to 1974,
served in the Alaska State House of Representative from 1983 to
1993, and was elected to serve in the Alaska State Senate from
1993 to 2000. Since 2000 he has been working in the family
business.
SENATOR JOHN COWDERY asked whether his previous relationship
with the Legislature would be helpful.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE MILLER thought it would be helpful. He's
familiar with the frustrations legislators have because many
regulations promulgated by various agencies frequently don't
seem to follow the intent of the Legislature. Having been a
legislator, he would be sensitive to that so if a question arose
regarding legislative intent, he would deal with the bill
sponsor directly to clear up any misunderstanding.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if he had any plans to change the method
of operation for the department and whether he had discussed the
department's budget with the Governor.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE MILLER replied the budget has been
extensively reviewed and discussed in the last several weeks and
difficult times are ahead. Significant reductions should be
expected in many but not all areas. For example, there will be
no reduction for public defenders because a supplemental request
has been submitted and it makes no sense to turn around and
suggest a cut in that same area.
Departmental reorganization plans would be outlined at a press
conference the following week, but his goal is to have the
Department of Administration become a template for a fair and
open operation. For individuals to have trust in state
government, they must be able to see that everything is running
above board.
SENATOR GUESS made reference to his House State Affairs
testimony and asked what the proposed cuts to the Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) would entail.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE MILLER said increasing the use of
technology is of primary importance and would result in cost
savings.
SENATOR GUESS noted IT is a passion of hers and she finds state
use of technology to be frustratingly inefficient. She asked him
to comment on how the state should approach IT use.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE MILLER replied all the various IT groups
should be consolidated in one agency and the Department of
Administration is probably the logical choice.
SENATOR DYSON referred to the bill that requires that the budget
be prioritized within each department and asked whether the
Administration would be able to follow that format this session.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE MILLER wasn't sure that would be possible
for this budget cycle because of the number of new people, but
that doesn't mean they can't do it for the next budget cycle.
Also, that might be difficult in the Department of
Administration due to the variety of divisions housed therein.
Nonetheless, it's a worthwhile goal and is the direction in
which he would like to head.
SENATOR DYSON then asked whether DOA staff members would be free
to speak openly with legislators.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE MILLER replied he has instructed his staff
to speak openly and honestly with legislators. He won't censure
dialog.
SENATOR DYSON encouraged him to review the state's purchasing
and contracting and welcomed him to the job.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked if he had hired any staff "off schedule"
and whether a pay equity study was warranted.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE MILLER said he had not hired anyone "off
schedule" but a number of individuals accepted positions with
the new Administration at a hardship. Pay structure is a serious
issue that needs attention at some point.
There were no further questions.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked for a motion.
SENATOR COWDERY made a motion to forward Commissioner-designee
Mike Miller's name to the joint Senate House session for
confirmation.
There being no objection, it was so ordered.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS announced the committee would next hear from
Commissioner-designee Bill Tandeske.
BILL TANDESKE, Commissioner-designee for the Department of
Public Safety, asked members to review the email message he sent
to all members of the department when Governor Murkowski
selected him for the position. [See committee file.]
His family moved to Alaska in 1957; after graduating from high
school in Delta Junction he enrolled in the air traffic control
program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He joined the
Alaska State Troopers in 1973 and worked his way through the
ranks. Highlights as Judicial Services Commander in Anchorage
include: development of the video arraignment system,
establishing the troopers' permits and licensing function,
implementing statutes for sex offender registration, and
concealed carry permits. After serving nearly 26 years as a
trooper, he retired in June 1999 as Deputy Director.
His management style is straightforward and asks, "How can we do
this?" not, Why can't we do this?" There's a big difference in
how you approach problem solving and the answer can't always be
more money.
A cornerstone of his philosophy is, "Don't forget from where you
came." It is a huge responsibility to support those individuals
working the graveyard shift; "as you move on in your career it's
important not to forget those things. While we're home in bed
there will be troopers out there working and dispatchers on the
radio console and the things we do in our day to day functions
in Anchorage or Juneau affect those people."
He believes in a foundational approach; missions and allocation
of resources should be periodically evaluated. Although it's not
the easy way to do things, it's necessary and the department is
currently working through those issues. Some decisions will be
more popular than others but all decisions will be made with the
best of intentions.
SENATOR COWDERY asked what the most challenging aspect of the
position would be.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE replied it's back to basics. He
understands missions and measures, but things that hamper law
enforcement's effectiveness don't show up on a pie graph.
They're the intangibles; the attention to detail and the caring
about the impact that law enforcement has on people's lives.
It's the service attitude and the positive problem solving
attitude. Field training programs that take recruits to Palmer,
Fairbanks and Kenai do not prepare a trooper to address issues
in the Bush. Rural issues and doing business associated with
being a trooper is very different than being a city police
officer. The same applies to being a fish and wildlife trooper
working in rural Alaska. He welcomes the challenge because he
sees the opportunity to do many good things.
SENATOR COWDERY asked for his interpretation of the controversy
regarding the incorporation of fish and wildlife officers with
the State Troopers.
4:05 pm
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE replied they are examining the
issue and it could be done in a number of ways. They are in the
process of doing a complete departmental overview. In his mind,
the question regarding the two uniform divisions within the
Department of Public Safety is, "Can those functions be under
one director and still keep their autonomy in terms of
expertise." He thought they could, but the question is, "Do we
need two colonels, three majors and ten or twelve captains? Are
we doing things as well as they could be done?" The challenges
continue to increase, which is why they are looking at the
foundation. He doesn't agree with doing things a certain way
simply because that's the way they've always been done. Progress
comes from giving issues a hard look. Thus, the issue isn't
decided but it is being scrutinized.
He pointed out the statewide drug and alcohol enforcement units
and the statewide criminal investigation units are working well
and there is no clear reason there couldn't be a statewide
resource protection unit. Positions that used to be part of the
superstructure could be replaced with people at the base of the
structure that deliver service to the public. After that, the
question is what support structure is required?
SENATOR COWDERY advised he would like to have a private
conversation in his office.
SENATOR DYSON said if the public is safer when law-abiding
citizens are able to have firearms in the home.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE couldn't definitively speak to
the issue, but he has no doubt about the right to keep and bear
arms. The sense of safety is whatever one makes of it, but the
argument can certainly be made that having arms in the home may
discourage some people from certain activity.
SENATOR DYSON then asked whether people on the street were safer
with criminals knowing that there may be any number of qualified
legal, concealed weapon carriers.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE replied most criminals he has
dealt with didn't think that far ahead.
SENATOR DYSON said the rate of robberies has gone up five-fold
in Great Britain and about three and one half fold in Canada and
his argument for that is it's unlikely there is an armed citizen
in either culture.
He asked whether the pay scale and benefit package was good
enough to attract and keep the best troopers.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE thought both were near the low
end of the scale. Currently a big issue is that the Anchorage
Police Department (APD), which is the largest law enforcement
organization in Alaska, is under PERS. Now someone can go from
being a State Trooper to being an Anchorage police officer and
transfer his or her retirement. "In terms of trooper issues,
both from the brown and the blue side, particularly the blue
side, if somebody wants to live in Anchorage their whole life
they ought to join APD. That's not what being a trooper is
about." It's his belief that you haven't been a trooper until
you've served in rural Alaska and it's the most rewarding time a
trooper will have.
Nationally, pay and benefits are a difficult issue and should be
reviewed in Alaska.
SENATOR DYSON asked about the 20 years and out clause and the
burnout versus experience arguments.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE opined both arguments were valid
but there is no substitute for experience in many areas of
public safety.
SENATOR DYSON asked if there was a way to modify retirement so
individuals would gain by staying on and the state could better
take advantage of their maturity, judgment and experience.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE replied that is a long-term issue
and it's important but it's difficult to have an organization in
which workers aren't burned out.
SENATOR HOFFMAN referred to the Governor's statement that he
would crack down on bootleggers in rural Alaska and asked for a
benchmark he could use to determine whether or not he was
accomplishing that goal.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE replied he received a briefing on
the topic and although many good things are being done, a very
large impediment has been the U.S. Postal Service. A recent
change in management indicates the old cooperative relationship
will return and he looks forward to being kept apprised of the
situation. However, if there isn't a return to the old
cooperation, he'll make changes to get the requisite
cooperation. Regardless of the effort he puts forward, the tools
must be in place for officers to be effective. Again, the
biggest challenge to the department is getting out of the norm.
SIDE B
4:20 pm
SENATOR HOFFMAN remarked he would be following the bootlegging
issue closely to see whether there are more convictions and
whether the flow of alcohol into rural Alaska is stemmed.
The number of Alaska Native women that are victims of domestic
violence is staggering and he wondered if the commissioner might
have a different approach for addressing that serious issue.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE stressed he feels very strongly
about domestic violence and sexual assault and the Department of
Public Safety will handle those cases appropriately. Many
issues, including alcohol, go hand in hand but this is a zero
tolerance issue and it is something they will do well.
SENATOR HOFFMAN advised he too would like a personal meeting. In
16 years he has received nothing but good comments about the
department, but in the last month he received complaints about a
"brown shirt" in the Bethel area.
SENATOR GUESS expressed appreciation regarding his conviction on
domestic violence and sexual assault. She asked about the rumors
that the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault would
be moved from his purview to the Department of Health and Social
Services (DHSS). Commissioner Gilbertson didn't think that would
happen but because this is a victims issue, she strongly
believes it should remain in the Department of Public Safety.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE admitted a move has been
discussed. He agrees the council is a victims issue, but public
safety is primarily an enforcement agency so there are aspects
of the program that make it more properly aligned with DHSS.
Accountability is one of his big concerns and any time large
amounts of federal money are taken in, the departmental
infrastructure must be in place to account for the expenditure
of that money. That being said, he gave assurance public safety
would remain committed to the issues regardless of where CDVSA
was located.
SENATOR GUESS said the troopers have done a tremendous job and
she would like to see the program remain under the public safety
purview. She then asked whether a statewide 911 program would be
a priority of this Administration.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE advised 911 and Alaska Land
Mobile Radio (ALMR) are interconnect issues on which he has been
briefed and he appreciates the Lt. Governor's view that
emergency communication infrastructure should be incorporated in
road building and renovation projects.
SENATOR GUESS commented most of the population has 911 access
but most communities do not.
She advised statute calls for a unit for child sexual assault
and child exploitation but it is now in major crimes. She asked
whether there was a movement to look at the focus of that
organization.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE replied this is part of the
overall department review and whether or not all investigative
units should report to one central authority continues to be a
question. Also, where are the department's resources allocated
and will they continue to be able to respond to every type of
call?
SENATOR GUESS asked him to review the situation because statute
says there should be a unit but no unit is there, which places
the department at odds with statute.
With reference to a constituent letter, she asked him to address
the protocol for dealing with troopers that have a history of
violence.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE said the use of force policies
that are in place are good but any policy is only as good as its
application and review. The question also goes back to the
"foundational, attention to detail things." All Use of Force
report forms are reviewed up the line and each supervisor from
the sergeant up to the major must read and initial the form.
Without commenting on right or wrong, he advised he would have
registered alarm if he reviewed a form that spoke of a fight
with someone in a wheelchair. Individuals in leadership
positions are obligated to ask tough questions.
SENATOR GUESS then asked about procedures for handling violent
off duty incidents.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE replied any unlawful conduct or
conduct that brings disrepute to the department is treated as a
violation and procedures are in place to deal with allegations
of off duty criminal conduct.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS requested an evaluation of and his intentions
regarding the continuation of the village public safety officers
(VPSO) program.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE advised he had lots of experience
with VPSOs and although he supports the concept, there is no
easy fix for rural enforcement issues. About 165 rural
communities fit the profile of a VPSO and at its peak there were
125 positions. However, there is only enough money budgeted for
75 positions, which leaves 90 communities with no VPSO.
Encouraging communities to adopt the village police officer
concept instead of a village public safety officer is a win win
situation because the former are not part of the non-profit
contract system.
Inherent issues with the VPSO program make it problematic and
when it comes down to asset allocation, it must be understood
that state troops can stand alone, but VPSOs can't get along
without state trooper support.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked for his vision for the academy and his
intentions regarding its future.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE replied it is very important but
it will undergo change in the future. Before he retired from the
troopers he became concerned that it had gone from a Department
of Public Safety issue to the Division of Alaska State Troopers
at the director level. Since his retirement it became a
detachment issue, which means a detachment commander is also the
academy commander. The academy is a statewide function that
serves the Coast Guard, the VPSOs, the VPSs, and municipal
police officers. It not a detachment issue and he argues it is
not a Division of Alaska State Trooper issue. It is a central
asset of the Department of Public Safety and deserves to be at
that level. Beyond that, he is committed to ensure that what
they do they do well, which means it needs to be cutting edge in
terms of technology and methods of teaching.
SENATOR COWDERY asked whether domestic violence increases at
dividend time.
COMMISSIONER-DESIGNEE TANDESKE thought that might be true in
parts of the state.
There were no further questions.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked for a motion.
SENATOR DYSON made a motion to forward the nomination to the
joint body for confirmation.
There being no objection, the nomination of Bill Tandeske as
Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety was forwarded to
the joint body for confirmation.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS adjourned the meeting at 4:50 pm.
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