Legislature(1999 - 2000)
02/16/1999 03:28 PM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
February 16, 1999
3:28 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Jerry Ward, Chairman
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Gary Wilken
Senator Randy Phillips
Senator Kim Elton
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 10
"An Act relating to an optional exemption from municipal property
taxes for recreational facilities."
-SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
SENATE BILL NO. 42
"An Act making corrective amendments to the Alaska Statutes as
recommended by the revisor of statutes; and providing for an
effective date."
-MOVED CSSB 42(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 69
"An Act authorizing an advisory vote by the qualified voters of the
state on the question of the election of the attorney general; and
providing for an effective date."
-MOVED SB 69 OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 55
"An Act relating to the Joint Armed Services Committee, a permanent
interim committee of the Alaska State Legislature; and providing
for an effective date."
-MOVED SB 55 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 42 - No previous Senate action.
SB 55 - No previous Senate action.
SB 69 - No previous Senate action.
WITNESS REGISTER
James Crawford
Division of Legal Services
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained provisions of SB 42
Mark Hodgins
Legislative Aide to Senator Ward
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 69 for co-sponsor
Senator Tim Kelly
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 55
Chris Nelson, Staff Director
Joint Committee on Military Affairs
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to SB 55
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 99-3, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN WARD called the Senate State Affairs Committee to order at
3:28 p.m. Present were Senators Wilken, Green, Phillips, and Chair
Ward. The first order of business to come before the committee was
SB 42.
SB 42-1999 REVISOR'S BILL
JAMES CRAWFORD, Assistant Revisor of Statutes, Division of Legal
Services, gave the following description of SB 42. Section 20
repeals certain sections of statute that add a tract of land known
as "Cape Suckling" to the Yakataga State Game Refuge. The sections
of statute were placed in Section 20 because, based on initial
information from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), it
appeared a litigation settlement agreement had made the sections
obsolete. However, since SB 42 was introduced, updated information
about the settlement agreement has revealed that those sections are
dormant, not obsolete. The Division of Legal Services no longer
recommends that those sections be repealed, but rather that Section
20 be removed from the bill.
MR. CRAWFORD stated the following corrections are not substantive.
Section 6 amends the definitional sections of Alaska's probate code
to correct an omission. During the 1996 revision of the probate
code, the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) definition of "person" was
omitted from the bill because it was assumed the Alaska Title 1
definition of "person" was identical. The UPC version specifically
mentions government and governmental subunits and agencies.
Uniform Law Commissioner Art Peterson asked that Title 1 be updated
to include that phrase.
Number 080
SENATOR WARD asked Mr. Crawford if he agrees with Mr. Peterson's
recommendation.
MR. CRAWFORD replied he thinks the existing definition in Title 1
is broad enough to include government and governmental subunits and
agencies, but he recommends the change to allow the Alaska
definition to track the UPC definition.
MR. CRAWFORD discussed Section 12, which amends AS 24.60.050,
related to state programs and loans. The amendment will reflect
the 1998 enactment of AS 24.60.105, which pertains to deadlines for
filing disclosures. AS 24.60.050 relates to certain state programs
and loans that a legislator or legislative employee may participate
in without disclosure to the Select Committee on Legislative
Ethics. Subsection (d), the section proposed for amendment,
relates to disclosure deadlines for programs and loans that do not
meet the standard today. Last year, when the new section, AS
24.60.105, was enacted, the bill contained a subsection (c) which
is identical to the amendment suggested today. Both subsections
(c) and (d) had the same date reference. The fact that subsection
(d) was not amended was an oversight.
Number 127
SENATOR GREEN asked if SB 42 has a Judiciary referral.
CHAIRMAN WARD said it does not, but the committee can request one.
MR. CRAWFORD added when the overall revisor's bill was initially
presented to the Legislative Council, the Council decided to split
it into two bills. The second bill was referred to the Judiciary
Committee.
SENATOR GREEN moved to delete Section 20 from SB 42. There being
no objection, the motion carried.
SENATOR PHILLIPS moved CSSB 42(STA) out of committee with
individual recommendations. There being no objection, the motion
carried.
CHAIRMAN WARD noted CSSB 42(STA) will move from committee with an
accompanying request for a Senate Judiciary Committee referral.
SB 69-ADVISORY VOTE ON ELECTED AG
MARK HODGINS, legislative aide to Senator Ward, co-sponsor of SB
69, gave the following presentation. SB 69 authorizes an advisory
vote by the people on whether to elect the attorney general. Many
states elect their attorneys general, as opposed to having that
important position be determined by a political appointment. The
states of Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming
have attorneys general appointed by their governors; Maine has an
attorney general elected by its Legislature; and the attorney
general of Tennessee is appointed by the judges of its Supreme
Court. Many believe an elected attorney general is likely to be
more loyal to the state's residents and its Constitution. Tam
Cook, Director of the Division of Legal Services, prepared a memo
which lists the arguments for and against the election of the
attorney general, included in committee packets. One argument for
election is that if the attorney general acts as the legal advisor
to the Governor and other state officials, he/she is compromised as
far as working for issues for the people of the State of Alaska.
SENATOR PHILLIPS questioned how the judges of the Tennessee Supreme
Court are selected.
MR. HODGINS did not know.
SENATOR ELTON asked about the fiscal note for SB 69.
MR. HODGINS replied the fiscal note was just delivered and contains
a cost of $1,500 to place the question on the ballot, except that
the cost will increase slightly if the ballot contains more than
six questions.
Number 239
JIM BALDWIN, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law, stated
he has had the pleasure of serving under governors of three
parties, so his perspective is from the institution of the office
of the attorney general. The function of the Alaska attorney
general's office has been viewed as one of legal advisor to the
governor; not as legal advisor to the people. Alaska government was
constructed so that the Governor was to be the statewide officer
elected by the people and served by his appointees. One of the
reasons the state government was not designed to have a lot of
other elected officials was to ensure accountability. If the
government is not efficient, the people can hold one person
responsible. If a multitude of elected officers existed, one could
blame the other for the inefficiencies. During the Constitutional
Convention, the common practice electing people to official
positions to diffuse federal power was changed because Alaska would
no longer need to shield itself from federal power. A legal issue
that merits consideration is that under Article 12 of the Alaska
Constitution, a constitutional amendment is meant to be a specific
legislative proposal put before the people; an advisory vote asks
voters to vote on a concept.
Number 308
SENATOR PHILLIPS noted two advisory votes were voted on by Alaskans
in the past 20 years that were never acted upon by the Legislature:
the unicameral legislature and the annuity for the Longevity Bonus
Program. He stated an advisory vote is merely a check on the pulse
of the people at that moment in time and should not be feared.
MR. BALDWIN said in his view, the best way for the peoples' voice
to be heard is through the legislators they elected. He added the
problem with advisory votes is that they are difficult to put into
action.
SENATOR PHILLIPS replied an advisory vote is another tool for
legislators to use to determine how the public wants it to respond
to certain issues.
Number 348
SENATOR GREEN questioned what type of vote was considered in the
Governor's proposal to ask voters to determine the best way to
capture resources through various state accounts to cover the
budget shortfall.
MR. BALDWIN said that proposal called for an advisory vote, but it
had a very substantive effect because the Legislature would be
making appropriations that would take effect when a certain vote
was certified from that election. The reason it was called an
advisory vote was because of the lurking legal issue concerning
delegation of legislative functions. The theory is that the
Legislature is sent to Juneau to enact laws, and a legal question
arises when that function is transferred to someone else, such as
the people. In the Governor's bill, the people would not be
determining the law, they would be determining when it would take
effect.
There being no further testimony on SB 69, SENATOR GREEN moved SB
69 from committee with individual recommendations.
SENATOR ELTON objected and stated he believes Alaskans have been
well served by the attorneys general of the past and because the
same kind of information can be obtained by conducting a poll.
The motion carried with Senators Green, Phillips, Wilken, and Ward
voting "Yea," and Senator Elton voting "Nay."
SB 55-JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
SENATOR TIM KELLY, sponsor of SB 55, explained SB 55 establishes,
for the first time, a standing joint committee of the Legislature
to deal with all of the issues confronting the armed forces in
Alaska. This new committee is structured to include public members
from outside of the Legislature and will serve as the Legislature's
focal point for the coordination of all issues, discussions, and
policies that impact the military in our state. It creates the
opportunity to speak with a single voice on military issues and to
provide a unified liaison to Alaska's congressional delegation on
matters of national defense. Until now, the Legislature has had a
fragmented and short range approach to military issues. In 1994 a
Joint Task Force on Military Bases was formed under the Legislative
Council to coordinate the state's efforts in the 1995 base
realignment and closure commission cycle. The task force was
disbanded at the end of that year. Last year, in anticipation of
a new round of base closures beginning in 2001, the Joint Committee
on Military Bases was established with a single focus on base
closure issues and a two year duration. A permanent committee with
a longer range vision to include missile defense and other issues
is overdue. Other states are aggressively pursuing opportunities
to increase military operations and military spending in their
states. Alaska is well positioned now to form an organization
which can successfully compete with these states. Alaska's number
one line of defense of the military in Alaska is Senator Ted
Stevens who will not always be chair of the Senate Appropriations
Committee. Other states view the presence of the military in their
states as an economic commodity. The military spends over $1.7
billion annually in Alaska therefore Alaskans must stop taking the
military presence here for granted.
CHRIS NELSON, Staff Director for the Joint Committee on Military
Bases, added other states are working very aggressively to keep
their military assets. The Texas Strategic Military Planning
Commission developed a master plan and recommended to the
Legislature that a committee be formed to deal with military
issues. The Legislative Council will fund the committee formed by
SB 55 in its initial year of operation. If the committee finds it
needs to do further activities, an appropriation will be necessary.
The five public members would incur per diem costs while attending
meetings.
SENATOR KELLY confirmed the committee would operate on whatever
amount the Legislative Council is willing to provide.
Number 455
SENATOR WILKEN commended the Rules Committee for bringing this
legislation forward.
SENATOR GREEN asked why it is appropriate for this legislation to
be a Legislative Council proposal.
SENATOR KELLY explained that is the way it was set up previously,
and having Legislative Council oversight worked well in the past.
He noted the existing committee was expanded to include
representation by the Coast Guard contingent in Alaska. One of the
public members will be recommended by the 17th Coast Guard District
Auxiliary. In the event of mobilization, the Coast Guard will come
under the command of the United States Navy so Coast Guard
representation is important.
Number 476
SENATOR ELTON appreciated the inclusion of the Coast Guard, and
asked what the committee's purview will be on Coast Guard affairs,
recognizing only part of its mission is defense-related.
SENATOR KELLY replied the powers and duties section, on page 4, is
broad enough to allow the committee to review and encourage state
policies to ensure the continued well being and education of the
armed forces, both active and reserve components, including the
Coast Guard.
SENATOR ELTON commended the sponsors of the legislation but asked
that more than one member of the committee be from the Minority
since this issue is bipartisan.
SENATOR WILKEN moved SB 55 out of committee with individual
recommendations. There being no objection, the motion carried.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
CHAIRMAN WARD adjourned the meeting at 4:15 p.m.
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