03/07/2017 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SJR1 | |
| SCR1 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SJR 1 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SCR 1 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
March 7, 2017
3:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Mike Dunleavy, Chair
Senator David Wilson
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator John Coghill
Senator Dennis Egan
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 1
Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska
relating to the Alaska permanent fund, establishing the earnings
reserve account, and relating to the permanent fund dividend.
- MOVED SJR 1 OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1
Proposing an amendment to the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State
Legislature relating to voting procedure and abstention from
voting.
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SJR 1
SHORT TITLE: CONST AM: GUARANTEE PERM FUND DIVIDEND
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) WIELECHOWSKI
01/09/17 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/9/17
01/18/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/17 (S) STA, JUD, FIN
02/09/17 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
02/09/17 (S) Heard & Held
02/09/17 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/07/17 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: SCR 1
SHORT TITLE: UNIFORM RULES: ABSTAIN FROM VOTING
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) GARDNER
02/01/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/01/17 (S) STA, JUD
03/07/17 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SJR 1.
CLEM TILLION, representing self
Halibut Cove, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
JANEL DOCKENDORF, representing self
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
JAMES SQUYRES, representing self
Deltana, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
JULIET STOESSEL, representing self
Tok, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
NORMAN EGOLF, representing self
Tok, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
PEGGY CLEVENGER, representing self
Tok, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
JACK CLEVENGER, representing self
Tok, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
DAVID RICHARD LUNTZ, representing self
Delta Junction, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
JON FAULKNER, representing self
Homer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
DAVID OTNESS, representing self
Cordova, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
BETH FREAD, representing self
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
PAM GOODE, representing self
Deltana, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
KAREN TERRY, representing self
Chugiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
STEVE ST. CLAIR, representing self
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition of SJR 1.
KENNETH MCLEOD, representing self
North Pole, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
KURT SCHMIDT, representing self
Delta Junction, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 1.
SENATOR BERTA GARDNER
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SCR 1.
JERRY ANDERSON, Administrator
The Select Committee on Legislative Ethics
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SCR 1.
SAMANTHA HARRIS, Staff
Senator Gardner
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview of SCR 1.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:32:23 PM
CHAIR MIKE DUNLEAVY called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:32 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Egan, Giessel, Coghill, Wilson, and Chair
Dunleavy.
SJR 1-CONST AM: GUARANTEE PERM FUND DIVIDEND
3:32:53 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY announced the consideration of SJR 1.
3:33:16 PM
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau,
Alaska, sponsor of SJR 1, said the resolution would put before
the Alaska voters an amendment to Article IX, Section 15 of the
Alaska Constitution to do the following:
1. Place the current formula for calculating the Permanent
Fund Dividend (PFD) into the constitution.
2. Require that there be inflation proofing.
SENATOR COGHILL addressed inflation proofing and pointed out
that Senator Wielechowski would leave it up to a "matter of
law." He referenced Section 2(c), "The Legislature shall provide
by law for a transfer from the earnings reserve account of the
fund sufficient to offset the effect of inflation on the
principal of the fund during that fiscal year." He asked Senator
Wielechowski if he considered tying inflation proofing to the
Consumer Price Index (CPI).
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI replied that his original intent was to put
the statute's exact language into the constitution. He disclosed
that Legislative Legal said using the exact language was a lot
to add to the constitution and recommended that the statute's
exact language not be used. He opined that if the legislation
passes and voters approve it, then the existing statute would
still control, and the Legislature could change that at any
time, just like what the Legislature can do now.
SENATOR COGHILL commented that putting SJR 1 into the
constitution and using the earnings reserve for government would
have an impact on the dividend. He asked Senator Wielechowski to
address the resolution's impact on the dividend and its
"constitutional right balance."
3:35:54 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI replied that all the resolution does is put
the dividend formula into the constitution. He pointed out that
the PFD is currently considered a right in statute. He admitted
that stating a right statutorily does not confer the same degree
of right as a constitutional situation would. He reiterated that
the resolution is not declaring a right, but rather it is
declaring the formula is set in the constitution and the
inflation proofing is set in the constitution. He opined that
the resolution does not change the legal status, but makes it
more of a right to substantive procedural due process; that's
what typically occurs in a constitutional right that is
established is more of an ability to claim a legal due process,
a procedural due process. He specified that what is gained is
just putting the dividend formula into the constitution. He
emphasized that his intent is not to confer anyone an additional
right.
He pointed out that the statute currently says there is a legal
obligation for the Permanent Fund Corporation to transfer funds
from the earnings reserve to the dividend fund, something that
he believes is illegal and is currently being contested in
judiciary. He remarked that the statutory dedication that the
Legislature set up would confer a similar right that currently
exists. He summarized that his intent was to put the current
statutes into the constitution and not change anyone's rights,
but to simply codify it in the constitution so that people know
that they are going to get their PFD every year without it being
vetoed.
He opined that if the Legislature passes a permanent fund
restructuring with a guarantee for a PFD, the dividend cannot be
guaranteed unless it is put into the constitution. He asserted
that putting the guarantee into the constitution will engender
trust by the people of Alaska and a fair tradeoff for
restructuring the permanent fund.
SENATOR COGHILL replied that many of Senator Wielechowski's
points were legitimate, but sees the resolution as creating
other structural problems.
3:39:45 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY opened public testimony on SJR 1.
3:40:09 PM
CLEM TILLION, representing self, Halibut Cove, Alaska, testified
in support of SJR 1. He asked that the Legislature not change
anything and obey the law as it is written. He pointed out that
the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation is statutorily required to
take out inflation proofing before approving 50 percent of the
earnings to be sent to the Department of Revenue. He opined that
changing the law makes the permanent fund more vulnerable to
destruction.
3:42:33 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL asked Mr. Tillion to clarify if he is in favor
of SJR 1.
MR. TILLION emphasized that he is in favor of SJR 1 if the
resolution does not change the law as it currently stands and
puts it into the constitution where it belongs.
3:44:34 PM
JANEL DOCKENDORF, representing self, Wasilla, Alaska, testified
in support of SJR 1. She said the PFD should be left the way it
is.
3:45:41 PM
JAMES SQUYRES, representing self, Deltana, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. He said he supports the current calculation of
the PFD. He suggested that the resolution be passed immediately
for comparison to the permanent fund bills currently under
consideration.
3:47:11 PM
JULIET STOESSEL, representing self, Tok, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. She set forth that the PFD needs to be saved
because the permanent fund is Alaskan's money.
3:48:25 PM
NORMAN EGOLF, representing self, Tok, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. He asked that the current statute be placed
into the constitution.
3:49:23 PM
PEGGY CLEVENGER, representing self, Tok, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. She asked that the statute be added to the
constitution.
3:50:46 PM
JACK CLEVENGER, representing self, Tok, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1.
3:52:03 PM
DAVID RICHARD LUNTZ, representing self, Delta Junction, Alaska,
testified in support of SJR 1. He asked that the people of
Alaska be allowed to vote on the measure.
3:53:28 PM
JON FAULKNER, representing self, Homer, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. He believes that the current PFD program is a
right of the citizens and that Alaskans have a right to vote on
the measure.
3:55:55 PM
DAVID OTNESS, representing self, Cordova, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. He said the state is in a very important
juncture and he considered SJR 1 to be the most important item
to have come along in a long time.
3:58:52 PM
BETH FREAD, representing self, Palmer, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. She set forth that SJR 1 is critical to the
ongoing fiscal health of Alaska's future.
4:02:15 PM
PAM GOODE, representing self, Deltana, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. She stated that she supported keeping the
PFD's current calculation. She asserted that the constitution
was written for the people to hold the government accountable.
She said she does not look at the PFD as an entitlement because
the PFD belongs to the people.
4:04:19 PM
KAREN TERRY, representing self, Chugiak, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 1. She said she did not support using a
percentage-of-market-value formula to determine the PFD. She
opined that Alaskans want the current PFD formula in the
constitution due to excessive spending by the Legislature and
possible vetoes. She said a constitutional amendment is the only
way to assure that the PFD is protected, and Alaska's unique
legacy is preserved for future generations.
4:07:59 PM
STEVE ST. CLAIR, representing self, Wasilla, Alaska, testified
in opposition of SJR 1. He remarked that enshrining the PFD in
the constitution is a good thing, but added that there are parts
in resolution that he did not like. He opined that inflation
proofing is unnecessary because investments in the permanent
fund are already inflation proofed and previously proposed 50-50
plans for using the permanent fund do not include inflation
proofing.
4:09:34 PM
KENNETH MCLEOD, representing self, North Pole, Alaska, testified
in support of SJR 1. He asserted that the permanent fund should
not be changed. He said any changes to the permanent fund should
go before the people of Alaska.
4:11:00 PM
KURT SCHMIDT, representing self, Delta Junction, Alaska,
testified in support of SJR 1. He asserted that the resolution
maintains and clarifies procedures that govern the PFD and
prevents abuse of the fund. He set forth that the people of
Alaska should decide their fate and vote on SJR 1. He stated
that he disagreed with one Senate member who recently said that
the people really don't know the issues and the Legislature
should not let them vote in such matters as the PFD.
4:13:06 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY closed public testimony on SJR 1.
4:13:22 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved to report SJR 1, version 30-LS0104\D, from
committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal
note(s).
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked if there was an objection.
SENATOR COGHILL objected and explained that he is not a big fan
of putting SJR 1 in the constitution. He stated that there are
constitutional principles in SJR 1 that he does not understand.
He noted that there is public support, but said the resolution
would create a tension between using any of the earnings reserve
and the dividend.
SENATOR COGHILL removed his objection.
4:14:25 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY announced that without objection, SJR 1 moved
from the Senate State Affairs Standing Committee.
4:14:38 PM
At ease.
SCR 1-UNIFORM RULES: ABSTAIN FROM VOTING
4:16:14 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY called the committee back to order and announced
the consideration of SCR 1.
4:16:48 PM
SENATOR BERTA GARDNER, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,
sponsor of SCR 1, set forth that SCR 1 can be described by a
quote from "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The one thing that doesn't
abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."
She said the Legislature relies on Uniform Rule 34(b) when it
comes to conflict of interest for legislators' voting. She
summarized that Uniform Rule 34(b) says a member can ask for
unanimous consent that he or she be excused from voting because
they have a conflict of interest and then the member describes
their conflict of interest. She explained that theoretically if
nobody objects, the person is allowed not to vote. She pointed
out that in her years in the Legislature, someone in the body
has always objected and the presiding officer says the person
must vote.
She noted that the conflict of interest rule has regularly been
an issue with the public. She disclosed that there have been 13
bills and resolutions that have tried to address the issue of
conflict of interest in voting since 2007 and none have passed.
She revealed that she has addressed a variety of ideas and
talked to legislators, but she has not found a good solution.
She said the bottom line is a person's conscious should be the
guide.
She explained that SCR 1 proposes to simply require that when a
person stands up and asks to be excused for voting, describes
the conflict of interest and somebody objects, all three parts
become part of the record. She noted that she has claimed a
conflict of interest on things that she knew were not really a
conflict of interest; however, she pointed out that nobody wants
to be accused of failing to disclose. She detailed that she has
claimed a conflict of interest regarding real estate because her
daughter sells real estate as well as claiming a conflict for
her son-in-law because he works for an oil company. She opined
that legislators tend to over-disclose to "cover our bases."
SENATOR GARDNER set forth that she is trying to solve the
conflict of interest problem so that when a person has a genuine
conflict there ultimately is a path. She said she wants to
change the culture because the culture is to always make people
vote. She asserted that a person's conscious should hold if
there really is a conflict of interest.
She stated that SCR 1 is a clear proposal to just make a
conflict of interest part of the record. She remarked that the
resolution is a "sunshine measure" that is not complex or hard
to understand.
4:20:13 PM
SENATOR COGHILL thanked Senator Gardner for tackling the
conflict of interest issue and stated that the subject has been
a conundrum for many years. He agreed that putting a
legislator's conflict of interest on the record is a good idea.
He stated that the final sentence has some good parts and bad
parts:
Upon a member's request to be excused from voting, the
clerk or secretary shall record in the journal the
member requesting to be excused, the stated reason for
the request, and, if an objection to the request is
made, the member or members who objected.
He said SCR 1 is one good way of saying that if a legislator is
going to declare a conflict of interest, at least the
declaration will be a matter of record. He expressed that he is
grateful that Senator Gardner "wondered out into this
territory."
SENATOR GARDNER replied that her resolution is, "Just the toe
into the deep water."
SENATOR GIESSEL asked if the committee could hear from Mr.
Anderson from Legislative Ethics and noted that she was
interested in his opinion on the legislation.
4:21:29 PM
JERRY ANDERSON, Administrator, The Select Committee on
Legislative Ethics, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,
explained that the SCR 1 is from the Uniform Rules and not from
the Legislative Ethics Act itself. He detailed that the
Legislative Ethics Act statute references the Uniform Rules and
that is the only connection with the Legislative Ethics Act.
4:22:40 PM
SAMANTHA HARRIS, Staff, Senator Berta Gardner, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, explained that Mr. Anderson was
asked to be available if the committee's conversation entered
the Legislature's ethics laws. She pointed out that there is
some documentation that occurs when a legislator declares a
conflict, but the nature of the conflict is not recorded, and
the practice is that if multiple objections are made the record
will just say, "objections were made." She added that if the
Senate secretary or chief clerk can discern who the legislator
was that objected, on occasion they will record who made the
objection, but the act is not always the practice.
She disclosed that legislative research was unable to determine
any instance in the Alaska Legislature's history when unanimous
consent was given for a declaration of a conflict of interest.
She added that the National Conference of State Legislatures
provided a summary of voting recusal provisions and in the end
the summation was unable to identify any other state that dealt
with conflict of interest declarations as Alaska where unanimous
consent was required.
MS. HARRIS summarized that SCR 1 seeks to put more conflict of
interest declarations on the record as a matter of transparency.
4:25:00 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY held SCR 1 in committee.
4:25:43 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Dunleavy adjourned the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee at 4:25 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SCR 1 - Version A.PDF |
SSTA 3/7/2017 3:30:00 PM |
SCR 1 |
| SCR 1-Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SSTA 3/7/2017 3:30:00 PM |
SCR 1 |
| SCR 1 - Supporting Document - Voting Recusal Provisions in 50 states.pdf |
SSTA 3/7/2017 3:30:00 PM |
SCR 1 |
| SCR 1- Fiscal Note LEG.pdf |
SSTA 3/7/2017 3:30:00 PM |
SCR 1 |
| SJR 1 - Fiscal Note Division of Elections.pdf |
SSTA 3/7/2017 3:30:00 PM |
SJR 1 |
| SJR 1 - Written Testimony.pdf |
SSTA 3/7/2017 3:30:00 PM |
SJR 1 |