03/11/2021 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB83 | |
| SB84 | |
| SB7 | |
| SB12 | |
| SB40 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 83 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 84 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 7 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 12 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 40 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
March 11, 2021
4:00 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Mike Shower, Chair
Senator Lora Reinbold, Vice Chair (via teleconference)
Senator Mia Costello
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Roger Holland
Senator Scott Kawasaki
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 83
"An Act relating to elections; and providing for an effective
date."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 84
"An Act relating to the veterans' land purchase discount;
establishing state land vouchers; relating to the permanent fund
dividend; relating to the duties of the Department of Revenue;
authorizing the Department of Natural Resources to accept state
land vouchers; relating to eligibility for public assistance;
and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 7
"An Act requiring the Department of Public Safety to publish
certain policies and procedures on the department's Internet
website."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 12
"An Act relating to temporary courtesy licenses for military
spouses; and relating to the Department of Commerce, Community,
and Economic Development."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 40
"An Act relating to veterans' benefits services and veterans'
benefits appeal services."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 83
SHORT TITLE: ELECTIONS; VOTING; BALLOT REQS
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
02/12/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/12/21 (S) STA, FIN
03/02/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/02/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/02/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/11/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: SB 84
SHORT TITLE: LAND VOUCHERS; PFDS
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
02/12/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/12/21 (S) STA, RES, FIN
03/02/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/02/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/02/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/11/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: SB 7
SHORT TITLE: STATE TROOPER POLICIES: PUBLIC ACCESS
SPONSOR(s): GRAY-JACKSON
01/22/21 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/21
01/22/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/21 (S) STA, JUD
03/04/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/04/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/04/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/11/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: SB 12
SHORT TITLE: MILITARY SPOUSE COURTESY LICENSE
SPONSOR(s): KAWASAKI
01/22/21 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/21
01/22/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/21 (S) STA, L&C
03/04/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/04/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/04/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/11/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: SB 40
SHORT TITLE: VETERANS' BENEFITS SERVICES; DISCLOSURE
SPONSOR(s): REVAK
01/25/21 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/15/21
01/25/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/25/21 (S) STA, L&C
03/04/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/04/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/04/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/11/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
MORGAN LIM
Planned Parenthood Votes, Northwest and Hawaii
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SB 83.
JEANNETTE LEE, Community Democracy Researcher
Sightline Institute
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Suggested changes to SB 83.
KENDRA KLOSTER, Executive Director
Native Peoples Action (NPA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified that SB 83 needs more work before
it advances.
EDWARD MARTIN, representing self
Cooper Landing, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 84.
MORGAN LIM
Planned Parenthood Votes, Northwest and Hawaii
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 7.
JOMO STEWART, Military Projects Manager
Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation (FEDC)
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 12.
ACTION NARRATIVE
4:00:26 PM
CHAIR MIKE SHOWER called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Costello, Reinbold (via teleconference) and
Chair Shower.
He reviewed the agenda.
SB 83-ELECTIONS; VOTING; BALLOT REQS
4:01:38 PM
CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 83
"An Act relating to elections; and providing for an effective
date."
4:01:57 PM
CHAIR SHOWER opened public testimony on SB 83.
4:02:14 PM
MORGAN LIM, Planned Parenthood Votes, Northwest and Hawaii
(PPVNH), Juneau, Alaska, stated strong opposition to SB 83 and
support for policies that make it convenient for all who are
eligible to register to vote and cast a ballot. He opined that
SB 83 makes it more difficult to vote by imposing burdensome
voter identification requirements on absentee voters and limits
in-person voting for communities with a population of 750 or
fewer. He characterized SB 83 as "part of a nationwide voter
suppression trend as too many politicians try to manipulate the
outcome of elections by making it harder to cast a ballot."
4:04:36 PM
JEANNETTE LEE, Community Democracy Researcher, Sightline
Institute, Anchorage, Alaska, suggested the committee reexamine
the need for the witness signature as it considers the changes
to voter identifying information on absentee ballots. She
described it as an unnecessary regulation because it is not
clear that this makes the election more secure. She highlighted
that documents in the 2020 court case on the topic verified that
the state has no process to check the legitimacy of the witness
signatures. When the judge asked whether the requirement had
ever played a role in detecting fraud, court documents
indicated, "the state could not identify any such instance in
recent memory and was not sure whether it had played a role in
the distant past."
MS. LEE stated, "Our research has shown that the Division of
Election's requirement to provide identifying information like
date of birth is a more effective check; and yet, in election
after election enforcement of what is essentially an empty
gesture has disenfranchised hundreds of eligible absentee
voters." She urged the legislature to permanently do away with
the regulation and replace it with a robust signature
verification process and ballot cure option that allows voters
to fix errors on ballot envelops.
4:07:29 PM
KENDRA KLOSTER, Executive Director, Native Peoples Action (NPA),
Anchorage, Alaska, stated agreement with much of the previous
testimony. She said she was pleased that the state did away with
the witness signature requirement during the last election and
she believes it should be permanent for the reasons that Ms. Lee
stated.
MS. KLOSTER described the provision for the only-vote-by-mail
option for communities with populations of 750 or less as
problematic. She said NPA has done many studies and reports on
the need for both a vote by mail and an in-person voting option
for all communities. She encouraged working with tribal
communities and communities to talk through the different
options.
She offered to work with the sponsor or this and subsequent
committees to improve the bill.
CHAIR SHOWER suggested she work with his office because his
bill, SB 39) incorporates many of the things that testifiers
have mentioned.
4:10:05 PM
CHAIR SHOWER found no other testifiers and closed public
testimony on SB 83.
CHAIR SHOWER held SB 83 in committee.
SB 84-LAND VOUCHERS; PFDS
4:10:33 PM
CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 84
"An Act relating to the veterans' land purchase discount;
establishing state land vouchers; relating to the permanent fund
dividend; relating to the duties of the Department of Revenue;
authorizing the Department of Natural Resources to accept state
land vouchers; relating to eligibility for public assistance;
and providing for an effective date."
4:10:43 PM
CHAIR SHOWER opened public testimony on SB 84.
4:10:51 PM
EDWARD MARTIN, representing self, Cooper Landing, Alaska,
advised that the history of this issue goes back to 1998. The
price of oil had dropped to $12 per barrel and Governor Knowles
sought ideas to fix some of the state's fiscal problems. Mr.
Martin highlighted that he suggested that getting state land
that was sitting idle into the hands of Alaskans would help with
the fiscal situation.
MR. MARTIN stated that SB 84 will help the future of the state
and the future of Alaska's children by ensuring they have an
opportunity to get land for which they can create new wealth and
investment. He suggested that retaining the money from the land
voucher program in the Earnings Reserve Account (ERA) would help
grow larger dividends.
He also commented on quorum requirements and options for doing
business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CHAIR SHOWER mentioned that the committee had a quorum to do
business but not to move the bill from committee.
4:13:44 PM
SENATOR REINBOLD stated that she was attending the meeting
remotely but would be happy to return to the committee room to
vote to pass bills from committee.
CHAIR SHOWER thanked her for letting the public know she was
attending the meeting, just not in the committee room because of
policies.
4:14:34 PM
MARTY PARSONS, Director, Division of Mining, Land, and Water,
Anchorage, Alaska, offered to answer questions if the committee
had concerns about the effect of the bill.
4:15:13 PM
CHAIR SHOWER found no questions or other testifiers and closed
public testimony on SB 84.
CHAIR SHOWER held SB 84 in committee.
SB 7-STATE TROOPER POLICIES: PUBLIC ACCESS
4:15:27 PM
CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 7
"An Act requiring the Department of Public Safety to publish
certain policies and procedures on the department's Internet
website."
4:15:32 PM
CHAIR SHOWER opened public testimony on SB 7.
4:15:52 PM
MORGAN LIM, Planned Parenthood Votes, Northwest and Hawaii,
Juneau, Alaska, stated that SB 7 is a first step to ensure
accountability in policing to better serve Alaskans. He opined
that that the police that we know need to be reimagined and held
accountable to be in Alaska. He said the health and safety of
patients is PPVNH's first priority whether they are in the
office or elsewhere. "We know our patients of color, especially
our Black and Indigenous patients, live in a society in which
law enforcement disproportionately target and harass their
communities," he said. He urged the dismantling of the systemic
racism that permeates public institutions, including both the
criminal justice system and the healthcare system. He concluded
that requiring the public display the policies and procedures
related to the peace officers' code of conduct helps in ensuring
accountability and is a step in the right direction.
4:18:33 PM
CHAIR SHOWER found no further testifiers and closed public
testimony on SB 7.
[SB 7 was held in committee.]
SB 12-MILITARY SPOUSE COURTESY LICENSE
4:19:19 PM
CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 12
"An Act relating to temporary courtesy licenses for military
spouses; and relating to the Department of Commerce, Community,
and Economic Development."
4:19:41 PM
CHAIR SHOWER opened public testimony on SB 12.
4:19:51 PM
JOMO STEWART, Military Projects Manager, Fairbanks Economic
Development Corporation (FEDC), Fairbanks, Alaska, stated
support for SB 12 that modifies the state's professional
licensing regime to recognize licenses earned in other
jurisdictions and increasing legislative oversight for the
special accommodation of military spouse licenses already
existing in the system.
MR. STEWART reported that in February 2018 the secretaries of
the Army, Navy, and Air Force jointly sent a letter to the
nation's governors advising of the Military Support of Families
Initiative and the intent to make quality of education and
professional license portability a larger consideration in
future basing considerations. In 2019, the Air Force released
score cards for all 50 states and Alaska ranked behind 35 states
for military spouse license portability.
MR. STEWARD stated that the responses to the initiative have
been dismally low and FEDC hopes that strengthening departmental
reporting requirements and legislative oversight of temporary
licenses will help generate greater response. He added that FEDC
also believes that Alaska would benefit from legislation to
improve licensure portability generally.
CHAIR SHOWER noted that Sara Chambers with the Department of
Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED) was
available online to answer questions.
4:22:26 PM
CHAIR SHOWER closed public testimony on SB 12.
CHAIR COSTELLO stated strong support for Senator Kawasaki's
efforts embodied in SB 7. She highlighted that the Senate Labor
and Commerce Committee introduced a committee bill on licensure
and that Senator Revak is also very interested in the process.
She emphasized that improving the process for individuals to
receive professional licensure in order to work in Alaska is a
priority. She noted that she and others discussed this with the
Governor just this morning. She agreed with the previous caller
that this needs to be addressed in a number of ways.
CHAIR SHOWER agreed that it was important for the state long
term.
4:23:48 PM
CHAIR SHOWER held SB 12 in committee for future consideration.
SB 40-VETERANS' BENEFITS SERVICES; DISCLOSURE
4:23:53 PM
CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 40
"An Act relating to veterans' benefits services and veterans'
benefits appeal services."
4:24:02 PM
At ease
4:24:22 PM
CHAIR SHOWER reconvened the meeting and opened public testimony
on SB 40. Finding no one who wished to testify, he closed public
testimony.
4:24:40 PM
CHAIR SHOWER held SB 40 in committee for future consideration.
4:25:02 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Shower adjourned the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting at 4:25 p.m.
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