SB  18 REAA ADVISORY VOTES                                 
 Number 003                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN called the Senate Health, Education and Social                 
 Services (HESS) Committee to order at 9:10 a.m. and introduced                
 SB 18  as the first order of business before the committee.                   
                                                                               
 SENATOR ZHAROFF, prime sponsor, explained that SB 18 is identical             
 to a bill that was introduced last year which died in the final               
 hours of the session.  SB 18 resulted from a concern from one of              
 the REAA school districts which had a problem placing an advisory             
 vote on the ballot for the election of school boards.  The Division           
 of Elections does not have a problem with that, however, there is             
 currently nothing in statute that would allow the division to place           
 that vote on the ballot.  SB 18 only affects REAAs and schools that           
 are spread out.  In the case of the REAA school district that had             
 a problem placing the advisory vote on the ballot, the district               
 wanted the voters to respond to the question of relocation of the             
 main office.  Each community would have to hold a separate election           
 and all the votes would have to be compiled.  He noted that there             
 was not much opposition to putting this on the ballot other than              
 the fact that it was not permissible under the statute.                       
                                                                               
 DAVID KOIVUNIEMI, Acting Director of the Division of Elections,               
 said that the division did not have any opposition to SB 18.                  
                                                                               
 SHELIA PETERSON, Special Assistant to the Commissioner of                     
 Education, said that the Department of Education does support SB              
 18.                                                                           
                                                                               
 SENATOR MILLER moved that SB 18 be moved out of committee with                
 individual recommendations.  Hearing no objections, it was so                 
 ordered.