HB 133-MUNICIPAL SERVICE AREA BOARD MEETINGS  8:05:45 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 133, "An Act exempting municipal service area boards from the requirements of the Open Meetings Act; and providing for an effective date." 8:06:05 AM REPRESENTATIVE JESSE SUMNER, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor, presented HB 133. He read the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: House Bill 133 would give specific exemptions to local municipalities on the Open Meetings Act. Currently, the Open Meetings Act (OMA) doesn't allow for Board Supervisors on the Road, Safety and Assessment (RSA) board to ride in the same vehicle, because of the quorum statute in OMA. For example, in the Mat-Su Borough, RSA is an advisory only position appointed by the Mayor. These positions are strictly voluntary; with no power to contract or spend any of the Borough's money. Not only would this change incentivize local board members; which has been a problem filling, but in the Mat-Su Valley, it is critical to get all the Supervisors together and brainstorm on how best to solve Borough issues, without the cloud of the OMA. Currently, in practice, if a board member found out something wrong with a road, he or she does not have the ability to call others on the board to come look at said problem and discuss solutions on solving the issue, because of the Open Meetings Act. This is a big problem for local municipalities with an easy solution set forth in this bill. Please join us in supporting HB 133. 8:07:41 AM STEVE MENARD, Chief of Staff, Representative Jesse Sumner, Alaska State Legislature, gave the sectional analysis for HB 133, on behalf of Representative Sumner, prime sponsor, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Section I:  Just a small grammatical amendment AS 44.62.310(d)(5) from UPON to ON. And Removes a portion of AS 44.62.310(d)(8) to ultimately read "meetings of municipal service area boards established under AS 29.35.450 29.35.490." This is the heart of the Bill that will give the power back to local municipalities to function reasonable in deciding on how best to problem-solve and not be in violation of the Open Meetings Act. Section II:  If passed, this would take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070©. 8:09:18 AM JILL PARSON, Big Lake Road Service Area, explained she is on the Road, Safety, and Assessment (RSA) 21 Big Lake Board of Supervisors, and stated that the board is significantly impacted by the Open Meetings Act (OMA). While all meetings are open to the public, that does not work when observing road conditions is the reason for the meeting and sight visits are often spontaneous and weather dependent. She noted that board members end up driving in separate vehicles, so they do not have a quorum of their five-member board in any one vehicle. If all five members traveled in one vehicle, they could discuss and evaluate issues in between stops - a valuable and efficient way to find solutions to road problems. Members can then be prepared with alternatives to present to the public at regularly scheduled monthly meetings in which the public participates. 8:11:27 AM REPRESENTATIVE MEARS observed that "the work folks do in infrastructure" is underappreciated, and she stressed the importance of having site visits. She said she looked forward to supporting the bill. 8:12:04 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE offered his understanding that the makers of the statute assume that any time the board members get together they will be talking about common interests, and the ultimate authority for "the spend" comes from the assembly. 8:13:27 AM REPRESENTATIVE SUMNER replied that it may seem like the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is taking the Act too seriously, but it may be the only municipality that has a standing injunction. 8:13:47 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE confirmed his understanding of the legal aspect, and said he thought there is some intent to increase the size of the road service area board in different RSA districts that currently cannot be increased, due to the restrictions. He stated he supported the legislation. 8:14:42 AM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE asked for clarification that the provisions under HB 133 would ensure the service area board would still have some kind of mechanism to have a say in public meetings, and he questioned what would prevent the board from having all its meetings behind closed doors. 8:15:25 AM REPRESENTATIVE SUMNER replied, "We did bring the bill that way ... as a bare bones approach to this." He said he did not think it would be problematic for the service area boards to be excluded from the OMA, although he would consider it a friendly amendment if the committee were to "put some side rails" on the legislation. 8:15:52 AM REPRESENTATIVE SUMNER, in response to a question from Representative Himschoot regarding board discussion on the road, said it would be difficult outside of a public meeting to pass a resolution. It is the assembly that ultimately has the "purse strings" and is accountable to the public. 8:17:21 AM MR. MENARD further explained the vital point of the bill is local authority, the assembly's ability to set the parameters of when to meet, what to discuss, and when to present to the public. 8:17:52 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked if the borough code sets the timing and dates for RSA required meetings. REPRESENTATIVE SUMNER replied that local government couldn't set times and dates out in code without the restriction that the OMA has created. 8:19:19 AM MOKIE TEW gave invited testimony on HB 133 and informed the committee he is a Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly member. He explained that the operation of the road superintendent and RSA supervisor are hindered in regard to responding when the citizens call about road problems; it is difficult for more than one assembly member to go out and look at the problem on the road and then report the problem and possible solution back to the Mat-Su Borough road superintendent. He stated that the bill would allow the road supervisors to volunteer people, and when meetings take place, solutions are formulated and put together. He stressed that there is no intention of excluding the public from the meeting. In conclusion, he said that a much stronger team of people would be built as a result of having a "volunteer road supervisor." 8:24:14 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK thanked Mr. Tew for his testimony and invited questions from the committee. 8:24:25 AM REPRESENTATIVE MEARS was curious if anyone had reached out to other areas of the state to find out if there were any similar issues or questions. MR. MENARD replied he did not, that this was brought as a specific issue in the Mat-Su Valley. 8:26:04 AM REPRESENTATIVE SUMNER expressed his appreciation for being able to present HB 133. 8:26:13 AM CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that HB 133 was held over.