HB 107 - BD OF REGENTS REGIONAL RESIDENCY QUALIF.  8:58:16 AM CHAIR KELLER announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 107, "An Act relating to the composition of the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska." 8:59:17 AM ANDREW FORD, Staff, Representative Lynn Gattis, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor of HB 107, Representative Gattis, paraphrased from the sponsor statement included in members' packets, and explained that HB 107 is proposing changes to [the statute pertaining to] the makeup of the University of Alaska Board of Regents. The Board of Regents currently consists of eleven members, one of whom must be a student, and under the changes proposed by Section 1 of the bill - repealing and reenacting AS 14.40.130(a) - only four of the other ten regents may serve at large, and there must be one regent each from the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the City and Borough of Juneau, and a community that is not connected by either road or rail to either Anchorage or Fairbanks. He offered his understanding that both the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) valley and the Kenai peninsula, for example, have experienced considerable population growth over the last 40 years, but only two regents have ever been from the Kenai peninsula and none have ever been from the Mat-Su valley. MR. FORD offered his understanding that Section 2 of the bill merely provides conforming language and doesn't change the intent of AS 14.40.130. Section 3 provides transition language pertaining to proposed AS 14.40.130(a)'s new residency requirements; under Section 3, current regents may serve out their term. In response to a question regarding Section 2, he indicated that under it, board membership terminates when a person appointed under Section 1's proposed AS 14.40.130(a)(1)- (6) moves. CHAIR KELLER questioned whether the number of regents should be reduced. 9:06:53 AM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN GATTIS, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of HB 107, indicated that she would be amenable to such a change. In response to comments and questions regarding a memorandum from Legislative Legal and Research Services dated September 10, 2014, in members' packets, she acknowledged that it is not yet known whether the changes proposed by the bill would be found by the court to be unconstitutional, and shared her belief that all areas of the state should be represented on the Board of Regents but that thus far the Matanuska-Susitna Borough has not been. 9:10:26 AM KIM FORD, mentioning that she once chaired an "economic development advisory council," indicated that she shared the sponsor's belief that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough has not been represented on the University of Alaska Board of Regents. Ms. Ford opined that such representation is important for the economic development of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough because back in 2009, people hired to research certain issues recommended that a "university medical district" be developed, but a workgroup further researching that issue claimed that such could never happen until someone from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough was appointed to serve on the Board of Regents. She proffered that the first step, therefore, would be to ensure that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is represented on the Board of Regents, and opined that it should be, because of the area's [population] growth. She also offered her belief that a lack of such representation on the Board of Regents is preventing the Matanuska-Susitna College from offering any four-year degree programs. In response to a question, she indicated that she supports HB 107. 9:15:33 AM JOHN DAVIES, Regent, University of Alaska Board of Regents, University of Alaska - noting that he was recently appointed to the Board of Regents in February, and acknowledging the interest being expressed in having certain areas of the state specifically represented on the Board of Regents - relayed that he nonetheless has concerns with HB 107, concerns that he believes the entire Board of Regents shares, as evidenced by the letter in members' packets from the chair of the Board of Regents [dated February 24, 2015]. One of the things to consider is that appointments to the Board of Regents are for eight years with the expectation that since students are generally entering four-, five-, and six-year programs, that the policies that get developed will be long-term, will be developed in a thoughtful way, will be implemented over a long period of time, and any changes to them will occur in a slow and deliberative manner. That's not to say the Board of Regents shouldn't be responsive to new programs, but regents must be careful to consider possible changes from a complete statewide perspective, particularly given current budget shortfalls. MR. DAVIS said that over the past 15 years or so, the Board of Regents has worked very hard to reduce the focus on regionalism and to work much more strongly as a board that represents the entire state. This is why there are concerns with any bill that would explicitly regionalize the appointment process. Furthermore, the administration at the university has developed mechanisms in order to function much more as a single system rather than as several different systems. Passage of HB 107 could have the unintended consequence of moving backward in terms of ensuring that the Board of Regents represents the entire state. He then referred to the language in Section 2 that says board membership terminates if a regent ceases to meet the residency requirements, and opined that that language flies in the face of the intent of having eight-year appointments, because there could be much more turnover on the Board of Regents - something he said he doesn't think would be a good thing in terms of ensuring the board's ability to develop long- term, consistent policy. 9:19:25 AM MIKE POWERS, Regent and Vice Chair, University of Alaska Board of Regents, University of Alaska - mentioning that he has thus far served four years of his eight-year term - relayed that upon joining the Board of Regents, he was struck by the regents' collegiality and their statewide perspective - not regional perspective. He, too, acknowledged the interest being expressed in having certain areas of the state specifically represented on the Board of Regents, but surmised that everyone also has an interest in ensuring that the Board of Regents makes the best use of precious resources operating the state's three separately-accredited universities and associated community campuses. The current fiscal situation is requiring that the Board of Regents therefore prioritize the academic programs being offered at the state's various universities/campuses, and discontinue certain programs, and this in turn requires that regents maintain a statewide perspective, rather than the regional perspective that would result from the passage of HB 107. 9:23:43 AM JYOTSNA "JO" HECKMAN, Regent and Chair, University of Alaska Board of Regents, University of Alaska - mentioning that she, too, has thus far served four years of her eight-year term - referred to the aforementioned letter she'd provided to the committee, and to a letter provided by regent Mary K. Hughes [dated March 14, 2015,] also expressing concerns with HB 107. Ms. Heckman said that although the regents can understand and appreciate the reasoning behind HB 107 - that of having the Matanuska-Susitna Borough specifically represented on the Board of Regents - creating geographical constituencies and promoting an atmosphere of regionalism by instituting regional residency requirements, as would occur under the bill, is of concern, particularly given the university's current budgetary constraints, because it would impede the Board of Regents' ability to make difficult decisions and take prompt action. Under the bill, any time a regent moves, actions and decisions by the Board of Regents would have to be delayed until a new regent is appointed, confirmed, and brought up to speed, and all regents must be able to make decisions involving the welfare of the university as a whole and all of its students across the state, but the bill could result in the formation of regional factions within the Board of Regents, thereby further delaying decisions and actions. Furthermore, passage of the bill could result in constitutional issues arising, issues that would have to be dealt with by the court, and this, too, could result in delays on the part of the Board of Regents. 9:29:46 AM RICHARD HELLER, MatSu Business Alliance, Inc., provided some information about himself, the campus at the Matanuska-Susitna College, and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; offered his understanding that only one regent has ever been from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; and indicated that his organization is in complete support of HB 107, believing that its passage will address certain issues at the campus and will help the Matanuska-Susitna Borough continue to grow. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON referred to the term "residency" as used in the bill, and asked to be provided with a definition. REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS, in response to a question, indicated that some believe the area's population growth warrants requiring the Board of Regents to have a regent from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ read items from a table entitled, "Break Down of the University's Board of Regents 1917-2015" produced by Representative Gattis's Office and provided in members' packets, and said it appears that there is a wide, dramatic inequity in terms of regional representation on the Board of Regents. She suggested that the committee conduct more research on the issue. CHAIR KELLER referred to some of the other items in members' packets, and reminded members that the committee would soon be considering the governor's recent appointments to the University Of Alaska Board Of Regents. REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND asked whether a resolution has ever been passed recommending that the governor consider geographic [representation], and, if not, why that approach wasn't taken this time, particularly in light of the potential for the bill to be subject to a legal challenge. REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS indicated that the thought was that addressing the issue [of geographic representation on the Board of Regents] via a resolution would not accomplish the goal. CHAIR KELLER closed public testimony on HB 107, and indicated that HB 107 would be held over.