HB 129-VOTER REGISTRATION  3:07:06 PM CHAIR SHAW announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 129, "An Act relating to voter registration; and providing for an effective date." 3:08:06 PM The committee took a brief at-ease. 3:08:29 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY moved to adopt Amendment 1 to HB 129, labeled 33-LS0668\A.1, Klein, 4/5/23, which read: Page 2, line 8: Delete "any" Insert "a" Following "kept.": Insert "This subsection may not be construed to authorize entry into a private residence in which fireworks may be stored for personal use." REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON objected. 3:08:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY explained that Amendment 1 would move the date that the director shall examine the master registration voter list from January to April of each calendar year. In talking to local election officials, she said, the Permanent Fund Dividends (PFDs) are collected through March 31 of each year, thereby providing the [Division of Elections (DOE)] with current addresses for registrants. For that reason, she suggested that that moving the date until after PFD registration period would provide the most recent addresses for individuals whose mail had been returned to the division. CHAIR SHAW invited the bill sponsor to comment on Amendment 1. 3:09:59 PM REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, prime sponsor of HB 129, deferred to DOE. CHAIR SHAW asked whether the objection was maintained. REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON asked whether the division was available to answer questions. 3:10:19 PM The committee took a brief at-ease. 3:12:22 PM CHAIR SHAW asked whether the objection was maintained. REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON said he was prepared to remove his objection to Amendment 1 with the caveat that it would be reviewed in the next committee of referral. REPRESENTATIVE SHAW objected. 3:12:56 PM The committee took a brief at-ease. 3:13:12 PM REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed concern that moving the date to April could interfere with municipal elections. She requested clarification from DOE as to whether that was the case. 3:14:25 PM CAROL BEECHER, Director, Division of Elections (DOE), Office of the Lieutenant Governor, asked Representative Allard to repeat the question. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed concern that updating the voter rolls in April could interfere with the Municipality of Anchorage's (MOA's) local elections. She opined that doing it in January would be more efficient. CHAIR SHAW clarified that Amendment 1 proposed the replacement of January [for examining the master register] with April of each calendar year. 3:15:30 PM MS. BEECHER said she was unsure how municipal elections would be impacted, as the division did not run those elections. Nonetheless, she confirmed that April was "close to the middle of the work" conducted by DOE during an election year. She added that inputting the PFD records was manual and time consuming. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether Amendment 1 was considered a friendly amendment. CHAIR VANCE responded, per the comments from the director, Amendment 1 may create additional hardship, which would not be favorable towards the division's workload. For that reason, she said Amendment 1 was not considered friendly at this time. 3:17:17 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY clarified that Amendment 1 was not related to cleaning up the voter rolls. The proposed amendment concerned individuals whose mail had been returned and had not contacted the division in the two years preceding the election or voted in the last few elections. She opined that the PFD information could be valuable for the division to have the most current addresses for this subset of people. She withdrew Amendment 1. 3:18:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER moved to adopt Amendment 2 to HB 129, labeled 33-LS0668\A.2, Klein, 4/11/23, which read: Page 1, line 3, through page 2, line 1: Delete all material and insert:  "* Section 1. AS 15.07.130(a) is amended to read: (a) Periodically, at times of the director's choosing, but not [NO] less frequently than in January of each calendar year, the director shall examine the master register maintained under AS 15.07.120 and shall send, by nonforwardable mail to the voter's registration mailing address, and to the voter's  electronic mail address, if available, a notice requesting address confirmation or correction. The  notice must explain that the voter's registration will  be inactivated unless the voter responds to the notice  within 45 days after the date the notice is sent. The  director shall send the notice to each voter (1) whose mail from the division has been returned to the division in the two years immediately preceding the examination of the register; (2) who has not contacted the division in the two years immediately preceding the examination of the register and [; OR (3)] who has not voted or appeared to vote in the two years [GENERAL ELECTIONS] immediately preceding the examination of the register;  or  (3) who, after registering to vote in this  state and in the two years immediately preceding the  examination of the register, has  (A) registered to vote in another state;  (B) received a driver's license from  another state;  (C) registered a vehicle in another state;  (D) received public assistance in another  state;  (E) served on a jury in another state;  (F) obtained a resident hunting or fishing  license in another state; or  (G) moved to a different residence,  according to information from the United States Postal  Service national change of address program.  * Sec. 2. AS 15.07.130(b) is amended to read: (b) If a registered voter does [HAS] not respond  to a notice sent under (a) of this section within 45  days after the date the notice is sent, the director  shall inactivate the voter's registration [, WITHIN THE PRECEDING FOUR CALENDAR YEARS, CONTACTED THE DIVISION AND HAS NEITHER VOTED NOR APPEARED TO VOTE IN A LOCAL, REGIONAL SCHOOL BOARD, PRIMARY, SPECIAL, OR GENERAL ELECTION DURING THE LAST FOUR CALENDAR YEARS AND A NOTICE SENT TO THE VOTER UNDER (a) OF THIS SECTION WAS RETURNED AS UNDELIVERABLE, THE VOTER SHALL BE ADVISED BY A NOTICE SENT BY FORWARDABLE MAIL TO THE VOTER'S LAST KNOWN ADDRESS THAT REGISTRATION WILL BE INACTIVATED UNLESS THE VOTER RESPONDS TO THE NOTICE NO LATER THAN 45 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE NOTICE SENT UNDER THIS SECTION]. The director shall maintain on the master register the name of a voter whose registration is inactivated. The director shall cancel a voter's inactive registration in accordance with the procedures set out in 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6 (sec. 8, National Voter Registration Act of 1993) after the second general election that occurs after the registration becomes inactive if the voter does not contact the division or vote or appear to vote.  * Sec. 3. AS 15.07.130(d) is amended to read: (d) The notice sent under (a) [(b)] of this section must include a postage prepaid and pre- addressed return card on which the voter may state the voter's current address. The notice must indicate (1) that the voter should return the card not later than 45 days after the date of the notice if the voter did not change residence; (2) that failure to return the card by the 45-day deadline could result in removal of the voter's name from the official registration list for a subsequent election; (3) that the voter's registration will be cancelled if the voter does not contact the division during, or vote or appear to vote in an election held during, the period beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the day after the last day of the fourth calendar year that occurs after the date of notice; and (4) how the voter can continue to be eligible to vote if the voter has changed residence." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON objected for the purpose of discussion. 3:18:43 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that various markers indicate whether a person was taking up residence outside of Alaska. Amendment 2, she said, listed those markers, thereby sending a message to DOE that a person did not have an intent to return to the state. The pertinent markers were listed as follows: registered to vote in another state; received a driver's license from another state; registered a vehicle in another state; received public assistance in another state; served on a jury duty in another state; obtained a resident hunting or fishing license in another state; and moved to a different residence, according to information from the United State Postal Service national change of address program. The proposed amendment also outlined a method for [contact], which included a notice sent by the division that required a response within 45 days. Failure to do so would result in removal from the active voter roll list. She noted that the amendment allowed for electronic response, as opposed to responding to the notice by mail. 3:20:57 PM JAKE ALMEIDA, Staff, Representative Sarah Vance, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Vance, prime sponsor of HB 129, clarified that subparagraphs (A)-(G) in Section 1 did not automatically take someone off the voter rolls. 3:21:51 PM REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG asked where the 45-day timeframe came from. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE opined that 45 days was a reasonable amount of time to respond. REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG pointed out that many Alaskans split the year between Alaska and other places. She expressed concern that [45 days] was not enough time. 3:22:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY stated similar concerns about the 45 days, particularly for rural Alaska where mail moved slower. She asked Director Beecher to opine on the 45-day timeline. MS. BEECHER shared her understanding that the "non-forwardable" component could be problematic according to the national Voting Rights Act. Additionally, she was unsure how the division would receive the information listed in subparagraphs (C)-(F) of Amendment 1. REPRESENTATIVE STORY sought to confirm that the word "nonforwardable" on page 1, line 6 was problematic. MS. BEECHER confirmed that the Voting Rights Act required that voter notices be forwardable to allow for an opportunity to respond. 3:24:53 PM REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked how information was received from PFD registrants. MS. BEECHER said the division received a list of names on a regular basis. 3:25:47 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER pointed out that the "nonforwardable" language was already statute, adding that it was not being changed by Amendment 1. He asked, "Are we currently not doing that? We're currently sending forwardable mail because the federal requirement?" MS. BEECHER offered to follow up with the requested information. 3:26:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON removed his objection. 3:26:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY objected. 3:26:49 PM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Carpenter, C. Johnson, Allard, Wright, and Shaw voted in favor of Amendment 2. Representatives Story and Armstrong voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 2 to HB 129 passed by a vote of 5-2. 3:27:30 PM CHAIR SHAW invited closing comments from members of the committee on HB 129, as amended. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD thanked the sponsor for bringing the legislation forward. 3:27:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT moved to report HB 129, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE commented on Representative Story's concern about the timing of the division's receipt of information from the Permanent Fund Dividend Division and the examination of the master register. She explained that after the Permanent Fund Dividend Division collected the information from dividend registrants, the raw list of data was sent to DOE; however, some PFD applicant were ineligible. For that reason, she said she had suggested that the Permanent Fund Dividend Division send a second batch of data that was "cleaned up." She indicated that the process was not a one-time event, adding that the division was looking to receive more thorough information. Regarding Ms. Beecher's concern about Amendment 2, she shared her understanding that the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) system offered much of the information listed in subparagraphs (C)-(F). She further stated that the bill required the use of government sources of information to find relevant information on voters and ensure that every eligible voter was, indeed, an Alaskan. 3:30:37 PM REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON objected to the motion to report HB 129, as amended, out of committee. 3:30:53 PM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Wright, Carpenter, C. Johnson, Allard, Armstrong, and Shaw voted in favor of moving HB 129, as amended, out of committee. Representative Allard voted against it. Therefore, CSHB 129(STA) was reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee by a vote of 6-1. 3:31:38 PM The committee took an at-ease from 3:31 p.m. to 3:36 p.m.