CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 281(RLS) am "An Act requiring candidates to disclose certain information about all contributors under AS 15.13; relating to the preservation of records required to be kept by candidates, groups, nongroup entities, or persons under AS 15.13; relating to records required to be kept by certain lobbyists and persons who employ, retain, or contract for the services of lobbyists; relating to complaints filed with the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics; relating to administrative complaints filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission; relating to the statute of limitations for civil actions brought under AS 39.50; extending the statute of limitations for prosecutions of violations of the Alaska Election Code; and providing for an effective date." 10:01:17 AM Co-Chair Hoffman MOVED to ADOPT a Senate Committee Substitute for CSHB 281 (FIN), work draft 25-LS1115\D as the working document before this committee. There being NO OBJECTION, work draft 25-LS1115\D was adopted. AT EASE: 10:01:32 AM RECONVENED: 10:02:58 AM REPRESENTATIVE BOB LYNN presented an overview of the Sponsor Statement:  House Bill 281 strengthens oversight of Alaska's ethics laws by allowing the state's watchdog agencies more time to receive complaints and properly investigate alleged violations. It also establishes an adequate time period for the retention of records related to those complaints. This act covers the four areas of oversight assigned to the Alaska Public Offices Commission and the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics: campaign disclosures (AS 15.13), lobbying (AS 24.45), legislative financial disclosure (AS 24.60) and public official financial disclosure (AS 39.50) HB 281 creates a standard statute of limitations of five years for complaints that can be filed with APOC and the Select Committee. It also codifies a period of six years for the retention of records required under these sections. By allowing a reasonable amount of time to receive complaints and conduct investigations, HB 281 helps APOC and the Select Committee accomplish their missions of ensuring the public's confidence in elected and appointed officials, and preserving the integrity of the legislative process. This bill is an important follow-up to the recent efforts to shore up the Foundation of Trust between Alaskans and their government, which took a big step forward last year when the governor and the legislature passed a landmark ethics bill. 10:04:23 AM Senator Elton referred to Section 4, page 3, where it changed the requirement for a lobbyist or a person who contracts for a lobbyist. He inquired why it was six years there and five years elsewhere in the bill. 10:04:51 AM MICHAEL SICA, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE BOB LYNN explained that in the past APOC when having a statute of limitations for one year through regulations would then have two years for retention of records. The additional year for records to be retained would help with the associated statute of limitations. The six years of retention dovetails with the five years allowed for the complaint of an alleged violation. 10:05:49 AM Senator Huggins inquired if there were any violations or concerns that made the two year requirement inadequate. Representative Lynn responded that although he did not have the actual numbers it did cause some concern. Mr. Sica remarked that there has been past testimony that the two years was inadequate. He remarked that the five years seemed like a standard uniform statute of limitations for all codes overseen by the agencies. 10:06:54 AM Senator Olson questioned if this was a comparable time with other complaints related to non-elected officials throughout the state. 10:07:11 AM Mr. Sica responded he could not think of any similar codes but some alleged violations do have five year statutes of limitations. Senator Olson inquired how other states deal with APOC type complaints. Mr. Sica responded that the time varies from state to state. 10:08:17 AM Senator Elton MOVED TO REPORT out of Committee SCS CSHB 281 (FIN) from Committee with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes. SCS CSHB 281 (FIN) was REPORTED out Committee with a "do pass" recommendation, and accompanying previously published fiscal notes from the Legislative Affairs Agency, the Department of Administration, and the Department of Law. AT EASE: 10:09:00 AM RECONVENED: 10:25:11 AM