SB 244-GOVERNOR'S DUTY STATION/TRAVEL ALLOWANCES  CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 244. 1:48:03 PM DARWIN PETERSON, Staff to Senator Stedman, introduced himself and related that Senator Egan would present the bill. SENATOR EGAN read the following sponsor statement into the record: Senate Bill 244 will clarify state law regarding the governor's duty station and travel allowance. Currently in statute, there are no provisions that require the governor to reside in the capital city and occupy the governor's mansion during his or her term of office. The bill specifies that the governor's duty station, defined as the location where the governor spends the major portion of time assigned to fulfill the duties of office, is considered to be Juneau. The proposed law does not prohibit the governor from maintaining a personal residence in another part of the state, but if he chooses to reside there and not in the governor's mansion, he will not be entitled to a travel allowance when away from the capital. CHAIR FRENCH noted that the administration is available to answer questions. He relayed that he heard the bill in a previous committee and his initial questions had been answered. SENATOR COGHILL said he has procedural questions for the administration. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI observed that the bill says that the governor can choose where to reside, even during the legislative session, but he or she couldn't receive per diem when living somewhere other than in Juneau. MR. PETERSON clarified that the bill deals with travel allowance, not per diem. The Alaska Administrative Manual separates those, he said. He confirmed that that the governor would not be required to live in Juneau. Rather, the bill codifies in statute that Juneau is the governor's duty station. If the governor chooses not to make the capital city his or her home, the worst that could happen is that it would be the basis of a complaint from the public. 1:51:33 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how, if this were to pass, someone could file a complaint against the governor for not living in Juneau. MR. PETERSON replied, according to Legislative Legal and Research Services, failure to make Juneau the governor's duty station would amount to a misuse of official position. If such a complaint were lodged, it would be up to the executive ethics branch to make a determination. The other options would be recall or impeachment, but it's unlikely that either would occur. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he's saying that this bill would make where the governor lives an ethics issue. MR. PETERSON said correct; the bill was drafted to amend the Executive Branch Ethics Act making it mandatory that the governor's duty station is Juneau. SENATOR COGHILL asked what percentage of time the governor would be required to spend in the capital city to avoid a violation. MR. PETERSON deferred the question to the administration. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the Legislature has an official duty station. MR. PETERSON answered no. 1:55:08 PM KEVIN BROOKS, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Administration, explained that every position in the budget has a duty station; it's the city where the person spends a majority of their time. He noted that Section 2 defines the governor's duty station as the location where he or she spends the major portion of time to fulfill the duties of the office. He said he's unaware of anything in writing that would define "the major portion of time." CHAIR FRENCH asked if the commissioners have defined duty stations. MR. BROOKS replied they are defined in the budget detail. CHAIR FRENCH asked if the duty stations are set dependant on how the administration submits the budget. MR. BROOKS answered yes, and it's not uncommon for positions or duty stations to move. Usually they're changed annually when the budget is put together. CHAIR FRENCH asked if duty stations are typically set by statute or the budget. MR. BROOKS replied it's not statutory; it's a management prerogative depending on where the resource is needed. He clarified that although they do move, a majority of the 15,000 to 17,000 permanent full-time positions in the executive branch have a static duty station. SENATOR COGHILL said he appreciates the sentiment behind the bill, but he's concerned about the ethics of requiring the governor to be in Juneau over 50 percent of the time because that may limit his or her ability to represent all of Alaska. "I want the office to be centered here. …it's the capital - it's the place where it should happen. … But I don't know if I like that language yet," he said. 1:59:19 PM CHAIR FRENCH said that today he'd like to focus on the financial impacts of the legislation; discussion of the potential ethics charges could be reserved for a future hearing. He said he too has concerns about exposing the governor to an ethics charge for spending too much time traveling around the state. He asked Mr. Brooks to tell the committee which travel payments would be allowed and which would be disallowed if this were adopted. MR. BROOKS replied the bill specifically addresses the lodging amount. His understanding is that if a governor traveled away from Juneau, he or she would not be eligible for a lodging allowance if they stayed in their residence located in another part of the state. As a rule the state does not pay for lodging unless an invoice is presented. That would continue to be the practice under this bill, he said. CHAIR FRENCH noted that page 2, line 2, references "travel allowances" and page 2, line 9, references "lodging allowance." He asked the difference between the two. MR. BROOKS explained that "travel allowance" would encompass all costs a person might incur in a trip, including lodging. To claim reimbursement a person would submit a form and attach their receipts. The bill doesn't address a meal allowance; it's specific to the lodging allowance. CHAIR FRENCH asked if it's necessary to submit a receipt to get reimbursed for meals. MR. BROOKS explained that a claim for meal allowance would be submitted on the travel authorization form; it specifies days and hours in travel status. Payments are prorated based on $60/day for meals and miscellaneous expenses, but it's not necessary to accumulate receipts related to meals. 2:03:43 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked who determines the governor's and lieutenant governor's duty station under current law. MR. BROOKS replied the Alaska Administrative Manual (AAM) contains the rules that govern travel for all executive branch employees. The Department of Administration interacts with each department's administrative services division, but it's those directors that set the policy for their department based on the AAM. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI referenced the AAM and noted that on page 60.3 it says that the duty station is essentially where the traveler spends a major portion of their working time. He asked if it's accurate to say that the former governor spent a major portion of her working time in Wasilla and determined that was her duty station. MR. BROOKS replied his understanding it that the determination of the Governor's Office was that the governor's duty station was Juneau. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if under this law a governor could get a travel allowance for the time he or she spends in their home in North Pole, for example. 2:06:13 PM MR. BROOKS said that under current law and this bill the governor would be entitled to a meal allowance at $60/day, but not lodging. It's also important to remember that it's not automatic; a claim must be submitted, he said. SENATOR COGHILL observed that under this law travel is only reimbursed from the duty station and that could create an economic and ethical problem. MR. BROOKS said the Alaska Administrative Manual is capable of handling situations where travel legs are disjointed. The policies handle a wide variety of situations so that the traveler isn't harmed or unduly rewarded. 2:10:02 PM SENATOR COGHILL said he wanted to make sure that this statute would align with that sort of thinking. It wasn't that clear to me, he added. CHAIR FRENCH described lines 8-10 on page 2 as the meat of the bill. It makes it clear that the governor will no longer get a lodging allowance when staying in their personal residence away from Juneau. The bill doesn't say the governor wouldn't be compensated to travel from their residence to Juneau or their residence to Washington or their residence to Eielson if it's down the street. SENATOR COGHILL said it was a question that occurred to him during the testimony. 2:11:12 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the governor gets per diem. MR. BROOKS answered no. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI noted that Mr. Brooks said the governor could still claim a meal allowance and the committee may want to change that. MR. BROOKS clarified that the governor is not entitled to and may not claim a lodging allowance as part of a travel allowance. CHAIR FRENCH added that while the governor could claim a meal allowance, it is not issued automatically. He or she would have to submit a claim for reimbursement just like every other state employee. SENATOR EGAN asked what would happen if the governor stayed at a hotel while in their community. MR. BROOKS replied the actual lodging costs would be reimbursed based on a receipt from the hotel. CHAIR FRENCH said that's the paradox and at some level you have to let your conscience be your guide. 2:13:11 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked Mr. Brooks if someone could file an ethics complaint based on his reading of the personnel rules. MR. BROOKS replied he didn't know what the basis would be but as they've seen, anyone can file a complaint for any number of reasons. CHAIR FRENCH said he'll pose that question to legislative legal because it's worth exploring. He closed public testimony and announced he would hold SB 244 for more legal analysis.