HB 517-SURPLUS/OBSOLETE STATE PROPERTY  BILL LAWRENCE, staff to Representative Carl Morgan, introduced HB 517 as a bill to fix a problem dealing with surplus property. Specifically, it was written to address surplus fax machines and require that all electronic identifiers be removed before a fax machine is sent to surplus. There are instances where the electronic identifiers have not been removed so they decided it would be in the best interest of the state to place the requirement in statute. It will prevent the appearance of impropriety and should prevent a party from intentionally faxing material identified as from the State of Alaska. Federal law requires that all faxes be identified with a phone number and the name of the sender. When the state surpluses a machine all headers should be removed so the new owner receives a clean machine. CHAIRMAN THERRIAULT asked why the owner's manuals aren't with the machines when they go to surplus. CHRIS PARCE, Director of General Services, replied the state doesn't generally buy owner's manuals to go with all the machines because they are expensive. Most machines the state buys are put onto servers, which are networked to serve multiple stations, and they don't come with full manuals, just basic "cheat sheet" instructions. SENATOR PHILLIPS asked if this couldn't be done internally. MS. PARCE said they do this internally. They have a property control handbook that instructs employees to remove all programs and accompanying data, and delete all headers. SENATOR PHILLIPS interjected, "Then why are we here." MS. PARCE replied she didn't know who introduced the bill. Their surplus handbook instructs employees to remove the electronic headers from machines before they are sent to surplus but they don't always follow all the rules. She said it probably doesn't hurt for this to be a law. SENATOR PHILLIPS didn't think individuals that don't follow the rules could be expected to follow the law. CHAIRMAN THERRIAULT said it probably doesn't hurt, but he understood his questions. SENATOR PHILLIPS commented this constitutes minutia management. CHAIRMAN THERRIAULT noted the one zero fiscal note. He had no prepared CS and there were no amendments offered. He asked for the will of the committee. SENATOR STEVENS made a motion to move HB 517 and attached fiscal note from committee with individual recommendations. There being no objection, it was so ordered.