SB 211-REGULATIONS: NOTICE AND DISTRIBUTION    CRAIG TILLERY, with the Department of Law, testified via teleconference. He explained the bill relates to making notices for proposed regulations more readable. It is designed to improve public notice for changes to regulation and to reduce cost through elimination of unnecessary action, the use of the Internet and shortening notice periods. The full sectional analysis found in the bill file addresses four basic changes: · Changes the requirements in the Administrative Procedure Act for publishing notice · Makes notice distribution consistent across agencies · Newspaper notices may be omitted for certain specialized subject areas in which Internet notification would be better suited · Changes the requirements for distribution of the Administrative Code to local government units CHAIR GARY STEVENS noted the savings aren't reflected in the fiscal note. MR. TILLERY said there is a revised fiscal note indicating a $258,000 savings and it's possible it wasn't sent to the committee. CHAIR GARY STEVENS confirmed they hadn't received the revised note. SENATOR LYMAN HOFFMAN pointed out that one copy of the AAC should be made available at no charge to cities that request one. The state would still realize a savings if copies weren't automatically sent to all communities. TAPE 03-29, SIDE A  5:05 pm    MR. TILLERY replied there are three ways to get copies. A community could go online and print a copy if Internet access were available, or a copy could be sent electronically, or a paper copy could be sent to the community. By making communities pay for copies they hope to give them the incentive to use the most efficient alternative. SENATOR HOFFMAN said that wasn't his question. MR. TILLERY replied he understood the question to ask why communities should pay. SENATOR HOFFMAN restated his question and asked why not mail one free copy to communities that request one and eliminate the cost associated with automatic mailings to all communities. Additionally, he disagreed with charging for an electronic mailing. Charging communities for a copy of the code is promoting a lack of information and is not a desirable public policy direction. MR. TILLERY replied this approach represents a savings to the state. SENATOR HOFFMAN said he represents some 70 communities and this policy change would be a drastic mistake. ROBERT PIERSON, Administrative Code coordinator in the Lieutenant Governor's Office, said they are working toward efficient online communication. He said it's the quarterly supplements that are sent to communities that they believe are frequently discarded, which is a waste of state funds. To date they have received no negative comments regarding the change, but they don't know how many of the clerks have read their email outlining the change. The Administrative Code is currently online, but "it's not quite perfected yet." They would like to make improvements "so that it would be not necessarily official, but useful for 99 percent of any kind of consultation you would normally take on a day to day basis with the Administrative Code." When legal questions arise, a city clerk would consult a city attorney. They are continuing to offer the paper copies because there are a few places that don't have Internet access. The contract for publishing the Administrative Code will expire at the end of 2003 and under current language the state would be required to buy about 170 paper copies of the quarterly supplements whether they extend the current contract or request proposals for a new one. They would like the increased flexibility to have a mix of options to negotiate with the current publisher and for future contracts. SENATOR HOFFMAN said if they were really trying to increase accessibility he couldn't understand why there would be a charge for electronic copies. The proposed system would offer no incentive for moving away from a paper copy if the city was forced to pay for an electronic copy as well. CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked for verification that the electronic copy would be available on a CD ROM and not via email. MR. PIERSON said that was the case. The current cost for the four quarterly supplements is $596 per year and he didn't know whether that would burden small communities or not. CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked what the price would be for a CD ROM. MR. PIERSON said that would be negotiated with the publishers. Currently there is a CD ROM available that has both the Administrative Code and the statutes. He pointed out that cities are now paying for copies of the statutes and he looks upon it as an historical accident that the state is still paying for code books. SENATOR HOFFMAN pointed out it isn't necessary to put the information on a CD ROM. It could and should be freely available on the Internet. MARK DAVIS, Director of Banking Securities and Corporations, testified the bill would impact his division by allowing for notices regarding proposed regulations to be made in a simplified manner. This is consistent in the trend in administrative law, which reduces publication costs and uses simplified notification methods to reach individuals that are interested in commenting on proposed regulations. The proposed change in procedure would probably save the division $7,800 a year and is already being used by the federal government and some states. Section 26 with regard to securities, and section 1 with respect to the revised Trust Act would be of particular impact to his division. RANDY REUDRICH from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission testified via teleconference to advise that the bill would save the commission $20,000 a year in publishing costs. Members of the industry exclusively attend the commission meetings and he does not believe that the public notices increase attendance. SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS asked Mr. Reudrich to clarify that the commission meetings weren't held exclusively for industry and that they weren't prohibitive of others attending. MR. REUDRICH replied the industry, the media, and other interested parties who might attend have all given positive feedback regarding short term updates available electronically. LINDA HALL, director of the Division of Insurance, testified that newspaper publications for public notices have been unsuccessful for the division. She said most of the regulations they promulgate are technical in nature and directed at those they regulate. The division currently regulates 12,000 registered insurance companies and just 11 are domiciled in Alaska; they have 2,500 resident licensees and over 12,000 non-resident licensees. This translates to only 16 percent of the licensed agents and one percent of the insurance companies actually having ready access to newspaper publications. She observed the act doesn't prohibit the division from delivering publications when the matter is in the public interest. Last year the Division of Insurance spent $9,700 for newspaper advertising and they estimate this change would save them $7,300. They would continue to do targeted mailings because they are an effective way to get information out about upcoming hearings. Although she hasn't been in the director position very long, she has attended almost every Division of Insurance hearing in the last ten years and can attest that they aren't widely attended by the public, which means the money spent on newspaper publications have not been effective. CHAIR GARY STEVENS announced he would hold SB 211 in committee.