SB 73-SUCCESSOR OF LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR  3:33:22 PM CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SB 73, "An Act relating to succession to the offices of governor and lieutenant governor in case of vacancy; and providing for an effective date." 3:33:35 PM SENATOR COGHILL, sponsor of SB 73, told the committee that the bill represents an original idea from his intern Radames Mercado. 3:35:05 PM RADAMES MERCADO, Intern, Senator Coghill, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, introduced SB 73 speaking to the following sponsor statement: [Original punctuation provided.] SB 73 changes the current succession model for the governor to simplify and expand the current "chain of command". The bill streamlines the confirmation process and creates a longer line of succession to better prepare the executive branch for a cataclysmic emergency. Today, the line of succession is unprepared for a; in the current environment, an earthquake or plane crash could alter the Alaskan political climate in a moment's notice. This bill's longer line of succession goes through eight of the fourteen commissioners so Alaska can always have a backup of talented individuals who would be able to run the state in a crisis. SB 73's new line of succession would save precious time for the Legislature and commissioners; there would be no committee meetings to approve of a commissioner to be the successor to the lieutenant governor, as would happen in the normal committee hearing for the commissioner role. The bill maintains the statute requiring a special election within a set time frame whenever a vacancy occurs in the position of both the governor and lieutenant governor so the chief executive is always elected by the Alaskan people. With this bill, Alaska will finally have a set line of succession the people of Alaska will be able to understand and clearly follow, removing all disorganization from the current system and increasing productivity in the confirmation process. MR. MERCADO recounted the following list of succession: attorney general, commissioner of health and social services, commissioner of education and early development, commissioner of administration, adjunct general of military and veterans' affairs, commissioner of commerce community and economic development, commissioner of labor and workforce development, and the commissioner of public safety. He noted the existing statute designates the attorney general as acting governor in the event that the offices of governor and lieutenant governor are both vacated. A special election would be held within 60-90 days to elect a new governor and lieutenant governor unless a general election was upcoming. He explained that his reasoning for not including either the president of the Senate or speaker of the House in the line of succession is because he doesn't believe either of those elected offices should be vacated to fill a position temporarily. 3:38:33 PM SENATOR COGHILL asked him to talk about the reason he selected the effective date. MR. MERCADO explained to avoid any appearance of partisanship he selected an effective date that falls after this administration's current term. Thus the bill would become effective on a Monday in December following the 2022 state governor's election 3:39:30 PM SENATOR REINBOLD agreed with the reasoning for the effective date. She reviewed the succession list and questioned why he settled on that order. MR. MERCADO said he put the attorney general first because that person understands and can execute the law. The commissioners of DHSS and DEED are next because they deal with a significant portion of the budget. The commissioner of DOA is next because he or she would have good organizational skills and know how to deal with a governing body. Adjunct general of DMVA was selected because of the significant military population in Alaska. CHAIR SHOWER cautioned that the committee will have to think carefully about the idea of an active duty military officer serving in a political position such as governor of a state. He added that he believes that most people in the country would be nervous about that because throughout history the U.S. has been careful to ensure that military officers become civilians before moving into political seats of power. He opined that military officers, too, would probably be uncomfortable being asked to wear the two hats. 3:42:52 PM MR. MERCADO said he understands that perspective but he doesn't see it as a problem because the position is temporary, not more than a year, and he believes the deputy commissioner for DMVA could step into the adjutant general's position in the interim. CHAIR SHOWER said he appreciates the thought process but he continues to have concern with this selection. It's open to debate, he said, but it's probably not the best choice. MR. MERCADO responded that he welcomes different viewpoints because it will help him make a stronger line of succession for the State of Alaska. 3:45:24 PM SENATOR REINBOLD asked if he would support an elected attorney general because she believes that would take politics out of that position. She also expressed reservation about selecting the commissioners of DHSS and DEED based on their oversight of large budgets because she doesn't want to create competition for larger budgets. MR. MERCADO said he hadn't considered an elected attorney general but if he or she were elected, that would eliminate the need for a special election. He noted that he would not disclose his position on the topic. 3:47:53 PM SENATOR MICCICHE acknowledged that the state has some exposure in its current succession plan and said he would be more comfortable if the positions in line for succession were elected or at least confirmed by the legislature. MR. MERCADO responded it's up to the legislature to confirm or deny the attorney general and the other individuals on the list. If they wouldn't be suitable to serve as lieutenant governor or governor on a temporary basis, that's reason to deny their confirmation during the legislative process. 3:49:55 PM SENATOR COGHILL highlighted that it would require a change in the constitution to have an elected attorney general. 3:50:14 PM SENATOR KAWASAKI said his concerns are similar to Senator Micciche's. He asked if adopting this line of succession essentially says that the person the governor selects as commissioner must also be qualified to assume the office of governor or lieutenant governor. MR. MERCADO replied it would be up to the legislature to determine whether or not the person was qualified to hold the office. SENATOR KAWASAKI said he appreciates the effort to articulate the succession plan [for governor and lieutenant governor] in Art. III, Sec. 10-13 Constitution of the State of Alaska. However, the proposed list could be comprised of people that the legislature has not confirmed, so there is no oversight over who that person might be. He asked if that's correct. MR. MERCADO agreed that is correct. He clarified that this was just an introduction to address a [succession] problem that has gone unnoticed since statehood. SENATOR KAWASAKI offered his belief that a lot of people noticed last year when someone who had been appointed, not elected, became the lieutenant governor designee through a memo. He asked Mr. Mercado if he'd looked at a succession plan that designated the Speaker of the House of Representatives as the next in line. He or she is elected by the voters in their district and elected to be speaker by the members of their legislative body. He asked if that wouldn't be a better avenue to explore. MR. MERCADO replied the general concept is that the governor and lieutenant governor are elected by the Alaskan people as a whole, whereas the speaker and president are only elected by people in their district. Further, requiring these elected officials to run in a special election negates the fact that they were elected to serve potentially longer terms. If they aren't required to run in a special election, just a small portion of Alaskans will have voted for them, not the full state. Another point against the speaker or president being in the line of succession is that it creates the potential for the governor and lieutenant governor to be from different political parties. That can cause issues, he said. SENATOR REINBOLD asked if he looked at the succession plans in other states. MR. MERCADO directed attention to a chart that lists all the states, and Puerto Rico, and their lines of succession. He highlighted that Missouri has put the attorney general at the bottom of the list. The other states address the issue in a variety of ways and he believes "this is an interesting way for the Alaskan way to have their line of succession." 3:56:19 PM CHAIR SHOWER found no further questions and thanked Mr. Mercado for presenting an idea to start the conversation. CHAIR SHOWER held SB 73 in committee.