THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE ETHICS June 8, 1993 1:15 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Joseph Donahue, Chair Ed Granger Margie MacNeille Shirley McCoy Edith Vorderstrasse Senator Jay Kerttula Senator Drue Pearce Representative Brian Porter 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 1:15 p.m. by Chairman Joseph Donahue in the 5th floor conference room of the Anchorage legislative offices. Members present were: Donahue, Granger, Kerttula, MacNeille, McCoy, Pearce, Porter, and Vorderstrasse. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING OF APRIL 22-23, 1993 Chairman Donahue noted that the minutes of the April 15th meeting had been revised to put them into the format adopted, but no changes had been made to the content. Senator Kerttula moved and asked unanimous consent that the minutes of the April 22-23, 1993 meeting be approved. There was no objection and the motion was adopted. 3. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA The agenda was adopted. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT A member of the public inquired when the committee would deal with the complaints before it. Chairman Donahue indicated that the agenda covered what would be addressed at this meeting. The subcommittees would be discussing the complaints before them (which are confidential) in executive session. 4. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT a. PUBLICATION OF THE MINUTES The committee had a request from House Records to publish the minutes. Mr. Granger expressed a desire to have the minutes completed as quickly as possible. Representative Porter suggested that the minutes be sent to members with a certain period of review before they were published. b. REPORTS ON DISCLOSURES The chairman asked if the committee wanted to develop a standardized category of things to be reported on at each meeting. The chairman stated that he and his wife had submitted statements of disclosure. Senator Pearce suggested that the chairman have a copy of the disclosures available at the meetings for the members to review. c. MAIL RECEIVED/ANSWERED The chairman noted that he was receiving information from COGEL (Council on Governmental Ethics Laws) which dealt with ethics issues. The information would be available in the office. d. BUDGET The chairman stated that the committee had not been funded at the requested amount. There was intent language in the budget that passed which said the Legislative Council would help the committee meet its needs. The chairman indicated that he had drafted a memo to Legislative Council summarizing the budget situation. The Legislative Council did take the issue up but did not fund it. Senator Pearce stated that the letter was presented at the Council meeting. The Finance committees had closed out the budget by the time the Ethics budget was presented. She felt that there was money available within the legislature and that by August the legislature would know what the amount of carryforward funds was and then a request to Council could be made. Representative Porter expressed concern regarding the budget and the perception of having to deal with Legislative Council on it. e. OFFICE AND EQUIPMENT The chairman indicated that the Ethics committee had been assigned secure space on the second floor of the new Anchorage legislative space. There was some question about whether the office equipment was available at this time. f. OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES Under authorization of travel and signatory authority, for purposes of travel the chairman had approved the two vice- chairs to sign if he is unavailable. The chairman indicated it was his intent to secure a post office box for the mail. 6. STATUS OF LEGAL AGREEMENT The chairman stated that a contract had been signed with Bogle and Gates and was available in the members' packets. A better price had been negotiated than was presented in the RFP. The contract was valid through June 30, 1993. Ms. MacNeille moved and asked unanimous consent that the committee extend the contract through the end of December. Senator Kerttula moved to amend the motion to a 90-day extension based on the funds available. The amended motion was passed with unanimous consent. 7. SELECTION OF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANT The chairman informed the committee that there had been over 120 applications for the position. The criteria for evaluation was in the members' packets. Ten have been contacted for consideration. Senator Kerttula asked if the legislators other than those on the Ethics Committee could attend the executive session on this issue. Senator Pearce stated that the policy was that any legislator could attend any executive session, but must sign a confidentiality statement. The question of executive sessions regarding complaints and allowing other legislators to attend was raised. It was agreed to seek Mr. Spaan's advice on the issue. EXECUTIVE SESSION At 2:03 p.m. Ms. MacNeille moved and asked unanimous consent that the committee of the whole go into executive session for the purpose of discussion which might be prejudice to the persons involved. The motion was adopted with unanimous consent. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING The committee of the whole reconvened at 2:55 p.m. Senator Pearce moved that the chairman take action on hiring an administrative assistant for the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics after the process and reference check have been completed. There was no objection and the motion was adopted. At 3:05 p.m. Ms. Vorderstrasse moved and asked unanimous consent that the main committee recess for a Senate subcommittee meeting. There was no objection and the motion was adopted. SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING CONVENED The Senate subcommittee was called to order at 3:05 p.m. with all members present. Senator Kerttula moved and asked unanimous consent that the subcommittee go into executive session for the purpose of discussion which might be prejudice to the persons involved. The motion was adopted with unanimous consent. The Senate subcommittee reconvened at 4:50 p.m. in public session. Ms. MacNeille moved and asked unanimous consent that the chairman be authorized to select, negotiate and sign contracts with providers of investigative services under section 150 (b) of the Legislative Procurement Procedures for complaints S1-13 not to exceed a total of $20,000 and to designate the chairman as the project director. Ms. McCoy asked if unanimous consent was allowed when a large amount of money was involved. The chairman indicated that unless someone objected, unanimous consent was allowed. There was no objection and the motion was adopted. The Senate subcommittee was recessed to the committee of the whole. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE RECONVENED The committee of the whole reconvened at 4:57 p.m. The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for August 12th and/or 13th. Ms. MacNeille moved and asked unanimous consent that the committee adjourn. There was no objection and the motion was adopted. The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.