ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL   MAY 12, 2021  5:00 PM    MEMBERS PRESENT  Representative Sara Hannan, Chair  Senator Lora Reinbold, Vice Chair  Representative Matt Claman  Representative Bryce Edgmon  Representative Neal Foster  Representative Louise Stutes  Representative Cathy Tilton  Representative Chris Tuck  Senator Click Bishop  Senator Peter Micciche  Senator Mike Shower  Senator Bert Stedman  Senator Gary Stevens      MEMBERS ABSENT  Senator Lyman Hoffman  Senator Shelley Hughes (alternate)      OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT  Senators Kiehl, Wilson; Representatives McCabe, Merrick      AGENDA  APPROVAL OF AGENDA  COMMITTEE BUSINESS  CONTRACT APPROVALS      SPEAKER REGISTER  Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs  Agency (LAA)  Tim Banaszak, Information Technology Manager, LAA    5:04:12 PM    I. CALL TO ORDER    CHAIR HANNAN called the Legislative Council meeting to  order at 5:05pm in the House Finance Committee Room.  Present at the call were: Representatives Edgmon, Hannan,  Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche, Reinbold,  Shower, Stedman, Stevens.    Members absent were: Representatives Claman, Foster;  Senator Hoffman.    Eleven members present.    Representative Foster joined the meeting at 5:08pm and  Representative Claman joined at 5:10pm.    II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA    5:05:12 PM  VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that  Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.    REPRESENTATIVE TILTON objected and stated that the Chair  had indicted there would be a future meeting, but asked,  before this agenda is approved, when they would have a  meeting to receive an update from the COVID-19 policy work  group.    CHAIR HANNAN responded that Ms. Geary addressed the COVID- 19 policy working group about changes in testing and  screening. She asked Ms. Geary if there were any other  changes from that committee that were not reported out  already in writing.    JESSICA GEARY responded there were not, however the  committee has not met again.    REPRESENTATIVE TILTON said that was her questionwhen will  there be a meeting regarding these policies?    CHAIR HANNAN said so the first question was the workgroup,  which did their task and is done. The second question-when  there is enough time, energy, and votes to have a meeting  to conclude that, which she suspects will not happen  between now and day 121.    REPRESENTATIVE TILTON said she thought the policies put  forward by the workgroup were going to be discussed amongst  the Legislature as a whole and adopted by the Legislative  Council.    CHAIR HANNAN said to clarify, there are a number of  Legislative Council items that need to be dealt with. This  meeting is only addressing things with a time sensitive  nature contract expenditures with a deadline this month  and some contracts to be executed (a lease, and two IT  items). The remainder of pending items will be taken up  when there is time for a longer meeting.    REPRESENTATIVE TILTON followed up to her objection and said  she is just seeking a time for the opportunity to ratify  those decisions made by the work group and have further  COVID-19 policy discussions. She said she understands that  timing is of the essence but believes there are things  within the work group that are of essence as well on this  policy regarding the amount of vaccination that is  happening throughout this building, which is why she is  asking.    CHAIR HANNAN responded that she is not trying to be evasive  but knows that the next meeting will require a significant  amount of time and she does not foresee finding time when  the majority of members can be present. The three items  before Council today are very specific and short timeframes  in which Council must respond; that is the reason they are  being dealt with separately.    REPRESENTATIVE TILTON thanked the Chair and said as time is  of the essence and the Legislature is close to 121 days,  she understood and removed her objection.    SENATOR SHOWER objected to the motion and said he has been  asking for months for a chance to discuss the current  policy and the money approved to continue it. A small group  of people have had a chance to discuss it, but the broader  Council has not, and it affects everyone. He removed his  objection, but said he is putting it on the record that  there are those who would like to have the chance to  discuss the policy. Thank you.    CHAIR HANNAN said seeing no further objections, the motion  is approved.    III. COMMITTEE BUSINESS    A. FY22 ANNUAL COMPUTER HARDWARE REFRESH    5:10:21 PM  VICE-CHAIR REINBOLD moved that the Legislative Council  approve FY22 hardware refresh expenditure of $152,350.    CHAIR HANNAN objected for purposes of discussion and asked  Tim Banaszak to please come forward and explain this issue.    TIM BANASZAK, Information Technology Manager for the  Legislature, said before you is the hardware refresh memo.  Part of the reason this needs to be addressed now is that  supply chains are tightening, computer equipment costs are  going up, and to meet any attempt at FY22 interim hardware  refresh upgrades, IT needs to try to get this equipment in  and underway.    Mr. Banaszak noted that there is a very active, engaged,  and well-attended IT Subcommittee and thanked Chair Hannan  for appointing it. That Subcommittee has reviewed these two  requests, including the hardware refresh which consists of  seventy-five laptop workstations, ten laser printers,  ninety-five monitors, for a total of $152,350.    This hardware refresh is based on a five-year computer  refresh cycle, related to the age of equipment, upkeep  costs, performance, and obsolescence. It is also consistent  with the Three-Year Technology Plan that Council has and  standardizes a single printer make and model to reduce  toner cartridge and maintenance costs. It also assigns one  printer in the Capitol office, so shipping back and forth  is not necessary, which saves costs.    Mr. Banaszak continued that the other important thing to  note is this request, for the first time, does not include  any desktop workstation computers, only laptops. That is  important during COVID-19 and post-COVID since employees  are working in a new environment where instead of having a  desktop and a laptop, now they can just pick up their  laptop and go wherever necessary.    He said finally, it is important to know this has been  vetted through procurement for best, government pricing, so  the Legislature is getting the best buy at discount  pricing. He said he is happy to answer any questions.    SENATOR REINBOLD offered thanks to Mr. Banaszak. She said  her office had to call the Help Desk quite a bit this  session and has had excellent support. Her staff enjoyed  serving on the IT Subcommittee, but even during the hard  time when the line was clipped or the disruption, IT did an  excellent job. She said she is extremely supportive of  this.    SENATOR BISHOP said it has been some time since he heard  this in Senate Finance, but he believed there was over a  million dollars' worth of computers bought through the  Department of Administration for remote work for State  employees. As those employees come back into the building,  he believes the Governor is moving toward that direction,  has Mr. Banaszak had any cross-pollination talks with DOA  and what do they plan on doing with the million dollars'  worth of computers they purchased? Is there any way the  Legislature could get a sweetheart deal going forward? Not  wanting to stop anything we are doing here, Madame Chair,  but it is a legitimate question if the Legislature could  re-purpose some of those computers. Thank you.    MR. BANASZAK responded that the contract the Legislature  used was developed through the Executive and Legislative  branches and, as a result, takes advantage of volume  discounts. He said that he and the heads of IT for the  Executive and Judicial branches meet once per month to  discuss IT initiatives, cost savings, how to take advantage  of the three branches of government and discounts and  repurpose hardware. With some of the situations going on  now, each branch is very much helping each other. The  funding for most of this comes from the same barrel of oil we try to be good stewards of our assets and are all  serving the public. So absolutely Senator Bishop, good  point. Specifically, about repurposing, if there is  equipment available, in trying to be good stewards, there  is no equipment being pulled out or sent away, the  Legislature reuses its equipment, but cannot budget for  both a desktop and a laptop computer.    CHAIR HANNAN said that recently the Court System had some  technology problems and Legislative Affairs was able to  accommodate the Court System using the Anchorage LIO  location to run their payroll without the risk of being  hacked. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes collaboration the Legislature was not at risk in assisting them in  running their payrollso the Court system was shut down,  but not unemployed.    SENATOR STEVENS asked Mr. Banaszak to please explain the  five-year computer refresh cycle. Does that mean in the  period of five years the Legislature will replace all  equipment?    MR. BANASZAK said ideally, yes, each legislator and  staffer's primary computer should handle the latest  software, the latest operating system, and work reasonably  well. The legislature also must keep our equipment,  especially now, so the intent is by the time these are  getting into the five-year range, they will start slowing  down and IT does not want that impacting productivity.  Older computers are used for lower uses or become spares  for emergency use. For example, IT recently pulled a lot of  spare laptops and portable equipment to respond to COVID- 19; unfortunately, several staff had to use slower, older  computers, but at least they could get online.    REPRESENTATIVE TILTON asked if Mr. Banaszak could offer a  brief update on the Three-Year Technology plan.    MR. BANASZAK responded that in 2008, he may need to confirm  the year, the Legislative Council thought it was prudent to  have a Three-Year Technology plan. He said it is an  opportunitythe current plan expires in calendar 2021 and  will soon need updating. That is drafted through the IT  Subcommittee, then brought to the full Council for  adoption. Primarily, the plan looks at current priority  issues that face the Legislature and things it will need to  respond to. Secondly, it considers the business drivers  that the Legislature faces, for example: financial systems,  the current COVID-19 responsea technology and paradigm  shift to go from desktop computers to refreshing with  laptops, and electronic and remote voting systems. It is an  opportunity for that one to three year plan so that when IT  brings requests forward like this, it has not just reacted  to something individually, but is an IT roadmap that gets  refreshed.    REPRESENTATIVE TILTON said she has not had an opportunity  to review the Legislature's technology budget and is asking  if these items fall within the budget allotment that we  have for these items.    MR. BANASZAK said that is a very important point. Both  requests before Council today are annual recurring expenses  and have been right at $150,000, sometimes slightly more,  never less. The last ten years have been consistent  amounts. The hardware refresh request is from capital  funds, so it is an equipment line item and is almost to the  dollar of what we spend every year.    CHAIR HANNAN asked that the minutes reflect that  Representative Foster joined the meeting at 5:08pm and  Representative Claman joined at 5:10pm. She asked if there  were questions from other members then restated the motion  to approve the FY22 hardware refresh expenditure of  $152,350.    5:22:23 PM  A roll call vote was taken.    YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,  Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche, Reinbold,  Shower, Stedman, Stevens.    NAYS: None    The motion passed 13-0.    B. FY22 MICROSOFT ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE RENEWAL    5:23:09 PM  SENATOR REINBOLD moved that the Legislative Council  authorize the IT Subcommittee recommendation for the  Microsoft FY22 licensing payment to SHI not to exceed  $175,000.    CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and  asked Mr. Banaszak to speak to this item.    MR. BANASZAK said as was noted, this is a software request,  whereas the last item was a hardware request. This annual  payment is due July 1, 2021.    He said that in 2018, Legislative Council approved the  first installment of the State of Alaska's three-year  contract with extension provisions with Software House  International (SHI). This contract provides Microsoft  products, including Windows 10, Windows server operating  systems, and the Office software suite (Word, Excel,  Outlook, PowerPoint, Skype for Business, OneNote,  Publisher, and Teams).    This agreement also provides licensing to operate critical  infrastructure and systems, including Windows 10 PC/OS,  Windows Server, SQL databases including BASIS, network  storage (N drives), SharePoint, and web servers, including  www.akleg.gov and the Intranet. Part of the contract  includes secure email, archiving, and protected OneDrive  file sharing, software licensing, and collaboration for  mobile devices. Further, the agreement provides video and  audio conferencing tools using Microsoft Teams. Finally, it  safeguards applications, operating systems, and databases  by providing the most current security updates and software  versioning.    This renewal, which begins July 1, 2021, provides the  benefits of reduced-volume pricing, enhanced technical  support, regular software upgrades, and training for  technical and non-technical staff. The IT Subcommittee has  reviewed the renewal and recommends Legislative Council  approve this request.    The Legislature's portion of the agreement for FY2022 is  estimated to be $175,000, which is budgeted under the  Administrative Services allocation and requires Legislative  Council approval. If this request were not approved, the  Legislature would no longer have access to email, Microsoft  Office software, and leave critical infrastructure systems  exposed to internet malware. Mr. Banaszak said he is happy  to answer any questions.    SENATOR REINBOLD said her staff is on the Subcommittee and  really enjoys the technical work, so she will support the  motion, however, does not care for Microsoft products. She  said this is something the Subcommittee is working on with  the phone system, and she prefers not to have all the eggs  in one basket. She said that is a topic for another day and  has expressed her concerns with Mr. Banaszak. With that,  she will support this motion.    SENATOR STEVENS said there has been discussion, with  nothing yet decided, about remote meetings of committees not on the floorbut the Legislature has a lot yet to  accomplish and solve due to COVID-19. He asked if this puts  the Legislature in a position to be able to accommodate  remote committee meetings or is it already in that  position.    MR. BANASZAK responded that in Senator Stevens' previous  role as Council Chair, the Legislature started building  capability to have remote meetings. Some of that capability  is built into the existing system, some relies on the  licensing before Council today for the operating systems,  servers, Teams, video conferencing, and our BASIS system.  For a member to vote in committee remotely, that is part of  this system. This is not everything, but it is a big part  of that infrastructure framework. IT staff continue work to  build it out, but the remote committee capability relies  heavily on this renewal, and we are looking at expanding  some of the software capabilities to better support remote  committees.    SENATOR REINBOLD offered one more compliment. She said she  was one of the first people, as Judiciary Chair, to use the  big screen and was able to remote in so many cool people  which made the committee much better, so thank you for  that. She said that State Affairs has done a super good job  helping work remotely as well. She continued that with her  concern with Alaska Airlines she is more interested than  ever in what Senators Shower and Stevens have proposed  working remotely so this absolutely has her support sooner  rather than later and hopes operating remotely can be on  the next agenda.    CHAIR HANNAN removed her objection and reprised the motion  to authorize the IT Subcommittee recommendation for the  Microsoft FY22 licensing payment to SHI not to exceed  $175,000.    5:30:29 PM  A roll call vote was taken.    YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,  Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche, Reinbold,  Shower, Stedman, Stevens.    NAYS: None    The motion passed 13-0.    IV. CONTRACT APPROVAL    Chair Hannan explained this item will require an Executive  Session to discuss RFP 643 for the Bethel LIO. After review  during Executive Session, Council will come back to the  full public session and act on a decision on the RFP.    SENATOR REINBOLD moved that Legislative Council go into  executive session under Uniform Rule 22(b)(1) and (3),  discussion of matters, the immediate knowledge of which  would adversely affect the finances of a government unit  and discussion of a matter that may, by law, be required to  be confidential. The following individuals can remain in  the room or online: Jessica Geary, Sant? Lesh, Molly  Kiesel, JC Kestel, Tim Powers, Megan Wallace, Emily Nauman,  legislators not on Legislative Council, and any staff of a  Legislative Council member.    5:32:20 PM.  Council went into Executive Session at 5:32pm.    5:49:06 PM  Council came out of Executive Session at 5:49pm.    SENATOR REINBOLD moved that Legislative Council approve the  award of RFP 643 for the Bethel Office Space to Bethel  Native Corporation Suites 214 and 215 for a five year lease  and a five year optional one year renewal.    CHAIR HANNAN asked if there was any objection. Hearing none  a roll call vote was taken.    YEAS: Representatives Claman, Edgmon, Foster, Hannan,  Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Bishop, Micciche, Reinbold,  Shower, Stedman, Stevens.    NAYS: None    The motion passed 13-0.    V. ADJOURN    CHAIR HANNAN said if there is nothing further to come  before Council, we are adjourned at 5:50pm.    5:50:41 PM