ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL   JULY 13, 2022  10:00 AM   MEMBERS PRESENT  Representative Sara Hannan, Chair  Senator Lora Reinbold, Vice Chair  Representative Matt Claman  Representative Bryce Edgmon  Representative Louise Stutes  Representative Cathy Tilton  Representative Chris Tuck  Senator Lyman Hoffman  Senator Shelley Hughes (alternate)  Senator Peter Micciche  Senator Mike Shower  Senator Bert Stedman    MEMBERS ABSENT  Representative Neal Foster  Senator Click Bishop  Senator Gary Stevens    OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT  Representative David Eastman  Representative Kevin McCabe  Representative Tom McKay  Senator Jesse Kiehl    AGENDA  APPROVAL OF AGENDA  COMMITTEE BUSINESS EXECUTIVE SESSION    SPEAKER REGISTER  Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs  Agency (LAA)  I. Call to Order    10:05 AM  CHAIR HANNAN called the Legislative Council meeting to order at  10:05am in the Denali Room at the Anchorage Legislative Office  Building. Present at the call were Representatives Claman,  Hannan, Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators Hoffman, Hughes,  Micciche, Reinbold, Shower, Stedman.   Eleven members present at the call.    Representative Edgmon joined the meeting at 10:22am.    II. Approval of Agenda    10:06:42 AM  VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that  Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.    The agenda was approved without objection.    III. Committee Business Executive Session  a. Matters Relating to Legislator Social Media Accounts    10:08:07 AM  VICE CHAIR REINBOLD moved and asked unanimous consent that  Legislative Council go into Executive Session under Uniform Rule  22(B)(1), discussion of matters, the immediate knowledge of  which would adversely affect the finances of a government unit  and 22(B)(3), discussion of a matter that may, by law, be  required to be confidential. The following individuals may  remain in the room or online for the Executive Session: Jessica  Geary, Sant? Lesh, Megan Wallace, Emily Nauman, Alex Foote,  Angela Stephl, any legislators not on Legislative Council, and  any staff of Legislative Council members.    10:08:54 AM  A roll call vote was taken.    YEAS: Representatives Claman, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton, Tuck;  Senators Hoffman, Hughes, Micciche, Reinbold, Shower, Stedman.    NAYS: None.    The motion passed 11-0.    10:09:38 AM  Council went into Executive Session.    1:04:34 PM  Council came out of Executive Session.    1:04:46 PM  A roll call vote was taken to establish a quorum.    Representatives Edgmon, Hannan, Stutes, Tilton, Tuck; Senators  Hughes, Micciche, Reinbold, Shower, Stedman.    Ten members present.    CHAIR HANNAN asked Ms. Geary to speak about the working draft  on Legislative Council's Social Media Policy.    JESSICA GEARY, Executive Director of the Legislative Affairs  Agency (LAA), said that Legislative Council was tasked with  updating the Social Media Guidelines. These guidelines were last  updated September 2011, much has changed in the world of social  media, and the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics  recommended that the policy be updated, specifically pertaining  to comments. LAA reached out to the National Conference of State  Legislatures, Council of State Governments, and administrators  in other states for information on what legislatures have social  media policies and how they handle legislative social media  activity. LAA modeled the working draft under consideration  after the Colorado Legislature's social media policy.    She said in essence there is no requirement for a legislator to  have a social media account, either official or personal;  however, if a legislator chooses to have a personal social media  account, it is recommended to not post about legislative matters  on that personal account because it could open that page up to  scrutiny and may be considered a government account or limited  public forum. In other words, personal and legislative social  media pages should be kept separate. She said to mitigate the  risk that a personal account will be interpreted as an official  account, legislators should maintain the highest privacy  settings, not make a personal account available to the public,  and designate it as a personal accountnot public or official.  A personal account should not have the appearance of an official  or public account, should not include official email addresses,  and should not ask for feedback about legislative matters.    Ms. Geary said that if a legislator chooses to have an official  account, the recommendation is that they consider it more of a  bulletin board account where they post information, but do not  allow dialogue which does not allow for a public forum. If a  legislator chooses to use a social media page as an official  account and allows people to engage regardless of what is being  written, whether it is hateful or defamatory, the recommendation  is to not delete, block, or hide. She said, everything goes or  nothing goesis the safest way to avoid risk of litigation.    Ms. Geary said if a member is sued based on information on their  social media page, the courts will apply different tests and  this is the safest recommendation. She directed members'  attention to a warning contained in the policy that if a  legislators use of a social media account does not adhere to  the recommendations outlined above, the legislator assumes all  risks and responsibilities for any litigation that results from  that choice. She stated that she and Legal Services Director  Megan Wallace were available for questions.    VICE CHAIR REINBOLD expressed concerns about constitutional  rights for privacy and freedom of speech, that she believes  there needs to be decorum on social media platforms and has many  questions about those platforms.    REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON stated that the policy should include  definitions for an official account and "personal account" to  delineate the difference, as well as legislative matters, for  which no definition exists in statute as far as he is aware, and  which may mean something different in the area of social media.  He also wanted clarity on the definition of legislative staff.  He further suggested that the policy be edited to delete the  sentence that states it is not a requirement for a legislator  to have a social media account, as legislators already know  that.    MS. GEARY thanked Representative Edgmon for his suggestions and  agreed that defining some of the terms would help make the policy  clearer and lead to less confusion.    SENATOR HUGHES stated that the policy needs work, and she is not  ready to approve it. She does not agree with the limits placed  on personal accounts and feels she would be enabling criminal  action by not blocking certain comments, such as violent  threats, on social media, and that it would be a liability to  the Legislature to leave some comments up. She also stated that  some legislators need to have access to the comments to connect  with their constituents, which could be an equal protection  issue, and the all or nothing policy is not feasible. She  suggested there be a warning system in place for commenters  before blocking them on social media.    CHAIR HANNAN reminded the committee that this is a working draft.    SENATOR HUGHES thanked the committee for the work that has been  done, but stated that those working on it do not have the social  media experience that she has and that she believes there needs  to be input from legislators.    CHAIR HANNAN agreed that they will be taking notes and  considering legislators feedback about the policy.    VICE CHAIR REINBOLD said she agreed with the comments of  Representative Edgmon and Senator Hughes and cannot approve this  policy in its current draft form. She does not believe that the  Legislative Ethics Committee should be creating this policy but  that it should be the legislators.    IV. ADJOURN    1:29:29 PM  CHAIR HANNAN said with nothing further to come before Council,  the meeting is adjourned.