ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL   JUNE 25, 2025  1:00 PM   MEMBERS PRESENT  Representative Sara Hannan, Chair  Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair  Representative Ashley Carrick  Representative Bryce Edgmon  Representative Calvin Schrage  Representative Louise Stutes  Senator Cathy Giessel  Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson  Senator Lyman Hoffman  Senator Jesse Kiehl    MEMBERS ABSENT  Representative Chuck Kopp  Representative Mike Prax  Representative Donna Mears (alternate)  Senator Matt Claman  Senator Bert Stedman  Senator Löki Tobin(alternate)    OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT  NONE    AGENDA  APPROVAL OF AGENDA  APPROVAL OF MINUTES  COMMITTEE BUSINESS    SPEAKER REGISTER  JC Kestel, Procurement Officer, Legislative Affairs Agency  (LAA)  Shay Wilson, Chief Information Officer, LAA  Angela Garay, Executive Director, Office of Victims Rights  (OVR)    I. CALL TO ORDER    1:01:27 PM  CHAIR HANNAN called the Legislative Council meeting to order  at 1:00pm on June 25, 2025, in the Anchorage Legislative  Office Building, Denali Room.    1:03:00 PM  Council took a brief at ease due to teleconference audio  difficulties.    1:10:17 PM  Council returned from the brief at ease.    Present at the call were Representatives Carrick, Edgmon,  Schrage, Stutes, Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson,  Hoffman, Kiehl, Stevens.    Ten members present.    II. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA    1:11:23 PM  VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved and asked unanimous consent that the  Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.    The motion passed without objection.    III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES    1:11:48 PM  VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved and asked unanimous consent that  Legislative Council approve the meeting minutes dated May 7,  2025, as presented.    The minutes were approved without objection.    IV. COMMITTEE BUSINESS  a. Fairbanks LIO Lease Extension Renewal No. 5    1:12:17 PM  VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve  Renewal No. 5 of the lease for the Fairbanks office space in  an amount of $219,450.48.    CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked  Procurement Officer JC Kestel to speak to this item.    JC KESTEL, Procurement Officer, LAA, stated that there is a  memo in members' packets about the Fairbanks lease renewal,  which is the final renewal before a possible lease extension  or new RFP. If approved, the lease would run from August 1,  2025, through July 31, 2026. Because the lease exceeds $50,000  annually, Legislative Council approval is required.    REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked what the square footage is of the  Fairbanks office space and how many legislators use the space.    MR. KESTEL responded that Fairbanks has a total square footage  of 9,049 feet with eight legislators having office space  there.    CHAIR HANNAN added that, in addition to those eight  legislators, six more offices are used by staff of other  legislators who do not represent Fairbanks, explaining that  legislators can have staff based in LIOs outside their  districts.    REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked if she could have an office in  Sitka if she wanted one.    CHAIR HANNAN responded that the practice has been to  accommodate staff in LIOs if a legislator has staff in that  location.    SENATOR GIESSEL said she has a staff member based in the Kenai  LIO who lives in Soldotna even though she is an Anchorage  legislator.    REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK commented that the Fairbanks LIO is  heavily used, with all available space converted to offices  and sees high foot traffic. She asked whether alternative LIO  locations have been identified or discussed.    MR. KESTEL answered that no research has been done yet because  they have not exercised the final renewal. If this renewal is  approved, the Agency plans to start that process in the fall  to decide whether a lease extension is practical, or a new  solicitation is needed for possible expansion or relocation  next summer.    CHAIR HANNAN, noting there were no further questions, removed  her objection and asked for a roll call vote.    1:18:15 PM  YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,  Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,  Stevens    NAYS: none    The motion passed 10-0.    b. Mat-Su LIO Lease Extension Renewal No. 4    1:19:22 PM  VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve  Renewal No. 4 of the lease for the Mat-Su office space in an  amount of $193,504.44.    CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked  Procurement Officer JC Kestel to speak to this item.    JC KESTEL, Procurement Officer, LAA, stated that the next memo  in the packet covers Lease Renewal No. 4 for the Mat-Su LIO.  This renewal would be for one year, from August 1, 2025,  through July 31, 2026. After this, only one more one-year  renewal would remain before the Agency must issue a new  solicitation. He noted that the lease exceeds $50,000  annually, so Legislative Council approval is required.    CHAIR HANNAN, seeing no questions or discussion, removed her  objection and asked for a roll call vote.    1:20:41 PM  YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,  Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,  Stevens    NAYS: none    The motion passed 10-0.    c. Westlaw Contract Amendment    1:21:40 PM  VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved and asked that Legislative Council  adopt Amendment No. 1 of the Agency's contract for online  legal research services from West, a Thompson Reuters  Business, to increase the number of access accounts by four  and increase the contract amount by $15,826.13, to a total of  $242,321.75.    CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked  JC Kestel to speak to this item. She further noted that Emily  Nauman and Megan Wallace with Legislative Legal were available  on teleconference, and Angela Garay, with the Office of  Victims' Rights was available in the room.    JC KESTEL, Procurement Officer, LAA, stated that this was an  amendment request. Unlike most items where he asks to spend  money, this request is to save money. The amendment would add  the Office of Victims' Rights (OVR) to the Legislative Legal  Services contract with West to allow OVR attorneys online  legal research access. He said the Agency and OVR got separate  quotes but having OVR on its own contract was quite expensive.  Combining contracts saves over $21,000. With committee  approval, OVR would be added to the existing Legal Services  contract.    SENATOR KIEHL said that legislative offices can have either a  Westlaw or LexisNexis account and asked if those are a  separate contract or part of the Legislative Legal contract.    MR. KESTEL responded that was a separate contract, and that  this particular contract is just for Legislative Legal.    SENATOR KIEHL concluded stating that he did not wish to make  any additional amendments to the contract currently before  Council, but hoped they might create similar savings  opportunities in the future.    MR. KESTEL stated that he would make a note to look into it  internally and see what could be done.    CHAIR HANNAN recognized Ms. Garay, Executive Director of the  Office of Victims' Rights, and asked if she would like to come  forward and address the committee.    ANGELA GARAY, Executive Director, Office of Victim Rights  (OVR),  replied that she was available to answer any questions and  added that she brought updated OVR brochures for anyone  interested.    CHAIR HANNAN seeing no further questions or discussion,  removed her objection and asked for a roll call vote.  1:25:50 PM  YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,  Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,  Stevens    NAYS: none    The motion passed 10-0.    d. FY2026 Microsoft Enterprise Software Agreement Renewal No.  2    1:27:18 PM  VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve the  expenditure of $313,077 for the second of five annual  installments to Software House International (SHI) that  licenses the Legislature to use Microsoft's software.    CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked  Chief Information Officer Shay Wilson to speak to this item.    SHAY WILSON, Chief Information Officer, LAA, stated that  members have a memo in their packets about the Microsoft  Enterprise Agreement. In 2024, Legislative Council approved a  five-year contract with Microsoft that includes annual  renewals, and this is the second renewal. He explained that  the Microsoft software licenses cover a wide range of  applications used daily, including the computer operating  systems; Office programs like Word and Excel; email; storage;  Teams; SharePoint; and all the server software supporting  BASIS, file system storage, and databases required to store  and track the bill process. The contract was negotiated in  conjunction with the Executive and Judicial Branches and used  Software House International to get the lowest pricing. The  total cost for year one is $313,077, to be paid from FY2025  Division of Technology and Information operating funds.    CHAIR HANNAN, seeing no questions or discussion, removed her  objection and asked for a roll call vote.    1:29:45 PM  YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,  Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,  Stevens    NAYS: none    The motion passed 10-0.  e. Darktrace Cybersecurity Software Renewal    1:30:36 PM  VICE CHAIR STEVENS moved that Legislative Council approve the  expenditure of $67,404 to Software House International (SHI)  to license the legislature to continue to use Darktrace.    CHAIR HANNAN objected for the purpose of discussion and asked  Shay Wilson to speak to this item.    SHAY WILSON, Chief Information Officer, LAA, stated that  members have a memo about the Darktrace renewal in their  packets. He said Darktrace is one of several cybersecurity  tools the Division of Technology and Information (DTI) uses to  help protect the legislature. The software learns the normal  work habits of each device on the network and monitors  traffic, alerting the cybersecurity team if something deviates  from usual behavior. He noted they have used Darktrace for  three years, but until now it stayed below the cost threshold  requiring Legislative Council approval. Without this renewal,  the team would lose valuable visibility into network activity.  The renewal cost is $67,404.    DISCUSSION FOLLOWED between Senator Kiehl and Shay Wilson  regarding: the types of information the monitoring software  collects and how it tracks user interactions on the network;  the limits of the technology's visibility, including whether  it can read email contents, view VPN traffic, or monitor  activity on external Wi-Fi; the system's ability to detect  connections from foreign locations; and assurances that data  collected by the software remains secure, including  clarification that the legislature uses the locally hosted  version where all data stays under legislative control.    SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked whether this cybersecurity system  acts as a failsafe against users clicking on links in emails  that could be threats.    MR. WILSON responded that while there are multiple  cybersecurity tools in place to help with that, this  particular system likely would not prevent it. However, it  could alert his cybersecurity team if it happens. He added  that they also use Proofpoint to filter email and Palo Alto  systems, which Legislative Council approved, to block such  malicious activity.    REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked if the company does not have  access to legislative information, how is DTI notified if  there is a problem.    MR. WILSON, explained that when problems arise, DTI's  cybersecurity team is notified by email and text message  twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.    CHAIR HANNAN noted that the legislature has used this system  for three years and asked if the Council's IT Subcommittee has  discussed this issue with the DTI cybersecurity team.    MR. WILSON responded that DTI discussed it internally and  procured the system after several high-profile cybersecurity  incidents elsewhere. DTI has not yet discussed it with the IT  Subcommittee but will make a point to do so.    CHAIR HANNAN followed up to ask if his team has been satisfied  with the system's performance over those three years.    MR. WILSON said his team is very happy with the visibility and  notifications it provides, explaining that they are aware of  much more activity than they would be otherwise.    CHAIR HANNAN, seeing no further questions or discussion,  removed her objection and asked for a roll call vote.    1:42:22 PM  YEAS: Representatives Carrick, Edgmon, Schrage, Stutes,  Hannan; Senators Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kiehl,  Stevens    NAYS: none    The motion passed 10-0.    V. ADJOURNMENT    There being no further business before the committee, the  Legislative Council meeting was adjourned at 1:43pm.  1:43:34 PM