ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  SELECT COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE ETHICS  SEPTEMBER 22, 2020  10:00 AM   FULL COMMITTEE     10:02:51 AM    1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER    Lee Holmes called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. on  September 22, 2020, and asked Jerry Anderson to conduct  roll call.    Roll call    Senator John Coghill (telephonic)  Senator Tom Begich (telephonic)  Representative DeLena Johnson (telephonic)  Representative Louise Stutes (telephonic) Conner Thomas (telephonic)  Lee Holmes (telephonic)  Joyce Anderson  Deb Fancher(telephonic)    Skip Cook - absent    Quorum present.    Others    Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson (telephonic)  Senator David Wilson (telephonic)  Jerry Anderson  Jacqui Yeagle  Skiff Lobaugh (telephonic)    10:05:00 AM    2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA    Lee Holmes entertained a motion to approve the agenda.    Motion made by Senator Tom Begich    There were no objections.    The agenda was approved.    3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES    Lee Holmes entertained a motion to accept the January 21,  2020 Full Committee meeting minutes.    Motion made by Representative Louise Stutes    There were no objections.    The minutes were approved.    Lee Holmes entertained a motion to accept the May 27, 2020  Senate Subcommittee meeting minutes.    Motion made by Senator Tom Begich    There were no objections.    The minutes were approved.    10:06:32 AM    4. PUBLIC COMMENT    No public comment.    10:07:12 AM    5. CHAIR/STAFF REPORT    a. Planning for 2021 training    Lee Holmes asked Jerry Anderson if Skiff Lobaugh was  planning to call in to the meeting for discussion on the  agenda item.    Jerry Anderson replied that as of the day prior to the  meeting, it was his understanding that Skiff Lobaugh  planned to attend for discussion of the agenda item.    Skiff Lobaugh announced that he was present and available  to answer questions.    Lee Holmes thanked Skiff Lobaugh for announcing his  presence.    Lee Holmes asked Jerry Anderson to open a discussion about  the 2021 ethics training.    Jerry Anderson thanked Lee Holmes and directed the  committees attention to the meeting packet and the email  from Stacey Householder of the National Conference of State  Legislature (NCSL). He said that Stacey Householder had  assisted with ethics training in 2020 and that he had been  in contact with her about potential training in 2021.    Jerry Anderson noted that because all legislators and  legislative employees will need training in 2021, there  will be a larger number of training sessions, including  possibly a new legislator training in December 2020, which  would have a different format from the other trainings.    Jerry Anderson commented that under committee consideration  is the components of the training. Committee members were  provided for reference the links to NCSLs 2020 training,  which included two segments: one being the sexual  harassment and others forms of discrimination training and  the other training related to civility.    Jerry Anderson asked for committee input about the  components of the training, the time to devote to each  component, and the training format virtual or in person.  He assured the committee that NCSL can accommodate both  training format types.    Lee Holmes asked committee members if there were comments.    Representative Louise Stutes said that she heard from other  legislators that the sexual harassment training was too  long.    Lee Holmes thanked Representative Louise Stutes and asked  for other comments or discussion.    Joyce Anderson asked Jerry Anderson to remind the committee  how long the sexual harassment training that Representative  Louise Stutes referred to had been.    Jerry Anderson replied that in 2020, it was less than 1  hours long and in 2019, it was three hours long.    Representative Louise Stutes made it clear she was  referring to the 2019 training.    Jerry Anderson thanked Representative Louise Stutes for her  clarification.    Lee Holmes asked Jerry Anderson how much time would be  devoted to each of the topics in the 2021 training.    Jerry Anderson said that feedback he had gotten was that 1  hours of sexual harassment training was still too long and  that is one of the reasons he is asking for committee  input. He emphasized that the more time devoted to sexual  harassment training, the less time available for ethics  training given the direction that the entire training  should not last longer than three hours.    10:14:41 AM    Representative Louise Stutes remarked that it seemed there  was more participation in the portion of the training  delivered by Jerry Anderson and questions were left  unanswered. She recommends allocating more time to ethics  training.    Jerry Anderson agreed it was unfortunate that he did not  have time to fully address the questions.    Lee Holmes asked if three hours is too short to cover both  subjects adequately.    Jerry Anderson said three hours is a practical good maximum  amount of time for training at least for returning  employees, but he granted that perhaps new employees may  benefit from a longer training. He said NCSL is willing to  accommodate whatever allocation of time the committee  directs.    Joyce Anderson asked if Skiff Lobaugh had gotten any  feedback about the length of training and the topics  covered.    Skiff Lobaugh reported he had heard a lot of feedback about  both the length of training and the topics covered. There  are individuals who due to their workload want minimal  training time. He elaborated that NCSL seemed to do a good  job in covering topics pertinent to the legislative branch  both on EEOC/sexual harassment and the ethics side but  acknowledged the need for local knowledge in the area of  ethics. He also reported he had not heard any negative  comments about the NCSL training so he thinks the time  allotted to the training was just right.    Joyce Anderson expressed to the Chair Lee Holmes that she  wanted to pitch a discussion topic.    Lee Holmes directed to Joyce Anderson to continue.    Joyce Anderson stated she thinks statute requires more  detailed ethics training than does the sexual harassment  training. She questioned if ethics training should be  delivered first while the attendees were fresh.    Lee Holmes expressed his opinion that the sexual harassment  training be delivered first because it is more easily time- constrained and leave the ethics training free to run long  if needed. He entertained other opinions.    Senator John Coghill said that he preferred the sexual  harassment training first because many attendees need only  a refresher where ethics training can leave attendees with  lingering questions to ponder. He suggested leaving two  hours for ethics training if possible. He echoed Skiff  Lobaugh in stating that he thinks NCSL did a great job in  delivering their training.    Joyce Anderson agreed with Senator John Coghills comments.    Lee Holmes thanked Joyce Anderson and asked for other  comments.    Lee Holmes summarized what he understood about the  training: the training will total three hours, one hour for  sexual harassment training to be followed with two hours of  ethics training. He asked Jerry Anderson if that was also  his understanding.    Jerry Anderson replied that it was his understanding.    Lee Holmes asked if a motion was needed.    Jerry Anderson replied that he did not believe a motion was  necessary because the training is still in the planning  stages and historically the committee has left it to the  administrator to handle the training arrangement details.  He said that Skiff Lobaugh has always been helpful in  setting up the sexual harassment portion of the training  and making sure that the training is relevant and meets  local requirements.    Representative DeLena Johnson commented that in her opinion  the effectiveness of the sexual harassment training is more  important than length of time devoted to it. She encouraged  a more effective training that is relevant to the  legislature.    Deb Fancher recommended good teaching practice would  include developing an evaluation to use in planning future  trainings.    Lee Holmes thanked Deb Fancher for her comment. He asked  Jerry Anderson if he could work with Skiff Lobaugh to put  together a training evaluation.    Jerry Anderson replied that he could.    Lee Holmes entertained further comments. There were no  further comments.    b. State benefit and loan program review    Lee Holmes directed attention to a review of state benefit  and loan programs requiring disclosure. He asked Jerry  Anderson to provide background information to the  committee.    Jerry Anderson explained the review is one of the  committees statutory duties, under AS.24.60.050(b):    (b) The committee shall review state benefit programs  and state loans and annually publish a list of  programs and loans, designating which ones do not meet  the standards of (a) of this section.  Jerry Anderson elaborated that the committees directive is  to review and annually publish a list of the state benefit  and loan programs that do not meet the standards in  AS.24.60.050(a) and therefore require an ethics disclosure  by legislators or legislative employees who participate in  any of the programs.    Jerry Anderson added that staff annually send letters to  all departments asking that they review the current list in  Appendix C of the Standards of Conduct Handbook to make  sure it accurately identifies the programs that do not meet  the standards. Jerry Anderson said that the proposed 2021  list, titled Appendix C in the packet, is a compilation of  those programs as reported by the departments.    Jerry Anderson reported that only one program change had  been reported: a deletion of the Alaska Capstone Avionics  Revolving Fund by the Department of Commerce, Community,  and Economic Development. He noted that a copy of the  completed review form with the deletion was included in the  packet.    Jerry Anderson asked the committee to review and adopt the  list as Appendix C of the handbook, which will be handed  out at training and available online.    Jerry Anderson asked the committee if there were questions.    Lee Holmes entertained questions. Hearing none, he  entertained a motion to adopt the proposed list for the  2021 Standards of Conduct Handbook.    Deb Fancher moved.    Lee Holmes asked if there were objections. There were no  objections. The motion was approved.    6. OTHER BUSINESS    Lee Holmes moved to other business. He stated that the next  committee meeting is set for the week of January 18. He  asked Jerry Anderson his opinion about whether the meeting  would be earlier or later in that week.    Jerry Anderson said the meeting format is still unknown. He  said that are only some committee activities can be handled  telephonically. He added that committee members also need  training in 2021.    Joyce Anderson said that in planning a meeting date, there  is also a need to check statute about legislative  appointments to the committee and to consider the timing of  those appointments.    Lee Holmes asked for comments.    Senator Tom Begich said he had been going to bring up the  same point. Does the committee have to meet at a certain  time? Who attends the first meeting? The current  legislative members or the new members?    Jerry Anderson responded that changes are expected in  legislative membership and the new members will attend the  first meeting. He added that the terms of three of the  public members also expire. All have agreed to continue on  the committee, subject to nomination by the chief justice  of the Alaska Supreme Court.    Senator Tom Begich asked again if the committee was  required to meet within a certain number of days of the  start of session on January 19, and if so, what is that  number of days. If not, he recommends waiting until the  following week.    Jerry Anderson replied that the committee is not required  to meet that week but it has traditionally done so.    Senator Tom Begich recommended meeting on January 25 or 26  for two reasons: committee legislative membership would be  identified and because there is a possibility that some  legislative members may be at the presidential inauguration  during the week of January 18. He recommended a motion  establishing the week of January 25 for the newly  reconstituted committee.    Lee Holmes thanked Senator Tom Begich. He said that the  decision about a meeting date would be delayed. He asked  everyone to keep the week of January 25 in mind while  calendaring their personal lives.    Lee Holmes asked Jerry Anderson if there was anything more  to discuss.    Jerry Anderson thanked Senator Tom Begich for his input.    Lee Holmes asked for other comments and/or other business.    Hearing none, Lee Holmes entertained a motion to adjourn.    Joyce Anderson moved.    There were no objections.    Lee Holmes adjourned the meeting at 10:42 a.m.    ADJOURN:    10:42:11 AM