LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL    DECEMBER 22, 2020  1:00 PM    MEMBERS PRESENT  Senator Gary Stevens, Chair  Representative Louise Stutes, Vice Chair  Senator Tom Begich  Senator John Coghill  Senator Cathy Giessel  Senator Lyman Hoffman  Senator Bert Stedman  Representative Bryce Edgmon  Representative Neal Foster  Representative DeLena Johnson  Representative Jennifer Johnston  Representative Chuck Kopp  Representative Steve Thompson      MEMBERS ABSENT  Senator Natasha von Imhof      OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT  Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson  Senator Jesse Kiehl  Senator David Wilson  Representative Sara Hannan  Representative Geran Tarr    AGENDA  APPROVAL OF AGENDA  COMMITTEE BUSINESS  EXECUTIVE SESSION    SPEAKER REGISTER  Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA)    1:00:18 PM    I. CALL TO ORDER    CHAIR STEVENS: I will call this meeting of the  Legislative Council to order. It is December 22, 2020, 1:01 in  the afternoon.  Jessica, would you call the roll?  MS. GEARY: Senator Begich?  SENATOR BEGICH: Here.  MS. GEARY: Senator Coghill?  SENATOR COGHILL: I'm here.  MS. GEARY: Senate President Giessel?  SENATOR GIESSEL: Here.  MS. GEARY: Senator Hoffman?  SENATOR HOFFMAN: Here.  MS. GEARY: Senator Stedman?  Senator von Imhof?  Speaker Edgmon?  REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON: Here.  MS. GEARY: Representative Foster?  REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER: Here.  MS. GEARY: Representative DeLena Johnson?  REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON: Here.  MS. GEARY: Representative Jennifer Johnston?  REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON: Here.  MS. GEARY: Representative Kopp?  Representative Thompson?  REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON: Here.  MS. GEARY: Vice-Chair Stutes?  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: Here.  MS. GEARY: Chair Stevens?  CHAIR STEVENS: Here.  MS. GEARY: Senator Stedman, did you join us?  SENATOR STEDMAN: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Okay.  SENATOR STEDMAN: Stedman is here.  MS. GEARY: Senator von Imhof?  Representative Kopp?    12 members present.  CHAIR STEVENS: Well, we have a quorum. We can continue  business.  *Representative Kopp joined at 1:05pm.    II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA    CHAIR STEVENS: Representative Stutes, would you present  us with a motion?    1:03:05 PM  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: I would be happy to do that, Mr.  Chair.  I move and ask unanimous consent that Legislative  Council approve the agenda as presented.  SENATOR BEGICH: I object, Mr. Chairman. This is Senator  Begich. May I speak to my objection?  CHAIR STEVENS: Yes. Go ahead, Senator Begich. I can't  hear you.  SENATOR BEGICH: I said I object. May I speak to my  objection? Can you hear me?  CHAIR STEVENS: Yes, I do hear you.  SENATOR BEGICH: All right. My objection is I would like  us to have an additional business item, which is a discussion of  the Governor's boards and commissions appointments.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you. Actually, I was going to  announce that we are adding an executive session at the end of  the agenda, and we'll be discussing the Governor's appointments.  Thank you for that, Senator Begich.  Any other objections or changes to the agenda? Then  the agenda is approved with that addition of an executive  session.  I did want to point out that I believe you've seen  Katrina was sending out the letter from the City and Borough of  Juneau. They were prepared to do a presentation, but we've got  sort of a full schedule, so I've asked them to wait, and we'll  have an opportunity for them to speak to any and all legislators  to discuss this; but it's very good to hear what Juneau has  done. It's good to see that they are the lowest in terms of any  new cases at this point, and they're making every attempt to  help us organize and with testing and that sort of thing. So I  hope have a chance to read that letter.  REPRESENTATIVE KOPP: Thank you. Senator Stevens, can you  hear me? This is Chuck Kopp. I just wanted to let you know I'm  on.  CHAIR STEVENS: Representative Kopp, thank you. Thanks  for being here with us.  I think the only person absent right now is Senator  von Imhof.    III. COMMITTEE BUSINESS    A. ADOPTION OF A SESSION PLANNING WORKING GROUP DOCUMENT    CHAIR STEVENS: So let's move ahead with our committee  business, and I'd ask Representative Stutes for a motion.    1:05:24 PM  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: Certainly, Mr. Chair.  I move that Legislative Council approve the Session  Planning Working Group Document.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you. I will object for purposes of  discussion.  You should have that document in front of you. It  should have been sent to you. I do want to thank the  subcommittee that has been meeting. They just met a few hours  ago, actually, to finalize this plan. I appreciate all of their  efforts and work, and you should have that in front of you.  It's a document that is horizontal. The page is titled -- the  subject is First Day of Session, just to remind you that  Legislative Council has the power to take appropriate action.  That's what we're doing here.  So, Jessica, would you explain that first page?  MS. GEARY: Absolutely.  Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the Council.  For the record, Jessica Geary, executive director, Legislative  Affairs Agency.  As you mentioned, the working group came up with a  few recommendations. The first one, First Day of Session, it  was decided that the oath of office could be administered to  members individually on a staggered schedule which allows for  social distancing as well as camera close-ups, that whatever  schedule would be coordinated with the Lieutenant Governor's  office and immediate family members would be allowed to watch  from another location.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you. And if you go on, then, to the  Floor Session Location.  MS. GEARY: Yes. For Floor Session Location, it was the  recommendation that both bodies should meet in their respective  chambers, but they should consider staggering House and Senate  floor session times to minimize close contact in the second  floor hall.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you, Jessica.  So those first two items are issues that are  appropriate for Legislative Council to take action on for  pre-convening. Any discussion or comments on that first page?  SENATOR BEGICH: Mr. Chairman?  CHAIR STEVENS: Senator Begich?  SENATOR BEGICH: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a brief  comment. I want to reiterate that I had had concerns presented  to me about the House chambers being so tightly packed that the  potential of creating a health situation is one that should be  considered. And I would just note for this record and for the  incoming House Speaker, whomever that might be, that they should  consider those concerns and comments in their deliberations as  well. Thank you.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you, Senator Begich. Absolutely.  It will be up to the presiding officers to figure out specific  actions. You know, we did consider moving folks to the gym, but  the problem with that is that there's no voting screen, and  there would only be one microphone. And we could wind up with a  much longer meeting, people being in that room much longer than  they might be on the floor.  So this is, I think, the compromise that the  committee came up with. Again, I think it's probably the best  we could do at the time, but certainly I hear what you have to  say, Senator Begich. Thank you for those comments.  Any further comments on page 1?  Let's move along, then, to page 2. Now, again, these  are items that we can only make a recommendation to the 32nd  Legislature. It's not in our purview, but Legislative Council  wanted to make sure that they had all the options that we knew  of in front of them so they would not have to reinvent the  wheel. They could start out with recommendations. They could  accept them, reject them, or come up with their own document.  So, again, Jessica, would you go through that page 2?  And page 2 begins with Remote Voting, Floor Sessions.  MS. GEARY: Of course this issue will be decided by the  floor vote of the 32nd Legislature, but the decision of this  working group will allow staff to prepare for and continue to  test a remote voting system under certain desired circumstances.  So by agreement of the presiding officers of both  houses, the presiding officer may authorize members to attend a  session by video conference when a quorum is needed to conduct  the body's business. That's similar to SCR16, which passed the  Senate last year. A member participating by videoconference  must be physically present at a Legislative Information Office  or their legislative office unless otherwise approved by the  presiding officer.  There was some discussion about sick members should  be excused from the call, as is consistent with current  practice. A couple other considerations -- sick people are not  allowed in legislative facilities. The ability to debate may  not be possible, depending on choices made about location of a  remote voter. There may be no IT support available, and the  scope -- Megan Wallace is preparing a draft resolution to  highlight on some of these, but the scope must be extremely  narrow, and the circumstances must be spelled out to describe a  specific location, whether or not a state-issued device must be  used, and the circumstances in which a member would be able to  participate remotely.  So I know that's a lot of information, and I'm sure  there's some discussion to be had about this topic.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you, Jessica.  I want to thank Jessica and her staff for working on  this document and for the quick turnaround after our committee  meeting, our subcommittee meeting, and having this prepared in  front of you so you know exactly what the subcommittee has been  talking about. We want to have an opportunity now -- does  anybody have any questions or comments on this particular page,  Remote Voting, Floor Sessions?  Okay. Thank you. We'll have an opportunity at the  end if anything comes up you want to talk about.  Let's move on to page 3, which is Remote Voting,  Committee Meetings. Jessica?  MS. GEARY: Yes. So committee meetings, as you know, are  less formal than a floor session and could allow for fewer  restrictions. Again, decisions need to be made, what triggers,  and there's some technical aspects that need to be worked out,  some IT development of an electronic committee report and  signature.  The working group discussed allowing for remote  committee voting under any circumstance, and that all committee  reports will be signed electronically, regardless of whether the  committee is meeting in person or remotely, to allow for a  uniform process.  As a side note, an LIO can only host one meeting at a  time.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you, Jessica.  And, again, Megan is preparing a concurrent  resolution for both the House and the Senate to consider.  Any questions or thoughts on this page 3, Remote  Voting, Committee Meetings?  Okay. We'll move on to page 4, which is Session  Limits, Timing Length, Subject Matter, et cetera. Again, this  needs a concurrent resolution by the House and the Senate.  Jessica, any thoughts on page 4?  MS. GEARY: So the working group made the determination  that they would not set a limit on or a deadline for personal  bills, that the resolution would not set a time limit on debate,  and that any amendment deadlines should be considered in  conjunction with a remote voting option, whatever is decided.  It's strongly recommended that the incoming  Legislature limits time on the floor and in committee to the  greatest extent possible, using COVID-19 Safe Session Ideas as a  guide. That Safe Session Ideas document listed out some -- the  invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, doing that from your  individual office, limiting the daily order of business. And so  that would require some changes to Uniform Rule 17, so that  could be part of the resolution Megan is drafting.  CHAIR STEVENS: Okay. Thank you, Jessica.  So that resolution is being prepared now. Any  comments or discussion on page 4?  Okay. Let's move on, then, to page 5, which is  Access to the Capitol.  Jessica?  MS. GEARY: Thank you.  The 32nd Legislature will be responsible for making  any changes to capitol access once session begins. The rule in  place at the beginning of session will stay in place until  amended or revoked.  As a reminder, in March of 2020, the Legislature  delegated to the Legislative Council chair or vice-chair, in  consultation with leadership, the authority to make all  decisions regarding access to the capitol in response to the  COVID-19 pandemic. At that point, access to the capitol was  closed off to the public and only certain individuals are able  to be in the capitol. The decision was to stick with that  current practice until the next Legislature convenes and changes  that.  CHAIR STEVENS: Okay. Very good. Thank you, Jessica.  And so that will be the rule until organization and  the next session begins and the 32nd either amends or revokes  it. Any question on page 5?  Let's move on, finally, to page 6, which is the  Policy Enforcement of Members.  Jessica?  MS. GEARY: So, of course, this is a very political issue.  And, really, it's how to accomplish policing members and their  following the Legislative Council COVID-19 established policies  and guidelines.  Basically, to minimize distractions during session  and provide necessary guidance to nonpartisan staff,  consequences need to be determined, if any, for members who fail  to follow the pandemic-related policies. It's recommended that  incoming presiding officers consider ways to enforce compliance  with policies.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you, Jessica.  This has always been difficult throughout our history  to police members, and an issue like this -- I know that  particularly, like the issue of wearing a mask or not, there are  members who have not worn the mask in the Legislature. We'll  see what they do. That's their right, I suppose. And then it's  up to the presiding officers to try to deal with that, however  they wish.  Any further discussion on page 6?  Okay. Well, let's go back, then. I think we've  covered all those pages, Jessica, all the recommendations.  Again, I appreciate the subcommittee's work. We have spent a  lot of time on this, and earlier this morning, a couple hours on  it and had a lot of discussion, a lot of questions.  So at this point, does anyone have any comments or  thoughts about this working group document? Then I will remove  my objection and ask Jessica to take a roll call.  MS. GEARY: Senator Begich?  SENATOR BEGICH: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Coghill?  SENATOR COGHILL: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senate President Giessel?  SENATOR GIESSEL: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Hoffman?  SENATOR HOFFMAN: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Stedman?  SENATOR STEDMAN: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Speaker Edgmon?  REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Foster?  REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative DeLena Johnson?  Representative Jennifer Johnston?  REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Kopp?  REPRESENTATIVE KOPP: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Thompson?  REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Vice-Chair Stutes?  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Chair Stevens?  CHAIR STEVENS: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Johnson?    12 yeas, zero nays.  CHAIR STEVENS: The vote was 12 to zero, and the motion  passes. I thank you all very much for your hard work on that  issue.    B. AMENDMENT TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MOVING AND TRAVEL  POLICY    CHAIR STEVENS: Let's move on to Committee Business B, and  that's the Amendment to the Legislative Council Moving and  Travel Policy and the concern that many had about maybe changing  that at our last meeting.  Representative Stutes, could I have a motion?    1:20:15 PM  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: Yes, Mr. Chair.  I move that Legislative Council amend the days  eligible for per diem upon arrival at the capitol for the first  session of the 32nd Legislature from 10 days to 15 days for  legislators, his or her spouse, and dependents at the same rate  in which they are paid travel per diem in accordance with  Legislative Council Moving and Travel Policy.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you, Representative Stutes.  And I'll object for purposes of discussion.  Jessica, could you give us the background on this?  MS. GEARY: Absolutely. Again, for the record, Jessica  Geary, executive director.  When we've been discussing testing protocol with the  contractor and trying to figure out the adequate length of time  in which members should get tested and quarantine and all of  those different logistics, we had discussed adding five days  onto the amount of allowed pre-session days just to allow  members and staff more time to arrive in Juneau and not have to  worry about whether they have given themselves enough time  before they can access the capitol.  So it's a simple motion, really, and this amendment  would expire after this first session.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you, Jessica.  So that's a good point to realize, is it's just for  this first session only. Any comments or questions that anyone  has at this point?  Then I will remove my objection and ask Jessica to  take a roll call vote.  MS. GEARY: Senator Begich?  SENATOR BEGICH: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Coghill?  SENATOR COGHILL: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senate President Giessel?  SENATOR GIESSEL: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Hoffman?  SENATOR HOFFMAN: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Stedman?  SENATOR STEDMAN: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Speaker Edgmon?  REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Foster?  REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative DeLena Johnson?  Representative Johnston?  REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Kopp?  REPRESENTATIVE KOPP: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Thompson?  REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Vice-Chair Stutes?  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Chair Stevens?  CHAIR STEVENS: Yes.    MS. GEARY: 12 yeas, zero nays.  CHAIR STEVENS: I'm glad we have this done. I know many  folks want to get there early and be quarantined and be ready to  begin our session.    C. EXECUTIVE SESSION - DISCUSSION ON THE GOVERNOR'S APPOINTEES    CHAIR STEVENS: Let's move on to Item C, Committee  Business, Discussion on the Governor's Appointees. We'll now be  going into an executive session to discuss the Governor's  appointees.  Representative Stutes, could we have a motion on executive  session?    1:23:35 PM  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: Certainly, Mr. Chair.  I move that Legislative Council go into executive  session under Uniform Rule 22(b)(3), discussion of a matter that  may, by law, be required to be confidential. The following  individuals can remain online: Jessica Geary, Megan Wallace,  Emily Nauman, any legislators not on Legislative Council; and  the only staff to remain online would be Katrina Matheny, staff  to Legislative Council Chair.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you for that motion.  And would you do the roll call, please, on that,  Jessica?  MS. GEARY: Senator Begich?  SENATOR BEGICH: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Coghill?  SENATOR COGHILL: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senate President Giessel?  SENATOR GIESSEL: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Hoffman?  SENATOR HOFFMAN: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Stedman?  SENATOR STEDMAN: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Speaker Edgmon?  REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Foster?  REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Johnson?  Representative Johnston?  REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Kopp?  REPRESENTATIVE KOPP: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Thompson?  REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Vice-Chair Stutes?  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Chair Stevens?  CHAIR STEVENS: Yes.    MS. GEARY: 12 yeas, zero nays.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you. This passes by 12 to nothing.  I'll remind you that this is a very confidential issue, and  anyone who is not listed in Representative Stutes' motion should  now sign off.  Jessica, if you would give me the high sign when  we're ready to proceed, we'll start that discussion. So we'll  wait for that to get into executive session, Jessica.  MS. GEARY: All right. Absolutely. I'll give you the  green light.    1:25:12 PM  Council went into Executive Session at 12:25pm.    2:20:50 PM  Council came out of Executive Session at 2:20pm.    CHAIR STEVENS: We're back into our regular Legislative  Council meeting, and I'd recognize Senator Coghill.    2:21:16 PM  SENATOR COGHILL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I move that under the power conferred under Alaska  Statute 24.20.060(4)(F), the Legislative Council utilizes  services provided by legal services to undertake litigation on  the behalf of the Legislature regarding the Governor's  appointees and alleged continuation of their appointments, and  that Legislative Council authorize the Chair to give direction  to the legal services regarding this litigation.  CHAIR STEVENS: I will then object for purposes of  discussion. Is there any discussion at this time on Senator  Coghill's motion?  Very well, then. Let's go ahead to a roll call vote  if you would, please, Jessica.  MS. GEARY: Senator Begich?  SENATOR BEGICH: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Coghill?  SENATOR COGHILL: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senate President Giessel?  SENATOR GIESSEL: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Hoffman?  SENATOR HOFFMAN: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Senator Stedman?  SENATOR STEDMAN: No.  MS. GEARY: Speaker Edgmon?  REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Foster?  REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative DeLena Johnson?  Representative Johnston?  REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Kopp?  REPRESENTATIVE KOPP: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Representative Thompson?  REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Vice-Chair Stutes?  VICE-CHAIR STUTES: Yes.  MS. GEARY: Chair Stevens?  CHAIR STEVENS: Yes.    MS. GEARY: 11 yeas, one nay.  CHAIR STEVENS: That passed, and we've done our agenda and  more. Thank you all so much for being with us throughout all  this discussion.  Is there anything else anyone would like to bring up  before we conclude?  SENATOR BEGICH: Mr. Chairman?  CHAIR STEVENS: Yes, please go ahead. Is that Senator  Begich?  SENATOR BEGICH: Yes, sir. I just wanted to thank you,  Mr. Chairman, for dealing with all of these complicated issues,  and to thank the Legislative Affairs Agency and their staff and,  really, all the folks who pitched in to help us resolve these  issues.  It's been a tremendously difficult time, and I just  can't commend you enough for guiding us through this process and  for the great support we've had from the House and Senate  employees, as well as from you and from all the staff here. So  thank you for that.  CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you, Senator Begich. The staff has  done a tremendous job on all of this, working through all of  these ideas we've proposed, all of us individually and  collectively. And they have just managed to keep us on top of  everything.  Anything further to come before us?    IV. ADJOURN    CHAIR STEVENS: Thank you all for being here, and our  meeting is adjourned at 2:24 pm.    2:24:29 PM