An Anchorage lawmaker has proposed an amendment to the Alaska Constitution that would prohibit the Legislature from working more than 90 days in regular session.
House Joint Resolution 27, sponsored by Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, was among the 10 bills and resolutions released Friday by legislators in the second batch of prefiled legislation released before the 29th Alaska Legislature convenes on Tuesday.
The Alaska Constitution allows a regular legislative session of up to 121 days, but voters in 2006 approved a ballot initiative limiting the Legislature to a 90-day regular session. That limit was set in statute, rather than the Constitution, and several times since the initiative’s passage, the Legislature has gone past 90 working days during the session.
One week ago, Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau, introduced a bill that would repeal the voter-passed 90-day limit. Claman and Kito spoke with each other, and each man knew the other would be working at cross-purposes.
Kito said he sees the 90-day session limit as a regional issue as much as anything.
“There are more people outside of Southeast Alaska, I think, that would be interested in seeing the Legislature operate less expensively without understanding … that operating less-expensively doesn’t just mean operating more quickly,” Kito said.
With a shorter session, Kito and other lawmakers have said, lawmakers can’t vet legislation thoroughly; that creates a greater chance for flawed laws to make it onto the books.
Claman said he believes the matter is about paying attention to the will of the voters.
“If the voters tell us they want us to finish in 90 days, we should finish in 90 days,” Claman said.
To become effective, Claman’s legislation would have to be approved by two-thirds of the House and Senate each, then receive a majority of votes from Alaskans at the polls. Kito’s legislation merely needs to be approved under normal House and Senate rules and signed into law by the governor.
Claman added that if his amendment goes to the voters and is defeated, he’ll take it as a sign that voters are open to the idea of a 120-day session.
He doesn’t think that’s likely. “My prediction is the voters will want us to stay at 90,” he said.
Also among the prefiled legislation was an unusual happenstance: The same bill was offered by two legislators on different sides of the political aisle.
House Bill 237, brought by Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, and House Bill 238, brought by Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks, each would make Alaska part of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, a program that allows doctors from different states to practice medicine in another state without going through an extensive re-licensing program.
The Federation of State Medical Boards is backing the compact and has produced model legislation that Wool and Seaton each used in their bills.
“Maybe that’s a good sign it has a chance of passing,” Wool said after being informed that the two submitted the same bill.
Seaton is chairman of the House Health and Social Services committee, which is expected to hear the bill. Wool is a member of the committee.
Wool also offered House Bill 239, which would require the state Division of Insurance to investigate any time a health insurance company proposes raising rates more than 10 percent in a given year. Last year, the division approved rate hikes averaging 40 percent for a pair of insurance companies.
Opening an investigation would force insurance companies to open their books and be more transparent about rate increases, Wool said. That makes it more likely the state will push back against rate increases, he said.
“I think we should be pushing back,” Wool said.
JAN. 15 PREFILED BILLS
HOUSE
HB 237 — Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer — Implements the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, a program that allows doctors from different states to practice in other states more easily.
HB 238 — Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks — Does the same thing as HB 237.
HB 239 — Rep. Wool — If a health insurance company raises premiums by more than 10 percent in a year, the state director of insurance must conduct an investigation into why, and the attorney general could get involved on behalf of consumers.
HB 240 — Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham — If an Alaska Native village corporation is dissolved by the state for failing to properly file reports and paperwork, it can be reinstated before the end of 2017 with all its previous rights intact.
HB 241 — Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage — Clarifies that a nonresident (who has to pay extra fees) in the state’s limited-entry permit fisheries is someone who doesn’t collect a Permanent Fund Dividend.
HB 242 — Rep. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks — If the Legislature works longer than 90 days, lawmakers can’t be paid or collect a per diem until they pass an operating budget.
HB 243 — Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage — Anyone whose conviction is overturned by the state is allowed to apply for a missed Permanent Fund Dividend (plus interest) if they couldn’t apply because of their conviction.
RESOLUTIONS
HJR 27 — Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage — Proposes a constitutional amendment limiting the Alaska Legislature’s regular session to 90 days.
SENATE
SB 125 — Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage — Adds two nonvoting members (one from the Alaska House and one from the Alaska Senate) to the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, which is in charge of the trans-Alaska gas pipeline.
SB 126 — Sen. Costello — Stocks and bonds sold by an Alaska corporation in Alaska to an Alaskan are exempt from a handful of regulatory requirements.
