Committee chair apparently asleep at the wheel

April 4, 2006

Juneau Report/Myrl Thompson

&#8220Every compulsion is put upon writers to become safe, polite, obedient and sterile.”

- Sinclair Lewis, Letter declining the Pulitzer Prize, 1926

Bill/Issues

Education bills collecting dust

Through the first 82 days of the second session, Rep. Mark Neuman's Special Committee on Education has managed to move only three bills. He is on pace to shatter his pace from last session, when only nine bills were moved the entire session.

Earlier in the session, a letter was written to Speaker of the House John Harris, R-Valdez, expressing dismay at the committee chair's performance.

The following week, Neuman picked up the pace and managed to move a couple of bills out of his committee. Since then, however, only a single bill has moved forward.

The three bills that made it out are: House Bill 387 - Tuition waiver for National Guard family; HB 412 - Tuition waivers for military/police/fire; and HB 482 - Schools: bullying, harassment, intimidation.

House Bill 45 - Lobbyists

Well, this bill has gone through a metamorphosis in the last few weeks. No longer is it substantially the same as the campaign reform initiative that will be on the ballot in November.

Had it remained substantially the same and passed, the initiative would not have had to be on the ballot. Apparently, the majority would rather take its chances at the polls, that the voters won't reduce the contribution limits from the record high levels that we are currently operating under.

HB 45, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, R-Juneau, will now deal with lobbyist disclosure and reducing the amount of unregistered lobbying hours from 40 to 16, in a 30-day period. If the initiative passes in November, the unregistered lobbying hours would be further reduced, down to 10.

This bill also allows a donation of up to $500 per year to a non-group entity and $5,000 dollars a year to political parties. A group that is not a political party could donate $1,000 dollars to a candidate, group, non-group entity or political party.

There is also a disclosure section that would deal with compensation in excess of $1,000 for personal services and for some loans received.

House Bill 438 - Initiative, referendum and recall bill (Ramras' ramrod bill)

The Committee Substitute (new version) of the bill is out and will be heard today in House State Affairs. Ramras made a few changes, but left those nasty grounds for recall definitions in the new version.

The bill is eight pages in length and virtually nothing in the bill is necessary. Ramras has chosen to ignore overwhelming opposition to this bill. He insists on fixing something that isn't broken.

It didn't take Jay long to become just another typical politician, did it?

Senate Bill 186 - Executive ethics

Apparently, big league pitcher Ralph Seekins, Republican senator from Fairbanks, has thrown us a spitball. After checking with Legal Services, Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, may have spotted the Vaseline in power pitcher Seekins' glove.

It seems that, after all, the confidentiality provision may be alive and well. The way the bill is still written, it is possible that one could be legally sued in civil court for breaking confidentiality by filing a complaint against an official and then talking about it.

The umpire is still checking Ralph's glove and cap for the foreign substance. There is a time-out on the field in this extra-inning game. The fans are still booing.

Valley resident Myrl Thompson is a citizen lobbyist and former independent candidate for the state House. His Valley Voices guest opinion column appears here every four weeks. Excerpts from his weekly Juneau Report appear as space and relevance allow.