Capital '79; 1979-01-15

<v John Hale>The first session of the 11th Alaska legislature is underway. <v John Hale>I'm John Hale. In a moment, we'll be going to Marcia Alvar and Mike Harmon for reports on <v John Hale>the efforts to organize the House and Senate. <v John Hale>Also tonight, we'll be looking at some of the bills that have been filed prior to today's <v John Hale>opening of the legislative session. A look at how the committee system works and what it <v John Hale>means to be a committee chairman. But first, the oath of office. <v Terry Miller>The Senate will please come to order. <v John Hale>The president's chair in the Senate was familiar territory for Miller, who represented <v John Hale>Fairbanks in the legislature for 10 years. <v John Hale>2 of those were as Senate president. <v John Hale>But the Senate Miller briefly presided over this morning had changed considerably in his <v John Hale>4 year absence. Of the 20 senators who took their oath of office today, 7 <v John Hale>are freshmen members of that body. <v John Hale>For the first time since 1944, John Butrovich of Fairbanks was not there <v John Hale>to be sworn in. Also gone from the Senate, Joe Orsini, Chancy Croft, <v John Hale>Ed Willis, John Rader, John Huber, and Kay Poland. <v John Hale>In their stead, new faces like Don Bennett and Bettye Fahrenkamp of Fairbanks, Terry <v John Hale>Stimson, Ed Dankworth, Tim Kelly, and Arlis Sturgulewski from Anchorage.

<v John Hale>And Bob Mulcahy from Kodiak. <v John Hale>This was a Senate in which Republicans outnumber Democrats for the first time in 4 years. <v John Hale>In fact, the Republican majority had actually begun organizing behind Halibut Cove <v John Hale>Republican Clem Tillion before the November 7th election. <v John Hale>But at the other end of the hall, the gavel came down on a disorderly House. <v Terry Miller>The House will please come to order. <v John Hale>The Democratic majority there has so far been unable to organize for a simple reason. <v John Hale>Too many incumbents and not enough leadership positions to go around. <v John Hale>Of the 25 House Democrats and 14 Republicans, 7 from each party <v John Hale>are freshmen. Many of the Democratic freshmen are from the Bush. <v John Hale>Jack Fuller from Nome, Vernon Hurlbert of Sleetmute, Fred Zharoff from Kodiak, <v John Hale>and Delta Junction Representative Pappy Moss. <v John Hale>Brian Rogers is representing Fairbanks for the first time, and Joyce Munson is the lone <v John Hale>freshman Democrat from Anchorage. <v John Hale>But 4 of the freshman Republicans are from Anchorage. <v John Hale>Ray Metcalfe, Terry Martin, Joe Montgomery and Rick Halford. <v John Hale>Bob Bettisworth is Worth is here from College along with fellow Republicans Margaret

<v John Hale>Branson and Pat O'Connell from the Kenai Peninsula. <v John Hale>There are 3 representatives who were not members of the last legislature, but have <v John Hale>served terms in the House before. <v John Hale>Democrat Bill Parker and Republican Ramona Barnes from Anchorage and Libertarian Dick <v John Hale>Randolph from Fairbanks, who served between 1970 and '74 as a Republican. <v John Hale>Marcia Alvar has a report on the efforts to organize the state House of Representatives. <v Marcia Alvar>The House adjourned almost immediately after its members were sworn in because until the <v Marcia Alvar>House is organized, no other business can proceed. <v Marcia Alvar>The 1 matter that was accomplished was the election of Mike Miller as temporary speaker, <v Marcia Alvar>an organizational caucus was held yesterday afternoon, but it was brief with just <v Marcia Alvar>1 of the organization plans made public. <v Marcia Alvar>It was put together by Nels Anderson of Dillingham. <v Marcia Alvar>In addition to Anderson, there are 3 other major aspirants to the speaker's post. <v Marcia Alvar>Sam Cotten from Anchorage, Terri Gardiner from Ketchikan and Charlie Parr from Fairbanks. <v Marcia Alvar>All of them talked about what each feels is the most attractive quality of their

<v Marcia Alvar>organization plan. <v Nels Anderson>Our organization does, of course, is that it presents, <v Nels Anderson>I think, to the House Democrats, a responsibly <v Nels Anderson>devised organization that <v Nels Anderson>we have worked about 2 and a half months on, and what <v Nels Anderson>we saw last night was various speaker candidates <v Nels Anderson>right in front of fellow Democrats just whipping something out and writing it down <v Nels Anderson>in longhand and saying, what do you think of this? <v Nels Anderson>The fundamental difference, again, there are several. <v Nels Anderson>Ours is responsible. <v Nels Anderson>Ours has taken people's feelings about where they feel they belong <v Nels Anderson>in the organization into consideration. <v Nels Anderson>We have called people since after the election in November. <v Nels Anderson>I have traveled extensively at my own expense. <v Nels Anderson>Members of the Bush caucus have traveled and lobbied and negotiated

<v Nels Anderson>with other Democrats. <v Nels Anderson>We've made a real good faith effort to get as many points of view as we possibly <v Nels Anderson>could into the organization process. <v Charles Parr>I think if you had to summarize in a nutshell <v Charles Parr>that perhaps the major difference would be the choice for finance chairman <v Charles Parr>and my finance chairman would be Oral Freeman. <v Charles Parr>I think that this next 2 years has to be a time for the state <v Charles Parr>government to be fiscally conservative. <v Charles Parr>Everybody's heard about the notorious 65 million dollar shortfall in the year we're <v Charles Parr>in now, and we don't know what it will be like next year. <v Charles Parr>And this is a time in which we simply are going to have to pinch, pinch the dollars. <v Charles Parr>Oral is, I think, more fiscally conservative than <v Charles Parr>most other people. <v Marcia Alvar>Oral Freeman, of course, served on the Finance Committee as vice chairman

<v Marcia Alvar>last year. And there was- he's a man of some controversy in terms <v Marcia Alvar>of where he was in the organization in this House <v Marcia Alvar>a few years ago, 4 years ago, when he became a member of the coalition. <v Charles Parr>That's correct. <v Marcia Alvar>Are there still repercussions from that 4 years ago? <v Marcia Alvar>Do you think there are problems with Oral Freeman being accepted as finance chairman? <v Charles Parr>I think there is maybe 1 or 2 people who still are very, a little unhappy <v Charles Parr>about that, but must remember that Oral came back <v Charles Parr>and the big turnover in '74 and came back in '75 and '76. <v Charles Parr>And if you want to see it that way, he's done his penance. <v Charles Parr>First 2 years he was really in the in the nether depths, and <v Charles Parr>so then last year, as you remember, he was vice chairman of finance under Steve Cooper. <v Charles Parr>And I think that's ancient history now is the way we have to look at it. <v Terry Gardiner>It's better. <v Terry Gardiner>It has all the obvious people and obvious places where they have the best talents for.

<v Terry Gardiner>And, you know, I guess everybody probably has that opinion about their organization. <v Marcia Alvar>So you don't think it's just the critical difference is the body that eventually gets to <v Marcia Alvar>occupy this chair? <v Terry Gardiner>Well, that obviously has something to do with it. <v Terry Gardiner>The thing that you have to do is structure an organization where <v Terry Gardiner>the top leadership positions have the support of everybody. <v Terry Gardiner>And if you try to organize on a power paced basis of I've got this block <v Terry Gardiner>of votes and you got that block of votes, so I'll trade you this leadership position, <v Terry Gardiner>you still have a lot of unsatisfied people with 1 person in a leadership position <v Terry Gardiner>or another person. So I think in the end, if you <v Terry Gardiner>want to have the best working organization, you try to have all of that leadership <v Terry Gardiner>generally acceptable to a vast majority of the caucus and still capable <v Terry Gardiner>of doing the job. <v Marcia Alvar>Sam Cotten was in caucus and unable to speak with Capital '79, but he has said <v Marcia Alvar>that his organization plan would allow for broader participation in the leadership for

<v Marcia Alvar>all the regional areas. There is also talk of a Republican Bush coalition. <v Marcia Alvar>Although Minority Leader Joe Hayes admits such a plan is a long shot, he disagrees <v Marcia Alvar>with those who say that the Bush and urban Republicans will have little in common except <v Marcia Alvar>for their past mutual support of unemployment and workman's compensation legislation. <v Joe Hayes>I think that perhaps we're together on many other issues. <v Joe Hayes>Generally, those that are considered more or less Republican <v Joe Hayes>issues like that are business oriented <v Joe Hayes>versus consumer oriented. <v Joe Hayes>I think the Bush people are now beginning to realize that they're probably <v Joe Hayes>operating the biggest business in Alaska through their, or businesses in <v Joe Hayes>Alaska, through the various Native corporations. <v Joe Hayes>And so I think that we're we're talking about a situation where the <v Joe Hayes>Bush people are becoming more business oriented, which is <v Joe Hayes>1 of the things that Republicans

<v Joe Hayes>subscribe to, and I think we have a lot of common ground there. <v Joe Hayes>So I think that there are many common, common <v Joe Hayes>planks upon which we could build a coalition. <v Marcia Alvar>So you're talking about forging new interests as opposed to any that have existed in the <v Marcia Alvar>past? <v Joe Hayes>Right. I think many of the issues, at least in <v Joe Hayes>the 11th legislature, I think many of the issues that we might have been in conflict on <v Joe Hayes>in the past are, are are behind us and that those <v Joe Hayes>issues that we'll be facing the next 2 years will be the type that we can <v Joe Hayes>get together on. <v Marcia Alvar>But talk of a coalition as well as other aspects of the organizing process have been <v Marcia Alvar>puzzling to freshman Democrats who are going through the process for the first time. <v Marcia Alvar>One told Capital '79 some of it doesn't make any sense at all. <v H. Pappy Moss>It seems to me like that logic is out to window. <v H. Pappy Moss>Some of the things that you'd think would be a logical thing doesn't seem to matter as <v H. Pappy Moss>much.

<v Marcia Alvar>What would be logical, say, looking at the organization of the House? <v H. Pappy Moss>Well, really, as far as just saying it would be logical to me, <v H. Pappy Moss>it's well, you look at a party here, we've got some discussion. <v H. Pappy Moss>Here is 2 running coalitions and all of that. <v H. Pappy Moss>The Senate was organized in a hurry. <v H. Pappy Moss>But logically, the Democrats should pull together more as a group than what they are. <v Marcia Alvar>So it's surprising you a little bit that there's this much factionalism. <v H. Pappy Moss>That's correct. Of course, I can understand part of it, because you have about 4 <v H. Pappy Moss>different areas in the state. You've got the interior area, you've got the Bush area <v H. Pappy Moss>you've got south central, and you've got south eastern. <v H. Pappy Moss>I can understand to some degree of it, but it seems logical that the party itself <v H. Pappy Moss>would pull together more than they seem to be. <v Marcia Alvar>What's happening to you in all of this? Are, are people coming? <v Marcia Alvar>Do you feel as a freshman, you're sort of left out? <v Marcia Alvar>People aren't coming up and saying, well, Pappy, you know, here's where we want you to <v Marcia Alvar>be? <v H. Pappy Moss>Well, no, I don't think so. <v H. Pappy Moss>I've had a lot of interesting conversations with a lot of interesting people.

<v H. Pappy Moss>But my problem is the fact as a freshman legislator, <v H. Pappy Moss>I don't know the past performances or exactly <v H. Pappy Moss>some of the roads that have been traveled in the past <v H. Pappy Moss>that are the best roads. <v H. Pappy Moss>Consequently, I'm holding my options open until the very last because <v H. Pappy Moss>I want to at least get on the right highway so that I can do a good job <v H. Pappy Moss>in the next 2 years. <v Marcia Alvar>How do you think a freshman can get around that? <v Marcia Alvar>How can you how can you become a quick study in the history of all the players in this <v Marcia Alvar>particular moment? <v H. Pappy Moss>Sit on your hands and keep your mouth shut. <v Marcia Alvar>I've heard it's been suggested by you that, that freshmen get together, that freshmen <v Marcia Alvar>as a group form their own caucus. <v H. Pappy Moss>We're working on that particular item right now. <v H. Pappy Moss>I've talked to a number of the freshmen legislators and in fact, ?inaudible? <v H. Pappy Moss>we just had a little, you might call it a mini caucus this morning among some of us <v H. Pappy Moss>freshmen legislators. And if you stop and think of many, including both parties,

<v H. Pappy Moss>you've got about 17 freshmen legislators this year. <v H. Pappy Moss>And that's not a very bad caucus when you start to think about it and when you include <v H. Pappy Moss>both parties. <v Marcia Alvar>What's the political clout in the freshmen caucus? <v Marcia Alvar>Why do you want to get together? <v H. Pappy Moss>Well, I think we've all got the same problems. <v H. Pappy Moss>We, we're a little bit unsure of the way issues <v H. Pappy Moss>are going. And we've got a learning process that <v H. Pappy Moss>we're all in where- You might say we're all in first grade and <v H. Pappy Moss>I'd like to see a bunch of first graders together instead of first graders all mixed up <v H. Pappy Moss>with a high school student, so to speak. <v Marcia Alvar>Last night, freshmen legislators did play a role in bringing more of the organization <v Marcia Alvar>discussion out into the open. <v Marcia Alvar>At a closed meeting, all of the various organization plans were put out on the table <v Marcia Alvar>for the first time after freshmen began airing their opinions of various legislators <v Marcia Alvar>being considered for leadership spots.

<v Marcia Alvar>But although the organization lists are now in circulation, it is expected that several <v Marcia Alvar>changes in those plans will be made and that significant obstacles still remain <v Marcia Alvar>to a resolution of just who will be selected for key slots in the leadership. <v Marcia Alvar>But most legislators are optimistic that organization can be completed within the next <v Marcia Alvar>couple of days. In contrast to the House, the Senate had long since settled <v Marcia Alvar>on its leadership. Mike Harmon has that report. <v Mike Harmon>2 years ago, Republicans gained control of the state Senate with the support of 3 <v Mike Harmon>dissident Democrats. But the minority coalition of that 10th Alaska legislature <v Mike Harmon>wasn't never that strong, and the Senate was bogged down by almost constant infighting <v Mike Harmon>and bickering. Republicans are back in the saddle again this year, but with one big <v Mike Harmon>difference. This time around, they have absolute numerical superiority <v Mike Harmon>and were able to organize quickly under the leadership and the presidency of veteran GOP <v Mike Harmon>Senator Clem Tillion of Halibut Cove. <v Mike Harmon>Tillion was so confident of a GOP majority that he put together much of his organization <v Mike Harmon>even before the November general election.

<v Mike Harmon>And he helped bolster the Republicans 1 vote edge in the Senate with leadership <v Mike Harmon>positions for 2 of those Democrats from that 1977 coalition. <v Mike Harmon>Bob Zeigler of Ketchikan and George Hohman of Bethel, <v Mike Harmon>the third, John Rader of Anchorage, didn't seek reelection. <v Mike Harmon>And the addition of Ziegler and Hohman gives the Republicans a comfortable 13 <v Mike Harmon>vote edge in the Senate. Tillion thought the division of power within his organization <v Mike Harmon>would be easy, but there was a flap at the last minute when former <v Mike Harmon>GOP House member and now Senate member Tim Kelly balked at his assignment <v Mike Harmon>as chairman of the Labor and Management Committee. <v Mike Harmon>Kelly wants to head the State Affairs Committee, where he can keep the spotlight on the <v Mike Harmon>capital move, a favorite issue of his. <v Mike Harmon>But Tillion already had promised that position to freshman Republican Bob Mulcahy of <v Mike Harmon>Kodiak, a self professed neutral on the issue. <v Mike Harmon>Kelly first raised his objections at a morning caucus and Tillion went behind closed <v Mike Harmon>doors with the Senate's committee on committees in an effort to resolve the issue.

<v Mike Harmon>There's another caucus scheduled for tomorrow, but at airtime Tillion said Kelly <v Mike Harmon>was still at labor and management. <v Mike Harmon>With the exception of the Kelly flap, All the other committee chairmanships in the Senate <v Mike Harmon>were settled weeks ago. Here's a rundown. <v Mike Harmon>John Sackett of Galena repeats as chairman of the Finance Committee, Mike Colletta of <v Mike Harmon>Anchorage will serve the dual role of majority leader and chairman of the Rules <v Mike Harmon>Committee. Mid-termer Bill Sumner of Anchorage will be chairman of the Resources <v Mike Harmon>Committee. Glenn Hackney of Fairbanks will repeat as chairman of Health and Social <v Mike Harmon>Services, while Brad Bradley will serve another 2 years as chairman of the Commerce <v Mike Harmon>Committee. Freshman Arlis Sturgulewski of Anchorage was given the Committee on Community <v Mike Harmon>and Regional Affairs. And on the Democratic side, Bob Ziegler will serve as Judiciary <v Mike Harmon>chairman while George Hohman was given the Budget and Audit Committee. <v Mike Harmon>Freshman Don Bennett of Fairbanks will head up the Joint Administrative Regulation Review <v Mike Harmon>Committee. <v Mike Harmon>Despite the Kelly flap, Tillion says he thinks he's still got a better organization <v Mike Harmon>than the one in the Senate last year.

<v Clem Tillion>Problem we had last time was you had all those statewide candidates campaigning on the <v Clem Tillion>floor of the Senate. And we only have 1 of them left <v Clem Tillion>that are even considering it. So I don't, I don't see that problem arising this time. <v Clem Tillion>I think it will be a more down to earth and hard working. <v Clem Tillion>It's an off election year for Alaska. <v Clem Tillion>And I think you'll find them just settling down and working. <v Mike Harmon>For the second legislature in a row, Senate Democrats have elected J. <v Mike Harmon>Kerttula of Palmer as minority leader. <v Mike Harmon>For a while. Senator Pat Rodey of Anchorage wanted the job to help him keep in the <v Mike Harmon>spotlight for another run for Congress in 2 years. <v Mike Harmon>He lost his first bid in November. <v Mike Harmon>But in the end, Kerttula prevailed. <v Mike Harmon>We also talked to Senator Kerttula about his assessment of this year's Senate <v Mike Harmon>organization and the role of the minority. <v Jay Kerttula>Well, Senator Trillian has an somewhat uneasy coalition arrangement within <v Jay Kerttula>his own party. I think he has the rural group <v Jay Kerttula>versus the urban. He has something of the Anchorage group <v Jay Kerttula>of senators to deal with that, take

<v Jay Kerttula>exception or take different points of view from Clem's and from <v Jay Kerttula>the present administrations in which Clem nearly a member very, very close <v Jay Kerttula>to Jay Hammond, the governor. <v Jay Kerttula>And I think that's Clem's problem. <v Jay Kerttula>We don't intend to exploit those problems, but <v Jay Kerttula>certainly we'll bring them to the attention of the public when, <v Jay Kerttula>when it seems to be in the interest of solving problems for the state. <v Jay Kerttula>We may well at times take the position of a number of the Anchorage legislators on some <v Jay Kerttula>issues. But other times, I suppose the rural <v Jay Kerttula>legislators and well, particularly in the fisheries and resource development <v Jay Kerttula>programs have most of the Democrats with them. <v Jay Kerttula>So Clem in his own organization, has at least 2 strong positions, <v Jay Kerttula>almost 100 degrees, 180 degrees in opposition to each other. <v Jay Kerttula>Philosophies cross party lines in the state, in <v Jay Kerttula>the state legislature. And I think that the Democrats will

<v Jay Kerttula>be a strong voice. I think they also will have the legislation to the floor that <v Jay Kerttula>particularly in areas of the economy, lands the deep 2 issues and <v Jay Kerttula>those issues of social services and education that have been traditionally a Democratic <v Jay Kerttula>role in this legislature. I think they all come the floor and will be well heard. <v Jay Kerttula>And I think most of those things will come to pass that we've supported in the campaign. <v Mike Harmon>Tillion says the 1 main goal of his organization is to get the people's business done <v Mike Harmon>quickly and adjourn within 100 to 110 days. <v Mike Harmon>And he says he hopes the House organizes under a similar mandate and works more closely <v Mike Harmon>with the Senate this year. But there's little question that the makeup of this Senate is <v Mike Harmon>even more conservative than last time around, when the 2 houses clashed repeatedly over <v Mike Harmon>fundamental issues. And despite the best intentions, it appears unlikely <v Mike Harmon>that relations between the House and Senate will be much smoother this time. <v Mike Harmon>This is Mike Harmon for Capital '79. <v John Hale>All the maneuvering going on in these early days of the session really boils down to

<v John Hale>the acquisition of institutional power that is positioning yourself in such <v John Hale>a way that you'll be able to influence legislation as it passes through the House or <v John Hale>Senate. There are 9 standing committees in each body. <v John Hale>When a bill is introduced in the House or Senate, the presiding officer of that body <v John Hale>refers it to several committees for hearings and possible changes. <v John Hale>Most bills receive 2 hearings in the House and occasionally only 1 in the <v John Hale>Senate, since there are fewer members in that body. <v John Hale>If the bill receives a hearing in 1 Senate committee, roughly 7 senators or <v John Hale>a third of that body's membership will have heard testimony on it by the time it reaches <v John Hale>the Senate floor. Depending upon their subject matter, a bill is usually referred to <v John Hale>one of 6 committees. A bill on the capital move, for instance, would ordinarily first <v John Hale>be referred to the State Affairs Committee. <v John Hale>When dealing with land leasing would go to the Resources Committee. <v John Hale>1 concerning unemployment insurance would go to Labor and Management, for instance. <v John Hale>These are the committees of first referral.

<v John Hale>The second stop for most bills is either the finance or the judiciary committees. <v John Hale>Since the finance committees in each House are responsible for preparing the state <v John Hale>budget, they must approve every bill that has anything to do with spending state <v John Hale>money. The Judiciary Committees must likewise approve every bill that has <v John Hale>legal implications. Virtually every major piece of legislation that has majority <v John Hale>support will pass through 1 of these 2 committees. <v John Hale>Judiciary and Finance, are the committees of second referral, the most powerful in the <v John Hale>legislature. Finally, the Rules committees are responsible for scheduling bills <v John Hale>for floor action. Though the committees rarely hold hearings, every bill that comes to <v John Hale>the floor for a vote goes through rules. <v John Hale>Mike Colletta of Anchorage will be serving as Rules Committee chairman in the Senate for <v John Hale>the next 2 years, as well as Senate majority leader. <v Mike Colletta>The Rules committee is the committee of, of last referral. <v Mike Colletta>Every measure must make an appearance and go through the Rules committee. <v Mike Colletta>The Rules committee's primary duty is the scheduling of legislation

<v Mike Colletta>that has completed the committee process. <v Mike Colletta>The reason it's beneficial to have the majority leader as the rules chairman <v Mike Colletta>is since the orderly daily organization <v Mike Colletta>and operation of the Senate is the majority leader's responsibility, <v Mike Colletta>it's well for that responsibility to include the scheduling <v Mike Colletta>of legislation to be heard by the membership. <v John Hale>You normally don't hear of rules committees actually meeting. <v John Hale>It's pretty much up to the committee chairmen to decide which bills will make <v John Hale>it onto the floor. <v Mike Colletta>That's true. The committee chairmen meet regularly <v Mike Colletta>and of course, these things are discussed. <v Mike Colletta>And then, of course, each body sets its priorities also. <v Mike Miller>There's an element of power or influence, whatever you want to call it. <v John Hale>Juneau representative Mike Miller has served as the House majority leader for the past 4 <v John Hale>years and has also chaired several standing and interim committees.

<v John Hale>Miller says the real strength in a committee chairmanship is the ability to bottle up <v John Hale>certain pieces of legislation. <v Mike Miller>There's no question, you know, if you're a chairman, you can, <v Mike Miller>you know, maybe pick up some support for some other legislation by holding the bill <v Mike Miller>hostage, even though that you may not be able to hold it hostage indefinitely if it's <v Mike Miller>something the other House wants. <v Mike Miller>But there's no question about it. You can, you can use it, you know, for bargaining. <v Mike Miller>And if it's just a piece of legislation that doesn't have a lot of push behind it and <v Mike Miller>maybe the sponsor isn't even all that excited about it, it's just simply not <v Mike Miller>going to be acted on. <v Mike Miller>You know, maybe there's a special interest group that wants it acted on. <v Mike Miller>They'll start talking some people in the halls and try to generate some interest. <v Mike Miller>But if the chairman still doesn't want to do it, unless it's a, you know, sort of a cause <v Mike Miller>celebre, he still has the capacity to pretty well keep it, <v Mike Miller>keep it bottled up. The, the chairmanship isn't <v Mike Miller>quite what it perhaps used to be in the early days of statehood <v Mike Miller>back in the 60s, I wasn't in the legislature then, of course, but I can recall

<v Mike Miller>that chairman was just really a little god. <v Mike Miller>And he, he could take a piece of legislation, if he personally didn't like it, he <v Mike Miller>could just plaster it against the back of his filing cabinet or as 1 or more <v Mike Miller>chairman had done, just literally tear the piece of legislation in half. <v Mike Miller>At that time for a bill to pass, you had to have the original. <v Mike Miller>It was one of those crazy quirks. <v Mike Miller>Now, if a bill gets lost, you can get another one. <v Mike Miller>But at that time, the thought was that if the original document was not there, it <v Mike Miller>couldn't pass. At least one chairman just tore this bill in half, and that was the end of <v Mike Miller>that bill for that session at least. <v Mike Miller>So the chairman had those powers in those days. <v Mike Miller>I think the chairman's power, if you want to use that word, <v Mike Miller>has probably been getting a little less every couple of years. <v Mike Miller>We, we have provisions in the joint rules, for instance, that if a chairman is buriying <v Mike Miller>in a particular bill, that the other members of the committee, a <v Mike Miller>majority of them, can appeal to the Speaker and the Speaker will

<v Mike Miller>then direct the chairman to put the bill <v Mike Miller>on the agenda for, you know, for movement up or down. <v Mike Miller>And if he fails to do that, if I remember the joint rules correctly, if he fails to do <v Mike Miller>that, the bill goes on to the next committee referral. <v Mike Miller>That rule, as far as I know, is at least in the House I'm sure, has never been used. <v Mike Miller>I don't think it's ever been used in the Senate either. But just the fact that is on the <v Mike Miller>books tends to take away a little bit of the power of the chairman. <v John Hale>That is unusual, though, isn't it? <v John Hale>Most majority members of a committee would not ordinarily challenge <v John Hale>the committee chairman. <v Mike Miller>Oh no, you wouldn't want it. <v Mike Miller>You're definitely off the committee chairman's Christmas card list if <v Mike Miller>you start challenging authority. <v John Hale>Miller said committee chairmen also have a big say in what amendments are adopted in his <v John Hale>or her committee as the legislation passes through. <v John Hale>All this may sound somewhat dry and uninteresting until you consider the types of <v John Hale>legislation that's going to be passing through the committee system. <v John Hale>Here's a brief rundown of a few bills and resolutions that were introduced prior to

<v John Hale>today's opening of the session. Sitka representative Dick Eliason has prefiled <v John Hale>2 resolutions, 1 of which would constitutionally designate Juneau as the state <v John Hale>capital. The other calls for a constitutional limit of 120 days to the length <v John Hale>of the legislative session. Both measures would go on the ballot in 1980 if approved by <v John Hale>the legislature. Senate Majority- Senate Minority Leader J. <v John Hale>Kerttula has introduced a bill calling for the disposal of 6 million acres of state land <v John Hale>through the open entry program. <v John Hale>It's already being talked about as a scaled down alternative to the Beirne Initiative, <v John Hale>now bogged down in court, which Kerttula co-sponsored. <v John Hale>If the Beirne Initiative is upheld by the Supreme Court, it would not be implemented <v John Hale>until July. Under a bill introduced by Fairbanks Representative Brian Rogers, <v John Hale>it's scheduled to take effect in March. <v John Hale>Another bill by Fairbanks Representative Charlie Parr would open the North Slope haul <v John Hale>road to year round public use. <v John Hale>The Comprehensive Litter Control Act, billed as a more reasonable and thorough <v John Hale>alternative to the bottle bill, has been prefiled in the Senate by Mike Colletta and in <v John Hale>the House by Chet Chatterton.

<v John Hale>We'll be taking a look at these and other issues as the session progresses. <v John Hale>Most legislators, meanwhile, seem to have their minds on the state's financial situation. <v John Hale>As Mike Harmon discovered when he asked several to describe the most important issue of <v John Hale>the session, in 2 words or less. <v Legislator 1>Land. <v Legislator 2>Money. <v Legislator 3>It's the unemployment problem that we have. <v Legislator 4>Of course land issue D2 and antiquities. <v Legislator 5>Budget and land. <v Legislator 6>Money, budget. <v Legislator 7>More for our money. <v Legislator 8>Land and money. <v Legislator 9>Land and jobs. <v Legislator 10>The fact that we don't have any money to spend. <v Legislator 11>The fiscal crisis. <v Legislator 12>What state finances will be. <v Legislator 13>The art of the possible. <v Legislator 14>State revenue and land disposal. <v Legislator 15>It's really a question of the state's economics. <v Legislator 16>Our financial position. <v Legislator 17>It's a permanent fund. <v John Hale>Tomorrow, members of the House and Senate meet in joint session to hear Governor Hammon's <v John Hale>State of the State address. Capital '79 has learned that the governor plans to ask the <v John Hale>legislature for an immediate 2 million dollar appropriation to establish and <v John Hale>staff an office in Washington, D.C., to coordinate the state's D2 lobbying effort.

<v John Hale>We'll be carrying the governor's remarks live beginning at 2:00 p.m. <v John Hale>Pacific Standard Time, 12:00 noon Alaska Standard Time, with condensed coverage on <v John Hale>tomorrow's edition of Capital '79. <v John Hale>That's it from Juneau this evening. Thank you. And good night from all of us here in the <v John Hale>capital. <v Announcer>KTOOTV in Juneau, Alaska, now concludes another day of broadcasting.

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