Using BASIS: Slow-Moving Vehicle Bill First to Pass 2010 Session

[This post is long and technical.  Think of it as a puzzle to solve.  Or, if you just want to know about the bill skip down to the bottom of the post where you can find the text of the bill and my explanation of what it means.]

BASIS is the Bill Tracking website for the Alaska Legislature.  Like any rich tool, it takes some playing around with to figure out. 

As you can see there's a lot of information available there.  (Click the link above or the picture itself to go there.)

I went to BASIS to get the bill that was first to pass the House on Monday (and then the Senate on Wednesday.)  It was actually introduced last year and is about changing the speed limits for slow moving vehicles and allowing them to cross roads that have a higher speed limit.

I wasn't sure what the bill number was, but I knew it was sponsored by Sen. Stedman in the Senate and Rep. Peggy Wilson (there are two Wilsons now because Tina Wilson was appointed to replace Rep. John Coghill when he moved over to the Senate in October 2009 to replace Sen. Gene Therriault "who become the Parnell administration’s senior policy advisor for Alaska energy.")

So, on the page pictured above, right column, I clicked on "sponsor summary." [Actually I tried a lot of things before I found one that got me where I wanted to go.]  Sponsor Summary gets you to a page that has a list of House and Senate Members.  Stedman is on the right under Senate Members. 

Sponsor Summary - 26th Legislature

---

House Members Austerman Buch Chenault Cissna Coghill Crawford Dahlstrom Doogan Edgmon Fairclough Gara Gardner Gatto Gruenberg Guttenberg Harris Hawker Herron Holmes Johansen Johnson Joule Kawasaki Keller Kelly Kerttula Lynn Millett Munoz N.Foster Neuman Olson P.Wilson Petersen R.Foster Ramras Salmon Seaton Stoltze T.Wilson Thomas Tuck

Senate Members Bunde Coghill Davis Dyson Egan Ellis Elton French Hoffman Huggins Kookesh McGuire Menard Meyer Olson Paskvan Stedman Stevens Therriault Thomas Wagoner Wielechowski

Clicking on Stedman gets you to a page which includes this list of bills on which he was the prime sponsor.  (A Sponsor, according to the legislative glossary (pdf) is:

An individual, individuals, or committee who authors or agrees to introduce a measure.

A prime sponsor is not listed in the glossary, but what I've picked up this week, it's really the person who introduces the bill.  So there can be a Prime Sponsor, whose name is in all caps on the bill, Co-Prime Sponsors (also all caps), and co-sponsors (lower case) who are asked (or who ask) to join in sponsoring a bill. Here's part of that page you get (before I got distracted with defining a prime sponsor) by clicking on Stedman:

Bills Spon/Co-Spon by SMN   [SMN is code for Stedman]

		PRIME	CURRENT	STATUS
BILL	SHORT TITLE	SPONSOR(s)	STATUS	DATE
PRIME-SPONSOR OF THE FOLLOWING BILLS
SB 24	LOUIS MILLER BRIDGE	STEDMAN	(H) FIN	04/08/09
SB 25	RICHARD DEWEY DUVALL FERRY TERMINAL	STEDMAN	(H) FIN	04/10/09
SB 59	LOW-SPEED MOTOR VEHICLES	STEDMAN	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	01/27/10
SB 132	SOUTHEAST ENERGY FUND	STEDMAN	(S) FIN	04/19/09
SB 164	WATER ACCESS EASEMENT WIDTH/NOTICE	STEDMAN	(S) CRA	03/25/09
SCR 4	ACCEPT FED. ECONOMIC STIMULUS PAYMENTS	STEDMAN	HELD ON SECY'S DESK	03/23/09

And there is SB 59 Low-speed Motor Vehicles.  If you click on SB 59 you get a page which includes the following information: 

01/25/10	1336	(H)	PASSED Y39 A1 [Passed in the House 39 yes and one abstention]
01/25/10	1339	(H)	CROSS SPONSOR(S): P.WILSON[Rep. Wilson sponsored the House version of the bill]
01/25/10	1339	(H)	TRANSMITTED TO (S) AS AMENDED [It was sent to the Senate]
01/25/10	1339	(H)	VERSION: HCS CSSB 59(TRA) [I think this means: House Committee Substitute, Committee Substitute Senate Bill 59 - in committee after discussion they made changes and replaced the original bills with substitute bills]
01/27/10		(S)	CONCUR MESSAGE READ AND TAKEN UP
01/27/10		(S)	CONCUR AM OF (H) Y19 N- E1 [ 19 yes, and I'm not sure about the E, perhaps it means excused absence, but I'll check]
01/27/10		(S)	AWAITING TRANSMITTAL TO GOV [Now it's off to the Governor for his signature]

Below is the top of the page you get if you click on HB 59:

If you click on "full text," you get a list of different versions of the bill.

Full Text of SB 59

			Intro/Offered	Passed
Version	Amended Name	PDF	Date	House	Senate
SB0059A	SB 59		01/21/2009
SB0059B	CSSB 59(TRA)		03/05/2009
SB0059C	CSSB 59(TRA) am		04/13/2009		04/13/2009
SB0059D	HCS CSSB 59(TRA)		04/15/2009	01/25/2010	01/27/2010

• The first is the original Senate Bill (SB).
• The second is the Committee Substitute of the original Senate Bill (CSSB). TRA refers to the Transportation committee where this bill was heard.
• The third is the amended (am) version of CSSB (I'm not spelling this out since I just explained it above.  If you don't remember, go up three lines and look.)  This means the Senate bill came to the House transportation committee (TRA) and they made some changes and so they substituted their new version which in legislative code becomes HCS CSSB 59 (TRA).
• The fourth is House Committee Substitute (HCS) of the CCSB.

[Note, I think I've got this right, but I've only been studying this political dialect for a week, so I could be missing something.  Trust me, this is much easier than Thai or Chinese. Think of this as a puzzle to solve, like a crossword puzzle or a Suduko.]

So, now, if you click on the last one - which is the final version because it's dated 4/15/09 which was at the end of the 2009 legislative session (the Twenty-Sixth legislature spans two years, 2009 and 2010, so bills introduced last year are still in play this year) and it also has the dates 1/25/10 and 1/27/10.  One of the previous pages - Bills Spon/Co-Spon by SMN -  listed the actions on the bill.  And the last two were in the House and Senate this week when the bill was passed - on 1/25/10 in the House and 1/27/10 in the Senate.   So, we want to click on the last version then, which is the one that was passed on the floors of the House and Senate.

If you click on HCS CSSB 59(TRA)  [Remember?  That's House Committee Substitute of the Committee Substitute of Senate Bill 59 from the Transportation Committee] you'll get a  the wording of the bill.  [You can double click on the bill to enlarge it.  It's in two separate image files, so click them both to enlarge them both.]

 You may be wondering what this is all about and that wouldn't be unreasonable.  If I hadn't sat in Rep. Wilson's office the other day and listened to her explain it, I wouldn't have a clue.  Even so, I took the opportunity today at a reception at lunch to ask her again to explain some of the reasoning behind this.

Someone in Sitka, I believe, bought an electric car in Washington State and brought it home.  Other people in Petersburg got similar cars.  They go up to about 35 miles per hour.  But the Sitka owner had his car souped up a bit so it could go 45 mph.  But the Department of Transportation said the statues prohibit slow-moving vehicles from operating on roads with speed limits over 35 mph.  [The regular type in the bill is the old language and the bold and underline type is the new language.]

So this bill, first, makes it so he can drive his car on roads with a 45 mph speed limit.  But the Department of Transportation, if I remember this right, was opposed to this in the more congested areas of the state where they think it will be more dangerous.  So a lot of that language is to restrict this to smaller communities.  While the people that wanted this were in Petersburg and I think Sitka, where they have some of these vehicles, it would also apply to places like Bethel that is not connected to Anchorage or Fairbanks by the road system.  [I'm not sure why they needed to include both Anchorage AND Fairbanks since they are connected to each other by the road system and thus one or the other would do.]  The 35,000 population is in there to allow this to apply to Juneau.   And finally this only applies where the local government has approved of this. 

Section 2, about the intersection, is in this because in Petersburg, in order to get (I forget exactly where, but someplace they want to go regularly, like the market) they have to cross a highway where the speed limit is 65.  But slow-moving vehicles are not allowed on such roads.  So this bill doesn't let them drive on such roads, but does let them cross them at intersections.

So, that's a primer on using BASIS to track down and read the first bill to pass in the second session (2010) of the Twenty-sixth Alaska Legislature, plus some background on why they used the language they used.

Ethics Training Session

We did three and a half hours Friday going over the ethics standards.  This is territory I know pretty well, in general, but I don’t know the details of the State Law, so this was useful.  

Joyce Anderson, the Administrator of the Legislative Ethics Committee, went through a long Powerpoint and fortunately we all got copies so I can go back and remember what was said.  We also got copies of the Standards of Conduct Handbook (pdf). A key point early on, from the slides,  was:

Two aspects to being ETHICAL
Knowing right from wrong
Having the moral willpower to do what’s right (discipline)

So yesterday’s session was designed to help us know right from wrong.  There seemed to be five key areas though considerable time was spent on gifts. 

1. Gifts
1. No gifts over $250 from anyone.
2. No gifts from lobbyists.  Period.
2. Separating Political and Personal Activity from Legislative Activity Paid for by the State 
1. Don’t do Legislator’s personal chores while on the Legislative payroll
2. Don’t do any campaign related work while on the legislative payroll
3. Constituent Services
   
1. Legislators and staff may help constituents determine how to get through the state system, but may not advocate for constituents dealing with state officials
4. Potential conflicts of interest must be Disclosed
5. Other  
1. Legislator or legislative employee may not disclose information deemed confidential by statute.
2. Legislative Employees may not file a letter of intent or declaration of candidacy to become a state or national candidate
3. Legislator or legislative employee may not request or accept compensation greater than the value of the services performed. (To prevent companies from ‘hiring’ legislators in the interim as a form of ‘gift’ rather than serious employment.)
   

I think that those are the basic areas.  But the handbook in the picture is 121 pages long because there are lots of exceptions, gray areas, and examples.  Here's a little more on some of those categories.



Gifts

The $250 limit is cumulative from any one person or entity, but there is no limit on how many people a staffer could get up to $250 worth of gifts from.  This includes everything from Money, Loans, Services (Cleaning, child care, legal advice, etc.), Entertainment, Hospitality (stay at a home, room at a hotel), things (flowers, clothes, etc.), Promise or Other Form.  (Promise of payment whether it's carried out or not.)

Also, there’s a distinction between gifts connected to one’s legislative status and gifts NOT related.  But this too can become complicated if a person is both a good friend or relative and also has business affected by the legislature. 


With lobbyists, there are a couple of exceptions on the no gift policy. 
First the basic rule:

Gifts from a registered lobbyist OR immediate family OR a person acting on behalf of a lobbyist are prohibited.

Exceptions:

1. Food and drink (for immediate consumption)
1. Lobbyist must report to APOC if the value of food and beverage exceeds $15
2. Gifts from an Immediate Family Member (spouse or domestic partner; OR parent, child or sibling under certain circumstances (this means the lobbyist is the immediate family member)
3. Contributions on behalf of a charity or charity event
4. Contributions to a charity
5. Compassionate gift

Let’s clarify.  A lobbyist can take a legislator or legislative staff member out to eat, but only up to $15.  If over $15 it has to be reported.  This includes not just the legislator or staff member, but also their the spouse or domestic partner.

However, “If the food and beverage is provided as part of an event open to all legislators or employees, no disclosure is required.” (Handbook, p. 29)

Charity events are also a big thing in Juneau apparently and it is okay for a lobbyist to buy a ticket to a charity dinner and give the ticket to a legislator or legislative employee.  There is a limit of $250 per lobbyist per legislator per year for charity events. So, if there were a Haiti Rescue Chairty Dinner next week, a lobbyist could buy and give five $50 tickets to Rep. G for him and his staff and wife  to go.  BUT, the Alaska Legislative Council must approve the charity event in advance.

A compassionate gift is when there is a health-related emergency, catastrophe, or tragedy.  To qualify it must have prior written approval from the chair of the Legislative Council and Ethics Committee and some other requirements.  Flowers, fruit baskets, etc. do not require pre-approval. 


Separating Legislative and Personal Status is intended, in the case of staff, to keep the staff from doing the legislator’s personal chores while on the state budget.  The only things staff are allowed to do while being paid by the State are activities that are legislative functions.  The Powerpoint slides tell us, however,

"There is no definition of 'legislative purpose' in the Legislative Ethics Act"

And sometimes the line is blurred.  An example from the handbook (page 10):

Q:  May a legislator or legislative employee ask or allow staff to pick up a clean shirt at the dry cleaners if the legislator or employee just spilled ink on the shirt being worn and must soon attend a meeting?
A:  Yes, this falls within the infrequent and unusual situation rule. 

Staff are not allowed to schedule non-legislative events on the legislator’s calendar, however, they are allowed to record such events, made by the legislator, on the calendar to avoid double booking the legislator.  There's an attempt, in these examples, to have rules but recognize that there are times when it's reasonable to make adjustments.

Also in this category is separating legislative and campaign functions.  So there are strict rules against using State funded legislative newsletters to campaign.  Factors for evaluating if something is allowed include:  Timing (how close it is to the election); Content (is it legislative or candidate info?); and Audience.  But mentioning anything about one’s campaign is prohibited.  Newsletters are not allowed 60 days before an election unless there is prior approval. 

Legislators are not allowed to do any campaigning from the office.  However, if someone calls and asks a campaign question, the staffer doesn't have to just hang up.  The staffer can  refer the caller to a campaign phone number or website.  This same ‘receptive’ rule is in effect if, say, the doctor's office called to change an appointment.  A staffer could check the schedule and change the appointment time. 

Constituent issues.  Legislators and their staff are allowed to assist their constituents with problems with State agencies - say an issue over their Permanent Fund Check.  The assistance is restricted to helping the constituent determine the right office to contact, understand the procedure, etc.  The legislator or staff is NOT to take the role of advocate or tell the State agency personnel how to resolve the problem. 

Disclosure.  There are situations when legislators and staffers must file official disclosures.

Gifts

1. If Legislative related
1. aggregate total under $250 from same person/entity in a calendar year, NO disclosure required. 
2. aggregate total over $250 from same person/entity in a calendar year (some are permitted)  disclosure required.
2. If Non-Legislative related 
1. - over $250 is required and disclosure may be required

Other required disclosures:

1. Membership on a Board of Directors
2. State Benefit and Loan Programs
1. there’s a long list of programs (from the Violent Crimes Compensation Board and Right of Way Easement to the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund)
2. -State Contracts and Grants, if annual value is $5000 or more 
3. Close Economic Association
1. If there is a financial relationships between legislators, legislative employees, public officials (as defined in Statute) and registered lobbyists
2. These might include any business or employment or even rental agreements
4. Financial agreement to represent a client before a state agency, board or commission

The group that interprets the law is the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics composed of

Public Members - Dennis ‘Skip’ Cook (Fairbanks);  H. Conner Thomas (Nome), Gary J. Turner (Chair)(Soldotna); Ann Rabinowitz (Anchorage); Herman G. Walker Jr.  (Anchorage)

Legislative Members - Senator Gary Stevens (Alt Senator Joe Thomas);  Senator Tom Wagoner (alt Senator Bill Wielechowski);  Vacant (Rep. John Coghill moved to the Senate) (Alt.  Rep. Carl Gatto);  Rep. Berta Gardner (Alt. Rep. Les Gara)

I don't recall hearing what the penalties are for violations.  I guess I should look that up.

This is a lot to swallow in three and a half hours.  Just to write this post, I had to go back through my notes and the handbook carefully to be sure I had it right. And I don't guarantee that it is all correct.  But it gives a sense of what all is involved.

That was just the morning session on Friday.  But I'll stop here and try to cover the other afternoon later.

Meanwhile, rain and wind are quickly getting rid of the snow.  I've had a hard time getting to good wifi spots, plus there's just been a lot to do. And the ferry from Whittier arrived this morning carrying lots of legislators and staff members and their cars.  Monday is Martin Luther King's Birthday Holiday, so the session begins on Tuesday.  But things are starting to happen.  We spent part of today unpacking the boxes that arrived from the Anchorage office.

Leadership Anchorage

The Alaska Humanities Forum has a program called Leadership Anchorage which takes about 15 or 20 people each year and runs them through a series of workshops designed to improve their leadership skills. The intent is to take people who could play an important role in the future of Anchorage and Alaska (and beyond, of course) and help them develop the skills they need.

Applications are on line.

Most of us tend to play to the skills we have and use them to compensate for areas that aren't so developed. Leadership Anchorage helps people work on those often underdeveloped skills that we'd rather not use as well as the obvious talents.

I've known people in the program since it started. The mix in each year's group is amazing. There's an ethnic mix, a talent mix, and an age and experience mix. There are usually people few people know about and there are a few people in fairly high positions already. Here are some of the people who have gone through the program over the years:

• Janie Leask, First Alaskans Institute
• Nils Andreassen, Institute of the North
• Liz Posey Urban League of Young Professionals
• Bill Wielechowski, Alaska State Senate
• Guadalupe Marroquin, (she worked in the Clerk's Office and spared no effort to overcome my fax problems so I could vote in the Muni election from Thailand.)
• Macon Roberts, Anchorage School Board
• Angelina Estrada Burney, State of Alaska
• Erick Cordero Giorgana, Matsu School Board

I'm not giving you a lot of notice here - the deadline for the application is tomorrow. But I bet you could send in a partial application and get the rest in by Monday. (I'm not making the rules, so you better ask first.) And if you can't get your stuff together for this year, you might want to tuck it into your brain as something to prepare for for next year.

This is the 2009-2010 Group

I've posted on this before. It's not free, but it is a great opportunity. And there are some scholarships. There's a fair amount of work you have to do, but it is designed with busy people in mind. Everyone is in the same boat. Here's the schedule for the coming year from the website:

Fall 2009 - Spring 2010 Training Schedule

Retreat: October 9 and 10, 2009 (Friday and Saturday, overnight)* Training 2: October 17, 2009 (Saturday) Group Project Selection Training 3 November 5, 2009 (Thursday) Mentor Training* Training 4: November 21, 2009 (Saturday) Training 5: December 10, 2009 (Thursday)* Training 6: January 23, 2010 (Saturday) Training 7: February 11, 2010 (Thursday)* Training 8: March 13, 2010 (Saturday) Training 9: April 10, 2010 (Saturday) Training 10: May 1, 2010 (Saturday)* Graduation: May 18, 2010 (Tuesday, 6:00-8:00 p.m.) * You are expected to make arrangements to be absent from work on these days. With the exception of the Retreat, the trainings will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m. The retreat will involve an overnight Friday night.

You can see you'll spend some intense time with the group, which means you'll develop some important bonds with Anchorage's future leaders.

The Director, Jim MacKenzie, was a student of mine and is really smart and really well organized, not to mention totally obsessed about making this the best experience the participants have ever had. He lived in Japan for nine years and when he returned to Anchorage he worked as a translator for the Japanese Consul in Anchorage. He's got lots of good stories. He's the guy in the front, right in the picture with the red tie.

Leadership Anchorage Recruiting

This is an unpaid recruiting ad that I'm putting up because I believe in the program and the people running it. Leadership Anchorage is run through the Alaska Humanities Forum. Its aim is to help groom people to take important roles in the community. I've known a number of people who have gone through the program. They mostly are working hard, many with families, even going to school part time - busy people.

But the chance to be in a group of interesting people, examine who you are, what you want to be, and develop strategies to get there makes taking even more time to participate in this program worth it.

Photo from Leadership Anchorage page on the Alaska Humanities Forum website. If you click there, you can read the names of the people in the picture. And a lot more about the program. Besides the people this year, some of the people who have gone through this over the year include:
Janie Leask, First Alaskans Institute
Nils Andreassen, Institute of the North
Liz Posey Urban League of Young Professionals
Bill Wielechowski, Alaska State Senate
Guadalupe Marroquin, Municipality of Anchorage (she works in the Clerk's Office and spared no effort to overcome my fax problems so I could vote in last April's Muni election from Thailand.)
Macon Roberts, Anchorage School Board
Angelina Estrada Burney, State of Alaska


I'll tell you not to be put off by the word Leadership. I have some real heartburn with that word and maybe I'll do a post on it. It doesn't mean you have to be ready to lead your army into battle on horseback. We lead in lots of different ways. Even shy, quiet people can be leaders. If you secretly want to do great things, here's your chance to get a big boost.

Disclosure: Jim MacKenzie, the director of the program, was a student of mine in the public administration program at UAA. (Some of my former students turned out ok.) He's really, really smart and thoughtful. He spent about ten years in Japan and speaks Japanese well enough to have acted as an interpreter for all sorts of business and political exchanges while working for the Anchorage Japanese Consul. (I had trouble communicating to Doug who speaks actual English English.) I promise you that the participants of this program do not work harder than Jim does.

So, if you ever thought that you should be doing more good work than you are now, or that you could use a group of eager peers to help you make Anchorage, Alaska, or the world a better place, go check out the rest of this post and the website.



Leadership Anchorage Now Accepting Applications!

Leadership Anchorage applications for the 2008-2009 class are now
available. As applications are received, interviews will be
scheduled, with the final application deadline being September 8,
2008. [The program year begins with an overnight retreat at the end
of September.

Leadership Anchorage is a nationally recognized, rigorous program for
adults. It is designed to expose the leaders of non-profit,
neighborhood, business, and ethnic organizations to the larger power
brokers of Anchorage and Alaska. After eleven years, more than two
hundred graduates, and recognition as one of the top civic leadership
programs in the country, the program continues to grow and expand its
reach. Program participants over nine months experience a two-day
retreat and nine rigorous, full-day sessions (mostly on Saturdays).
These sessions include speaker presentations from established leaders
in the community, readings in the humanities and on leadership as
well as group dynamic learning exercises designed to facilitate the
development of critical leadership skill sets.

The cornerstones of LA's curriculum are a one-on-one mentorship
program, and a civic service related group project designed to
address an expressed need in the community. The goal: more effective
community leadership with a wider and more diverse network of
connections.

Open to individuals who have already demonstrated a commitment to
their community, have already shown leadership skills, but who would
benefit from intensive leadership training. Anchorage residency is
not required. Diversity is crucial; there is no ceiling on age.

For further information, contact Jim MacKenzie at 272-5324 or
jmackenzie@akhf.org.

2008~2009 Program Links
http://www.akhf.org/programs/leadership/leadership_applications.html

Which Senator has the Hummer?

from Bankrate.com

Dr. Charles Kenny, a psychologist and president of consumer psychology firm Kenny & Associates, has interpreted consumer buying behavior for GM, Toyota and Nissan. He notes that on its face, the purchase of a new car is almost always designed to fulfill emotional needs because, as a pure economic purchase, it's a bad investment. . .

Emotional needs filled by the purchase of an auto range from validation of sexuality to pure power.

"What's a bigger, more powerful, more intimidating vehicle than a Hummer?" asks Dr. Kenny. "With 99 percent certainty, when a person buys a Hummer, there's a strong power need to dominate others."

I was at Costco on DeBarr on Saturday and so was this vehicle with this license plate.


I called my State Senator's (Johnny Ellis) office, but his aide didn't know who had #3. He told me Ellis didn't use a Senate license plate. He suggested the Legislative Information Office. Mike at the LIO said he thought legislative license plates had the same privacy protection as other license plates, but would check. He called back and said the information wasn't public.

I called the DMV. Jody explained that I could come in, fill out a form, which had check boxes for my reason for wanting to know, and pay $10 to get the information. (There also are a number of websites that will get you reverse license plate information for a fee.) I also asked why Legislative licenses weren't listed on the DMV page with all the special licenses. Jody said that was because they no longer give out legislative license plates.

I found the form online on the DMV form page. (It's the Motor Vehicle Record form under Motor Vehicles and Trailers.) The form mentions AS AS 28.10.505 which says:

d) AS 28.10.505. Disclosure of Personal Information Contained in Motor Vehicle Records.
Personal information may be disclosed by the department upon proof of the identity of the person requesting a record and representation by the requesting person that the use of the personal information is strictly limited to one or more of the following uses:

(1) for use by a government agency, including a court or law enforcement agency, in carrying out its functions, or a private person or entity acting on behalf of a government agency in carrying out its functions;

(2) for use in the normal course of business by a legitimate business or an agent, employee, or contractor of the business, but only

(A) to verify the accuracy of personal information submitted by an individual to the business or an agent, employee, or contractor of the business; and

(B) if the information submitted is not correct, to obtain the correct information, but only for the purposes of preventing fraud by pursuing legal remedies against, or recovering on a debt or security interest against, an individual;

(3) for use in connection with a civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitration proceeding in a court or government agency or before a self-regulatory body, including service of process and the execution or enforcement of a judgment or court order;

(4) for use in research activities, or in producing statistical reports, if the personal information is not published, redisclosed, or used to contact an individual;

(5) for use by an insurer or insurance support organization, or by a self-insured entity, or an agent, employee, or contractor of an insurer, in connection with claims investigation activities, anti-fraud activities, rating, or underwriting;

(6) for use in providing notice to the owners of towed or impounded vehicles;

(7) for use by an employer or an agent or insurer of an employer to obtain or verify information relating to a holder of a commercial driver's license that is required under 49 U.S.C. 31101 - 31162 (Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act);

(8) for use in connection with the operation of private toll transportation facilities;

(9) for use in connection with a legitimate business operating under a contract with the department;

(10) for bulk distribution for surveys, marketing, or solicitations if the person who is the subject of the information has provided written consent to the release; and

(11) for any other purpose specifically authorized by law that is related to the operation of a motor vehicle or related to public safety.

(e) Personal information contained in an individual record may be disclosed, without regard to the intended use of the personal information, if the person who is the subject of the information has provided written consent to the release.

None of those apply to me, so I have to find other ways. By the way, although Jody said DMV no longer offers legislative plates, this section of the code was also still on line:

Sec. 28.10.181. Registration of unique and special vehicles and vehicles used for special purposes.


(f) Vehicles owned by elected state officials. The department shall issue special registration plates to each incumbent elected state official for display on noncommercial motor vehicles owned and driven by the official. The department shall number or design the plates so that registration by an elected state official is indicated upon the plates. The registration plates issued under this subsection remain with the owner of the vehicle only during the official's term of office.

So who's driving the hummer with State Senate plates?


We aren't talking about a lot of people here. There are 20 people in the State Senate. We can start with the people in the Anchorage area.

Senate-G Lyda Green (R)-Matanuska-Susitna
Senate-H Charlie Huggins (R)-Wasilla
Senate-I Fred Dyson (R)-Eagle River
Senate-J Bill Wielechowski(D)-Anchorage
Senate-K Bettye Davis (D)-Anchorage
Senate-L Johnny Ellis (D)-Anchorage
Senate-M Hollis French(D)- Anchorage
Senate-N Lesil McGuire (R)-Anchorage
Senate-O John Cowdery (R)-Anchorage
Senate-P Con Bunde (R)-Anchorage
Senate-Q Thomas Wagoner(R)-Kenai

So, I started calling offices. Now I was curious about who had plates on their cars and who didn't.

• Aides in the following offices said their Senator did NOT use the plate on the car:
• Ellis
• Dyson
• Davis
• Wielechowski (mother has it framed)
• [McGuire - staff member called back after the post]
  
  
• Aides in these offices said they did have the plates on their cars:
• Green - She's got number 1
  
• Cowdery - but didn't know the number and would call back
• Huggins - has it on his truck, but she didn't know the number
  

• Aides in these offices weren't sure and said they'd check and get back to me.
• French
• McGuire, [staff member called back several days later. She doesn't use her plates.]
  

• And no one answered the phone here so I left a message:
• Bunde
• Wagoner
  

While I was calling, a friend who has good sources called me about something else and said he'd check. He just called back. Number 3 is NOT an Anchorage area Senator. My source says that Number 3 is Lyman Hoffman of Bethel, a Democrat!

I haven't confirmed that through other sources, but my source is generally quite reliable. But if he's wrong, I hope someone will tell me. And if he's right, an independent confirmation would be nice.