Senate Judiciary Committee - Campaign Expenditure and Hate Crimes

I'm here because the Committee is supposed to discuss campaign expenditures.

But none of the Senators are here 18 minutes after the starting time. But in the audience you can see (l-r front row) ADN reporter Rich Mauer, newly arrived to take over from Lisa Demer and Rep. Bob Lynn, chair of the House State Affairs Committee which has been holding hearings on House campaign expenditure bills.  Behind Rep. Lynn is AP reporter Jeremy Hsieh. 

1:50 pm Committee Chair Hollis French and Sen. Egan are both here now.  I'll post this now and add to it as things progress. 

(S)JUDICIARY		STANDING COMMITTEE *
Mar 08 Monday 1:30 PM		BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
=+	SB 209	STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS; REGULATIONS	TELECONFERENCED
=+	SB 260	ELECTRIC & TELEPHONE COOPERATIVES' VOTING	TELECONFERENCED
*+	SB 202	HATE CRIMES	TELECONFERENCED
+	SB 284	CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES	TELECONFERENCED
+		Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled	TELECONFERENCED

---

This is pretty messy, I'll post it now, but go through it and clean it up.  Of course you can listen to the actual hearing at Gavel 2 Gavel.    DO NOT RELY ON THIS FOR ANY MORE THAN A ROUGH SENSE OF WHAT HAPPENED.  A number of people spoke faster than I could type.  Think of this as a guide to what you should look for on the audio.


2pm called to order by Sen. French.
Motion on SB 209 - bill moved on.  At ease to sign the bill

 

Sen. Coghill, Chair Sen. French,
Sen Wielechowski (Walking), staffer, Sen. Egan

Back on agenda - SB 260 to allow coops to vote electronically.  Amendment to make sure if they do move to electronic voting, they do not have electronic voting exclusively.  Amended adopted.
Bill moved out of committee.  Another break to sign this one.

SB 214 and HB 6:  CS #6 - Cruelty to Animals
Wielechowski - Combined the two bills together
Welcome Sen McGuire to committee.
Motion to adopt CS version /S.

Staff:  Shelly Morgan, Wielechowski .  bill amended to include hb 138, about acts of animal cruelty, strengthen punishment for animal cruelty and acts of bestiality criminal.  Violent crimes against animals and people will count...

Mike Sica - Rep. Lynn's staff - and we support this. 

Morgan:  All from SB 214 creates felony animal cruelty provision, misdeamnor for first offense and second offense in ten years knowingly killing or using to threaten or terrorize another person.  [Can't keep up.]  Knowingly engaging in sexual conduct with an animal.
She's talking about the levels of offense for each type of conduct.
In almost all situations penalties are higher for crimes against people than against animals.  Except stalking.

Coghill:  Help me understand this.  4th degree assualt, on a human being, where does this set.

French:  4th degree recklessly causing pain.  Could widely range.

Coghill:  Just trying to understand the equivalency.

Sica:  Not talking about pain, but about prolonged.

Coghill:  My only thinking is that we could end up having felonious behavior on animals, where humans do bad things to each other and get pled out, where this may not.  You'll see these less before DA's and judges.

Sen. W:  If you knowing inflict prolonged and severe pain on an animal - lowest form of felony.  If you do this on human being unclassified felony.
I can't keep up.

Coghill:  What's significant about decompression chamber.

Sen. W:  It's been in the statues a long time, a particularly heinous way to kill an animal.  Left over language.  Also killing by use of poison.

French:   Added and adopted on house side.  Amendment 1 is adopted.  We've heard that infllicting pain on animals precedes doing same to people.

Rep. Lynn:  Good example of house and senate working together to craft legislation that protects both animals and humans.  Like 2+2=5.

French:  Thank you for opening your bill to amendment.  We won't get many bills passed this year and yours was well positioned.

Lynn:  Main goal is to protect the community.  For the good of the people of Alaska. 

SEn. W.  I agree.  We won't get many bills passed this session.

Coghill:  Concerned only that it may get misused.  We ask soldiers to do things and we may have police using trained animals to do things that could possibly be called into question.  Can't find anything.  I hope this catches people practicing cruel behavior and is not used by people using animals for noble things.

Bill moved out of committee.  Short at ease.

2:19  Back on agenda for SB 202 welcome Sen. Davis

Davis:  Thanks for hearing this bill in a timely manner.  This bill has been around for a while.  I hope I'm the last one to introduce it because it gets adopted.  I know there has to be a way to get this hate crime bill passed.

Tom Obermeyer, aide to Davis:  202 makes any crime more serious or aggravated if motivated by sex, race, religion, national origin, etc.  known as a hate crime.  This ramps up the crime one level if it is a hate crime.
He's speaking very quickly and I can't nearly keep up.

Tom Obermeyer and Sen. Betty Davis testifying before the Committee.

French:  Is this legislation modeled after federal or other state?

Obermeyer:  Does not really follow Matthew Shepherd law.  Our language with the specific words in the Alaska Constitution.

Wielechowski :  Refresher, if we hae it in federal law and state, could they be prosecuted both fed and state?

Obermeyer:  People in the room could answer that.  My experience is that we can go beyond what the feds do, but we can't do less.

J. Kate Burkhart, Ex. Director of Alaska Mental Health Board - we support this if it includes people with mental illness.  Study shows people with mental illness 11 times more likely to be victims of these crimes.  Does provide educational component.  Appreciation for sponsors' work and committee's hearing it.

Marsha Buck,  resident of Juneau, representing board of directors of Alaskans Together for Equality for Alaskans gay, bi, transexual etc.  My daughter has a longterm relationship with another woman, and I care deeply about safety of my daughter, daugher-in-law, and my grandchildren.  We firmly request to amend to include gender perception.  It doesn't matter if the person perceived as different is heterosexual or gay to be a victim.  Also includes Alaskans who are transgender.  Transgender woman recently had nose broken on Anchorage Peoplemover.

French:   Thank you...

Kelly Birkenshaw:  Also on behalf of Alaskans Together for Equality and myself.  We recognize that hate crimes are not limited to our community and appreciate that the bill recognizes that Alaska has no tolerance for these acts.  But the bill leaves out transgender and  i can offer some definitions.

Sen. McGuire:  That would be helpful, to have definitions.

Birkenshaw:  SExual orientation- unique way people perceives own sexual desires ... and gender id is concept of maleness or femaleness - anywhere on the continuum.  SEx = biological characteristics at birth.  Gender id might be perceived as different from the gender assigned at birth.  As a resident of Juneau, breaking up, perceived as too masculine as a child, ... up to 60% of my transgender friends have been victims of violence.  I know how that feels and

Jeff Jessee:  Chief Exec. Officer AK Mental Health Trust Authority - my focus on hate crimes focused on those with mental disabilities.  ... You've heard personal testimony.  I was born with a cleft palate.  I couldn't order a meal in a restaurant until I was 11.  As a kid, I was called names, bullied, mocked, and beat up.  These kids that did that to me, grow up to be the adults who continue that as adults.  Both personaly and on behalf of the trust I urge you to pass this.

David Eastman - online - Served as MP for 6 years in AK.  Based on my law enforcement experience, I want to speak against this.  It will shift focus of harm of victim to mindset of offender.  The only true crime is minimized.  Crime is inherently discriminatory.  I discriminate when I chose to commit a crime against you.  If I commit a crime gainst you because o your age.  if I target you because of obesity or member of the military.  In any of these cases my motive was bad, regardless.  Do we need the government to step in to tell me I'm bad.  More role of church than police or judge.  Govt. isnt' effective in changing morality.  I urge you not to succumb to that temptation.  We move away from equality under the law.  This bill would make some of us more equal than others.  Alaskans lowered in contrast to others.  Further politicizes one aspect of our lives.

Crimes are motivated by hate, a willingness to commit crime against antoher.  By my refusal to treat another person by respect and dignity.  This won't change a person when they get out of prison.

Clement Steiner:  - public defender for state of Alaska.  Practical issues about drafting and effect.  "knowingly directed"  is inconsistent with ... scheme.  More along the lines of specific intent.  Knowing aspect is crime itself, confusing issues and confused as downgrading to a lower mens rea.
2nd concern.  Regarding proof.  Typically, motive is not a crime.  By criminalizing motive you broaden this beyond the act to the person themselves. 

French - if you have specific drafting suggestions send them along.
Coghill - we hage the aggrevator in ....c22 it would be interesting to me how often that has been applied and how handled.  Not exactly the same language.

Mr. Jeff Mittman:  ACLU - ED.  Submitted written testimony.  We appreciate sponsors and it is important that we think it an important statement to make.  People are targeted.  Because of that, we think the phrase gender identity added to the bills.  We have some concerns and PD has raised them as well.  Speech rights have to be recognized as well.  If someone attacks a homosexual, prior evidence should not be introduced because it violates first amendment rights to hold beliefs.  At trial evidence should be introduced as it directly relates to the crime, but not associational evidence.

Close testimony and hold for future hearing.

SB 284:  Campaign Expenditures.  Meat in two sections 4 and 11.
Disclosure:  writing on a piece of paper and disclosing to APOC
Disclaimers:  putting words in the ad that tells the public who is pushing this piece of legislation.

Obviously not going to move today.

Coghill:  I like a lot, but would like to challenge a few by way of amendment.  Drafter here, Mr. Bullard.  Thanks for being available.  Also John Ptacin available.

Matt Wallace from AKPIRG:  ED - Briefly weigh in in support.  Pretty catastrophic decision by SC.  Didn't invent big money problem.  We believe it explains a lot of the cynicism people feel toward politics in general.  CU opened the floodgates.  A lot we can do and SB 284 is just one of those measures.  Pleased with piece that requires disclaimers in campaign ads.  Top five contributors of front groups would be required to be identified.

Marilyn Russell in Fairganks - League of Women Voters president - League supports the bill.  LWV goals:  insure public's right to know  2.  combat corruption and un?? influence  3. ??  and 4.  ???  It is vital that Alaska laws to add campaign disclosures.... Citizens should know who is spending money in support of candidates.  Loophole of this magnitude is unexceptable and should be remedied before the elections.

Close public testimony.

Wed. We hae AG for confirmation hearing.  Some questions to him today.  Adjourned. 3:02

Cliff Groh Speculates on Why Young and Ben Stevens Unindicted

Alaska attorney Cliff Groh, who's writing a book on the Ted Stevens' investigation and trial, has posted his speculation on why Don Young and Ben Stevens haven't been indicted yet.
Here are some of his key points, and then he fills a lot in between these lines.  Check out the whole post at his blog Alaska Political Corruption.

1. The Department of Justice appears to feel both singed and relatively short-staffed after the Ted Stevens case blew up and former legislators Pete Kott and Vic Kohring got out of prison. . .
The meltdown of the Ted Stevens prosecution and the continuing revelations of the prosecution’s failures have put a cloud over the lawyers best-informed about the Alaska public corruption investigation and dirtied up the government’s primary cooperating witnesses. . .

UPDATE (March 7): Bill Allen is less likely to be cooperative as a federal witness against Ben Stevens or Don Young if Allen comes to believe that the Anchorage police--or especially the federal government--is investigating him for allegedly committing sex crimes. . .

2. A controversy over the constitutionality over one of the feds’ primary weapons against public corruption has appeared to make them wary about bringing more complicated cases in this area. . .

3. The combination of his extensive financial disclosures and—perhaps—his relative invisibility on incriminating tapes may help prevent the prosecution of Ben Stevens, and Don Young’s apparent receipt of things of relatively little value may be aiding Alaska’s only Congressman avoid charges. . .

Again, you can read the Cliff's detailed explanation at his blog, Alaska Political Corruption.

House: 412:38 Senate 302:26 Total 714:64

So we've just passed the half-way point of the 90 day 2nd Session of the 26th Alaska Legislature.  412 and 302 bills have been introduced in the House and Senate respectively.  38 from the House and 26 from the Senate have passed both houses.

Each Legislature convenes for two years, one session each year.  So, some of these bills were introduced in the 2009 session and are still hanging around.  From the legislative website here's the official tally as of today, Sunday, March 7, 2010:

Bill/Resolution Statistics (26th Legislature)

	HOUSE		SENATE		TOTALS
	INTRO	PASSED BOTH	INTRO	PASSED BOTH	INTRO	PASSED BOTH
Bills	412	38	302	26	714	64
Joint Res.	52	13	29	5	81	18
Concurrent Res.	21	6	14	5	35	11
Resolutions	15	10	10	6	25	16
Special Con. Res.	0	0	0	0	0	0

That means the House has passed 9.2% of the bills introduced and the Senate has passed 8.6%.  These batting averages would get you dropped from a baseball team.  But they have 45 or so days left.

And, in fairness, not all bills are equal.  Some are simple and some are far more complex. 

So where are all the bills?  Bills get assigned to committees that have jurisdiction over the issues they cover.  For instance, the Resources Committee deals with the programs and activities of the Departments of Fish and Game, Natural Resources, and Environmental Conservation.   I'm told that since the legislature has been cut back from 120 days to 90 days, bills tend to be assigned to fewer committees.

Anyway, a bill gets sent to a committee, which discusses it, possibly amends it, then, if it votes yeah, sends it on to the next committee.  If the bill has some sort of financial impact (and sometimes even if it is minimal) it has to go through the Finance Committee. 

Actually, I skipped a bit.  The whole procedure, step by step, is spelled out in a document linked on the Legislative Publications page and it's called Legislative Process in Alaska.  The next steps come directly from there:

The Committee then returns the bill with its report to the Chief Clerk or Secretary.

The report is read under Standing Committee Reports as part of the Daily Order of Business. The bill is then transmitted to the next committee of referral by the Chief Clerk or Secretary. If the bill does not have another committee referral, it is delivered to the Rules Committee which may schedule the bill on the Daily Calendar for Second Reading. The Rules Committee may also hold hearings on the bill and may propose amendments or a committee substitute of its own.

You can go to this page which lists each committee.  Click on a committee and you'll see what bills are there. where each bill is at the moment.

Click on Finance Committee now and you find there are now 72 bills sitting in the House Finance Committee.

		PRIME	CURRENT	STATUS
BILL	SHORT TITLE	SPONSOR(s)	STATUS	DATE
HB 4	FALSE CALLER IDENTIFICATION	LYNN, GARDNER	(H) FIN	02/04/09
HB 7	ROBERT E. BUSH VETERANS' MEMORIAL BRIDGE	CHENAULT	(H) FIN	02/24/10
HB 9	CAPITAL PUNISHMENT	CHENAULT	(H) FIN	04/10/09
HB 13	PROPERTY CRIMES	COGHILL	(H) FIN	04/02/09
HB 15	BAN CELL PHONE USE BY MINORS WHEN DRIVING	GARDNER, TUCK	(H) FIN	03/23/09
HB 29	ALASKA MINIMUM WAGE	OLSON	(H) FIN	03/12/09
HB 36	INITIATIVES: CONTRIBUTIONS/ PROCEDURES	** JOHANSEN, MILLETT	(H) FIN	04/16/09
HB 50	LIMIT OVERTIME FOR REGISTERED NURSES	** P.WILSON, GARA	(H) FIN	04/15/09
HB 52	POST-TRIAL JUROR COUNSELING	KERTTULA	(H) FIN	03/01/10
HB 58	EDUC LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM	** THOMAS, P.WILSON	(H) FIN	04/01/09
HB 59	PRE-ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS/PLANS	** KAWASAKI, GARA	(H) FIN	04/10/09
HB 60	BUDGET PLANNING & LONG-RANGE FISCAL PLAN	GRUENBERG, CISSNA	(H) FIN	01/20/09
HB 64	GIFT CARDS	** GATTO, GARDNER	(H) FIN	02/11/09
HB 69	EARLY CHILDHOOD ED: RATING & HOME VISITS	** TUCK, PETERSEN	(H) FIN	04/10/09
HB 70	ALASKA GROWN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS	GATTO	(H) FIN	04/03/09
HB 73	LICENSE PLATES	LYNN	(H) FIN	03/25/09
HB 76	LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL & LB&A MEMBERSHIP	** GRUENBERG, BUCH	(H) FIN	02/05/10
HB 79	GAS ROYALTY & TAX FUND/PCE	RAMRAS	(H) FIN	01/21/09
HB 80	JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE	DAHLSTROM	(H) FIN	01/28/09
HB 82	BUDGET: CAPITAL, SUPP. & OTHER APPROPS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	01/22/09
HB 89	VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION COMMITTEE	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	03/04/10
HB 92	DIVEST INVESTMENTS IN SUDAN	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/25/09
HB 97	STATE VETERANS' CEMETERY & FUND	GUTTENBERG	(H) FIN	02/25/09
HB 99	DECEASED VETERAN DEATH CERTIFICATE/HONOR	STATE AFFAIRS	(H) FIN	03/02/09
HB 116	IDITAROD REGISTRATION PLATES	NEUMAN	(H) FIN	03/05/09
HB 127	ALASKA RAILROAD BUDGET	STOLTZE	(H) FIN	03/18/09
HB 132	BICYCLE PROGRAM	SEATON	(H) FIN	03/23/09
HB 138	CRUELTY TO ANIMALS	GATTO	(H) FIN	03/01/10
HB 147	EDUCATION FUNDING FOR INSTRUCTION	EDUCATION	(H) FIN	03/02/09
HB 149	CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES FUND	JUDICIARY	(H) FIN	03/23/09
HB 150	POWER COST EQUALIZATION	AUSTERMAN	(H) FIN	03/18/09
HB 154	SUPP./CAP. APPROPS: ECON. STIMULUS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/25/09
HB 155	AUTHORIZE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PARTICIPATION	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	03/27/09
HB 166	SOUTHEAST ENERGY FUND	THOMAS	(H) FIN	04/01/09
HB 167	TAX CREDIT FOR STATE TOURISM PROGRAM	COGHILL	(H) FIN	04/08/09
HB 168	TRAUMA CARE CENTERS/FUND	COGHILL	(H) FIN	02/17/10
HB 169	APPROP: TRAUMA CARE FUND	COGHILL	(H) FIN	03/09/09
HB 180	SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FUNDING	JOULE	(H) FIN	03/12/09
HB 190	CHILDREN'S TRUST GRANT FOR ENDOWMENT	FAIRCLOUGH	(H) FIN	04/15/09
HB 193	LEGISLATIVE ETHICS ACT	COGHILL	(H) FIN	04/07/09
HB 196	ALTERNATIVE ENERGY REVOLVING LOAN FUND	ENERGY	(H) FIN	04/01/09
HB 204	POSTSECONDARY MEDICAL EDUC. PROG.	DAHLSTROM	(H) FIN	04/03/09
HB 205	PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND FOR DECEASED	CRAWFORD	(H) FIN	04/14/09
HB 212	UNEMPLOYMENT AMENDMENTS: FED STIMULUS	CRAWFORD	(H) FIN	04/08/09
HB 225	STATE PROCUREMENT CODE	FAIRCLOUGH	(H) FIN	04/14/09
HB 228	REPEAL CBR SUBACCOUNT	DOOGAN BY REQUEST	(H) FIN	04/10/09
HB 235	PROF STUDENT EXCHANGE LOAN FORGIVENESS	MUNOZ	(H) FIN	02/08/10
HB 245	LICENSING FOR OPTOMETRY	THOMAS	(H) FIN	03/01/10
HB 273	MUNICIPAL GENERAL GRANT LAND	P.WILSON	(H) FIN	02/26/10
HB 283	PURCHASE/CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL	CRAWFORD	(H) FIN	03/04/10
HB 291	GUARANTEED REVENUE BONDS FOR VETERANS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/23/10
HB 292	GRANTS TO DISASTER VICTIMS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/19/10
HB 294	USE, REGULATION, AND OPERATION OF BOATS	NEUMAN	(H) FIN	02/03/10
HB 296	ENERGY EFFICIENCY BONDS; LOANS; FUND	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/26/10
HB 298	SEX OFFENSES; OFFENDER REGIS.; SENTENCING	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/12/10
HB 299	CRIME LAB; LIFE SCIENCES BUILDING	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	01/19/10
HB 300	APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET/LOANS/FUNDS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	01/19/10
HB 301	BUDGET: CAPITAL, SUPP. & OTHER APPROPS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	01/19/10
HB 302	APPROP: MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	01/19/10
HB 310	SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION DEBT REIMBURSEMENT	EDUCATION	(H) FIN	02/17/10
HB 312	ADVISORY VOTE ON IN-STATE GAS PIPELINE	CHENAULT	(H) FIN	02/05/10
HB 314	WORKERS' COMPENSATION	LABOR & COMMERCE	(H) FIN	02/26/10
HB 317	EDUC. FUNDING: BASIC/SPEC NEEDS/TRANSPORT	EDUCATION	(H) FIN	02/12/10
HB 323	INCREASING NUMBER OF SUPERIOR CT JUDGES	RLS BY REQUEST	(H) FIN	03/01/10
HB 325	APPROP: DEFERRED MAINTENANCE/REPLACEMENT	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/03/10
HB 326	SUPPLEMENTAL/CAPITAL/OTHER APPROPRIATIONS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/03/10
HB 331	YOUTH COURTS AND CRIMINAL FINES	MUNOZ	(H) FIN	03/01/10
HB 339	AK HOUSING FIN CORP DIVIDEND	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	(H) FIN	02/10/10
HB 342	EXTEND BOARD OF REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS	T.WILSON	(H) FIN	02/26/10
HB 344	SALMON PRODUCT DEVELOP. TAX CREDIT	THOMAS	(H) FIN	02/23/10
HB 346	WORKERS' COMPENSATION ADVISORY BOARD	OLSON	(H) FIN	02/26/10
HB 356	TRANSPORT. INFRASTRUCTURE FUND APPROP.	TRANSPORTATION	(H) FIN	02/19/10

The House Rules Committee - the last stop before being voted on the House floor - has 21 bills.


Health and Human Services has 41.

Resources has 38.

State Affairs has 37.

Labor and Commerce has 35

Judiciary has 28.


Transportation has 25. 

Education has 20.  

Community and Regional Affairs has 19.

Energy has 15.


Fisheries has 15.

Military and Veterans Affairs has 1.  

I've left out all the House Resolutions (HR) and House Joint Resolutions (HJR) and Senate Bills (SB).  And note, that these can change every day, so the numbers will change. 

The Legislators clearly spend a lot of time writing, pushing,  and debating bills that never will become law.   They seem to do this because they think it impresses voters and contributors.  They also do this because they believe in the issues they are working on. Sometimes both motivations overlap, sometimes not.  People have to ask more questions of their legislators.

I'm not completely sure what's still likely to pass.  The Campaign Expenditure Disclosure bills - responding to the Citizens United Supreme Court case - appears to have bi-partisan support.   This will require disclosure of the funders of independent issue ads.  Even with this, everyone expects corporations and to a lesser extent labor unions, to target individual candidates who vote against their interests.  Without any of these bills passing, they can do that without the public knowing who's paying for the ads. 

It also looks like a lot of the remaining time will be spent on the gas pipeline and on a push by some lawmakers to lower oil and gas taxes. 

Black Dog White Snow

 

 

Sun Rips Clouds

 

Yesterday

Rain drops rushed with the wind currents

left, right, left, 

up, down

forth and back,

then after dark the snow took over

 
 

 today the sun's slashing holes through the clouds

  

 casting white shadows

 

inside the window as well as out.

Update:  1:46pm - Snow is now falling to the left, then to the right.  Sun has retreated.  Another update, perhaps, at halftime.

NYTimes Suggest US Iran Divestiture Is Complicated

House Bill (HB) 241, sponsored by Rep. Gatto and co-sponsored by Reps. Ramras, Keller, and Lynn, calls for state funds (retirement, permanent fund, etc.) to divestinvestment in Iran has passed the Alaska House State Affairs Committee and is now in the Finance Committee.  It is modeled in part after similar federal legislation. 

But the New York Times today says the federal law isn't working very well because, among other things, companies doing business in Iran also do business that helps US.  Here are some exceprts:

The government can, and does, bar American companies from most types of trade with Iran, under a broad embargo that has been in place since the 1990s. But as The Times’s analysis illustrates, multiple administrations have struggled diplomatically, politically and practically to exert American authority over companies outside the embargo’s reach — foreign companies and the foreign subsidiaries of American ones.

Indeed, of the 74 companies The Times identified as doing business with both the United States government and Iran, 49 continue to do business there with no announced plans to leave.

One of the government’s most powerful tools, at least on paper, to influence the behavior of companies beyond the jurisdiction of the embargo is the Iran Sanctions Act, devised to punish foreign companies that invest more than $20 million in a given year to develop Iran’s oil and gas fields. But in the 14 years since the law was passed, the government has never enforced it, in part for fear of angering America’s allies.

That has given rise to situations like the one involving the South Korean engineering giant Daelim Industrial, which in 2007 won a $700 million contract to upgrade an Iranian oil refinery.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the deal appeared to violate the Iran Sanctions Act, meaning Daelim could have faced a range of punishments, including denial of federal contracts. That is because the law covers not only direct investments, such as the purchase of shares and deals that yield royalties, but also contracts similar to Daelim’s to manage oil and gas development projects.

But in 2009 the United States Army awarded the company a $111 million contract to build housing in a military base in South Korea. Just months later, Daelim, which disputes that its contracts violated the letter of the law, announced a new $600 million deal to help develop the South Pars gas field in Iran.

You can read it all at the New York Times.

This issue did arise in the State Affairs committee as members asked how the bill would affect our relationship with large oil companies or oil support companies who might do business, through a subsidiary, in Iran.  The answer?  The bill only requires retirment pension funds, etc.  to divest.  We can still do business with the companies. 

Capitol Shoes

Most people in the Capitol building in Juneau wear pretty down-to-earth shoes. Perhaps that's why these shoes stood out so much. It seems the people wearing the shoes were more than happy that I noticed, though other people asked questions about my interest in feet.

Once people heard I was planning on post on Capitol Shoes some suggested a contest. People are welcome to leave their guess about who's wearing the shoes in the comments. Two are legislators and the rest are staffers.

 

  

  

These red ones were borrowed.

 

  

And the store downtown that helps people keep their feet in style. 

And here's one more from First Friday - part of the Earth, Fire, and Fibre XXVII exhibit, by artist Paula Rasmus-Dede.  I don't think this shoe has actually been in the Capitol, but it's at the State Museum for now which isn't far away. [Blogspot photo uploading isn't working, you'll have to come back to see this shoe.]

And since this is dealing with shoes, Runners' World wants to make sure you are tying your shoelaces right.  If they come untied, perhaps you are using a granny knot instead of a reef knot.  They show you how in this video.

And since we're discussing style, here's something that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else.  Rep. Paul Seaton of Homer almost always wears a Greek fisherman's hat.  Since I go to the State Affairs Committee meetings I see him a lot.  And all my pictures have him with his hat.  One day I realized that he probably had to remove his hat when they said the pledge of allegiance during the floor sessions.  It turns out, he's not allowed to wear the hat on the floor of the House at all.  But I also caught him one day at another committee meeting without his hat.

UPDATE: SUNDAY - From the New York Times:

SEOUL, South Korea — In South Korea, where people often remove their shoes before entering homes, restaurants or funeral parlors, it is a nagging problem: people walking off with others’ shoes, either by mistake or, sometimes, intentionally.

Still, Detective Kim Jeong-gu’s jaw dropped recently when he opened the warehouse of an ex-convict in Seoul and found 170 apple boxes packed with 1,700 pairs of expensive designer shoes, sorted by size and brand, and all believed to have been stolen.

“Shoe theft is not unusual here,” Detective Kim, 28, said. “But we gasped at this one.”

First Friday Preview on Snowy Rainy Day from Empty Capitol

 

 The snow was blowing hard and wet when I walked over to the Capitol around noon today.  But that didn't slow down the kids on the swings at Capitol Park.

Lot's of doors were closed with no lights on inside. The Clerk's Office at least had a sign. So many people are at the Energy Council Conference there's no need to stick around.  House Minority Chair, Juneau Rep. Beth Kerttula's newsletter to constituents characterizes the Energy Council hiatus this way:

There has been some concern about the Legislature sending 21 members to the Energy Council meeting in Washington DC. Three out of the 15 members of my caucus are going. While I do not agree with every view of the Energy Council, I believe the work our legislators will do is important for Alaska.

The Energy Council is a legislative organization comprised of energy producing states and countries, including 11 states and Canada. The Council provides a forum for discussing government policies regarding energy and the environment. While traditionally concerned with fossil fuels, the Council is also expanding discussions on alternative energy forms, such as wind power. With so much of Alaska’s budget dependent on oil and gas production, it is essential that we have a strong voice in these discussions.

The three House Democrats who are going will also take advantage of the opportunity to meet with several people and groups that are essential in forming national and international energy policy. Among their extra-curricular appointments are meetings with:

·         Alaska’s Congressional Delegation;

·         Pete Rouse, Juneauite and Senior Advisor to the President;

·         The Federal Coordinator of Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects;

·         The Environmental Protection Agency office that is in charge of Outer Continental Shelf permitting;

·         A member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources;

·         The Department of Transportation on pipeline integrity issues and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System; and

·         Our very own Senator Kim Elton in his current position with the Department of Interior.

Topics of discussion at the Energy Council meeting include:

·         Natural gas policy;

·         Market monitoring by the Federal Energy Regulation Commission;

·         Report from the U.S. Department of Energy;

·         Report from Copenhagen;

·         National security and energy;

·         Clean energy program development;

·         Smart grid implementation; and

·         Research projects.

While a learning experience for Alaskan legislators, going to DC is also an opportunity to teach people about Alaskan energy issues. The work they do there is valuable for the state. I always look forward to hearing from them when they return – and then forging ahead with the session!

I went across the street from the Capitol to see if the Juneau-Douglas City Museum had a First Friday schedule for tonight and got a preview of their new exhibit by local artist Puanani Maunu.  There will be jazz too I was told.  These are all big, bold paintings.

  

  

I'm a sucker for ravens and I love the overall effect.  

A couple of the individual pictures don't feel 

completely right to me, but others are dead on. 

[BTW, I think all 16 were on sale for $1300 or $1400, 

so if you're interested call the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.

I expect this one will go tonight. Ravens do that to people.]

  

And since I'm on the topic of art, here's audio tech Heather (she helps record the hearings) changing the pictures in the Capitol stairwell the other day.  The landings have pictures from different schools around Alaska. 

  

Here's a picture of the stairwell I took a while ago, 

waiting for an appropriate place to post it.

  

And here are pictures done by students at Mikelnguut 

Elitnaurviat Elementary School in Bethel, Alaska.

 

And here's a picture through the now mostly rain distorting windows of the bridge between the Capitol and the Thomas Stewart Building.  Looking down Seward Street.

UA Presidential Candidates in Juneau

Here's a bit of video from each of the candidates. 

It took a while to get the video up - my laptop memory was getting too full and had to get backed up and more space made available.  I'm going to put these three videos up with minimal comment.  But you can hear the quote I gave in the previous post on Gen. Gamble about his management style - at about 7:45 into the second video.  

I figured I should spend more time with the people I didn't know and particularly with the person that Alaska knows least - Dr. Lisa Rossbacher.  The conference room at the Centennial Center in downtown Juneau was divided into four parts.  A common room with food in the center, and three curtained off rooms, with one candidate in each room.

For the first session I went to see Dr. Rossbacher.

Dr. Rossbacher answers questions about her experiences lobbying the Georgia legislature, how a PhD is important.  Along the way she mentions her research on below surface water on Mars, and her  week in Houston as an Astronaut finalist.







Gen. Patrick Gamble answers questions about his experience dealing with the legislature, his assessment of the current University of Alaska main campuses, and his experience in academia.





I went to hear Chancellor Pugh on the third round (the candidates stayed in one place and the audiences switched rooms to see them.)  I'm afraid my video doesn't capture too much.  As you can see in the video, he's talking about pretty micro level issues about specific classes. That may well be a result of the questions he got.  But I didn't stay the whole time.  I went back to hear more from Dr. Rossbacher, the least known candidate. 

Report Says Sexual Assualt Increased While Gamble was Air Force Academy Commandant

[UPDATE July 12, 2011:  President Gamble was one of 21 people listed in an Inspector General report who "were not responsible for, and did not contribute to or abide, sexual assault problems at USAFA.  When informed of problems, they took appropriate action."  The full post is here.]

From a New York Times article on April 5, 1995:

The report said the percentage of female students indicating they had experienced at least 1 of 10 forms of sexual harassment on a recurring basis was 78 percent at the Air Force Academy, an increase from 59 percent of the female students who responded to the same survey in 1990-91. The questionnaires were sent to randomly selected students at each academy.

Why is this relevant?  Because last night, University of Alaska Presidential Candidate, Gen. Patrick Gamble, mentioned at the community reception in Juneau, that he had been the Commandant of the Air Force Academy.  Because of how quickly the finalists were announced and then arrived, I'd only glanced at his resume and hadn't caught that reference  [it's under Previous Assignments.]

Commandant of the US Air Force Academy. Directed all training, policy development, dormitory, food service, military classroom education and logistics support for 4000 students.  [Emphasis added]

But by this afternoon my brain had managed to link his comment and stories about sexual harassment at the military academies.  

So today I checked when Gen. Gamble was the Commandant at the Air Force Academy. His curriculum-vita doesn't mention dates, but Google led me to Wikipedia which does:

June 1993 - November 1994, commandant of cadets and commander, 34th Training Wing, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

So Gen. Gamble began as Commandant two years after the initial study and left five months before the GAO study cited by the New York Times. 

The article does say:

Service academy officials disputed these particular conclusions and pointed to two recent incidents. After a female freshman at the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs told school officials that several young men had sexually assaulted her in February 1993, 12 other women came forward with other claims, ranging from date rape to groping. An instructor and cadet were court-martialed, three other male students resigned and three more were disciplined.

 So this would appear to have happened during Gamble's tenure.  This does indicate that not everything was ignored.  But there are twelve women cited (it doesn't say how many specific cases) and two people court martialed and three people disciplined.  Three others resigned, presumably with nothing on their records.  It does show that in some cases there was a response.

And the report says 78% of women experienced some form of sexual harassment and eight presumed harassers were impacted.  (According to Table II.1 of the GAO study they included 90 of the 517 women cadets in their sample.)

A year and a half in charge of the Air Force Academy is not a long time.  And there's clearly nothing here to suggest anything about sexual harassment on Gen. Gamble's part.  However, this issue does raise some questions about his management effectiveness.

Wednesday night, Gen. Gamble spoke of his outcomes based approach.  He said management was about people, about "giving them a clear expectations of what the outcome you want is, and not getting in the way of them getting there"

We know there was a 1991 report which reported significant levels of sexual harassment at the military academies.  So when he took command in April 1993, one would expect that he might have considered it important enough to give his management team "clear expectations of what the outcome [he] want[ed was]."

We don't know what happened.  There are various possibilities:

1. It wasn't a priority item for him so he did not make lowering the incidence of sexual harassment one of his expectations for his Air Force Academy team.
2. He did make it a priority, but was not effective in changing the outcomes
3. He did make it a priority, but the impacts didn't show up until a later study. 

A September 2003 General Accounting Office (GAO) study - the next one listed in my search of the GAO site - did include this note that suggested that sexual harassment was still an issue nine years later:

Additionally, during the survey period, issues associated with alleged sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy became widely reported in the press, and several Air Force and Department of Defense (DOD) investigations commenced. Due to concerns about the overall lower Air Force Academy survey response rates, we extended the survey period by a week to March 7, 2003, at all academies.

Another case, which may or may not have surfaced while Gamble commanded the Air Force Academy, is discussed in a Dec. 14, 1996 Colorado Springs Gazette article [note I got the article through the UAA library and the link may require a password]:

A settlement was reached Friday in the case of a former Air Force Academy cadet who claims she was brutalized during survival training at the Air Force Academy more than three years ago.

Attorneys for both the Air Force and Elizabeth Saum agreed that they wouldn't comment on specifics of the agreement. The academy also declined to comment.

"We thought the settlement was just," said Doris Besikof, Saum's attorney, after a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in Denver. "She (Saum) is pleased she has closure. That's what she desperately needed."

Saum's 1994 complaint has been among the most serious - and publicized - sexual harassment allegations at the academy. It was the subject of news reports and inspired a segment by ABC News' "20/20." Since then, the academy has significantly expanded its sexual harassment prevention efforts and toughened discipline for offenders.

In her lawsuit, Saum said she was targeted for sexual harassment from her first day at the military school in 1992. The alleged abuse culminated in 1993, Saum's sophomore year, during the vigorous and realistic Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape program, the suit said. A requirement for graduation, the 20-day course teaches cadets how to survive in the wild, avoid capture, endure physical or mental torture and escape captivity. The Air Force dropped several components of the course in 1995. .  .

The times in this case leave it open whether anything was actually reported while Gen. Gamble was Commandant.  Since he took over in June 1993, the incident may have occurred prior to his arrival.  The article says it was first reported in 1994.  General Gamble left in November 1994, so the odds are he was there when it was reported.

What's my point here?  The situation at the Air Force Academy during Gamble's reign raises questions about the effectiveness of General Gamble's leadership in an issue that is significant to a large percentage of UAA students and faculty.  Remember, he takes credit in his CV for directing 

 "all training, policy development, dormitory, food service, military classroom education and logistics support" 

at the Air Force Academy when 78% of the women cadets reported sexual harassment on a recurring basis.

It's possible that the search committee has carefully reviewed all this and determined that Gen. Gamble's role was exemplary.  And I would understand that they might not wish to draw attention to the issue if not asked.  So I'm asking.  But somehow I doubt this was ever discussed. 

What action did Gen. Gamble take on sexual harassment at the Academy?

The candidates' names have been public for four days, making it difficult  for anyone outside the committee to actually figure out there might be an issue here and to contact people who were at the Air Force Academy at the time to determine whether Gamble did make a vigorous effort to change the campus climate or not.

If he didn't, that raises questions about his values and priorities, given that studies had revealed an appalling rate of complaints among women cadets.  If he did give it a high priority, it raises questions about the effectiveness of the management style he shared with members of the Juneau community last night.

And even if I had put all this together before last night, simply asking about this at a community reception wouldn't have been enough.  Gen. Gamble is a skillful speaker and could convincingly dismiss this all.

It really does require some confirmation from other sources.  Like some of the female cadets at the Air Force Academy in 1993 and 1994. 


Here's the summary of the 1995 GAO Report based on studies during 1993-1994.

Summary

In an update of an earlier study that reported widespread sexual harassment of women at the nation's military academies, GAO found that a majority of female recruits in academic year 1993-94 continued to experience sexual harassment. The most common forms of harassment included demeaning remarks and visual displays, such as posters or graffiti. However, between 36 and 42 percent of the women at each academy reported unwelcome physical contact of a sexual nature, including fondling and kissing. Academy men perceived an improved atmosphere for reporting sexual harassment, with significant declines in the percentages seeing negative consequences for reporting sexual harassment. The responses of academy women, however, showed no such change in perceived consequences.

GAO found that: (1) more than 70 percent of academy women reported experiencing at least one form of sexual harassment on at least a monthly basis, while about 11 percent of men reported such exposure; (2) the proportion of women at the Naval and Air Force Academies who reported sexual harassment on a recurring basis significantly increased from the 1990-1991 academic year; (3) the most common forms of sexual harassment were verbal comments and visual displays; (4) although men perceived an improvement in the atmosphere and less negative consequences for reporting sexual harassment, women did not perceive an improvement; (5) between 36 and 42 percent of the women were subjected at least once during the year to physical behavior that interfered with their performance or created a hostile environment; and (6) 11 to 22 percent of the women reported sexual advances that were tied to some aspect of their academy careers. [Emphsis added.]