Senate Finance Committee advances bill changing Local Boundary Commission membership and chair selection

The Alaska Senate Finance Committee on April 29 moved Senate Bill 63, relating to the Local Boundary Commission, out of committee with attached fiscal notes and individual recommendations.

Senator Cronk, the bill's prime sponsor, told the committee the measure requires insurance commissioners appointed from each of the four judicial districts to live and vote in the judicial district from which they are appointed, creates an additional seat to ensure at least one of the six commissioners comes from an unorganized borough, and changes the statute so the commission chair is elected by the commission rather than automatically coming from a member at large. "And that is pretty much exactly what the bill does," Senator Cronk said.

The bill was previously passed by the other body last year unanimously and passed in the Senate earlier but did not make it to the final clearing, Cronk said. No amendments were submitted to the committee, and no committee members asked questions during the reintroduction. Senator Stedman moved the bill from committee "with attached fiscal notes and individual recommendations." Committee members raised no objections and the motion carried by voice; the committee signed the report to transmit the bill.

The action recorded in committee was procedural approval to send the bill forward with fiscal documentation and the committee's recommendations; the transcript contains no roll-call vote. The committee identified the measure as Senate Bill 63, Local Boundary Commission, and the committee-recorded motion and "no objection" were the formal disposition taken during this meeting.

The committee scheduled no further discussion on SB63 during this session; the transcript does not specify subsequent committee or floor calendar placement.