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Council adopts committee records archiving policy to preserve public testimony
Summary
The Legislative Council adopted a policy directing that all public comment and testimony submitted to committees be archived in physical and electronic legislative records to ensure transparency and preservation.
The Alaska Legislative Council on Feb. 12 adopted a committee records archiving policy intended to standardize the preservation of public testimony and committee documents.
Senator Kathy Giesel, who proposed the policy, said it was designed to ensure that "public comment, is properly archived to ensure transparency, accountability, and preservation in our records." Giesel told the council she consulted Legislative Legal Services during drafting and emphasized that the policy addresses concerns about inconsistent archiving of public testimony.
Emily Nauman, director of Legislative Legal Services, told the council the policy will ensure consistent practice across committees. Discussion referenced Uniform Rule 23 and the committee recording process; committee recordings and logs are sent to the Legislative Reference Library under existing practice, and the policy is intended to codify the archiving of testimony submitted in writing or via electronic portals so it is included in both physical and electronic legislative records.
Supporters, including Representative Kerrick, described the policy as converting uneven or discretionary past practices into a standard procedure to preserve the public record. The council adopted the policy with no objection.
