Alaska legislative ethics panel elects chairs, approves minutes and directs staff to explore part-time hire

The Select Committee on Legislative Ethics elected new subcommittee chairs, approved two sets of past minutes and unanimously directed staff to explore adding a part-time employee and alternatives for minutes preparation at its Jan. 31 meeting.

The committee elected public member Joyce Anderson chair of the senate subcommittee (who will chair the full committee in odd-numbered years) and public member Skip Cook vice chair of the senate subcommittee. The house subcommittee elected public member Connor Thomas chair and nominated Deb Fancher for vice chair; those nominations were approved by unanimous consent. The committee also approved the meeting agenda and two sets of minutes from Feb. 16, 2024, and Nov. 12, 2024, as amended.

The session included a staff report that Chief Justice Carney has forwarded three public-member nominees to the full Legislature for confirmation, including the renomination of Connor Thomas. Kevin Reeve, the committee administrator, said he expected a vote by early next week. Reeve told the committee the office has publicized vacancies and worked through outreach to identify candidates, and noted that the public-member role requires a substantial time commitment.

Committee members spent substantial time reviewing the management log and informal advice the office provides. Members discussed gift valuation and probono legal services, with the committee noting that the statute requires assigning a fair-market value to received services for reporting purposes. Committee members requested clarifications to advisory-opinion references and to the gift threshold language in the published materials.

After returning from an executive session, the committee voted on a personnel and administrative recommendation. Senator Clayman moved that the executive director explore adding a part-time employee to the committee budget to address backlog and to explore options for outsourcing minutes preparation. The motion, which also requested a scope-of-work and budget estimate to be submitted to human resources, passed by unanimous roll-call vote. Kevin Reeve said the office will provide a scope of work, proposed budget numbers and options for outsourcing minutes to the committee.

The meeting also included a brief budget update. Reeve said the current fiscal year is on track, with some surplus in salaries due to a recent vacancy and additional outside-counsel expenses expected for an ongoing appeal. Committee members noted outside counsel Brent Cole will appear before the Alaska Supreme Court on a case arising from a committee determination about a former senator and social-media conduct; that upcoming argument will generate additional legal expenses.

The clerk reported that training for legislators and legislative staff has been conducted in person and by Teams; Reeve said more than 300 legislative employees and legislators have been trained this session and additional sessions were scheduled.

The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn passed by unanimous consent. The committee did not receive public comment during the meeting.