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Government Operations Interim Committee

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MINUTES OF THE

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS INTERIM COMMITTEE

Wednesday October 22, 1997 . 9:00 a.m. . Room 416 State Capitol



Members Present:
    Sen. L. Alma "Al" Mansell, Chair
    Rep. Jordan Tanner, Chair
    Sen. LeRay McAllister
    Sen. Robert M. Muhlestein
    Sen. Robert C. Steiner
    Rep. Trisha S. Beck
    Rep. Perry L. Buckner
    Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
    Rep. Joseph G. Murray
    Rep. Lowell A. Nelson
    Rep. Martin R. Stephens
    Rep. Michael R. Styler
    

Staff Present:
    Mr. John Q. Cannon,
     Research Analyst
    Mr. John L. Fellows
     Associate General Counsel
    Ms. Junie G. Anderson,
     Committee Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and handouts distributed are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

1.     Call to Order _ Chair Tanner called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m.

2.     Committee Business _
    
    MOTION: Rep. Hendrickson moved to approve the minutes of the August 20, 1997 meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Buckner and Rep. Nelson absent for the vote.
                                
3.    Voting Rights of Felons _ John Cannon, Research Analyst, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, briefed the committee on the felon voting issue. Draft legislation, "Felon Voting Restrictions," was distributed to the committee.

    Kelleen Potter, Lt. Governor's Office, distributed handouts titled, "Felons [sic] Voting Rights." She suggested the committee consider disenfranchising the voting rights of incarcerated felons rather than convicted felons. She noted the administrative difficulties of depriving convicted felons' voting rights.

    John Fellows, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, said that to distinguish between convicted and incarcerated felons would most likely violate the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution, and would require a constitutional note on the bill. Committee members asked questions and discussed the bill.

     MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved to approve "Felon Voting Restrictions" as a committee bill. The motion passed unanimously.

4.    Salary Increases for Government Officials _ John Cannon, Research Analyst, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, briefed the committee on draft legislation, "Salary Increases for Local Government Officials."

    Rep. Mike Styler explained that Amendment 27 of the United States Constitution states that the United States Congress will not receive an increase in salary until after an ensuing election. He explained that this bill would provide that government officials (the legislative bodies of the city, county, and state) would make all salary increases, other than cost-of-living increases, effective only after the next regular general election.    

     MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved to approve "Salary Increases for Government Officials" as a committee bill. The motion passed unanimously.

5.    Election Law Commission _ John Fellows, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, briefed the committee on draft legislation, "State Elections Commission." The draft was distributed at the meeting. He explained that in August, the committee discussed and approved in concept a bill creating an Election Law Commission. He also distributed a handout titled, "State Elections Commission Legislation - Issues for Committee Decision."

    Mr. Fellows posed questions that needed to be decided by the committee in order for him to prepare final legislation.

    MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved to leave the responsibility of municipal incorporation filings, optional county government plans approved by the voters, and special district incorporation filings with the Lt. Governor's office. The motion passed unanimously.

    Chair Mansell suggested July 1, 1999, as the transfer date of personnel to the State Elections Commission.

     MOTION: Sen. Steiner moved to amend Page 57, Lines 16 and 17 to delete "January" and insert "July". The motion passed unanimously.

    Mr. Fellows explained the limited rulemaking power of the proposed Election Law Commission. Committee members discussed rulemaking authority and made no changes to the proposed draft concerning rulemaking. The committee discussed the timing of the proposed Election Law Commission's reporting requirements.

     MOTION: Rep. Buckner moved to amend Page 59, Line 21 to delete "March" and insert "February". The motion passed unanimously.

     MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved to place this issue as the first item on the November agenda, to have the Lt. Governor's office provide a list of what would be transferred from their office and the costs related to the transfer, to have the Fiscal Analyst's office provide a cost estimate of setting up the new Commission, and to have both offices present ways to minimize cost. The motion passed unanimously.

     MOTION: Rep. Styler moved to delete lines 22 and 23 on page 57. The motion passed with Chair Tanner and Rep. Hendrickson voting in opposition to the motion.

    Sen. Steiner suggested that page 134 should include a time frame that would require electronic filing of campaign reports.

    Kelleen Potter, Lt. Governor's office, said she will return to the committee next month to report on the issue of electronic filing.

    The committee discussed eligibility for service on the Commissions.

     MOTION: Rep. Buckner moved to direct staff to prepare language for discussion at the November meeting that would prohibit elected officials, candidates for public office, and party officials from serving as members of the Election Law Commission. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Stephens absent for the vote.

    Cassie Dippo, Common Cause, suggested including state and county chairs as party officials into the new language

6.    Performance Audit of Central Stores _ Mike Ely, Office of Legislative Auditor General, distributed a report titled, "A Performance Audit of Central Stores," and briefed the committee on the contents of the report. He suggested that the state eliminate the use of Central Stores and utilize a vendor-direct or "stockless" system. He said cost will be lower and service will improve with the "stockless" system.

    Sen. McAllister and other committee members discussed the issue of education having the option of using local vendors.

    Rick Coleman and Wayne Welsh, Office of Legislative Auditor General, provided additional comments pertaining to the issue of purchasing from optional vendors.

    Douglas Richins, Director, Division of Purchasing & General Services, said the new stockless contract has already been implemented and has proven to be beneficial to the state.

7.    Adjourn

    MOTION: Sen. McAllister moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:25 a.m. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Stephens absent for the vote.

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