Sponsor Statement for HB 517: Surplus/Obsolete State Property

Portrait of Representative Kevin Meyer, 111 K.

Rep. Kevin Meyer
State Capitol, Room 110
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: (907) 465-4945
Toll Free: (866) 465-4945
Fax: (907) 465-3476

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Rep. Carl Morgan
State Capitol, Room 434
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: (907) 465-4527
Fax: (907) 465-2197

An Act relating to the disposition of surplus and obsolete state property.

Updated:	April 12, 2002
Contact:	Representative Carl Morgan at (907) 465-4527

The Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires faxes from fax machines manufactured after December 20, 1992, to identify the date, time, name of business or other entity, or the name of the individual sending the message and the telephone number of the sending machine.

Executive and Judicial branch agencies, as well as the Alaska Legislature must comply with this federal law. Unfortunately when fax machines owned and operated by the State of Alaska are surplused, the electronic identifier identifying the particular agency or office is most often left on the machine. No State of Alaska agency has a policy to remove the identifier before machines are retired from service.

Recently members of the House Community and Regional Affairs and House Resources committees received a fax from a public advocacy group on a house joint resolution going through the legislative hearing process. Also, most members of the Alaska Legislature received a fax on the use of the Permanent Fund. The identifier on theses faxes indicated the advocacy positions were being faxed from the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land, and Water. In fact the Division had nothing to do with the faxes being sent and had earlier disposed of the particular fax machine.

This legislation is straightforward and simply requires all marks identifying the property or equipment as state property be removed; and, any identifiers indicating the property or a product generated by the property be removed before the equipment is offered for surplus.

HB 517 is therefore intended to prevent similar situations which inadvertently happened to the Department of Natural Resources; or, any range of possible scenarios that could easily happen to other state agencies or offices. It will help prevent the appearance of state agencies or employees using state time and equipment for inappropriate activities.

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