Administrative Regulation Review Holds First Meeting of 2010 Legislative Session

(Juneau) - The Alaska State Legislature's Joint Administrative Regulation Review Committee held its first meeting of the 2010 Legislative Session on Monday. The committee reviewed portions of the Executive Branch Ethics Act, and statutes on lease expenditures pertaining to the tax structure set out by the Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share Act, or ACES.

We did not find sufficient grounds to recommend to the Legislature that a law be passed to veto any of the regulations reviewed.
~ Rep. Wes Keller

Testimony was gathered from the Department of Law and the public regarding family travel, and on the payment of legal fees for state officers cleared of ethical wrongdoing after an investigation. The Department of Revenue testified on the topic of regulations dealing with adjustments to lease expenditures for companies conducting oil and gas exploration in the state.

"We did not find sufficient grounds to recommend to the Legislature that a law be passed to veto any of the regulations reviewed," Committee Chair Wes Keller, R-Wasilla. "The meeting was a good example of the committee exercising its due diligence regarding regulatory oversight."

The Administrative Regulation Review Committee plans on holding at least two more meetings during the 2010 Legislative Session for further review of other regulations.