An Act relating to the employment of hearing examiners and mediators by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; repealing a requirement that the principal office of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission move to the same location as the principal office of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; relating to the sharing of record-keeping facilities and clerical staff by the two commissions; and providing for an effective date.

SB 229 makes technical changes to SB 133, which passed the legislature last year. SB 133 abolished the Alaska Public Utilities Commission (APUC) and established the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA).

The first change repeals the provision contained in SB 133 that statutorily obligated the RCA to co-locate with Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC). The intention of this provision was to achieve cost savings through shared record storage facilities as well as clerical staff. The Department of Administration conducted a thorough review and determined that the economies of scale we had hoped to achieve could not be realized primarily due to the low cost of the current leased space of the RCA.

The second change corrects a drafting error. SB 133 allowed the commission to employ hearing "officers" instead of hearing "examiners." The difference is that the hearing "officer" need not be an attorney and the hearing "examiner" is an attorney. Hearing examiners are needed to adjudicate legal matters during the RCA's hearing process. This requires them to act as a judge during the hearing. The hearing examiner needs to be proficient in judicial proceedings, rules of evidence, and the rules of practice.

The final revision clarifies that the RCA may employ and utilize mediators as well as arbitrators in their hearing process. That was the intent of SB 133, however the language was unclear. Mediation is a less formal process than arbitration and more expeditious in finding common ground among the interested parties.