State Council On The Arts; Regulations

House Bill 311 will provide the Alaska State Council on the Arts the authority to adopt regulations relating to its statutory powers and duties.

The bill has been introduced at the request of the Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA), which is the Last Frontier's state arts agency, created over 40 years ago. The council works in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to foster the development of the arts for all Alaskans through education, partnerships, grants and services.

Several of ASCA's programs are governed by regulations, which ASCA has promulgated and updated over the years. Recently ASCA has sought to improve and streamline its grant-making policies, procedures, and regulations. In the course of this effort, ASCA was informed by the Department of Law that ASCA technically does not have statutory authority to adopt regulations under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). While this legal opinion is at odds with long-standing practice, ASCA considered the advice from the Attorney General's office, and determined that the best way to rectify the current anomalous situation is to amend its enabling statute to allow ASCA the explicit statutory authority to adopt regulations.

This legislation will in essence codify existing practice and will enable ASCA to continue to administer and oversee its existing programs. Any and all regulations adopted in future will have to comply with the review and public-notice provisions of the APA. This bill has a zero fiscal note and will help ASCA continue performing its long-standing mission of helping more Alaskans appreciate, create, and enjoy the arts and having regulatory authority will directly contribute to ASCA's ability to do so.