On Friday, March 5, the Alaska Public Offices Commission, which monitors and enforces statutes related to the finances of public officials, lobbyists, and candidates for public office, had a special teleconferenced meeting, giving the public a glimpse into the inner workings of the commission.

At issue was the request for an exemption for financial disclosure by Carl Marrs, a regent for the University of Alaska. Marrs, former CEO of CIRI, and now a consultant, wanted to be exempt from disclosing the exact amount received by his individual clients on his public official financial disclosure, reports that have to be filed annually. He’d filed similar requests in 2008 and 2009, but APOC, because of a backlog of work, was just now getting to the issue.

Arguments were presented by both APOC staff, which felt some accommodation could be made within the relevant statute, and by an assistant attorney general who argued that the statutes presented no wiggle room. The commissioners deliberated and, in the end, found no statutory authority for Marrs’ exemption request. What struck Flashlight was the amount of time it took for APOC to consider Marrs’ exemption request. Even the commissioners questioned APOC staff about the delay.

Asked about it the Monday after the meeting, APOC Executive Director Holly Hill wrote in an email, “The Alaska Public Offices Commission became fully staffed effective January 1, 2010 for the first time in many years,” but she also noted that the delay in processing Marrs’ request was an anomaly. “During the filing season for Public Official Financial Disclosure the agency typically sees an increase in requests for exemption and/or advisory opinions. With the agency fully staffed now, we anticipate being able to respond to requests more timely.”

bjk@anchoragepress.com