Pursuant to authority granted by Article III of the Alaska Constitution and by AS 37.35, the Alaska Paperwork Reduction and Simplification Act, there is established a statewide Paperwork Reduction Program, located within the Office of the Governor, as follows:

(1) This program, to the greatest extent possible, is to reduce the paperwork burden imposed on individuals and businesses by current governmental reporting requirements, to reduce the number of forms used by state government, and to increase the efficiency of information gathering and record keeping procedures.

(2) The Paperwork Reduction Program is to be directed by the Paperwork Reduction Coordinator who, in accordance with AS 37.35.020, shall institute a comprehensive inventory and analysis of all state public-usage forms, and of information gathering and record keeping procedures of every state agency involving direct participation by the public. The Paperwork Reduction Coordinator shall assist each agency to eliminate, combine1 redesign, or otherwise alter any public-usage forms considered inefficient, duplicative, or unnecessary to the business of the agency. The Paperwork Reduction Coordinator shall also assist the agency to revise any state policies, regulations, or procedures which are necessary to the reduction of paperwork.

(3) (a) To assist in the Paperwork Reduction Program, the head of each department in the executive branch of state government, and the head of the agencies listed in this section, shall immediately establish a Paperwork Reduction Committee for the department or agency, respectively, and shall notify the Paperwork Reduction Coordinator of the committee members and the chairperson by November 11, 1977. The agencies to establish Paperwork Reduction Committees are as follows:

International Fisheries & External Affairs
Criminal Justice Planning Agency
Human Rights Commission
Public Defender
Telecommunications
State Council on the Arts
Public Offices Commission
Alaska Historical Commission
Pipeline Surveillance
Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission
Alaska Housing & Finance Corporation
Alaska Pipeline Commission
Alaska Public Utilities Commission
Alaska State Housing Authority
Alaska Transportation Commission
Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission
Postsecondary Education Commission

(b) For departments, the committee must be composed of a representative of each division within the department, the department's records and/or supply officer, members of the public whose interests are directly affected by the department's forms, and such other members as the department head determines. For the other agencies listed in (a) of this section, the committee must be composed of at least one member of the public whose interests are directly affected by the agency's forms and other persons designated by the agency head. Committee size is to be set by the head of the respective departments and other agencies.

(4) Under the direction of the Paperwork Reduction Coordinator, each Paperwork Reduction Committee shall immediately inventory all public-usage forms currently used by its agency, supply and analyze all data pertinent to the function of those forms, and shall recommend to the Paperwork Reduction Coordinator:

(a) Which forms can be eliminated, consolidated, or reissued with their present or altered content;
(b) Ways in which data gathering procedures may be streamlined or combined with other procedures used by other agencies;
(c) Necessary revisions of Alaska statutes, policies, regulations, or procedures.

(5) No public-usage form may be reissued unless it is proven to be necessary and no public-usage form may be reissued if it duplicates another. Simplicity, conciseness, and the use of plain English are to be principal considerations in the formulation of forms to be reissued under the procedures outlined in this order. As of this date, no agency of the state government may cause any public-usage form to be printed or otherwise duplicated without the prior approval of the Paperwork Reduction Coordinator and to which the Paperwork Reduction Coordinator has assigned a number. During the inventory period, all state agencies shall refrain, as much as is practicable, from the printing of new public-usage forms or the reprinting of existing public-usage forms.

(6) If it is found that public-usage forms in one agency duplicate those required by another agency, the Paperwork Reduction Coordinator shall assist the agencies in devising methods to eliminate the duplication.

(7) The Paperwork Reduction Coordinator shall issue guidelines which are necessary for the implementation of this order.

(8) In this order, agency means a department, office, institution, board, commission, bureau, division, or other administrative unit within the executive branch of the state government.

This order takes effect October 26, 1977.

10/26/77

S/S Jay S. Hammond
Jay S. Hammond  
Governor of Alaska