SCS CSHB 63(TRA): "An Act relating to the duties of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities; renaming the Alaska Marine Transportation Advisory Board the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board; relating to the membership and duties of the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board; and relating to the comprehensive, intermodal, long-range transportation plan for the state."
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 63(TRA) 01 "An Act relating to the duties of the Department of Transportation and Public 02 Facilities; renaming the Alaska Marine Transportation Advisory Board the Alaska 03 Marine Highway Operations Board; relating to the membership and duties of the 04 Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board; and relating to the comprehensive, 05 intermodal, long-range transportation plan for the state." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 19.05.030 is amended to read: 08 Sec. 19.05.030. Duties of department. The department has the following 09 duties: 10 (1) direct approved highway planning and construction and 11 maintenance, protection and control of highways; 12 (2) employ assistants and employees; 13 (3) certify and approve vouchers;
01 (4) provide a program of highway research; 02 (5) prepare a budget; 03 (6) review the annual highway program; 04 (7) develop and implement an avalanche control plan to protect 05 persons who use public highways; 06 (8) review and respond to recommendations regarding the 07 statewide transportation improvement program that are made by the Alaska 08 Marine Highway Operations Board established under AS 19.65.110; 09 (9) report, in a manner that is easily available to the public and the 10 media, including on the department's Internet website, on the progress of the 11 Alaska marine highway system in meeting the performance goals established by 12 the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board under AS 19.65.011. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 19.65.011 is amended to read: 14 Sec. 19.65.011. Short-term and comprehensive [COMPREHENSIVE] 15 long-range plans [PLAN]. The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, in 16 consultation with the Alaska Marine Highway Operations [TRANSPORTATION 17 ADVISORY] Board, shall prepare a short-term plan and a comprehensive long- 18 range plan for the development and improvement of the Alaska marine highway 19 system and shall, in consultation with the Alaska Marine Highway Operations 20 [TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY] Board, revise and update the short-term plan 21 annually, and the comprehensive long-range plan at least every five years. The 22 short-term plan must describe the means by which effective and efficient 23 progress toward priorities and goals defined in the comprehensive long-range 24 plan will be attained, must include recommendations for the state operating and 25 capital budgets, and must include a description of skill or competency gaps in the 26 membership of the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board. The 27 comprehensive long-range plan must include priorities and goals for the Alaska 28 marine highway system and a proposed strategic maintenance and vessel 29 replacement plan and may recommend performance measures, including output, 30 efficiency, and effectiveness measures. The department shall submit both the short- 31 term and the comprehensive long-range plans [PLAN] and revisions and updates of
01 the plans [PLAN] to the legislature and the governor and make the plans available 02 to the public. 03 * Sec. 3. AS 19.65.110 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 19.65.110. Alaska Marine Highway Operations 05 [TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY] Board. There is established in the Department 06 of Transportation and Public Facilities the Alaska Marine Highway Operations 07 [TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY] Board. 08 * Sec. 4. AS 19.65.120(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 09 (a) The board is composed of the deputy commissioner of transportation and 10 public facilities assigned to the Alaska marine highway system and the following eight 11 public members, each of whom must be a resident of the state: 12 (1) one representative, who may be retired, of a recognized union that 13 represents employees of the Alaska marine highway system, appointed by the 14 governor; 15 (2) one representative of an Alaska Native organization or tribe who is 16 from a community served by the Alaska marine highway system, appointed by the 17 governor; 18 (3) six public members 19 (A) who collectively have experience in enterprise, 20 architecture, business operations, financial management, risk management, 21 logistics, supply chain management, engineering, project management and 22 controls, marine operations, strategy, regulatory compliance, ship maintenance, 23 construction, and repair, quality management, continuous improvement, sales, 24 marketing, communications, customer interface, or experience management; 25 (B) two of whom are appointed by the governor, two of whom 26 are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and who serve at 27 the pleasure of the speaker of the house of representatives, and two of whom 28 are appointed by the president of the senate and who serve at the pleasure of 29 the president of the senate. 30 * Sec. 5. AS 19.65.120(c) is amended to read: 31 (c) The members of the board, except for the deputy commissioner of
01 transportation and public facilities, shall serve staggered six-year [THREE-YEAR] 02 terms. If a vacancy arises on the board, the governor, the president of the senate, or 03 the speaker of the house, as applicable, shall, within 30 days after the vacancy 04 arises, appoint a person to serve the balance of the unexpired term. A person appointed 05 to fill the balance of an unexpired term shall serve on the board from the date of 06 appointment until the expiration of the term. 07 * Sec. 6. AS 19.65.120(d) is amended to read: 08 (d) A [BOARD MEMBERS SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF THE 09 GOVERNOR. IN ADDITION, A] majority of the membership of the board may 10 remove a member, except for the deputy commissioner of transportation and 11 public facilities, if that member misses more than two meetings in a calendar year and 12 has not been previously excused. 13 * Sec. 7. AS 19.65.180(d) is amended to read: 14 (d) The board may receive information from the department as the board 15 considers necessary to carry out its duties, and the department shall provide 16 information requested by the board in a timely and responsive manner. 17 * Sec. 8. AS 19.65.180 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 18 (e) The board shall provide advice and recommendations to the commissioner 19 of transportation and public facilities concerning the operation and management of the 20 Alaska marine highway system, including advice and recommendations regarding 21 business to enhance revenue and reduce costs, personnel management, commercial 22 service options, ship maintenance, construction, and repair, fleet strategy, reliability, 23 and regulatory compliance, and other service objectives. 24 (f) If the board determines that the Alaska marine highway system has 25 deviated from a plan, policy, or procedure described in the short-term plan or 26 comprehensive long-range plan prepared under AS 19.65.011, the board may prepare 27 a report recommending corrective action. The board shall submit an electronic report 28 prepared under this subsection to the legislature and the governor and shall make the 29 report available to the public. 30 (g) The board may establish a task force that includes members who are not 31 members of the board and that is tasked with investigating matters relevant to the
01 Alaska marine highway system and reporting to the board. Members of a task force 02 established under this subsection are not entitled to receive a salary, per diem, or travel 03 expenses. 04 (h) The board shall annually submit recommendations to the Department of 05 Transportation and Public Facilities regarding the preparation of the statewide 06 transportation improvement program. 07 * Sec. 9. AS 19.65.195 is amended to read: 08 Sec. 19.65.195. Definition. In AS 19.65.110 - 19.65.195, "board" means the 09 Alaska Marine Highway Operations [TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY] Board. 10 * Sec. 10. AS 44.42.050(a) is amended to read: 11 (a) The commissioner shall develop a comprehensive, intermodal, long-range 12 transportation plan for the state. The commissioner shall incorporate the 13 comprehensive long-range plan prepared under AS 19.65.011 into the plan 14 developed under this section. The plan may be developed in multiple documents that 15 address logical components, including geographic areas, modes of transportation, 16 transportation corridors, systems, and other distinct subjects relevant to transportation 17 planning. The components of the plan shall be revised as the commissioner determines 18 appropriate. In developing and revising the state plan, the commissioner shall conform 19 to the requirements for the eligibility and use of federal and other funds, as applicable. 20 Upon approval of each component of the plan by the commissioner, the commissioner 21 shall transmit notice of the approval of that component to the governor and to the 22 legislature. 23 * Sec. 11. AS 19.65.120(b) is repealed. 24 * Sec. 12. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 25 read: 26 ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY OPERATIONS BOARD; TRANSITION. (a) The 27 terms of members who fill seats on the Alaska Marine Transportation Advisory Board under 28 AS 19.65.120(a), as it read on the day before the effective date of this Act, expire on the 29 effective date of this Act. 30 (b) Notwithstanding AS 19.65.120(c), as amended by sec. 5 of this Act, and 31 AS 39.05.055, the seats on the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board established by
01 AS 19.65.120(a), as repealed and reenacted by sec. 4 of this Act, shall be filled as follows: 02 (1) the two public members appointed by the governor shall serve two-year 03 terms; 04 (2) the representative of an Alaska Native organization or tribe appointed by 05 the governor shall serve a two-year term; 06 (3) the members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives shall 07 serve four-year terms; 08 (4) the union representative appointed by the governor and the members 09 appointed by the president of the senate shall serve six-year terms. 10 (c) The deputy commissioner of transportation and public facilities assigned to the 11 Alaska marine highway system begins membership on the Alaska Marine Highway 12 Operations Board on the effective date of this Act. 13 (d) Nothing in this section prevents the appointment of a person whose term expires 14 under (a) of this section to the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board if the person meets 15 the qualifications in AS 19.65.120(a), as repealed and reenacted by sec. 4 of this Act.