Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120
04/06/2021 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB63 | |
| HB137 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 63 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 137 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 63-ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY OPERATIONS BOARD
3:04:44 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 63, "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
providing for an effective date." [Before the committee was
CSHB 63(TRA).]
3:05:55 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS invited questions from the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether an effective date of July 1,
2021, or an immediate effective date would allow the legislation
to move forward as effectively as possible.
3:08:33 PM
KERRY CROCKER, Staff, Representative Louise Stutes, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Stutes, prime sponsor,
deferred to the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
(DOT&PF).
3:09:18 PM
ROB CARPENTER, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Transportation
& Public Facilities, said the governor's bill has an immediate
effective date. He stated that policy wise, the department
supports the bill moving forward as soon as possible.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked how the legislation would be
implemented if it were effective immediately.
MR. CARPENTER was unsure. He pointed out that it would take
time to convene the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board ("the
board"), establish board members, and effectively operate.
Further, he acknowledged that Alaska Marine Highway System's
(AMHS's) reliability is a concerning issue. For those reasons,
he said, "the sooner this board can convene and take action, the
better."
3:11:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN stated his understanding that in addition
to the bill before the committee, there's the governor's bill,
which is not identical. He asked for the department's position
on HB 63.
MR. CARPENTER reiterated that conceptually, the department is
fully supportive and aligned on the policy goals that came from
the reshaping work group. He noted that there are several minor
issues that the department would like to resolve with the bill
sponsor, most notably, the "separation of powers issue" in
regard to the appointment of board members, which was identified
by the Department of Law (DOL) and Legislative Finance Division
(LFD).
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN sought to verify that the administration
would likely support this legislation if the aforementioned
concerns could be resolved.
MR. CARPENTER reiterated that [DOT&PF] is "supportive,
conceptually, of the policy direction" of the bill. He declined
to express support for the final product at present.
3:12:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY indicated that she would like the board to
be seen as a decision-making board; further, that the board
would remain throughout administration changes. She pointed out
that CSHB 63(TRA) specifies that the head of the Division of
Marine Transportation would sit on the board and advise the
commissioner [of DOT&PF]. She asked whether the board would
have enough authority to implement lasting changes.
MR. CARPENTER said he envisions the deputy commissioner being on
the board. He opined that if a high-level member from the
agency were on the board, that would give the board considerable
authority; alternatively, if there were no DOT&PF
representation, the board would take on more of an advisory
role.
MR. CROCKER expressed interest in resolving that issue with the
department.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS asked whether the department has a position
on the public corporation concept.
3:16:06 PM
MR. CARPENTER stated his understanding that the reshaping
workgroup considered many different possibilities, including the
corporate model to which there were both benefits and downsides.
He emphasized the importance of the intermodal transportation
aspects associated with having AMSH under DOT&PF, along with the
substantial administration functions that the department
provides. He opined that operating under a corporate model
would require duplicating those administration functions, which
would be challenging.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS responded, "sounds like it's complicated."
3:18:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN asked whether there is a quality/risk
management position in AMHS that assures the processes are
working and continuously being improved upon. He noted that
typically, that position would report to someone high in the
organizational structure.
MR. CARPENTER relayed that the reshaping work group recommended
a "change management team" consisting of three people that would
facilitate the board's transition and work on operations to
ensure that goals were being accomplished. He stated that the
department is considering adding a position to facilitate that
recommendation and report back to the commissioner's office.
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN expressed support for the addition of
that new position. Additionally, he indicated that the board
should be enabled to help support that process.
3:20:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN opined that "change management" sounds
similar to "transition." He asked whether the change management
team would exist temporarily or permanently.
MR. CARPENTER said he is unsure whether it would be a long-term
non-permanent position or a permanent position. He conveyed
that he envisions the position interfacing closely with the
board and ensuring that communications between AMHS, the board,
and the commissioner's office are clear. He added that the
continued necessity of the position could be decided in the
future.
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN emphasized that the position he
envisioned would be a permanent position. He speculated that
any organization managing the operational risk posed by Alaska's
waters wouldn't proceed with the endeavor without a position
that's looking at optimizing the organization on a continuous
basis and trying to drive improvement with the full support of
upper management. He reiterated the need for an effective
position that handles quality, integrity, and risk-management.
3:23:08 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony.
3:23:39 PM
MALENA MARVIN urged the committee's support for HB 63. She
opined that "diversity is the spice of life and makes for a good
public board." She indicated that she likes that the bill
allows the legislature to appoint a portion of the board members
as opposed to appointments made only by the governor. In
addition to ensuring that the board represents diverse
communities around the state, she said, the provision
differentiates HB 63 from SB 103 by buttressing the new board
against "changes in the political wind." She also expressed
support for the provision that directs the commissioner of
DOT&PF to incorporate the recommendations of the board into the
department's long-term plans, which further stabilizes AMHS and
ensures that the agency doesn't reverse course with each
political appointee, she said. To succeed, she opined that the
board must be able to shape long-term planning. She stated her
belief that under current statute, a single politician can
unilaterally sink the ship "without ever having ridden it." She
advised working with Alaska's congressional delegation to invest
in an innovative, climate friendly fleet for the future. She
stressed the need for an affordable and dependable marine
highway in coastal Alaska to keep communities connected.
3:26:43 PM
SHANNON NYE stated her support for HB 63. She recommended
involving active employees and licensed marine engineers in this
process, as they have a unique and valuable perspective. She
advised involving people that know the ships and actively engage
in fuel consumption, deck quarters, and overhauls - people that
are familiar with the problems and know the numbers. She urged
the committee to involve these people in furthering AMHS.
3:28:24 PM
SHANNON ADAMSON, Regional Representative; Masters, Mates, and
Pilots (MMP); informed the committee that she sailed with AMHS
as a licensed deck officer for seven years and currently serves
on MTAB [Marine Transportation Advisory Board]. She expressed
MMP's support for the bill for several reasons. Firstly, board
members are appointed by more than just the governor, resulting
in more diversity to level the political playing field;
Secondly, the bill language requires DOT&PF to incorporate the
board's recommendations in long-term plans. She pointed out
that every report on AMHS in the last 10 years has recommended a
change in the management structure. She shared her belief that
HB 63 would initiate that process.
3:29:53 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS asked for examples of recommendations from
MTAB to DOT&PF, which had not been followed up on or executed.
MS. ADAMSON recalled that five years ago, a dynamic pricing
model was recommended by MTAB to increase fares close to sailing
while decreasing fares when the boats were not full. The idea
was that because it costs the same to sail from point A to point
B regardless of the number of passengers, the dynamic pricing
model would help fill the boat.
3:30:58 PM
NANCY BIRD, expressed strong support for HB 163, adding that she
does not support the governor's bill. She said the new board
for AMHS is "desperately" needed to accomplish long-term
planning. Furthermore, she opined that the appointment of
members must be as non-partisan as possible. She shared her
belief that the past five years demonstrated the negative side
of operating AMHS by political whims. She urged the passage of
HB 163 with the inclusion of an immediate effective date.
3:32:00 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony and invited
questions from the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN directed attention to page 4, line 7 of
CSHB 63(TRA) and inquired about the legal significance of [the
commissioner] approving each component of the plan.
MR. CROCKER stated his understanding that there is no legal
obligation for the department to follow the plan. He expressed
his hope that the department would be more inclined to follow
the recommendations of the new board as opposed to the current
board [MTAB].
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN suggested that the board could issue a
corrective action notice, which would provide notification that
a serious problem required corrective action. Even without a
direct "authority mechanism," he said, there would still be
public and legislative awareness. He indicated that there are
ways to craft levers that would create awareness of existing
problems and drive improvement.
3:34:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN remarked:
I'm just wondering if there's a reason that we have,
in the bill ... this requirement for a plan to be
approved if there's really no requirement for anybody
to follow it once it is approved.
MR. CROCKER shared his belief that the language in question was
already in the existing statute.
3:35:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about the present status of MTAB
and whether it would help the new board implement its directive.
MR. CARPENTER stated that MTAB is not meeting at present. he
shared his belief that [HB 63] stymied any effort for MTAB to
convene, given the proposed changes. He speculated that if the
passage of HB 63 were delayed, MTAB could reconvene to take
action or discuss with the department.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked who has the authority to schedule
MTAB meetings.
MR. CARPENTER was unsure of the answer. He speculated that "the
director" organizes the meetings.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY expressed her hope that MTAB could meet, as
any direction they could offer to the new board would be
helpful.
3:37:47 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS in response to Mr. Carpenter, sought to
clarify which director he had referred to.
MR. CARPENTER clarified that he meant to say the chair of the
MTAB board, not the director.
3:38:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired as to MTAB's current chair.
MR. CARPENTER answered Robert Venables. He expounded that
[board] meetings may be called by the chair or by the majority
of the members of the board, as per AS 19.65.140.
3:38:49 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that CSHB 63(TRA) would be held
over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 63 Emails of Support - Volume 3.pdf |
HSTA 4/6/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 63 |
| HB 137 Letter of Support - Zuyus 4.5.21.pdf |
HSTA 4/6/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| HB 137 Letters of Support - 3.29.21 - 4.5.21.pdf |
HSTA 4/6/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| HB 137 Fiscal Note - DOA 3.26.21.pdf |
HSTA 4/6/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| HB 63 Legal Memo - 4.6.21.pdf |
HSTA 4/6/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 63 |
| HB 137 Amendments B.1 and B.2 - 4.6.21.pdf |
HSTA 4/6/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |