03/20/2017 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

            HB 120-DEPT OF LAW: ADVOCACY BEFORE FERC                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:08:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the  first order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 120, "An  Act relating  to the Department  of Law                                                               
public  advocacy function  to participate  in  matters that  come                                                               
before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission."                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN advised that this is  the second hearing on the bill                                                               
and he intends to move HB 120 from committee today.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:09:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ED  SNIFFEN,  Chief   Statewide  Section  Supervisor,  Regulatory                                                               
Affairs and Public  Advocacy, Department of Law,  related that he                                                               
had  provided  a short  PowerPoint  script  and  it was  not  his                                                               
intention to go  through the entire script because  he had shared                                                               
most of  the information  during his  previous presentation.   He                                                               
explained  that  the goal  with  HB  120  is to  add,  concerning                                                               
matters before  the Federal Energy Regulation  Commission (FERC),                                                               
the authority  of the attorney  general under AS  44.23.020(e) in                                                               
order to  recover some of  those costs through a  regulatory cost                                                               
charge.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:10:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SNIFFEN  referred to  the  power  point presentation  titled                                                               
"Regulatory  Cost  Charge  for FERC  Matters,"  slide  7,  titled                                                               
"RAPA's  2017 Budget"  [Regulatory  Affairs  and Public  Advocacy                                                               
(RAPA)].   He  explained that  during his  prior presentation  he                                                               
didn't  have the  actual numbers,  and subsequently  gathered the                                                               
information on  slide 7.   The slide  depicts that  RAPA's budget                                                               
for  2017 was  $2,333,700, and  of  that $162,591,  or roughly  7                                                               
percent, was  paid by  pipelines.   This legislation  would allow                                                               
the division  to essentially  increase the size  of the  slice on                                                               
that  slide, not  necessarily increase  the size  of the  pie, he                                                               
explained.  The budget was under  its cap by only $40,690, so the                                                               
pie can't  really grow any bigger.   In the event  more money was                                                               
added  to RAPA's  functions  before FERC,  the  slice related  to                                                               
pipelines might get a little  bigger, and the utility slice would                                                               
get  a little  smaller, but  the  total amount  would not  really                                                               
change.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. SNIFFEN referred to slide 9,  titled "How would HB 120 impact                                                               
consumers?" and  explained that  it was  an example  using RAPA's                                                               
current data.   In the event  RAPA wanted to increase  that slice                                                               
by $100,000, for example, to  the pipeline regulatory cost charge                                                               
(RCC), would  increase the surcharge  under the RCC  to pipelines                                                               
by about  .041 percent.  He  explained that this would  mean on a                                                               
$10,000  bill, the  pipeline customers  would  pay an  additional                                                               
$4.10, which demonstrates  the magnitude of what  this bill would                                                               
do, and he pointed out that the magnitude is pretty small.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN  advised  that  public  testimony  on  HB  120  was                                                               
previously closed.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:13:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN noted  that this effort gives the  Department of Law                                                               
(DOL) more  in-house opportunity  to manage  some of  the state's                                                               
affairs.   He  said  he  is optimistic  that  the  efforts to  be                                                               
staffed, with  the necessary expertise  to manage  these matters,                                                               
would come along with this additional authority.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:13:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FANSLER  moved  to  report HB  120,  Version  30-                                                               
GH1875\A, out  of committee  with individual  recommendations and                                                               
the accompanying fiscal notes.   There being no objection, HB 120                                                               
moved from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.