03/20/2012 01:30 PM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 358                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to an advertising campaign in support                                                                     
     of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for                                                                         
     development."                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:07:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Stoltze  discussed the  issues of concern  that had                                                                    
been  expressed  during  HB 358's  prior  hearing;  the  two                                                                    
issues were  that the CS  needed an addition to  prevent the                                                                    
legislation  from  influencing  political  action  and  that                                                                    
there  needed to  be  a  cap placed  on  the maximum  dollar                                                                    
amount of the advertising campaign.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Fairclough MOVED to  ADOPT the proposed committee                                                                    
substitute  for  HB  358, Work  Draft  27-LS1406\I  (Bailey,                                                                    
3/19/12) as a working document.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Stoltze OBJECTED for the purpose of discussion.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LANCE PRUITT,  SPONSOR, asked  his staff  to                                                                    
discuss the change in the new CS.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
DIRK  CRAFT, STAFF,  REPRESENTATIVE LANCE  PRUITT, explained                                                                    
that the only  addition to the CS was  Section 1, subsection                                                                    
(e)(4), which  was on  Page 2, line  26 of  the legislation.                                                                    
Subsection  (e)(4)   was  added  at   Representative  Gara's                                                                    
request in  order to insure  that the legislation  would not                                                                    
be used  for any lobbying  purposes on any  elected official                                                                    
or any kind of campaign.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Stoltze requested  the  exact wording  of the  new                                                                    
language.  Mr. Craft  read  from the  bill  starting on  the                                                                    
beginning of subsection E on line 16.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     "A qualified trade association may not use money from                                                                      
     a contract awarded under (a) of this section"                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Craft continued reading from the bill on subsection                                                                         
(e)(4).                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     "in an advertising campaign that refers to a                                                                               
    particular elected official or candidate for public                                                                         
     office or specifically promotes or criticizes a                                                                            
     political party."                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Stoltze commented that  the other issue of concern,                                                                    
which was the  maximum cap of the  advertising campaign, had                                                                    
been addressed in the fiscal note.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Craft  remarked that  the sponsor  had attempted  to put                                                                    
the  cap  in the  legislation  itself,  but that  they  were                                                                    
advised against  putting it directly  in statute  because it                                                                    
would take away from the  appropriating powers of the Alaska                                                                    
Legislature.  Co-Chair  Stoltze  interjected that  it  would                                                                    
certainly  take away  flexibility from  the legislature  and                                                                    
that  fiscal  notes  were  a  more  flexible  document  than                                                                    
statutes.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Fairclough  discussed the  fiscal from  the House                                                                    
Finance   Committee   for   DCCED;    the   note   set   the                                                                    
aforementioned  cap at  $1.5 million  in general  funds. She                                                                    
spoke to several indeterminate fiscal notes.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Stoltze indicated  that the  committee would  only                                                                    
adopt   the  House   Finance  Committee   fiscal  note   and                                                                    
identified it as OMB component number 1844.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Stoltze WITHDREW  his  OBJECTION.  There being  NO                                                                    
further OBJECTION, Work Draft 27-LS1406\I was ADOPTED.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:12:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Fairclough  MOVED to report CSHB  358(FIN) out of                                                                    
committee   with   individual    recommendations   and   the                                                                    
accompanying fiscal  note. There being NO  OBJECTION, it was                                                                    
so ordered.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative Gara  inquired if  the program would  run for                                                                    
two  years. Co-Chair  Stoltze responded  in the  affirmative                                                                    
and that it would run until 2015.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:13:12 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CSHB  358(FIN) was  REPORTED  out of  committee  with a  "do                                                                    
pass" recommendation  and with a  new fiscal impact  note by                                                                    
the House Finance Committee for  the Department of Commerce,                                                                    
Community and Economic Development.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Representative Joule  referenced comments that were  made in                                                                    
a prior meeting, in which  Vice-Chair Fairclough discussed a                                                                    
trip that  Alaska Legislators had taken  to Washington, D.C.                                                                    
He discussed  the need to for  Alaska to do work  around the                                                                    
country  to  get  a groundswell  of  support  regarding  the                                                                    
Arctic  National  Wildlife  Refuge (ANWR)  and  opined  that                                                                    
being reactive to particular bill  "has not been getting the                                                                    
job done."  He offered that  having a more  full-time effort                                                                    
was  the beginning  of Alaska's  future  regarding ANWR,  as                                                                    
well  as  other issues  facing  the  state. He  shared  that                                                                    
unfortunately,  Congress   and  others  outside   of  Alaska                                                                    
operated with very little accurate  information and that how                                                                    
the  state marketed  itself those  individuals and  entities                                                                    
was important.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:15:04 PM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:18:46 PM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED