Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 124
04/27/2006 09:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB171 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| = | SB 171 | ||
SB 171-NPR-A COMMUNITY GRANT PROGRAM CO-CHAIR THOMAS announced that the only order of business would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 171(FIN)(efd fld), "An Act amending the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska special revenue fund; and establishing the Special Legislative Oil and Gas NPR-A Development Impact Review Committee and defining its powers and duties." 9:09:35 AM CO-CHAIR OLSON moved to adopt Version 24-LS0785\V, Chenoweth, 4/26/06, as the working document. There being no objection, Version V was before the committee. 9:09:54 AM CO-CHAIR OLSON related that there have been several meetings between the North Slope Borough, the sponsor, the co-chairs of this committee, the President of the Senate, and the Administration, which has led to Version V that hopefully everyone can agree to move on to the next committee of referral. 9:10:38 AM SENATOR GARY WILKEN, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, said that the struggle remains with regard to the legislature's involvement. With that in mind and the lateness of the session, the component regarding judging the grants and evaluating the funding was eliminated. Version V does maintain the concept of the permanent fund and the need to follow federal law in regard to how the grants will be satisfied. Furthermore, the permanent fund will be calculated on the gross rather than the net that's left. Any deficiency will follow one year to another in order to follow the constitutional obligation to include rents and royalties in the permanent fund. He related that next year he'll continue to work on the concepts on which no agreement was reached. He pointed out the change in the title and the elimination of the legislative intent. Senator Wilken then directed the committee's attention to page 3, lines 6-7, where the terms "activities" and "capital" were inserted respectively. 9:14:13 AM CO-CHAIR OLSON said he is willing to continue to work with the sponsor on the remaining issues. 9:14:25 AM REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN thanked the sponsor for his work and recognized the conciliation on both sides of this issue. 9:15:33 AM CO-CHAIR THOMAS, upon determining no one wished to testify, closed public testimony. 9:15:43 AM CO-CHAIR OLSON moved to report Version 24-LS0785\V, Chenoweth, 4/26/06, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA objected. 9:15:58 AM REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA recalled the years during which she worked for Native corporations when she tried to help the shareholders understand how the Western economy fit the Native economy. She then recalled the testimony from prior hearings indicating that development is removing people from their community and ability to feed their families. There is a true impact, she opined. She opined that to address this matter thoughtfully would take time, but that's difficult due to the turnover in the legislature and the lack of knowledge of the areas impacted by this development. 9:19:48 AM REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX related her observation that no one is present from the North Slope Borough to testify. Therefore, she questioned if that means that Version V isn't problematic for that area. 9:20:13 AM DENNIS ROPER, Special Assistant to Mayor Itta, Government and External Affairs/Resource Development, North Slope Borough, began by assuring the committee that the North Slope Borough has followed this issue closely. He then related his appreciation of the efforts of the co-chairs and others. However, the North Slope Borough never felt SB 171 was necessary because the Department of Commerce, Community, & Economic Development (DCCED) has performed a good job in managing the grants. Mr. Roper said that there's no question that the subsistence lifestyle is the heart of this issue. Still, as much as the North Slope Borough opposes SB 171, it can live with Version V. 9:22:55 AM REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN commented that the different views in the legislature make it stronger. He related his belief that there is room for development, which can be accomplished in an appropriate fashion. Furthermore, development has led to many of the services available in communities, such as fire and emergency services. He also related his belief that care is being taken to address/minimize environmental impact when developing. 9:24:46 AM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives LeDoux, Neuman, Salmon, Olson, and Thomas voted in favor of reporting Version 24-LS0785\V, Chenoweth, 4/26/06, out of committee. Representative Cissna voted against it. Therefore, HCS CSSB 171(CRA) was reported out of the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee by a vote of 5-1.
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