Legislature(2007 - 2008)CAPITOL 120
05/07/2007 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB121 | |
| HB128 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 121 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 245 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 128 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 121 - CRUISE SHIP DISCHARGE & INFO 1:30:37 PM CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the first order of business would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 121(L&C), "An Act relating to discharge from small commercial passenger vessels; relating to information-gathering requirements for small commercial passenger vessels; providing for an effective date by repealing the delayed effective date found in sec. 16, ch. 153, SLA 2004; and providing for an effective date." 1:30:51 PM SENATOR KIM ELTON, Alaska State Legislature, speaking as the sponsor of SB 121, relayed that the bill restores the alternative compliance discharge protocols for small ships, which were passed unanimously by both bodies of the legislature in 2004, as House Bill 522, and which were written in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). However, the ballot initiative regarding cruise ship taxation, regulation and disclosure inadvertently included a repeal of those protocols. This repeal was not the intention of the ballot initiative sponsors, and was not noticed by the legislature. Neither the initiative sponsors, members of the public, nor any member of the legislature has testified against SB 121. He concluded by saying in part, "This is something that needs to be fixed." CHAIR RAMRAS asked how it is known that the initiative sponsors and the public didn't mean to put the same restrictions on the small cruise ships as the large cruise ships. SENATOR ELTON responded that those restrictions on waste water were not imposed by the ballot initiative. These restrictions were already passed into law by the legislature. However, the small cruise ships do not have the space on board for the required waste water technology. The alternative protocol, addressed in House Bill 522, was written for cruise ships with fewer than 150 overnight berths. The ballot initiative is a compliance review and did not impose any restrictions on waste water that were not already imposed by law. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, asked Senator Elton to clarify the sequence and the process. [Chair Ramras turned the gavel over to Vice Chair Dahlstrom.] SENATOR ELTON responded, explaining that when House Bill 522 was introduced, and subsequently passed, it was put into a statute that was going to be repealed if the ballot initiative passed. The legislature just failed to notice that they were amending a statute that could be repealed by the proposed cruise ship initiative. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked whether the statute was being brought back to its unamended status. SENATOR ELTON replied yes, and he elaborated that SB 121 also includes a sunset clause for 2016, as the bill sponsor projected that technology would be adequately improved by then. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG pondered whether the legislature should consider developing a procedure to deal with any similar problems that may arise in the future. [Vice Chair Dahlstrom returned the gavel to Chair Ramras.] SENATOR ELTON responded that he was willing to help but warned that such a procedure might take a lot of thought to consider all the possible scenarios; the problem may be inherent in the initiative process. CHAIR RAMRAS, after mentioning a possible conflict of interest, turned the gavel over to Vice Chair Dahlstrom. 1:41:19 PM MICHAEL JONES, Director, Marine Operations, Lindblad Expeditions, noted that Lindblad Expeditions has been operating two small 62-passenger vessels in Southeast Alaska since 1989. These two identical sister ships are both U.S. built, flagged, owned, operated, and crewed. Both vessels dock in Juneau, Petersburg, and Sitka. He commented that the original legislation, House Bill 522, provided a process for the DEC to review and approve alternate compliance programs for small passenger vessels, and the system worked well. He reflected that the ballot initiative inadvertently removed the small ship alternate compliance program. He concluded by stating that Lindblad Expeditions supports SB 121. 1:43:30 PM RUTH HAMILTON HEESE, Assistant Attorney General, Environmental Section, Civil Division (Juneau), Department of Law (DOL), in response to a question regarding the department's fiscal note, said that the initials "GP" stand for "general permit". She clarified that SB 121 is not requiring small cruise ships to have a permit; rather, the bill is drafted such that the best management practices (BMP) apply to small cruise vessels. She said she believes that SB 121 does not intend for a permit system. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked whether the DOL and the DEC have finished reviewing the bill. MS. HAMILTON HEESE responded that both reviews have been completed and "the bill would restore the program consistent to what it was before." REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked whether the DOL had any legal issues with SB 121. MS. HAMILTON HEESE replied that she did not believe the DOL had any problems with the bill. VICE CHAIR DAHLSTROM asked if there was any more testimony, and, there being none, closed public testimony on SB 121. 1:47:16 PM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN moved to report CSSB 121(L&C) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSSB 121(L&C) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
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