03/20/2017 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

                    ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE                                                                                  
               HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE                                                                             
                         March 20, 2017                                                                                         
                           2:08 p.m.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Matt Claman, Chair                                                                                               
Representative Zach Fansler, Vice Chair                                                                                         
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins                                                                                          
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux                                                                                                 
Representative David Eastman                                                                                                    
Representative Chuck Kopp                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS ABSENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative Lora Reinbold                                                                                                    
Representative Charisse Millett (alternate)                                                                                     
Representative Louise Stutes (alternate)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
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."                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     - MOVED HB 120 OUT OF COMMITTEE                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
HOUSE BILL NO. 69                                                                                                               
"An Act  repealing the Workers' Compensation  Appeals Commission;                                                               
relating  to decisions  and orders  of the  Workers' Compensation                                                               
Appeals Commission; relating to  superior court jurisdiction over                                                               
appeals  from  Alaska   Workers'  Compensation  Board  decisions;                                                               
repealing  Rules  201.1,  401.1,   and  501.1,  Alaska  Rules  of                                                               
Appellate  Procedure, and  amending Rules  202(a), 204(a)  - (c),                                                               
210(e), 601(b), and 603(a), Alaska  Rules of Appellate Procedure;                                                               
and providing for an effective date."                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     - SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
BILL: HB 120                                                                                                                  
SHORT TITLE: DEPT OF LAW: ADVOCACY BEFORE FERC                                                                                  
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
02/13/17       (H)       READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS                                                                        
02/13/17       (H)       JUD, FIN                                                                                               
03/06/17       (H)       JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120                                                                           
03/06/17       (H)       Heard & Held                                                                                           
03/06/17       (H)       MINUTE (JUD)                                                                                           
03/20/17       (H)       JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
WITNESS REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
ED SNIFFEN, Chief Statewide Section Supervisor                                                                                  
Regulatory Affairs and Public Advocacy                                                                                          
Department of Law                                                                                                               
Anchorage, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION STATEMENT:   During the  hearing of HB 120,  presented a                                                             
recap of his prior presentation.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
ACTION NARRATIVE                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:08:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR MATT  CLAMAN called the House  Judiciary Standing Committee                                                             
meeting to  order at 2:08  p.m. Representatives  LeDoux, Eastman,                                                               
Fansler,  and  Claman   were  present  at  the   call  to  order.                                                               
Representatives Kopp  and Kreiss-Tomkins  arrived as  the meeting                                                               
was in progress.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
            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.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:15:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 2:15 p.m. to 2:17 p.m.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:17:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ADJOURNMENT                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being no further business before the committee, the House                                                                 
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:17 p.m.