Legislature(1995 - 1996)
02/20/1996 08:02 AM House STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 63 - DOG MUSHING VANITY PLATES The first order of business to come before the House State Affairs Committee was CSSSHB 63(TRA). CHAIR JEANNETTE JAMES announced HB 338 would not be heard today. CHAIR JAMES called on Representative John Davies, sponsor of CSSSHB 63(TRA). Number 0103 REPRESENTATIVE JOHN DAVIES read the following sponsor statement into the record. "With recent attacks on our state sport, it is more important than ever for Alaskans to show their enthusiastic support for dog mushing. While not a musher myself, dog mushing is a sport I enjoy following very much. There is nothing quiet like watching a good team moving quietly along the trails in Goldstream Valley near sunset. I am worried that the loss of financial backing for the long distance races like the Quest and the Iditarod will erode support for the whole sport. "For that reason, I introduced House Bill 63, which would allow the Department of Public Safety to issue dog mushing license plates. Clearly this bill is not going to solve all of the problems of the long-distance races, nor is it the most crucial issue facing the state. But it will encourage Alaskans to show their zest for mushing. "House Bill 63 would allow automobile owners to purchase specially designed license plates depicting some aspect of mushing. The extra $50 fee will more than pay for the plates and any excess revenue could be appropriated to support dog mushing programs. Admittedly, the pool of money would be modest, but the real objective would be met by making dog mushing more visible on every street and parking lot in Alaska. Moreover, is it gives nonmushers an opportunity to bolster the mushing community with a proud symbol of their support!" Number 0247 REPRESENTATIVE ED WILLIS commented the bill sounded good. Number 0255 CHAIR JAMES said she was a member of Mush With Pride and encouraged everyone to join. The organization tried to put more credibility into the sport of dog mushing and thwart adverse publicity. She referred the committee members to page 1, line 10, and read "The department shall use the colors blue and gold in designing the registration plates under this subsection." She said the color restrictions were a product of the difficulty of identifying license plates. She announced she did not want to restrict the colors to blue and gold because she envisioned ugly license plates. She explained the Chair of the House Transportation Committee, Representative Gary Davies, stated the plates did not have to be entirely blue and gold, but rather had to include those colors. Chair James suggested deleting that provision altogether. Number 0427 REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN PORTER moved to adopted CSSSHB 63(TRA) for consideration. Hearing no objection, it was so adopted. Number 0452 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER moved to delete on page 1, line 10, starting with "The department," and ending on line 11, with "this subsection." (Amendment 1) Hearing no objection, it was so deleted. Number 0494 REPRESENTATIVE WILLIS wondered if Representative John Davies objected to the amendment. Number 0500 REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES replied, "no." He further stated there were a variety of opinions regarding the colors. The Department of Law felt it would be difficult to identify. He also said some plates were very distinctive such as the University of Alaska Fairbanks' (UAF) which enhanced the ability to identify it. The amendment, he stated, would return the bill to its original form as introduced. Number 0567 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER said the bill called for the Department of Public Safety to approve the design and color, and the department would not approve one that would cause a law enforcement problem. Number 0581 REPRESENTATIVE CAREN ROBINSON commented the bill clearly gave the power to the Commissioners. Number 0601 CHAIR JAMES agreed, however, she also thought it was not a good idea to restrict the ability of the artist to make an attractive license plate. The record reflected the arrival of Representative Joe Green. CHAIR JAMES explained the amendment on the table to Representative Green. Number 0645 REPRESENTATIVE JOE GREEN asked, if the colors were not in the design, was it a problem for the department? Number 0660 CHAIR JAMES replied that was the issue, but she did not hear any testimony from the department in the House Transportation Committee regarding that concern directly. CHAIR JAMES announced, hearing no objection to Amendment 1, it was so adopted. Number 0740 REPRESENTATIVE WILLIS moved that CSSSHB 63(STA), move from the committee with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. Hearing no objection, it was so moved from the House State Affairs Committee.
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