Legislature(2001 - 2002)
05/02/2002 08:05 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 324 - HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS Number 2188 CHAIR COGHILL announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 324, "An Act making supplemental and other appropriations for homeland security; and providing for an effective date." Number 1995 DEL SMITH, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Public Safety (DPS), reported that since September 11, 2001, there has been a lot of activity particularly in the Disaster Policy Cabinet (DPC) which is trying to determine what the State of Alaska needs to do to ensure security and protect the infrastructures. Its recommendations ultimately became a bill before this legislature. The Department of Public Safety made some recommendations based upon requests from other agencies and departments about what was needed in the way of state trooper and department support. When the bill was introduced, the governor requested some hearings in December which did not occur. This bill was introduced in January, and there are a number of things that cannot be accomplished this year, so those have been moved into the out years. MR. SMITH referred the members to the spreadsheet in their packets to category 1, item 11, which requests $288,200 for the temporary checkpoint at the Yukon River Bridge. Subsequent to September 11, that was one of the highest recommendations of the DPC and intervening events based upon recommendations from the national level about a terrorist perhaps coming about, led to that checkpoint being established, and it ran through April 5, 2002. It was staffed by personnel from the Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs (DMVA) and Alaska Defense Force (ADF), but it was manned by two Alaska State Troopers on a 24- hour day basis for that period of time. So, there are substantial costs to establishing the checkpoint. Number 1955 CHAIR COGHILL asked if any of this was taken up in the supplemental [budget]. MR. SMITH said it was not asked for in the fast-track supplemental, but the $288,200 is being asked for however it can be gotten because it has been expended. He clarified that the DMVA portion for the ADF was funded in a recent fast track supplemental. Number 1908 MR. SMITH referred to category 2, item 18, which requests $432,000 in federal funding for HazMat suits for 480 state and local law enforcement officers. He explained that category 1 funds have already been spent. Category 2 requests will result in a loss of federal funding if they're not appropriated. Category 3 requests are considered essential to homeland security and are in order of priority. Item 67 requests $64,900 for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline defense drill. This was originally scheduled for August 2002, but due to the events of September 11, it has been moved up to June 2002. It will involve the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation], local law enforcement, and Alaska State Troopers over a five-day period. He said it is critical that the DPS participate in this. Number 1688 MR. SMITH referred to item 68 which provides four border crossings with access to criminal information. It is critical for the border stations to have the ability to check on somebody 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Currently, that is not available. He explained that federal agencies operate the border stations, but they do access the Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). CHAIR COGHILL asked if there was federal money for a border check. MR. SMITH replied not at this point. He replied to another question and said that the federal authorities now in some of the remote border stations use a "dial-up" as opposed to a dedicated line to access APSIN. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON asked about border checkpoints being open 24 hours a day. MR. SMITH said he wasn't sure but didn't believe that they are 24-hour stations. He informed the members that the four border crossings are Skagway, Poker Creek, Dalton Cache, and Northway. Number 1520 MR. SMITH referred to item 69 which requests $200,000 for computer hardware and software for an expanded intelligence system. He noted that a substantial amount of information about suspicious people flowed in after September 11 and continues to, and it is critical to be able to sort out this information and send it back to the appropriate agency to check out. Number 1439 MR. SMITH referred to item 70 which requests two state troopers and two civilians for analysis and surveillance of the information that has come in. Currently, there is a state trooper assigned who works out of the FBI office, but this would be in addition to that. Number 1373 MR. SMITH referred to item 71 which requests $1,556,900 for four state troopers, five village public safety officers, two regional public safety officers, and support costs for homeland security. This is a smaller amount than what was originally asked for additional personnel. He explained that village public safety officers have to do with homeland security in that if they are the only law enforcement presence in a location, they are the people to provide information to and know what is going on in the community. Number 1270 MR. SMITH explained that category 4 has additional requests considered important to homeland security but are too late to implement in 2002. He said the items are additional requests for Alaska State Troopers in various areas around the state and various activities. Number 1109 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES asked if there are people out there to hire for these positions if the money is there. MR. SMITH answered that he has been told that the current recruitment for the fall academy has had more responses than anytime in the past, so people are at least asking for the applications. He said there has been an aggressive advertising program, but there has been some difficulty around the state recruiting qualified people. Right now there is a good supply of people expressing an interest in being an Alaska State Trooper. He said he doesn't think there was sufficient law enforcement in this state prior to September 11, and he is sure there isn't now. Under one proposed budget there would be less [law enforcement] than there is currently. Number 0982 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES asked how many applicants actually make it through. MR. SMITH replied that in ballpark figures, there have been about 2,000 requests for an application packet. There were about 150 who qualified for background checks, and 30 or 40 of those were interviewed. Ideally, he would like to interview 10 people for one position. It is substantially lower than that at the moment, which is only 2 or 3 applicants being interview for one position. He also told the committee that recently one of the applicants didn't even get to complete the academy because he was called to active duty. CHAIR COGHILL said he thought that the whole economy is feeling a workforce depression. Number 0640 MR. SMITH reiterated that there has been money expended, and it is critical that the department get that back to make it through the year. He stated that the exercise in June is also critical. Number 0418 NANCY SLAGLE, Director, Division of Administrative Services, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, explained that most of the items in the categories on the spreadsheet are requirements by the federal government. After September 11, there was a great impact upon the airports, and Alaska was the first state to have its airports back in operation. The whole issue of security goes beyond the airports to the roads, the marine highway system, and bridges. Everything is looked at totally different now, she commented. MS. SLAGLE informed the members that the Federal Aviation Administration came down with directions for the department on how to deal with what is required. Those were changing almost on a daily basis after September 11, and they are still changing. Now that the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been developed, the directions still seem to be changing. For example, the National Guard has pulled out of the airports, and the Transportation Security Administration is supposed to be taking those functions over, but it is not yet able to do that, so, it is up to the state to fill in the hole between the National Guard and the TSA's taking over. It is the department's understanding that the TSA will cover most of the costs to provide the law enforcement presence at the screening point, but maybe not all of it. The department is trying to get law enforcement for the airports, but it can't just contract a security agency, it must be a certified, gun- carrying, law enforcement presence. The issues are continuing on a daily basis for the department. Number 0230 REPRESENTATIVE WILSON asked how many airports have a bridge to them. Number 0165 FRANK RICHARDS, State Maintenance Engineer, Statewide Maintenance, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, answered that both Ketchikan and Sitka have bridge access. He noted that there are bridges in Kodiak but not in direct access leading to the airport. Number 0143 MS. SLAGLE said the department has been able to get some federal dollars to take care of the security presence at the certificated airports. She explained that certificated airports allow flights that accommodate 60 passengers in and out. Valdez is not certificated because it doesn't accommodate the large jets. The federal dollars are not available to take care of some of the security issues there, and that's why there is a general fund request to deal with those similar types of security issues. She reviewed the items in category 1. She indicated that because of the proximity to the pipeline, there is a heightened degree of security needed at that airport now. The department spent money based on the direction from the Disaster Policy Cabinet to improve the security requirements there. TAPE 02-52, SIDE A Number 0001 MS. SLAGLE referred to the next item which deals with the pipeline security issues and the work that public safety did on the Yukon Bridge. It opened the Fox weigh station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to look at the commercial vehicles going through, specifically those transporting hazardous materials. Number 0072 MS. SLAGLE referred to category 2, which covers items that could jeopardize federal dollars if not funded. Item 19 is the law enforcement presence at the Fairbanks and Anchorage international airports. There is a requirement for visibility of the law enforcement presence at those airports and some federal dollars are received for that; the remainder comes from international airport revenue. CHAIR COGHILL asked what the grant is on that. Number 0180 MR. RICHARDS replied that there was a special appropriation through the Department of Defense to reimburse airports. MS. SLAGLE explained that the department had applied for grants under that appropriation and had received full funding from the request that was allowable under that grant for the rural airports and a portion of the Fairbanks International Airport. She indicated that item 20 is a capital project at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport for control systems. This is to provide more appropriate control systems for the airport in line with the security needs. That is mostly federal dollars through the entitlement program; it is not special federal dollars. It is federal funding, and the international airport revenue funds can match that. MS. SLAGLE explained that the International Airport Revenue Fund is made up of the funds collected from landing fees, concession fees, and fuel flowage fees of the international airports in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The state manages that fund. Number 0429 MS. SLAGLE referred to items 21, 22, 36 which are requests for all the communication equipment required to deal with the National Guard or TSA or whomever is going to be doing the security screening and the department's own security people. She indicated that most of that at the rural airports will be federal funds. MS SLAGLE referred to item 23 and said it is the capital project for some reconfiguration at the Anchorage and Fairbanks airport terminals for security requirements. MR. RICHARDS explained that since September 11, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act and the revisions to the airport security regulations have put provisions onto the airports to reconfigure some of the terminal space, such as the screening checkpoints. Number 0626 MS. SLAGLE referred to items 24, 25, and 26 which are operating costs specifically related to the law enforcement presence at the rural airports. Some are federal dollars in the grant funds received from the Department of Defense but will only cover through September 2002. That presence will have to be continued, but the Department of Defense isn't going to cover it, so there are some general fund dollars in there also. CHAIR COGHILL asked if there was consistency at all the airports and what the timing is on the waiver. Number 0700 MR. RICHARDS answered that the airports in the security programs are categorized based on "enplanements." Anchorage is a category 1 airport, Fairbanks and Juneau are category 2 airports, and the rural airports are category 3. The waiver being sought is essentially for the rural category 3 airports. If the waiver is granted, it would change the numbers for the remainder of 2003. MS. SLAGLE indicated that if the waiver isn't received the actual dollars could go up. MR. RICHARDS agreed that the numbers could go up considerably. Estimates range from $600,000 to $800,000 per month for deploying the National Guard, and the federal reimbursement for law enforcement officers at the security checkpoints is $50,000 per year per officer. There are not sufficient funds coming from the federal government to cover those costs. He said when he and General Oates talked to the Undersecretary of Transportation, headway was gained to find the importance of the rural system of air commerce and the threat levels that may be out in some of the rural communities; therefore, the request for alternate procedures likely will be granted. CHAIR COGHILL asked if there is an inability to secure some of the rural airports. Number 0886 MR. RICHARDS agreed that it would be difficult in the case of large events. MS. SLAGLE noted that there are only 17 category 3 certificated airports. The other 245 airports are not subject to these requirements. MR. RICHARDS explained that the focus of TSA has been primarily on those airports that have security requirements based on the size of aircraft flying in, which is 60 passenger seats and greater. The TSA is looking at general aviation security and has yet to promulgate regulations. The department is very concerned about what federal requirements will come down on general aviation security. As was mentioned, "How will the 206 be secured on the far ramp at Iliamna?" He said it's very difficult. Number 1044 MS. SLAGLE referred to item 27 which is a capital project at the international airport in Anchorage dealing with blast assessment and explosive deflection devices. It will strengthen windows and construct some deflection devices in lieu of the 300-foot parking setback. Number 1158 MS. SLAGLE referred to items 28 and 29 which deal with the additional costs associated with increased law enforcement presence at the Anchorage and Fairbanks international airports. Those items also include some federal dollars from grant funding that has been received. MS. SLAGLE referred to item 30 which is actual modification of the existing and new terminals concerning new FAA explosive detection devices. Number 1264 MR. RICHARDS explained that the TSA is the governing agency that determines which explosive detection systems will be placed at the nation's airports. The large explosive detection systems are slow compared to the portable machines. The CTX [a brand name] machines are very large, heavy, and cumbersome, and the TSA has yet to determine where the machine will be placed in the passenger flow - whether it's before or after a person gets to the terminal agent or down in the baggage screening area. The cost to the department to modify the terminal space depends on where that machine will go. It is a very expensive endeavor. All the airports around the country that have received these machines are looking at billions of dollars of terminal modifications. MS. SLAGLE said this is a request for mostly federal dollars with International Airport Revenue Funds to match it to make those terminal modifications to accommodate those pieces of equipment. Number 1413 REPRESENTATIVE WILSON asked Ms. Slagle to provide her with the number of new employees that will be needed to put all this in place. CHAIR COGHILL announced that HB 324 would be held over.
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