Legislature(1995 - 1996)
03/27/1996 01:29 PM House TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 86 - COMMEMORATIVE GOLD RUSH LICENSE PLATES Number 1022 CHAIRMAN GARY DAVIS announce the next item on the agenda was CSSB 86 (FIN), an act relating to issuance of commemorative gold rush motor vehicle license plates. SENATOR BERT SHARP, sponsor of CSSB 86 (FIN), said a similar bill was proposed two years ago. The old bill, HB 407, was convoluted into one plate and was vetoed by the Governor because of concerns expressed by the Department of Public Safety. He said CSSB 86 (FIN) has moved through the Senate as a two plate bill. He said CSSB 86 (FIN) is to commemorate the period from 1994 to 2004 which the legislature proclaimed as the decade of the Gold Rush Centennial for the state of Alaska. He said CSSB 86 (FIN) would issue new motor vehicle license plates. He said the bill does not uniformly mandate immediate transfer to new license plates for everyone as that provision would create a fiscal note. Number 1083 SENATOR SHARP said SB 86 authorizes the Commissioner of Public Safety in consultation with the Gold Rush Task Force and in cooperation with the designers of the state license plates to come up with an acceptable Gold Rush Centennial license plate. He said CSSB 86 (FIN) was requested by the Gold Rush Centennial Task Force which consists of 25 members located throughout Alaska. Number 1149 SENATOR SHARP referred to letters of support for CSSB 86 (FIN) from all over the state and said he did not include all the letters of support he had received. He said CSSB 86 (FIN) is a way in which the state can promote Alaska and the importance of the Gold Rush to all Alaskans as a heritage. Number 1196 SENATOR SHARP said the license plates will be phased in gradually. The new plate design will only be available after all current plate stock is used. He said when the stock is gone, newly registered vehicles will receive the new license plate design and any new cars coming in from the lower 48 states would get the new plates at that time. He said vehicles, who do not fit into those two categories, have the option, at a nominal cost of $5.00 a set, to buy replacement plates for their automobile and participate in the Centennial atmosphere with the license plates on their car. He said the state will make money, roughly $2.00 a set, on these replacement plates. He said the fiscal note does not predict how much profit will be made, but there are some estimates based on other plate revenues that have been collected. He asked the committee to consider CSSB 86 (FIN) and asked them not to get into a consideration of one plate versus two plate discussion. Number 1320 WENDY WOLF, Programs Manager, Division of Tourism, Department of Commerce and Economic Development, was next to testify. She referred to some aspects about the Gold Rush Centennial and said the Division supported CSSB 86 (FIN). Number 1420 CHAIRMAN GARY DAVIS clarified that this proposed design would replace the standard Alaska plates. SENATOR SHARP said it would gradually replace the standard plates and the new Gold Rush plates would be available by the year 1998. Number 1446 JUANITA HENSLEY, Chief, Driver Services, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety, was next to testify. She said the design of this Gold Rush plate will be the new plate for Alaska. She said it is DMV's plan, in order to save money, to gradually issue these plates as the current stock is depleted. She said DMV has a contractual obligation that it has to meet with the current license plate stock. She said this contract is not with the prisons, the contract is placed out for bid with the lowest bid receiving the contract. She said the current contract is with Irwin Hopson, Incorporated in Portland, Oregon which makes the current plates. She said DMV anticipates that they would begin issuing the new license plates in January of 1998. She said, as Senator Sharp indicated, any new cars coming in for registration and any cars of people who are moving up from the lower 48 states as well as individuals who lose their plates then they would be issued the new plate. CHAIRMAN GARY DAVIS clarified that the earliest date would be January of 1998. MS. HENSLEY said the state would need to go through the design process and approval of the design by state and national standards. She said implementing a new license plate is not a small process. Number 1552 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked why general funds were requested rather than using program receipts. Number 1557 MS. HENSLEY said that is the funding mechanisms for the Department of Public Safety. She said all of the program receipts are collected and deposited directly into the general fund. Any allocations for DMV come directly out of the general fund. Number 1610 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to move SB 86 with accompanying fiscal notes and individual recommendations. Hearing no objections it was so moved from the House Standing Committee on Transportation.
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