Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
05/08/2007 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB155 | |
| HB205 | |
| HB228 | |
| SB165 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 155 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 228 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 205 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 165 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 217 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
CSHB 155(FIN)-EXTEND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL BOARD
1:35:28 PM
CHAIR ELLIS announced CSHB 155(FIN) to be up for consideration.
EMILY WOLF, staff to Representative Kurt Olson, sponsor of HB
155, said because of some difficulties Legislative Audit found,
the scheduled extension was changed from 2013 to 2010 by the
Finance Committee.
1:36:40 PM
PAT DAVIDSON, Legislative Auditor, Division of Legislative
Audit, explained said that she recommended that the ABC Board
continue to 2013 even thought the standard recommendation for an
extension is eight-years. She recommended six-years because of a
lack of administrative strategy for accomplishing overall
enforcement goals. She explained that the Board is responsible
for compliance checks of businesses that serve alcohol. The
number of inspections did increase, however their distribution
still needs improvement. For example, businesses in Fairbanks
and Juneau have a 100 percent chance of being inspected over a
four-year period, but Kenai businesses have a 38 percent chance
of an inspection over that same time period. The Board also
needs to improve notifications of its meetings and activities to
provide for better public participation.
1:38:41 PM
She said another area where improvement is needed is that the
ABC executive director can make a tie-breaking vote and her
concern is that basically he is then acting as a public member.
However he has never been screened to determine whether he meets
the qualifications of a public member. Also, being the executive
director, he is privy to more information than the board members
are. She said there are alternative ways to get a tie-breaking
vote.
1:39:30 PM
MS. DAVIDSON said a minor issue of more interest to the Finance
Committee than the Labor and Commerce Committee is that the
general wholesale license fees are based on sales volume and
hadn't changed since 1980. What has happened is that the
increase in sales volume has turned what was a progressive tax
structure into a regressive tax structure and the legislature
might want to adjust that.
1:39:57 PM
CHAIR ELLIS asked how she would characterize the ABC Board's
reaction to her recommendations.
MS. DAVIDSON replied the members were supportive of the
recommendations and were looking for ways to change. The
Department of Public Safety (DPS) to which the Board is
administratively associated was also supportive of the changes
and was willing to help it in any way it could.
CHAIR ELLIS asked if the administration would have legislation
in the future that would address these issues.
MS. DAVIDSON replied that she didn't know.
1:40:55 PM
DALE FOX, President and CEO, Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant
and Retailer's Association (
CHARR), said he supported a strong ABC Board and HB 155. He said
that beverage licensees around the state are dismayed with ABC's
administration and anti-business approach. Many of his members
were not aware of this meeting today or they would have been
testifying. He said that CHARR has been working both internally
and externally to try to correct some of the more significant
challenges and he thought a one-year extension would be good so
that if improvements aren't seen by then, the legislature could
provide remedies.
SENATOR BUNDE asked for some specific examples of his
organization's concerns.
1:43:33 PM
MR. FOX replied everything from the lack of timeliness of
response to the garbled response in terms of what the rules are
and how they are being reinterpreted. One example is
interpretation of TAM card statues and Title 4 regulations. The
Board has come up with 3, 4 or 5 different interpretations. He
explained that everyone who serves alcohol needs a TAM card and
the question then becomes who else needs a TAM card. In previous
years it has been the supervisor of people serving alcohol. Then
the administration came out and said that included any
stockholder. Then it was asked if all CIRRI stockholders have to
have TAM cards because CIRRI has a liquor license. He said that
CHARR has three different written opinions from the ABC Board on
the TAM card issue and the statute tells them a fourth.
Another example is enforcement issues. The statute says that you
have to have your TAM card on you or that you made a copy. Well,
that seems clear to him, but the ABC Board and its enforcers
have now said that if you have a copy, that just means you can
finish the shift and you still get a ticket. They have gone as
far as walking into an establishment to do an inspection and
asking to see the TAM card. When the bartender went to her purse
to get her TAM card and she was told she had to have it on her
person. Also, he said you can't get a license in any sort of
reasonable time and enforcement is "punitive from top to
bottom." For all these reasons CHARR wanted to see a one-year
extension.
1:46:28 PM
ANDY LUNDQUIST, Treasurer, Kodiak CHARR, said he is also a 25-
year operator of a bar and package store in Kodiak. He said the
ABC Board is professionally run and he liked the idea that a
number of industry interests are represented on it. He agreed
that improvements are still needed and that a one-year sunset
would be useful.
1:48:03 PM
DOUG GRIFFIN, Director, Alcohol Beverage Control Board (ABC),
said the Board appreciated the concerns raised in the audit and
that it is trying to respond to them. He said it had implemented
all of the recommendations that were made in the prior audit and
use this oversight as a tool to seek ways to improve. He
reported that the Board is in the process of refining its
database to address some other internal control issues that were
raised. He concurred that the board director should not be the
tie-breaking vote and he has heard the Palin administration was
going to introduce legislation about that.
1:50:29 PM
He said part of the issue with enforcement of the alcohol
beverage laws in Alaska is that it is not done solely by ABC
investigators and he has no control over them. In fact, there
are only four investigators for the entire state. A trooper is
also assigned to do compliance checks, but aside from that
meager enforcement staff, they really rely on municipal police
departments and the Alaska State Troopers. He said that adequate
training to enforcement taken from other agencies needs to
happen and that these laws need to be applied in a thoughtful
uniform manner.
MR. GRIFFIN said he preferred a six-year extension because the
Board needs additional time to implement some of the
recommendations made by Legislative Audit. If CHARR has issues,
those need to be dealt with in separate legislation, not in the
sunset vehicle. Some CHARR people don't like the fact that the
ABC Board is now in the Department of Public Safety (DPS), but
having moved to the DPS has increased its enforcement profile
and the audit said that was a good move.
1:54:21 PM
CHAIR ELLIS said he thought the administration would come up
with legislation to address some of the other issues, but it is
a given that the ABC Board will be extended. He narrowed the
issue down saying he was comfortable with the three-year
extension that was proposed in the version before them.
SENATOR BUNDE concurred with the chair.
SENATOR STEVENS agreed as well.
1:55:19 PM
SENATOR BUNDE moved to pass CSHB 155(FIN) with individual
recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered.
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