02/26/2014 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

        SB 137-EXTEND SEISMIC HAZARDS SAFETY COMMISSION                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:15:38 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR GIESSEL announced SB 137 to be up for consideration.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:15:57 PM                                                                                                                    
BRITTANY HUTCHISON, staff  to Senator Bishop, sponsor  of SB 137,                                                               
presented the bill for the sponsor.  She said that SB 137 extends                                                               
the  termination  date  of  the   Alaska  Seismic  Hazard  Safety                                                               
Commission from  June 30, 2014  to June  30, 2020. She  said that                                                               
Alaska has more  earthquakes than any other region  in the United                                                               
States  and is  one of  the most  seismic reactive  areas in  the                                                               
world. In fact,  we are fast approaching the  50th Anniversary of                                                               
the 1964  Good Friday Earthquake,  the most powerful  recorded in                                                               
North American history.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Given the  historical record and  inevitable potential  of future                                                               
earthquake activity,  she said Alaska needs  this Commission. The                                                               
Commission  was  created in  2002  in  able  to help  reduce  the                                                               
disaster potential of major earthquakes  and reduce dependence on                                                               
disaster relief. It is an  advisory body administered through the                                                               
Department  of Natural  Resources in  the Division  of Geological                                                               
and  Geophysical  Surveys.  They  operate  on  a  $10,000  annual                                                               
budget; they  have six  standing committees  and 11  members each                                                               
appointed  for  three-year  terms   by  the  governor.  They  are                                                               
designed to include a cross-section  of public and private sector                                                               
representatives.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
She  said  the  Commission  serves  all  Alaskans  and  works  in                                                               
providing  policy,  goal,  and priority  recommendations  to  the                                                               
governor,  legislature, local  governments,  and  the public  and                                                               
private   sectors  alike   in  order   to   reduce  the   state's                                                               
vulnerability  to   seismic  hazards   and  to  advise   them  on                                                               
approaches for mitigating earthquake  risks and potential damage.                                                               
They have  significantly impacted school safety  by collaborating                                                               
with the Department of Education  and Early Development (DEED) on                                                               
seismic issues concerning school construction and renovations.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
In addition, they have amended  state regulation and departmental                                                               
practices  to ensure  that all  registered  civil and  structural                                                               
engineers  have a  full  understanding  of Alaska's  earthquakes.                                                               
They  also  assist  with  seismic   hazard  training  efforts  by                                                               
coordinating with  the Department of Military  & Veterans Affairs                                                               
(DMVA) in  order to  help put  on two  day workshops  focusing on                                                               
post  disaster facility  safety assessments  and work  with other                                                               
organizations who are concerned with seismic hazards.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS.  HUTCHISON  said for  these  reasons  and many  more  Senator                                                               
Bishop agrees  with the legislative  audit, which  concluded that                                                               
the commission  should be  extended for six  more years  and that                                                               
they are serving the public's interest.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:19:01 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  MICCICHE  asked if  six  years  is a  typical  extension                                                               
period.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. HUTCHISON answered no; they  were originally designed in 2002                                                               
and came  up again  two years  ago. The  problem with  a two-year                                                               
extension is  that the commission is  not able to focus  on their                                                               
job in that short of a time.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if the budget is $10,000 a year.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. HUTCHISON answered yes.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:20:24 PM                                                                                                                    
KRIS  CURTIS, Legislative  Auditor,  Legislative Audit  Division,                                                               
Legislative  Affairs  Agency, said  their  agency  did conduct  a                                                               
sunset  audit of  the commission  and the  purpose was  to review                                                               
whether  it was  serving the  public's interest  and whether  its                                                               
termination date  should be  extended. The last  time they  did a                                                               
sunset  audit was  2011 and  then  they recommended  a four  year                                                               
extension accompanied by some recommendations.  They were given a                                                               
two  year extension  at that  point and  their progress  is being                                                               
reviewed.  They did conclude  that the commission was serving the                                                               
public's interest and recommended a six year extension.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:22:01 PM                                                                                                                    
At ease from 4:22 to 4:27 p.m.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:27:06 PM                                                                                                                    
MS. CURTIS said the audit included four recommendations:                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1.   Improve  prioritization   and   accountability  within   its                                                               
strategic planning  documents: the  prior sunset audit  found the                                                               
commission  lacked   a  clear   strategy  for   prioritizing  and                                                               
monitoring its efforts,  but this audit found  the commission had                                                               
made  significant  progress  toward  resolving  this  finding  by                                                               
developing  a  strategic  plan  that  identifies  objectives  and                                                               
strategies to correlate with  the commission's statutory mandate.                                                               
Each  strategy lists  a priority,  a  target date  and a  planned                                                               
outcome; the commission  also used goals contained  in its annual                                                               
report and action list during  committee meetings to really focus                                                               
its efforts.                                                                                                                    
2.  They offered  another recommendation  to basically  fine tune                                                               
their strategic  plan (page 9).  They clearly need  to prioritize                                                               
their tasks. While  each task has a priority, 27  of 29 tasks are                                                               
listed as  important and  the commission  goals and  action lists                                                               
did  not   contain  priorities.  They   recommended  consistently                                                               
identifying  the  person  or subcommittee  responsible  for  task                                                               
completion.                                                                                                                     
3.  They recommended  associating  their goals  and action  lists                                                               
with the commission's over-arching  strategic plan objectives and                                                               
consistently  identifying specific  outcomes. By  improving their                                                               
prioritization and  accountability, the commission  could improve                                                               
its ability to serve the public.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:29:03 PM                                                                                                                    
On page  12 of the audit  they found that the  commission did not                                                               
consistently   specify    the   organization    responsible   for                                                               
implementing a recommendation. Additionally,  they found that not                                                               
all  recommendations   adequately  identify  the  action   to  be                                                               
performed. At times  the commission was uncertain  about where to                                                               
direct its  recommendations. So they  recommended that  it ensure                                                               
that   recommendations   clearly    identify   the   organization                                                               
responsible  for implementing  an  action and  the  action to  be                                                               
performed. Additionally, they recommend  that the commission seek                                                               
assistance from Department of  Natural Resources (DNR) management                                                               
in  identifying  the  appropriate  organization  responsible  for                                                               
implementing their recommendations.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
4.   Finally,   there   are    two   more   administrative   type                                                               
recommendations:  one  directing   the  commission  to  recommend                                                               
replacement of  habitually absent members  and the other  to work                                                               
with the  Office of the  Governor to  fill vacant positions  in a                                                               
timely manner.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:30:11 PM                                                                                                                    
ROBERT SCHER,  Chair, Alaska  Seismic Hazards  Safety Commission,                                                               
Anchorage, Alaska,  supported SB 137.  He said the  Commission is                                                               
an  advisory  body  that  recommends  goals  and  priorities  for                                                               
mitigating seismic  hazards - things like  strong ground shaking,                                                               
landslides, avalanches, tsunami  inundation, fault displacements,                                                               
large area  subsidence -  recommending policies  including needed                                                               
research  mapping, monitoring  programs,  reviewing practice  for                                                               
recovery   and   reconstruction   after   a   major   earthquake,                                                               
recommending   improvements  to   mitigate  losses   from  future                                                               
earthquakes as  well as  gathering, analyzing,  and disseminating                                                               
information of general interest  on seismic hazards. These duties                                                               
are  done  on behalf  of  the  legislature, the  Governor,  local                                                               
governments, as well as the  public and private sectors at large;                                                               
these  duties are  not shared  by any  other state  department or                                                               
commission.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. SCHER said  the commission was originally formed  under HB 53                                                               
in 2002;  but in 2005  the first commissioners were  appointed by                                                               
Governor Murkowski. In 2006, HB  83 increased the membership from                                                               
9 to  11 commissioners and  extended the commission  through 2012                                                               
(6 years).  Most recently,  HB 279 extended  it through  June 30,                                                               
2014, which  is where they  are right  now. They are  an eclectic                                                               
body,   comprised  of   geologists,   seismologists,  civil   and                                                               
structural engineers,  emergency response planners  and managers,                                                               
and a representative from the insurance industry.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
They  believe  they have  been  functioning  in the  state's  and                                                               
publics'   interest  as   was  concluded   by  the   Division  of                                                               
Legislative Audit's  report of September 2013.  They look forward                                                               
to being extended  for another six years and already  have a full                                                               
list  of projects  that are  either  started or  in the  planning                                                               
stages that they  would take advantage of  performing during that                                                               
period  of time.  They would  welcome any  opportunity to  assist                                                               
this committee  and the full legislature  with matters pertaining                                                               
to earthquakes and tsunamis.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:35:43 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  DYSON asked  him  to  talk a  little  about their  large                                                               
gathering of seismologists this summer.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. SCHER answered  that it is the 50th year  following 1964 Good                                                               
Friday  Alaska  Earthquake  and   the  Seismological  Society  of                                                               
America  is  hosting  its  annual meeting  in  Anchorage  in  its                                                               
commemoration and  hundreds of seismologists and  geologists will                                                               
attend;  then  in  July  there will  be  a  week-long  conference                                                               
sponsored  by  the   Earthquake  Engineering  Research  Institute                                                               
entitled   the   Tenth    National   Conference   on   Earthquake                                                               
Engineering. It  is held every  four years in the  North America,                                                               
but it has international influence  and over 800 papers are being                                                               
presented.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GIESSEL thanked him for serving.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:37:44 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  GIESSEL,  finding  no   further  comments,  closed  public                                                               
testimony.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR DYSON moved  to report SB 137 from committee  to the next                                                               
committee of  referral with attached  fiscal note  and individual                                                               
recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered.