Legislature(2015 - 2016)BUTROVICH 205
04/10/2015 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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Audio | Topic |
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Start | |
HJR18 | |
SB101 | |
SB50 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ | HJR 18 | TELECONFERENCED | |
*+ | SB 101 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | SB 50 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 101-STATE PARKS FEES & SALES OF MERCHANDISE 3:57:17 PM CHAIR GIESSEL announced the consideration of SB 101. BEN ELLIS, Director, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Juneau, Alaska, said SB 101 is necessary to allow the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation to sell state park merchandise to retailers ensuring a fair and reasonable return to help support state park operations, thereby reducing reliance on the general fund. SB 101 would add a new subsection to AS 41.21.026 to grant the DNR the authority to sell the retailers state park-themed merchandise for informational, educational and promotional purposes to support park operations. The new subsection that would allow the department to establish prices for park-themed merchandise is to ensure a fair and reasonable return. It would also remove language in AS 41.21.026(a) requiring all fees to be collected in a park unit, making clear that the department has the authority to collect fees at locations outside of park units. 3:58:48 PM MR. ELLIS said the bill is needed to help the division get more revenue. The division currently generates about $3 million annually from park fees and 33 percent of their operating budget is covered by these fees. Fees were raised across the board going into the 2015 season projecting the same usage as last year and that results in about a 42-44 percent increase in revenue. It has been his and the commissioner's goal to find alternative ways to help fund more recreational opportunities in Alaska. A number of states use this model; South Carolina has done it for 10 years and raises about $1.72 million annually above what their merchandising program costs to run. This proposal would get Alaska going in that direction. SB 101 would allow the state to create, purchase and sell authentic state park merchandise to retailers thus providing opportunity for private businesses while generating revenue for the state. Currently, he could find only one source for purchasing state park merchandise and it's on line. One can pick any state park in Alaska and are able to buy a T-shirt, sweat shirt, hat, whatever, and the state receives no funds from that enterprise. He said with this legislation that Alaskans who buy authentic Alaska state park merchandise could be confident that their purchases would benefit the state parks they care about. 4:01:26 PM MR. ELLIS related that four years ago, they just had completed a 40-year celebration of Alaska state parks and had a number of beautiful photos in a photo contest. He thought what great note cards they would be and put eight of the winning photos on a blank notecard along with the name of the photographer, the location, and technical information. It was put into a nice package that could be sold. His intent was to charge $15 for what cost them $5.28 to create and it was going to go toward operations. Unfortunately, current statutes say that parks can't sell anything - camp fees, fire wood, whatever - for profit. That was the beginning of his starting to look at what other states do. He said that 39 other states have some type of a merchandising program; South Carolina has the most successful. SENATOR COSTELLO said she remembered this issue from previous legislatures and asked if raising park fees needs a statute change. MR. ELLIS answered yes, because AS 41.21.026(a) lists informational, educational and promotional purposes. It gets wrapped up with fire wood and other things that can only be sold for cost. SENATOR STOLTZE asked if Alaska has a patent or trademark on these logos. MR. ELLIS answered no, but a patch saying "official gear" could be put on with the Alaska state park logo and retailers could be urged to put a sticker of support for Alaska state parks in their windows. He can't get a copyright on it, but he is working with people on using the Alaska grown symbol. SENATOR STOLTZE mentioned that the DNR and the Department of Law (DOL) could give him a lot of insight on the issue of patenting that would be useful to have. SENATOR MICCICHE said he thought selling authentic Alaskan wear would be a good idea. He asked where the $350,000 would come from to initiate the program and what it would be used for. MR. ELLIS answered the $50,000 is a one-time capital request. The $350,000 would the ability to receive up to $350,000 from the merchandise. If this goes forward, he wanted to do it on a very measured basis starting with creating $50,000 worth of product, selling it, looking at the return, and investing it again the following year until they get to a point of actually having enough volume to make a significant profit. SENATOR MICCICHE asked if he plans on changing revenues from FY16 to FY21 on the fiscal note. MR. ELLIS answered no. 4:07:21 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what section 3 is repealing. MR. ELLIS answered that it basically deletes language saying the state can charge the cost of what the product is, but not for a profit. SENATOR STEDMAN said he had talked to Mr. Ellis earlier this year about the budgets in trying to deal with the parks in Sitka, one of which is where the Russians and Americans changed the flag. Quite a few people access it and the state should be able to charge a couple dollars to help offset the cost of running the parks. But maybe they should consider outsourcing the merchandising program and take some sort of royalty off of it. People who are in the business of selling T-shirts or popcorn are probably better at it than the well-meaning folks that aren't actually in that type of business. The state could just license the product and collect the check and not stick its neck out too far. MR. ELLIS responded that some states have that model, but he looked at the states that generated the highest level of revenue above the cost of the program and that was South Carolina that is doing it themselves. But he was not opposed to that approach. SENATOR STEDMAN said he saw his point, but state agencies don't have that great a history of getting through their overhead burden. But he supported the bill and the concept. 4:12:42 PM SENATOR STOLTZE concurred with Senator Stedman, but added that Alaska doesn't have a trademark or a patent and some companies are already making these types of products. All Alaska can really sell is an official sanction, which would have limited value if it gets too expensive. 4:14:28 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI also wondered what the state really has to sell if it doesn't have a trademark or a patent. He thought a lot of people would want to buy an official T-shit or hat or something knowing that a big chunk of it is going to the state park system. Going to a private model would be preferable but the state doesn't have anything to sell. MR. ELLIS responded that he is exploring all options. He had conversations with Princess Lodge that wants to sell these items in their gift shops, because they want to promote and support Alaska's parks. So, he believes there are merchants out there that would be interested. Totem Bite is another example. He didn't expect to make as much money as South Carolina does, because the programs are different, but it is the start of looking at other possible revenue generating areas. Just raising fees is not a sustainable model. 4:19:20 PM SENATOR STEDMAN asked him to explain what the Totem Bite is. MR. ELLIS replied that Totem Bite is a state historical park in Ketchikan that has hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. It is a replica of a totem village that Totem Trading Company, Inc., has next door to it, a museum that is second to none. SENATOR MICCICHE agreed that there is a market for gear, but said the division already has ability in existing law for competitive and exclusive commercial use permits. Even if they used kiosks in the most popular places, they wouldn't have to be run by park employees. They have the option right now under existing law for someone coming in and having such a thing with a portion of the proceeds going to the Park Service. MR. ELLIS answered if there is a product, yes, but he didn't know of an Alaskan state product being sold in the state. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI wondered if the state is violating law now by selling cabins referencing deleting "in a park unit" on page 1, line 6, and he thought it would be a good idea to do something about that. He asked if there could be some other unintended impacts coming from that deletion. MR. ELLIS said he had worked with the Department of Law on that and didn't always understand legal language, but currently if one wants to reserve a public use cabin, it is done on line; it is not done in a unit. If one goes to a public information center and purchases an annual parking pass, that is not done in a unit. This language just tries to clarify what is already being done. SENATOR COGHILL said this needs to be passed, because the state is already violating law and asked what assurances he can give if this proceeds forward, that it gets reviewed so the state "doesn't get tangled up in a lawsuit." He liked the idea of merchandising things and having it plowed back into the parks. MR. ELLIS gave him his personal assurance that he would have the Department of Law look into it. The model he used, South Carolina, has a three-legged stool: they sell merchandise in their units most of which have a gift shop; Alaska doesn't. They sell them on line and they sell them in retail. Obviously, in the park and on line, where the State of Alaska is using it, it would be assured of the return on the profit. He is concerned in going with on line and in the units that the state would be in competition with the private sector even though they would be giving the opportunity for the private sector to purchase the product at wholesale. 4:27:09 PM SENATOR COGHILL said on line would be the best place because his area doesn't even have kiosks. MR. ELLIS agreed that kiosks would not be cost effective and that the best bet would be to work with lodges like the Princess Lodge that has a large volume of people coming through it. CHAIR GIESSEL said the National Park Service in Kotzebue has a visitor center that sells merchandise and she sees that in a lot of other states, as well. SENATOR STOLTZE said the federal government has concessionaires at the major national parks. He asked if the division needed a broader authority so that conservation minded families wanting to endow a cabin as a friend of the parks could be able to do that. MR. ELLIS answered that they do have that authority now. It comes through a donation from a family that says it wants to have it applied to a specific area or parks in general. 4:30:26 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he wanted to hear from the Department of Law if on line fees are illegal. MR. ELLIS replied he hadn't talked to them about that, but will have an answer back through the chair. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he thought they likely needed to pass something as quick as possible. CHAIR GIESSEL agreed and said it would be helpful to know about the logo trademark issue. She asked Mr. Ellis to get that information. She held SB 101 in committee.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
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HJR18 Ver. H.PDF |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Ver. E.PDF |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Explaination of Changes.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Fiscal Note.PDF |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Supporting Documents -NPCA National Monuments List.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Supporting Documents-ADN Article.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Supporting Documents-Deseret News Editorial.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Supporting Documents-KUCB News Article.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Supporting Documents-Legislation and Policy Article.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Supporting Documents-NPS Antiquities Act 1906.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Supporting Documents-S. 437.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
HJR18 Supporting Documents-S.437 News Release.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |
SB 101.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 101 |
SB 101 Transmittal Letter.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 101 |
SB 101 Fiscal Note.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 101 |
SB 101 Briefing Paper.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 101 |
SB50 Transmittal Letter.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM STRA 3/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB50 Fact Sheet.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM STRA 3/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB50 Fiscal Note-DCCED-AIDEA-Zero-2-11-15.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM STRA 3/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB50 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM STRA 3/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
FBX North Star Borough R2015-08.pdf |
SNRG 3/10/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
Fairbanks Chamber Letter of Support for HB 105 & SB 50.pdf |
SNRG 3/10/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HB 105 SB 50 |
SB50 ver A.pdf |
SNRG 3/10/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB50 Fact Sheet.pdf |
SNRG 3/10/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB 50 CS NRG version W dated 3-26-15.PDF |
SNRG 3/26/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB50 Summary of Changes ver A to ver W.pdf |
SRES 3/30/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/3/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB50 Supporting Documents-Furie LLC letter 3-2015.pdf |
SRES 3/30/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/3/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB 50 Letter of Support Merrick Peirce.pdf |
SRES 3/30/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/3/2015 3:30:00 PM SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
SB50-AIDEA PowerPoint.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
CSHJR18 Explanation of Changes Version E to N.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
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SB 50 - Coghill Amendment 29-GS1019 W.2.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
CSHJR18-Version N.pdf |
SRES 4/10/2015 3:30:00 PM |
HJR 18 |