Legislature(1993 - 1994)
03/01/1994 01:00 PM House CRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS
STANDING COMMITTEE
March 1, 1994
1:00 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Harley Olberg, Chairman
Representative Jerry Sanders, Vice Chair
Representative Con Bunde
Representative Cynthia Toohey
Representative Ed Willis
Representative John Davies
Representative Bill Williams
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
*HB 446: "An Act relating to community agreements
for environmental conservation purposes;
and providing for an effective date."
PASSED FROM COMMITTEE WITH INDIVIDUAL
RECOMMENDATIONS
WITNESS REGISTER
JIM KOHLER, Executive Director
Southeast Conference
124 W. Fifth Street
Juneau, AK 99801
Phone: 463-3445
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 466
JOHN SANDOR, Commissioner
Department of Environmental Conservation
P.O. Box 21135
Juneau, AK 99802
Phone: 465-5050
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 466
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 446
SHORT TITLE: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS
SPONSOR(S): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
JRN-DATE JRN-PG ACTION
02/04/94 2264 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME/REFERRAL(S)
02/04/94 2264 (H) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS,
RESOURCES
02/04/94 2264 (H) -ZERO FISCAL NOTE (DEC) 2/4/94
02/04/94 2265 (H) GOVERNOR'S TRANSMITTAL LETTER
03/01/94 (H) CRA AT 01:00 PM CAPITOL 124
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 94-10, SIDE A
Number 000
CHAIRMAN HARLEY OLBERG called the meeting to order at 1:24
p.m. He noted for the record Representatives Toohey, Bunde,
Davies and Willis were present and noted that a quorum was
present.
REPRESENTATIVE BILL WILLIAMS joined the committee a moment
later at 1:25 p.m.
Number 026
HB 446 - ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS
JOHN SANDOR, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSERVATION, said, "I'm very pleased to be here to support
and present this bill (HB 446). The Governor's February 4
letter to the leadership of both the House and Senate
summarized the essence of this bill. (A copy of this letter
is on file.) The time is right for it. The unfunded
mandates are coming down from the federal government, to the
state government, and especially on communities. It places
such a burden upon governments at all levels that something
really needs to be done. This administration has, three
years ago, began a process of developing community
environmental agreements. We have more than 50 of those in
place. We also developed a statement of cooperation with
the Department of Defense agencies and the Coast Guard with
activities there. These are successful, but this bill is
necessary because it pulls into one place the objectives of
this...the three basic components of this bill. First, the
community agreement would provide for the joint assessment
of environmental needs within the local community or region
and the establishment of indicators to track progress in
meeting those needs. Second, the party to the agreement
would jointly access and prioritize those needs by
comparative risk to human health and the environment.
Third, the parties would work cooperatively to resolve those
needs to delegation and cooperative management to the extent
under the law. The essence of the this is to develop cost
effective solutions to meeting environmental requirements.
Within Alaska, I think it will go one step farther. If we
can get the United States Environmental Protection Agency on
board in these agreements, and that is to identify those
mandates that not only are unfunded, but also do not make
sense in many parts of this state."
Number 100
COMMISSIONER SANDOR then referred to President Clinton's
Executive Order #12875 dated October 26, 1993. (A copy of
this document is on file.) He said, "Which just took effect
actually January 26, 1994, ninety days after the signing of
the Executive Order. The Order is intended to enhance what
the President calls intergovernmental partnerships. As you
will note, the intent of this Executive Order is to reduce
unfunded mandates upon state, local, and tribal governments
and to streamline essentially the operation of governments.
Unfortunately, this Executive Order has not been taken
seriously by some of the levels of administrators;
administrators within the federal government. I want to
emphasize that participation in this is completely
voluntary. Communities can enter into agreements and pull
out of them at any time. Quite frankly, they are often
suspicious of what these agreements are and have reason to
be suspicious. But we've learned over the past three years,
that in fact, they do work. It's important to know that
this bill has a zero fiscal note..."
Number 144
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN DAVIES said he supported the bill and
asked, "(You've) indicated quite a number of efforts that
you've already made, and I guess I'm wondering if you've
been doing these, why do you need this bill?"
COMMISSIONER SANDOR said, "We've been stretching it perhaps
a bit. On the other hand, the attorneys have told us we can
enter into agreements. There are, however, no provisions
for having federal agencies enter into such agreements.
This brings into one place, this authority, so that it's
very clear and I think will help give impetus to the
consideration of this as we propose this to additional
communities and regional groups."
Number 174
JIM KOHLER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE,
stated, "We are, as of about ten minutes ago, beginning our
fourth year under a cooperative community agreement with the
Department of Environmental Conservation and... There is no
question that communities are being faced with a burden of
responsibility and task unprecedented, and it will continue.
If one looks at just the mountain of requirements a local
administrator and a community staff have to face just
dealing with environmental related issues, it would be
enough to drive most of us crazy... It is a burdensome task
at best. Commissioner Sandor brought with him a commitment
when he took over the reigns of this department to try and
forge something that would bring his resources, the state's
resources, into the offices, into the communities...so that
we could collectively sit down and ask ourselves together,
`What are the biggest problems we need to face, and how are
we going to combine our resources to face those problems and
work towards some solutions'. And the community agreement
then sets out the commitment that we both make, to try to
reach some kind of resolution solution, so that when we
leave that exercise we know what we're both trying to get,
to achieve. We know what we're going to commit to each
other to try to achieve it and we work as partners. That
has not existed prior to the time that we've entered this
kind of process. And the question of why, if we can do
this, do we need this legislation; from my own perspective,
I believe that what Commissioner Sandor has brought over the
last three years...is a vision of how to do something and
how to make it work...let's hope that we can leave behind
us, not something that is just the product of an individual,
or a few individuals that have a commitment and a vision,
but let's leave some tools and let's leave a framework so
that folks can undertake a process that works. I disagree
slightly with the fiscal note of zero. It has been our
experience over the last three years from specific projects
we've undertaken through the community agreements, that we
have saved our communities collectively, well into the six
digit figures...about a quarter of a million dollars
collectively... So I think that what you have in front of
you, while it may have elements of holy water, I think what
it really does is sets out a structure and a tool that I
hope spreads well beyond just the notion of cooperative
agreements on environmental issues. The last point being
that we are engaged in our region. All of our communities
basically, by this time next year will have finished their
own locally developed sustainable development plan. Our
commitment from the conference is to bring all state
agencies into that process and to duplicate these
cooperative agreements between each community and each state
agency so that everybody comes to the table as partners to
try to get there from here basically..."
Number 260
REPRESENTATIVE CYNTHIA TOOHEY asked, "These have been
signed...the funding then is coming, is that correct?"
MR. KOHLER said, "With the Southeast Conference, we entered
our first cooperative about three years ago. We've been
updating them annually. It's not an issue of funding.
We're working basically with a set of resources that we both
have available to us. What we're setting out is how we're
each going to manage our resources to achieve these problems
collectively..."
REPRESENTATIVE TOOHEY referred to a letter from President
Clinton, saying, "This is the President's agreement to pay
for unfunded federal mandates." (A copy of this letter is
on file.)
Number 277
COMMISSIONER SANDOR replied, "He (President Clinton) was, I
believe motivated, genuinely by this problem of unfunded
mandates, and actually made the commitment to sponsor and
promote intergovernmental partnerships to direct, in fact,
federal agencies to do that. And it dovetails nicely into
what we have here and what I intend to do, Mr. Chairman, if
this bill passes, is to in fact, go back to EPA and say,
`now, hey, we also have the legislature, the state, on board
on this. We have the President's Executive Order calling
for partnerships in dealing with unfunded mandates, how
about waking up there in Seattle and join the partnership
that your boss is proposing?' It's that simple. That's how
it ties in."
REPRESENTATIVE JERRY SANDERS joined the committee at 1:40
p.m.
Number 309
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIES said, "I just wanted to underscore
that I think I heard the commissioner say that he felt that
one of the other answers to my first question was that by
passing this, it would help him in dealing with Region X and
I think we should give the commissioner all the help he
needs." He then moved that HB 446 be moved from committee
with individual recommendations.
There were no objections.
Number 318
CHAIRMAN OLBERG adjourned the meeting at 1:40 p.m.
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