Legislature(2021 - 2022)BARNES 124
05/05/2021 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB148 | |
| HCR2 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HCR 2 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 148 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
May 5, 2021
2:01 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Josiah Patkotak, Chair
Representative Zack Fields
Representative Calvin Schrage
Representative Sara Hannan
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Mike Cronk
Representative Ronald Gillham
Representative Tom McKay
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Grier Hopkins, Vice Chair
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 148
"An Act relating to the Alaska Coordinate System of 2022."
- MOVED HB 148 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2
Supporting the Alaska Ocean Cluster in its mission, efforts, and
vision for a vibrant coastal economy in the state, its promotion
of a diversified and resilient state economy that creates value
from ocean resources, and its building of a statewide integrated
ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship relating to the
state's ocean economy.
- MOVED HCR 2 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 148
SHORT TITLE: ALASKA COORDINATE SYSTEM OF 2022
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) SHAW
03/24/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/24/21 (H) STA, RES
04/17/21 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/17/21 (H) Heard & Held
04/17/21 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/22/21 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/22/21 (H) Moved HB 148 Out of Committee
04/22/21 (H) MINUTE(STA)
04/26/21 (H) STA RPT 6DP
04/26/21 (H) DP: VANCE, CLAMAN, STORY, KAUFMAN,
TARR, KREISS-TOMKINS
05/05/21 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
BILL: HCR 2
SHORT TITLE: SUPPORTING ALASKA OCEAN CLUSTER
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) STUTES
02/18/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/18/21 (H) FSH, RES
04/08/21 (H) FSH AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/08/21 (H) Heard & Held
04/08/21 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
04/13/21 (H) FSH AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/13/21 (H) Moved HCR 2 Out of Committee
04/13/21 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
04/14/21 (H) FSH RPT 4DP 2NR
04/14/21 (H) DP: STORY, KREISS-TOMKINS, ORTIZ, TARR
04/14/21 (H) NR: MCCABE, VANCE
05/03/21 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
05/03/21 (H) Heard & Held
05/03/21 (H) MINUTE(RES)
05/05/21 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE LADDIE SHAW
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented HB 148.
REECE WILLIAMS, Staff
Representative Laddie Shaw
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the Sectional Analysis for HB 148
on behalf of Representative Shaw, prime sponsor.
GWEN GERVELIS, Surveys Manager
Division of Mining Land and Water
Department of Natural Resources
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information and answered questions
during the hearing on HB 148.
JAKE MAXWELL, Board member
Alaska Society of Professional Land Surveyors
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 148.
LEN STORY, Co-Chair of Legislative Affairs
American Council of Engineering Companies
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 148.
JEREMY HURST, President
Alaska Society of Professional Land Surveyors
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 148.
SARA PERMAN, Staff
Representative Louise Stutes
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information and answered questions
during the hearing on HCR 2 on behalf of Representative Stutes,
prime sponsor.
JUSTIN STERNBERG, Program Director
Alaska Ocean Cluster
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information and answered questions
during the hearing on HCR 2.
ACTION NARRATIVE
2:01:34 PM
CHAIR JOSIAH PATKOTAK called the House Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 2:01 p.m. Representatives McKay,
Fields, Cronk, Gillham, Hannan, Rauscher, and Patkotak were
present at the call to order. Representative Schrage arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
HB 148-ALASKA COORDINATE SYSTEM OF 2022
2:02:06 PM
CHAIR PATKOTAK announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 148, "An Act relating to the Alaska Coordinate
System of 2022."
2:02:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LADDIE SHAW, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, gave the sponsor statement, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
House Bill 148 revises Alaska Statute chapter 38.20,
known as the Alaska Coordinate System, to reflect
changes in the federal datum used as a base for the
coordinate system and to allow for future updates. The
system is comprised of rectangular plane coordinates
used to define accurate positions or locations of
points on the surface of the earth.
Currently, forty-eight states have adopted state plane
coordinate systems into their statutes. This bill
revises the Alaska Coordination System as an ongoing
modernization of the U.S National Spatial Reference
System to reduce the distortions present in the
current system. In addition to improved zone
locations, that will cover population and resources
areas, a new statewide zone will be created for
Alaska. This will reduce the distortion of the
projection currently in use and improve the display of
statewide geographic data.
This is an important and practical step for Alaska to
adapt to this coordination system. Alaska will have
the advantage of improvements in the geodetic
positioning, and with the new gravity-based elevation.
This will dramatically improve the ability to measure
elevations in Alaska. This modernization effort will
benefit scientists, surveyors, design professionals,
GIS specialists, and the geospatial community. The
improved coordinate system minimizes linear
distortions and is designed to include population
centers and resource development.
2:04:27 PM
REECE WILLIAMS, Staff, Representative Laddie Shaw, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Shaw, prime sponsor,
presented the Sectional Analysis for HB 148, which read as
follows [original punctuation included]:
Section 1 Amends AS 38.20.010 to add a reference to
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and the Alaska Coordinate System of 2022.
Section 2 Repeals and reenacts AS 38.20.020 to
remove references to the ten different zones currently
listed in the statute, and states that the zone
parameters of the Alaska Coordinate Systems are now
the zone parameters defined by the NGS. Removing
specific parameters ensures legislation will be
accurate according to past, current, and future
datums.
Section 3 Amends AS 38.20.030 to add a reference to
the "Alaska Coordinate System of 2022, Zone ?" for
purposes of drafting land descriptions that use
coordinate systems.
Section 4 Amends AS 38.20.040 to add two references
to "U.S. Survey" and one reference to the Alaska
Coordinate System of 2022. Also added is an
explanation that one U.S. Survey foot means the
quotient of 1,200 and 3,937 meters. There are two
standards used in the U.S. to convert between feet and
meters. States such as Alaska support both feet and
meters and legislate which feet-to-meters conversion
they use. The U.S. survey foot is 1200/3937 meters, or
.3048006096. The international foot is 0.3048 meters.
The difference between the two conversions can become
noticeable.
Section 5 Repeals and reenacts AS 38.20.060 to
remove the references to, and descriptions of, the ten
different zones currently listed in the statute, and
instead states that the characteristics of the zones
of the Alaska Coordinate Systems are defined by the
NGS. Removing specific zone descriptions ensures
legislation will be accurate and relevant under past,
current, and future datums.
Section 6 Amends AS 38.20.090 to add a new
subsection (c) stating that the use of the term
"Alaska Coordinate System of 2022" on a map, report of
the survey, or other document is limited to
coordinates based on the Alaska Coordinate System of
2022.
Section 7 Amends AS 38.20.100 to add a reference to
the "Alaska Coordinate System of 2022."
Section 8 Amends AS 38.20.110 to add a reference to
the "Alaska Coordinate System of 2022."
MR. WILLIAMS noted that Representative Shaw's office was
recently made aware of language inconsistencies which may
require amending.
2:07:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked for more details regarding the
language which would need to be amended.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that Legislative Legal Service is
adjusting language in HB 148 that relied on some outdated
statutes.
2:08:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked for further information on the
National Geodetic Survey (NGS) such as how often it's done,
whether definitions change, and whether it's a static set of
data that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) always uses.
MR. WILLIAMS responded that the datum is a set of collected
data, with a new set introduced only when enough data has been
collected. He said that the next datum release after 2022 would
be 50 years hence.
2:10:51 PM
GWEN GERVELIS, Surveys Manager, Division of Mining Land and
Water, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), characterized HB
148 as "pretty straightforward legislation" to update the datum
from that which was previously collected in 1983 and 1988. She
explained that the NGS has been able to create a better map of
the U.S. using new gravity-based datum, rather than the vertical
and horizontal data sets used previously.
2:12:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked for more information on the
significance on gravity-based data.
MS. GERVELIS replied that NGS flies "low-altitude gravity" over
Alaska and collect gravity throughout the state. Normally, she
explained, the elevation data is carried on the ground by foot,
so the data in Alaska has been relatively sparse due to the lack
of access. She said, "A lot of the communities throughout
Alaska, especially along the coast, have local vertical datums
that don't relate to anything, so by using a gravity-based
elevation model we can bring all that together so everything in
the state's going to line up a lot better." She noted that this
type of mapping will be better for things such as flood mapping
and tsunami warnings.
MS. GERVELIS, in response to a follow-up question from
Representative Hannan, explained that gravity, like light, comes
in waves, and is largely dependent on what's underground; an
iron-rich mountain, she said, will have more gravity than
tundra.
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN expressed that this discussion highlights
the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
math) education.
2:15:48 PM
CHAIR PATKOTAK suggested a floor amendment for the section that
needs conforming.
2:16:03 PM
JAKE MAXWELL, Board member, Alaska Society of Professional Land
Surveyors (ASPLS), voiced support for HB 148 on behalf of the
ASPLS and the Alaska Professional Design Council.
2:16:40 PM
MR. WILLIAMS introduced a short video explaining what a geodedic
datum is.
2:21:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked why moving to "different
technology" needs legislative approval, since there is no fiscal
note attached to HB 148.
MR. WILLIAMS replied that the Alaska Coordinate System was
originally brought into statute, so in order to update the
system to be concurrent with the federal datum, the statute must
be amended.
MS. GERVELIS explained that updating the statute allows all of
the state agencies to use the same datum. She said there is no
fiscal note because DNR does not believe there would be a cost
to having all state agencies use the same datum.
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked, "I guess everybody already has
this process, and now we're just asking for permission to use
it?"
MR. GERVELIS responded that this proposed legislation would
allow all state agencies to be "on the same page" as far as
using the same datum.
2:23:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked about the history of surveying.
MR. WILLIAMS replied with his understanding that the mapping
initiative started in the early 1800s, with surveys being
continually updated.
2:24:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE said that the data seems to be the
property of the federal government, which makes it available for
free to the individual states for accurate mapping.
MS. GERVELIS replied, "That's correct. All of the other states
have this in their statutes as well, and NGS recognizes that all
of them will have to make these changes."
2:25:32 PM
CHAIR PATKOTAK opened public testimony on HB 148.
2:25:45 PM
LEN STORY, Co-Chair of Legislative Affairs, American Council of
Engineering Companies (ACEC), testified in support of HB 148.
He noted that ACEC is an affiliate of the Alaska Professional
Design Council, and that he is a member of the Alaska Society of
Professional Land Surveyors and the National Society of
Professional Surveyors. He said that there are a couple of
technical corrections needed on page 2, section 4 of the bill.
He also clarified that moving to the 2022 datum also involves
moving to a new measurement of the foot, from the "U.S. survey
foot" to the "international foot"; as NGS is processing data and
reporting positions in international feet, he said, the scale
needs to match. He also noted that line 17 of the proposed
legislation lists the North American Geodetic Control Network,
which no longer exists; it's currently the National Spatial
Reference System.
CHAIR PATKOTAK said that Representative Shaw and Mr. Williams
would work to get the applicable language corrected.
2:27:49 PM
JEREMY HURST, President, Alaska Society of Professional Land
Surveyors (ASPLS), testified in support of HB 148 and expressed
his agreement with the comments made by Mr. Story.
2:28:24 PM
CHAIR PATKOTAK, after ascertaining that no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HB 148.
2:28:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN noted the technical specificity of the
proposed legislation and the importance of having "the right
amendments doing the right things."
MR. WILLIAMS said that he is working with Legislative Legal
Services to clarify the changes. He pointed out that the
National Spatial Reference System language has already been
incorporated into the proposed legislation.
2:29:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER moved to report HB 148 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
note.
2:30:10 PM
CHAIR PATKOTAK objected to give Representative Shaw an
opportunity to provide closing comments.
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW noted that HB 148 would reduce distortion of
the projection currently in use, as well as improve the display
of statewide geographic data. He stressed that, considering the
lack of a road system in Alaska, the proposed legislation would
benefit the state.
2:31:09 PM
CHAIR PATKOTAK withdrew his objection. There being no further
objection, HB 148 was reported out of the House Resources
Standing Committee.
2:31:21 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 2:31 p.m. to 2:35 p.m.
HCR 2-SUPPORTING ALASKA OCEAN CLUSTER
2:35:03 PM
CHAIR PATKOTAK announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2, "Supporting the Alaska
Ocean Cluster in its mission, efforts, and vision for a vibrant
coastal economy in the state, its promotion of a diversified and
resilient state economy that creates value from ocean resources,
and its building of a statewide integrated ecosystem of
innovation and entrepreneurship relating to the state's ocean
economy."
2:35:35 PM
SARA PERMAN, Staff, Representative Louise Stutes, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Stutes, prime sponsor,
explained that HCR 2 would acknowledge Alaska's unique position
as a leader in the world's ocean economy, the value of which is
set to double to $3 trillion by 2030. She said that it would
also recognize Alaska's contributions to diverse areas of
industry and the state's capacity for growth in ocean-based
areas such as mariculture and renewable industry. She explained
that HCR 2 would also acknowledge the Alaska Ocean Cluster and
its work in supporting the development and funding efforts of
ocean-related enterprises, and that it's important to economic
vitality that entrepreneurialism and the growth of new
businesses is encouraged.
2:41:39 PM
JUSTIN STERNBERG, Program Director, Alaska Ocean Cluster,
thanked the committee and noted his availability for future
discussions.
2:42:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER moved to report HCR 2 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
note. There being no objection, HCR 2 was reported out of the
House Resources Standing Committee.
2:42:54 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 2:42 p.m. to 2:46 p.m.
2:46:25 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:46 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 148 Sectional Analysis - 4.6.21.pdf |
HRES 5/5/2021 1:00:00 PM HSTA 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 148 |
| HB 148 Sponsor Statement - 4.6.21.pdf |
HRES 5/5/2021 1:00:00 PM HSTA 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 148 |
| HB 148 Additional Info - APDC Position Statement_Final_R2.pdf |
HRES 5/5/2021 1:00:00 PM HSTA 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 148 |
| HB 148 Letter of Support - ASPLS 4.8.21.pdf |
HRES 5/5/2021 1:00:00 PM HSTA 4/17/2021 3:00:00 PM |
HB 148 |
| HCR 2 The Blue Pipeline Overview 5.05.2021.pdf |
HRES 5/5/2021 1:00:00 PM SRES 2/21/2022 3:30:00 PM |
HCR 2 |