02/23/2022 01:00 PM House RESOURCES

                    ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE                                                                                  
               HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE                                                                             
                       February 23, 2022                                                                                        
                           1:07 p.m.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Josiah Patkotak, Chair                                                                                           
Representative Grier Hopkins, Vice Chair                                                                                        
Representative Zack Fields                                                                                                      
Representative Calvin Schrage                                                                                                   
Representative Sara Hannan                                                                                                      
Representative George Rauscher                                                                                                  
Representative Mike Cronk                                                                                                       
Representative Ronald Gillham                                                                                                   
Representative Tom McKay                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS ABSENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
All members present                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
HOUSE BILL NO. 209                                                                                                              
"An Act relating to emergency firefighters."                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     - MOVED HB 209 OUT OF COMMITTEE                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
BILL: HB 209                                                                                                                  
SHORT TITLE: EMERGENCY FIREFIGHTERS                                                                                             
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) CRONK                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
05/12/21       (H)       READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS                                                                        
05/12/21       (H)       RES, FIN                                                                                               
02/16/22       (H)       RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124                                                                              
02/16/22       (H)       Heard & Held                                                                                           
02/16/22       (H)       MINUTE(RES)                                                                                            
02/23/22       (H)       RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
WITNESS REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
No witnesses to record                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
ACTION NARRATIVE                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:07:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  JOSIAH  PATKOTAK  called   the  House  Resources  Standing                                                             
Committee meeting to  order at 1:07 p.m.   Representatives McKay,                                                               
Cronk, Hopkins, Rauscher, Hannan,  Gillham, Schrage, and Patkotak                                                               
were  present  at  the  call to  order.    Representative  Fields                                                               
arrived as the meeting was in progress.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
                 HB 209-EMERGENCY FIREFIGHTERS                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:08:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK  announced that the  only order of  business would                                                               
be  HOUSE   BILL  NO.   209,  "An   Act  relating   to  emergency                                                               
firefighters."                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:09:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK,  as prime  sponsor, gave final  comments on                                                               
HB  209.   He  said he  believes  the bill  is  overdue and  much                                                               
needed.   The  bill puts  people to  work and  supports what  the                                                               
governor  is trying  to  do with  increasing  fire protection  in                                                               
Alaska by rebuilding the state's  own crews rather than depending                                                               
on  crews from  the  Lower  48.   He  asked  for the  committee's                                                               
support.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:09:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS  moved to report  HB 209 out  of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.  There being no objection,  HB 209 was reported out of the                                                               
House Resources Standing Committee.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:09:53 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee  took an  at-ease from  1:10 p.m.  to 1:12  p.m. to                                                               
sign the committee report.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:12:37 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FIELDS,  at  the invitation  of  Chair  Patkotak,                                                               
offered  a  summary  of  the  issues  covered  by  the  Resources                                                               
Subcommittee meeting that  took place prior to this  meeting.  He                                                               
said he wants to ask  the [Department of Natural Resources (DNR)]                                                               
to  get back  to committee  members with  an update  on when  the                                                               
department will  be issuing a  miscellaneous land use  permit for                                                               
Santos/Oil  Search Ltd.  to use  roads on  state land  within the                                                               
Kuparuk River Unit.  Resolution  of regulatory uncertainty around                                                               
use  of this  road  is critical  for the  Pikka  Project to  move                                                               
forward,  he continued.   A  permit was  issued for  the seawater                                                               
treatment  plant, but  the company  cannot use  those roads,  and                                                               
this development cannot  move forward.  At stake  is about 80,000                                                               
barrels of oil per day, about  $100 million in royalty revenue to                                                               
the  state, and  tens  of  millions of  dollars  in property  tax                                                               
revenue  to the  North  Slope Borough.   The  first  oil by  2025                                                               
target is at risk, he  added, and this regulatory uncertainty has                                                               
dragged on long enough.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  PATKOTAK pointed  out  that this  is  not necessarily  the                                                               
opinion of  the committee as a  whole.  But, he  continued, it is                                                               
something as far  as maximizing the state's resources  that is in                                                               
the committee's purview, although it is  in a gray area as far as                                                               
the  responsibility of  the legislature  to  not micromanage  the                                                               
executive.  He noted that the follow up would be off record.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:16:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ADJOURNMENT                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being no  further business before the  committee, the House                                                               
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:16 p.m.