Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 17
04/23/2005 02:00 PM House TRANSPORTATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB259 | |
| HB279 | |
| HJR18 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 279 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HJR 18 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| = | HB 259 | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 23, 2005
2:05 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jim Elkins, Co-Chair
Representative Carl Gatto, Co-Chair
Representative Vic Kohring
Representative Mark Neuman
Representative Bill Thomas
Representative Mary Kapsner
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Woodie Salmon
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 259
"An Act relating to covered or enclosed loads."
- HEARD AND HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 279
"An Act relating to encroachments in the right-of-way of a
highway."
- MOVED CSHB 279(TRA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18
Relating to the federal Maritime Transportation Security Act of
2002 and the state's right to tax commercial passenger vessels.
- TABLED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 259
SHORT TITLE: TRUCK LOAD REQUIREMENTS
SPONSOR(S): TRANSPORTATION
04/07/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/07/05 (H) TRA, FIN
04/12/05 (H) TRA AT 1:30 PM CAPITOL 17
04/12/05 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard
04/19/05 (H) TRA AT 1:30 PM CAPITOL 17
04/19/05 (H) Moved CSHB 259(TRA) Out of Committee
04/19/05 (H) MINUTE(TRA)
04/23/05 (H) TRA AT 2:00 PM CAPITOL 17
BILL: HB 279
SHORT TITLE: OUTDOOR ADVERTISING; ENCROACHMENTS
SPONSOR(S): TRANSPORTATION
04/19/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/19/05 (H) TRA, FIN
04/23/05 (H) TRA AT 2:00 PM CAPITOL 17
BILL: HJR 18
SHORT TITLE: FEDERAL MARINE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ACT
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) GATTO
04/15/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/15/05 (H) TRA, FIN
04/23/05 (H) TRA AT 2:00 PM CAPITOL 17
WITNESS REGISTER
NONA WILSON, Legislative Liaison
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided comments and responded to
questions during discussion of HB 259.
REPRESENTATIVE BILL STOLTZE
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided comments during discussion of HB
279.
JOHN MACKINNON, Deputy Commissioner
Highways & Public Facilities
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided comments and responded to
questions during discussion of HB 279.
LINDA KOVAC, Secretary/Treasure
Board of Directors
Chugiak Community Council
Municipality of Anchorage (MOA)
Chugiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided comments during discussion of HB
279 and expressed her hope that the bill will pass.
BRUCE BARTLEY, Chief
Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, Inc.
Anchorage Fire Department
Municipality of Anchorage (MOA)
Chugiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided comments during discussion of HB
279, urged the committee to adopt the bill, and responded to a
question.
DEBBIE OSSIANDER, Member
Anchorage Assembly
Municipality of Anchorage (MOA)
Chugiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 279.
CODY RICE, Staff
to Representative Carl Gatto
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HJR 18 on behalf of the sponsor,
Representative Gatto, and responded to questions.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CO-CHAIR CARL GATTO called the House Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 2:05:33 PM. Representatives
Gatto, Elkins, Neuman, and Kohring were present at the call to
order. Representatives Thomas and Kapsner arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
HB 259 - TRUCK LOAD REQUIREMENTS
CO-CHAIR GATTO announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 259 "An Act relating to covered or enclosed
loads." [A proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 259,
Version 24-LS0833\Y - although never formally adopted as a work
draft - had been treated as amended and reported from committee
on 4/19/05.]
CO-CHAIR GATTO, because of the lack of a formal motion during
the meeting on 4/19/05 regarding the adoption of Version Y as a
work draft, relayed his intention of having the committee
rescind its action in reporting [Version Y, as amended] from
committee, and then rescind it's actions in amending [Version
Y], thus allowing the committee to adopt, as a work draft, a new
proposed CS for HB 259, Version 24-LS0833\S, which incorporates
the amendments made to Version Y.
CO-CHAIR GATTO moved that the committee rescind its action in
reporting [Version Y, as amended] from committee. There being
no objection, the committee's action was rescinded.
CO-CHAIR GATTO moved that the committee rescind its actions in
adopting amendments to [Version Y].
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked what those amendments entailed.
CO-CHAIR GATTO said:
Those amendments had to do with "a gross to remove"
pickup trucks from this requirement, and we did that
by saying that vehicles with a gvw [gross vehicle
weight] ... of less than 9,200 pounds wouldn't
qualify. And we did this because we called various
organizations to see what pickup trucks entailed, and
if you talk about the gross vehicle weight, then you
pretty much know that you've got all the pickups
included, and we did not want to include pickups in
this, so they're excluded.
We dealt ... also with giving exclusions to certain
communities, and Representative Thomas wanted us to
exclude communities that are not connected to
Anchorage by a continuous state road such [as] passing
through the country of Canada; [such] would not be
under the ... requirements of this bill. And also if
the communities were less than 5,000 in population.
Basically the bill was intended to do something about
the heavy truck traffic in Anchorage and [Matanuska-
Susitna ("MAT-SU")], and we wanted to, essentially,
define what these words meant in legislation that
already exists, so that it's clear to [the DOT&PF]
what our intent was in this original language.
CO-CHAIR GATTO announced that the committee's actions in
adopting the amendments [to Version Y] were rescinded.
CO-CHAIR ELKINS made a motion to adopt the proposed CS for HB
259, Version 24-LS0833\S, as the work draft.
CO-CHAIR GATTO announced that Version S was before the
committee.
CO-CHAIR GATTO reiterated that Version S incorporates the
amendments adopted during the 4/19/05 meeting, and characterized
Version S as perfect because it deals with the pickup truck
exemption and the issue of snow, it exempts communities under
5,000 and any community not connected to Anchorage by road, and
it changes "contained or confined" to "covered or enclosed."
2:10:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN said he has problems with the bill. He
said a lot of road construction involves one- or two-mile trips,
and so covering each and every one of the loads of material used
is going to add a tremendous amount of "time and cost" to all
Alaska's road projects. He said the gravel on the roads does
not all come from dump trucks, and there are already laws to
help people replace windshields from rock damage due to [dump]
trucks. He indicated that he didn't think that HB 259 will fix
the current enforcement problem, and detailed the steps he took
when he [hauled loads of material]. He said he cannot support
the bill, and mentioned the possible increase in cost to
businesses.
2:13:17 PM
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked how much time it takes to cover a load with
an "automatic" cover.
NONA WILSON, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF),
mentioning both swing arm style automatic covers and track style
automatic covers, said she didn't know how much time covering a
load would take, adding that private truck drivers might not be
able to afford fully automatic covers. In response to a further
question, she indicated that she was unfamiliar with exactly how
the "automatic" systems work.
CO-CHAIR GATTO indicated that if using the automatic covers
added an hour in the course of a day, he would be concerned, but
if using them adds "40 seconds," such would be acceptable.
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN said dump trucks get dirty, and the cover
tracks would always be full of gravel, thus one would have to
"be up there cleaning them constantly." He postulated that the
cost of installation and maintenance would be astronomical and
should be included in the cost estimates.
MS. WILSON reiterated that she didn't know whether [automatic]
covers would be on swing arms or on an actual tracks.
2:17:15 PM
CO-CHAIR GATTO restated the intent of the bill, and posited that
the [Alaska State] Troopers would be understanding for short
hauls. He expressed concern about trucks on long-distance
highway trips "blowing" gravel all over the highway.
MS. WILSON said the DOT&PF can assist vehicle owners with claims
of rock damage from department trucks.
CO-CHAIR GATTO said it is difficult to chase a truck that is
responsible for spewing rocks.
2:19:09 PM
MS. WILSON posited that usually when there is debris flying off
of a truck, it is because it is overloaded. She pondered
whether drivers might tend to overload a truck with a cover.
CO-CHAIR GATTO suggested that that is a separate issue.
CO-CHAIR ELKINS said he would like to defer the issue in order
to see the minutes from the previous meeting, adding, "I would
like to know what the testimony was that convinced us last
meeting to pass this bill."
MS. WILSON referred to the fiscal note, which had been
characterized as high, and indicated that the estimate has been
lowered as a result of the amendments offered during the bill's
last hearing.
2:21:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN said he would like input from the trucking
industry.
CO-CHAIR ELKINS moved to [set aside] HB 259 for the purpose of
reviewing the minutes from the bill's prior meeting.
CO-CHAIR GATTO relayed that HB 259 [Version S] would be held
over.
The committee took an at-ease from 2:22 p.m. to 2:23 p.m.
HB 279 - OUTDOOR ADVERTISING; ENCROACHMENTS
2:25:16 PM
CO-CHAIR GATTO announced that the next order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 279 "An Act relating to encroachments in the
right-of-way of a highway."
REPRESENTATIVE BILL STOLTZE, Alaska State Legislature, said he
lives in a community with a highway going through it. It was
once more scenic, he added, opining that easements have been
given out by the Department of Transportation & Public
Facilities (DOT&PF) in an antiquated way. Some easement are 50
feet and some are 300 feet, and the community is looking at a
potential expansion. Some landowners have encroachments such as
lawns. He said HB 279 "grandfathers" in those encroachments
that don't interfere with possible construction or impede the
state's interests. He said it is a huge issue in Chugiak.
2:28:48 PM
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked if the bill runs afoul of federal
requirements, thus limiting Alaska's potential funding.
REPRESENTATIVE STOLTZE said he has worked with agencies in an
effort to craft the legislation so as not to run into problems.
2:29:50 PM
JOHN MACKINNON, Deputy Commissioner, Highways & Public
Facilities, Office of the Commissioner, Department of
Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF), said that HB 279
provides clarification and gives the department the ability to
permit outdoor advertising within the right-of-way, which, to
date, has been prohibited by state statute. "There are probably
somewhere in the order of under 100 of these, within the right-
of-way, throughout the state, and ... they've become a problem
for us and they've been a problem for years," he added. He said
many of the signs that encroach have been removed, but there are
many still remaining, and they should be permitted as the
encroachments occurred in good faith. "When you've got a 300
foot right-of-way, and the road and its improvements encompass
100 feet of it [with] the 200 feet on the outboard side - or 100
on each outboard side - what's the harm in allowing
public/private use of that area," he said. "We do support
this," he added, but the DOT&PF is waiting for a determination
from the [Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)] regarding
outdoor advertising.
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked what would happen if both the bill passes
and the state wants to use the right-of-way.
MR. MACKINNON said that people would be required to remove the
encroachments, adding that it's probably a cleaner situation to
have the encroachments identified and permitted. Any such
permitting agreement could stipulate what would happen should
the state decide to use the right-of-way.
CO-CHAIR GATTO referred to a handout in members' packets
containing proposed changes to HB 279; that handout read
[original punctuation provided]:
Page 2, line 2, following "right-of-way"
Delete "who erected"
Insert "for"
Page 2, line 12, following "fee"
Insert "not to exceed $100"
CO-CHAIR GATTO referred to the proposed change to page 2, line
2, of the bill as Amendment 1. [Although no formal motion had
been made,] he asked whether there were any objections to
adopting Amendment 1. There being none, Amendment 1 was
adopted.
CO-CHAIR GATTO referred to the proposed change to page 2, line
12, of the bill as Amendment 2.
[An unidentified speaker in the audience made comments, but
those comments were not picked up clearly by the microphones.]
MR. MACKINNON noted that the DOT&PF's regulations provide for a
$250 nonrefundable application fee for any encroachment permit.
CO-CHAIR GATTO [although no formal motion had been made] asked
whether there were any objections to the adoption of Amendment
2. There being none, Amendment 2 was adopted.
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER asked whether there was a fiscal note.
MR. MACKINNON said the DOT&PF is not sure at this time what the
fiscal note would be, but predicted that it would not be much,
since the department would most likely deal with encroachments
on a project-by-project basis. He offered his belief that
Section 2 of the bill stipulates that the burden of proof of
"that three-part test" lies with the department.
CO-CHAIR GATTO offered a hypothetical example wherein one
applies for and receives an encroachment permit and then chooses
to erect a 12 by 24 foot advertising sign. He asked whether
such would be "grandfathered" in.
MR. MACKINNON explained that the bill specifically says that
only the encroachments that existed on the Act's effective date
would be grandfathered in. He added, "We are in the process
this year of doing a video cataloging of the rights-of-way,
which would show the existing encroachments or any
structure/improvement located on the right-of-way; that would
allow us to have a date at which the encroachment [existed]."
CO-CHAIR GATTO ascertained that the bill doesn't have a specific
effective date.
2:37:29 PM
LINDA KOVAC, Secretary/Treasure, Board of Directors, Chugiak
Community Council, Municipality of Anchorage (MOA), relayed that
the Old Glenn Highway Rehabilitation Project - Alaska Department
of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) State Project No.
52515 - is an upgrade to the Old Glenn Highway, which runs
through Chugiak. The primary scope of this project, she
continued, is to add shoulders, a pathway, and turn lanes at the
major intersections. Chugiak has been pushing for this upgrade
to increase safety for over 10 years, and is pleased the work is
being addressed; however, the history of this road's right-of-
way is complex, and many costly encroachments have been built in
this right-of-way over the last 50 years. The right-of-way
itself varies between 60 and 300 feet, with several sections
that are 200 feet.
MS. KOVAC relayed that the DOT&PF has informed the Chugiak
Community Council that all encroachments will have to be removed
due to federal funding requirements, and its position on
encroachments is that if a person wants to obtain a permit to
have an encroachment, the application will only be considered
after all existing encroachments have been removed from the
entire right-of-way and the project is complete. Additionally,
the list of allowable encroachments is minimal. For example,
some permitted uses could be grass, or flowers, or parking in
excess of what's required for a particular property.
Furthermore, encroachments for commercial purposes will not be
allowed. She mentioned that the DOT&PF has relayed that since
the Old Glenn Highway's right-of-way has been thoroughly
researched and surveyed, the right-of-way must be enforced due
to possible liability issues. She offered her understanding
that this means that all encroachments must be removed
regardless of whether the project continues.
MS. KOVAC predicted that if the encroachments are removed, this
will impact residences and business adjacent to "this five-mile
stretch of road." Such an impact will cause hardships and some
entities will go out of business due to a loss of parking, and
some entities will have to find new land on which to install new
septic systems or water wells. "We wonder why certain
encroachments would have to be removed if they are not
obtrusive; House Bill 279 would allow some unobtrusive
encroachments to remain, perhaps like wells, lift stations,
signs, parking, and others," she remarked, adding, "this bill
may also reduce impacts to the Chugiak Volunteer Fire
Department's Latimer Fire Station." Currently the DOT&PF
information indicates that the right-of-way line goes right
through the station house; additionally, the station's parking
area will need to be removed.
MS. KOVAC mentioned that HB 279 may also reduce the impact [of
the project's encroachment requirements] on the Chugiak Benefits
Association [Building] - which is a nonprofit community center
managed by and belonging to the communities of Chugiak and Eagle
River - particularly its parking lots, basketball courts, and
fenced-in play areas. She said she hopes that HB 279 passes,
and characterized [the bill] as "just common sense."
2:40:48 PM
BRUCE BARTLEY, Chief, Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company,
Inc., Anchorage Fire Department, Municipality of Anchorage
(MOA), urged the committee to support HB 279. He said that
Latimer Fire Station 35 is located on the Old Glenn Highway, and
that depending upon which map one looks at, the DOT&PF's
proposed right-of-way is either right outside the station's
front door, or runs right through the middle of the building.
He relayed that the Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company
has occupied the aforementioned building for more than 50 years;
the land the structure sits on is leased by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) to the Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue
Company in perpetuity for as long as the structure remains a
fire station, and the structure sits 118 feet from the edge of
the existing pavement. In conclusion, he described the
structure's attributes and some of the activities that occur in
it, and urged the committee to adopt the legislation.
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked Mr. Bartley whether the loss of 100 feet
between the station and the road would compromise the Chugiak
Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company's ability to perform its
duties.
MR. BARTLEY replied that the loss of 100 feet might create a
safety problem when pulling out onto the road.
CO-CHAIR GATTO asked whether there is a flashing light located
at that station.
MR. BARTLEY said there is not, but mentioned that there is a
DOT&PF sign, approximately 100 yards down the road, warning
approaching traffic of the station's presence.
2:43:28 PM
DEBBIE OSSIANDER, Member, Anchorage Assembly, Municipality of
Anchorage (MOA), relayed that she has been hearing concerns
regarding the Old Glenn Highway project, specifically that the
right-of-way encroachment issue would engender problems for many
groups and residences in her community should the project go
through as currently outlined. After listing various entities
that would be affected by the project, she said that there is a
need for flexibility so as to make the project workable for the
community. She characterized HB 279 as a wonderful approach to
the potential problems surrounding encroachments on both the Old
Glenn Highway and the Seward Highway, adding that she
wholeheartedly supports the bill.
CO-CHAIR GATTO mentioned that members' packets contain letters
of support for the legislation from both the Chugiak-Eagle River
Chamber of Commerce and the Chugiak Community Council.
2:46:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER moved to report HB 279, as amended, out
of committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB
279(TRA) was reported out of committee.
HJR 18 - FEDERAL MARINE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ACT
CO-CHAIR ELKINS announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18 Relating to the federal
Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and the state's
right to tax commercial passenger vessels.
2:47:31 PM
CODY RICE, Staff to Representative Carl Gatto, Alaska State
Legislature, sponsor, relayed on behalf of Representative Gatto
that HJR 18 asks Congress to clarify or repeal Section 445 -
proposed 33 U.S.C. 5(b) - of the Maritime Transportation
Security Act of 2002. This provision was put in place to
prevent Yakutat from taxing cruise ships that sailed by Yakutat
and did not stop at its port. He added that the aforementioned
provision essentially says that all taxes must be no more than a
small burden on interstate commerce and must be used either to
compensate [a community] for services rendered to the vessel or
to increase the efficiency and safety of interstate commerce.
MR. RICE offered his belief that this provision has been
interpreted rather broadly by some groups, thus resulting in
disagreements regarding the meaning of the provision. He
mentioned that a Fairbanks Daily News-Miner article contains
comments [by spokespersons for U.S. Senator Ted Stevens and U.S.
Congressman Don Young], and that a copy of that article has been
included in members' packets.
2:49:14 PM
CO-CHAIR ELKINS said he would not characterize the comments in
the article as either U.S. Senator Ted Stevens or U.S.
Congressman Don Young "weighing in" on the issue. He said his
concern with HJR 18 is that the legislature didn't really open
up a dialog with either U.S. Senator Ted Stevens or U.S.
Congressman Don Young before having "gone public with it." He
concluded by saying, "I don't care for it."
MR. RICE replied:
I don't know that that's necessarily entirely correct.
This [section] actually applies specifically to
several taxes that may already be existing throughout
the United States, and I, myself, have been in contact
with both [U.S. Senator Ted Stevens's] chief of staff,
[and U.S. Congressman Don Young's] transportation
drafting attorney on several instances and have
discussed this particular provision with them. And in
fact, last summer, there was some talk of including
some kind of a clarification in the "Coast Guard bill"
that passed. It didn't happen, but it is something
that we've ... [had] existing conversations ...
[about, though] it has been several months. ...
2:50:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS said he didn't like the resolution, and
didn't want to embarrass the Senator and Congressmen with it by
using it tell those gentlemen that they made a mistake. He also
noted that no one raised the issue when those gentlemen recently
addressed the legislature.
MR. RICE said that nothing in the resolution claims there was a
mistake made in the drafting of the Maritime Transportation
Security Act of 2002, and noted that neither the Senator nor
Congressman have corrected the comments made by their
spokespersons.
2:52:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS pointed out, however, that the first
portion of the resolution claims that the Act's sponsor has
stated that the Act was never meant to prevent Alaska from
imposing a head tax, but doesn't actually state who the sponsor
is.
MR. RICE said the sponsor of that specific provision is U.S.
Congressman Don Young, and opined that spokespersons commonly
speak on behalf of their employers. He noted that according to
the newspaper article, comments that [Section 445 of the
Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002] was never intended
to prevent state or local governments from imposing a head tax
were made by Congressman Young's spokesperson.
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS asked why Congressman Young sponsored the
language in that provision.
CO-CHAIR GATTO offered his understanding that Congressman Young
offered that language in response to local laws passed in
Yakutat. He suggested that the language of the provision has
resulted in unintended consequences, and offered that the
resolution merely asks Congress to clarify the issue.
CO-CHAIR ELKINS opined that there is an easier way to
communicate with U.S. Senator Ted Stevens and U.S. Congressman
Don Young than by passing a resolution, which, he suggested,
could embarrass those gentlemen. He reiterated his belief that
the legislature has not yet made an effort to discuss the issue
with the provision's sponsor.
2:55:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER said that she doesn't know enough about
the issue to agree with the statements being made in the
resolution. She pointed out that generally when she wants to
communicate with or deliver a message to someone, she sends
him/her a letter directly. She asked Co-Chair Gatto whether his
intent in sponsoring the resolution was to get the public on
board.
CO-CHAIR GATTO said that he doesn't know whether the public
knows about this issue, and suggested that a resolution of this
sort is a logical follow-up to the aforementioned conversations
his staff has had with U.S. Senator Ted Stevens's and U.S.
Congressman Don Young's spokespersons.
2:56:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked Mr. Rice and Co-Chair Gatto whether
either of them had written to U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, U.S.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, or U.S. Congressman Don Young to request
that this issue be clarified at the federal level.
MR. RICE reiterated that he has had at least a dozen
conversations with [U.S. Senator Ted Stevens's] chief of staff
[and U.S. Congressman Don Young's] transportation drafting
attorney on this subject.
REPRESENTATIVE KAPSNER asked if anything has been put in
writing.
MR. RICE said such has not been done, that phone conversations
were considered a more expedient form of conversation. He again
said that the resolution merely asks for clarification on a
contentious issue.
2:57:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked whether the committee wanted to
request that Co-Chair Gatto write to the members of Alaska's
congressional delegation and ask them to provide the committee
with a written response on this issue. Such a letter might
appease members' concerns, he suggested.
CO-CHAIR ELKINS acknowledged that such could be done, but noted
that the cruise ship industry was present and might wish to
testify on the bill.
2:58:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS instead expressed a preference for tabling
the resolution and then contacting the members of Alaska's
congressional delegation in writing on this issue.
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS made a motion to table HJR 18. There
being no objection, HJR 18 was tabled.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Transportation Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at
2:59:25 PM.
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