Legislature(1993 - 1994)
01/28/1993 09:13 AM Senate CRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
January 28, 1993
9:13 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Randy Phillips, Chairman
Senator Robin Taylor, Vice Chairman
Senator Al Adams
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Rick Halford
Senator Fred Zharoff
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 26
"An Act relating to the location of the convening of the
legislature in regular session; and providing for an
effective date."
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 26 - No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
Chip Wagoner
3294 Pioneer Ave.
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed to SB 26
Anne Williams, Legislative Officer
Municipality of Anchorage
3001 C St.
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on SB 26
Dale Anderson
9040 Glacier Hwy.
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed to SB 26
Clark Gruening
217 Second St., Suite 204
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed to SB 26
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 93-2, SIDE A
Number 001
The Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee was called
to order by Chairman Randy Phillips at 9:13 a.m.
Number 010
CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS introduced SB 26 (LEGISLATIVE
SESSIONS TO BE IN ANCHORAGE) as the only order of business.
He said public testimony would be taken from the Juneau
teleconference site only, with the Anchorage and Fairbanks
teleconference sites in a listen-only mode. Testimony from
other areas of the state will be taken next week.
Number 023
As prime sponsor of the legislation, CHAIRMAN RANDY
PHILLIPS, stated and emphasized for the record that
basically, SB 26 moves only the legislature from Juneau to
Anchorage. The main motivation behind the bill is to
provide access to the legislature for 75 percent of the
people of the State of Alaska.
Number 040
CHIP WAGONER, District Chairman for District 3 of the
Republican Party, stated that in testifying he was
representing himself.
Mr. Wagoner took issue with an article that appeared in the
January 5, 1993 edition of the Juneau Empire, which inferred
that SB 26, as well as some other pieces of legislation, was
a "GOP bill." He said as chairman of the local Republican
Party, he could attest to the fact that it was not a GOP
bill, but rather an individual bill sponsored by an
individual legislator.
Mr. Wagoner said access was not the real issue, but he
thinks the reason why some people up north may support
moving the legislature is because of a frustration with the
legislature. In his opinion, SB 26 is a companion with term
limitations, limiting the legislative sessions, etc. He
said it is a manifestation of the voters discontent and
frustration, and the bill will not solve that. He suggested
the solution is in the legislature's own house.
Mr. Wagoner stated SB 26 should be defeated, and he urged
Senator Taylor, as a Southeastern Alaska senator, to help
its defeat.
Number 095
ANNE WILLIAMS, Legislative Officer for the Municipality of
Anchorage, stated Senator Randy Phillips' office requested
that she testify on whether the Municipality of Anchorage
could float bonds to support a move of the legislature. She
spoke to their chief fiscal officer and was told that they
could float revenue bonds, assuming the state has good
credit, the criteria, etc.
Ms. Williams noted that she had also talked to the mayor of
Anchorage and was told that the Municipality of Anchorage
does not have a position on the bill, that they are neutral.
However, should the legislature choose to move the
legislature to Anchorage, the mayor would support floating
revenue bonds, which would also require assembly approval.
Number 110
DALE ANDERSON, representing himself, said most everybody
likes stability, but SB 26 does not create stability for the
State of Alaska. Economically, it will not stand the
scrutiny of Alaskans.
Mr. Anderson said the legislature cannot operate without
daily input of the executive branch and vise versa. He said
if economics and a savings of state dollars is a foundation
for SB 26, to contemplate the cost of travel, housing, per
diem for of all of commissioners, deputy commissioners,
directors and their staff members to travel to Anchorage.
He added that in this time of declining state revenues, it
is critical to stop wasting state dollars on issues such as
this.
Mr. Anderson observed that in the last capital move vote,
Alaskans decided in an overwhelming vote that the capital
remain in Juneau, and Juneau housing the legislature and the
executive branch was part and parcel of that decision. He
said there is no question that Juneau's economy is dependent
on state government, and he urged that Juneau not be placed
on the chopping block.
Concluding his comments, Mr. Anderson urged a "no" vote on
SB 26.
Number 180
CLARK GRUENING, lobbyist for the City and Borough of Juneau,
said when he first ran for the legislature in Anchorage in
1974, the capital move was an issue on the ballot. His
sense was that while the voters in Anchorage did
overwhelming approve a move at that time, they also
understood that the cost relative to other priorities
probably made this an issue less important than some of the
other things that were more immediate. He said if we're
going to back to this divisive issue, it is a decision that
should be made in the full light of the cost of the move.
Mr. Gruening stated that there is probably nobody in Juneau
that believes that this bill is anything than the first step
to a full capital move, and he urged that a full cost
analysis be prepared on such a move.
Mr. Gruening urged that SB 26 not be moved out of committee.
Number 222
CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS stated he has sent out
questionnaires for the past 17 years, and the figures he
has, as of today, was 82 percent favor moving the
legislature from Juneau to Anchorage. He said four out of
five people in his district want this access and that is the
main motivation behind this legislation. He reiterated that
it is only moving the legislature.
Chairman Randy Phillips also said that from his perspective,
the commissioners, the deputy commissioners, and supporting
staff can utilize the teleconference system just like
constituents do.
The Chairman assured those present it was his intent that
before the bill moves out of committee, the committee would
be examining all the fiscal notes and getting all the
information on the table, as well as taking further public
testimony from other parts of the state.
Number 246
CLARK GRUENING added that he hopes that the bill does not
discourage legislative efforts to look at other ways to
improve the communication between the legislative body and
the public. He mentioned two-way video teleconferencing is
being looked at, and he encouraged that the legislature
continue to hold hearings in areas where people have
interest in a particular issue. CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS
responded that the constituents are saying that that is not
enough.
Number 267
SENATOR ADAMS asked Chairman Randy Phillips if Senator
Taylor, or Senator Zharoff, or himself did a questionnaire
in their particular districts and they have more than 82
percent that oppose moving the legislature, would he accept
a motion to table his bill at this time. CHAIRMAN RANDY
PHILLIPS responded that he would have to consider that when
the time comes.
CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS stated that SB 26 would probably be
back before the committee on Thursday, February 4.
There being no further business to come before the
committee, the meeting was adjourned at 9:32 a.m.
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