05/03/2004 01:36 PM Senate CRA
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
May 3, 2004
1:36 p.m.
TAPE (S) 04-12&13
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bert Stedman, Chair
Senator Thomas Wagoner, Vice Chair
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Kim Elton
Senator Georgianna Lincoln
MEMBERS ABSENT
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 28(FIN) am
Relating to the study of socioeconomic impacts of salmon
harvesting cooperatives.
MOVED CSHCR 28(FIN) am OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 335
"An Act relating to enhanced 911 surcharges and to emergency
services dispatch systems of municipalities, certain villages,
and public corporations established by municipalities."
MOVED CSSB 335(CRA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 396
"An Act relating to the establishment of the Interior Rivers
Port Authority; and providing for an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HCR 28
SHORT TITLE: STUDIES OF SALMON HARVESTING COOPERATIVES
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) SEATON BY REQUEST OF SALMON
INDUSTRY TASK FORCE
01/28/04 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/28/04 (H) EDT, RES
02/12/04 (H) EDT AT 10:00 AM CAPITOL 120
02/12/04 (H) Moved Out of Committee
02/12/04 (H) MINUTE(EDT)
02/19/04 (H) EDT AT 10:00 AM CAPITOL 120
02/19/04 (H) Mvd Out of Committee w/new fiscal notes
02/23/04 (H) EDT RPT 4DP
02/23/04 (H) DP: MCGUIRE, CISSNA, CRAWFORD, HEINZE
02/23/04 (H) FIN REFERRAL ADDED AFTER RES
03/01/04 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124
03/01/04 (H) Heard & Held
03/01/04 (H) MINUTE(RES)
03/03/04 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124
03/03/04 (H) Moved Out of Committee
03/03/04 (H) MINUTE(RES)
03/04/04 (H) RES RPT 5DP 1DNP 2NR
03/04/04 (H) DP: GATTO, STEPOVICH, HEINZE,
03/04/04 (H) GUTTENBERG, DAHLSTROM; DNP: WOLF;
03/04/04 (H) NR: LYNN, MASEK
04/21/04 (H) FIN AT 8:30 AM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/21/04 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard
04/21/04 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/21/04 (H) Moved CSHCR 28(FIN) Out of Committee
04/21/04 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
04/22/04 (H) FIN RPT CS(FIN) NT 7DP
04/22/04 (H) DP: MEYER, HAWKER, MOSES, CHENAULT,
04/22/04 (H) FATE, FOSTER, WILLIAMS
04/28/04 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/28/04 (H) VERSION: CSHCR 28(FIN) AM
04/29/04 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/29/04 (S) CRA, RES
05/03/04 (S) CRA AT 1:30 PM FAHRENKAMP 203
BILL: SB 335
SHORT TITLE: EMERGENCY SERVICES DISPATCH/911 SURCHARGE
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) SEEKINS
02/16/04 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/16/04 (S) CRA, FIN
03/10/04 (S) CRA AT 1:30 PM FAHRENKAMP 203
03/10/04 (S) Heard & Held
03/10/04 (S) MINUTE(CRA)
05/03/04 (S) CRA AT 1:30 PM FAHRENKAMP 203
BILL: SB 396
SHORT TITLE: INTERIOR RIVERS PORT AUTHORITY
SPONSOR(s): COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
05/02/04 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/02/04 (S) CRA
05/03/04 (S) CRA AT 1:30 PM FAHRENKAMP 203
WITNESS REGISTER
Cameron Yourkowski
Staff to Representative Paul Seaton
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced HCR 28
Joe Michel
Staff to Senator Ralph Seekins
Staff to Representative Paul Seaton
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained the CS for SB 335
Kevin Richie
Alaska Municipal League
217 Second Street, Suite 200
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 335
Tim Rogers
Alaska Municipal League
217 Second Street, Suite 200
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 335
Lieutenant Al Storey
Alaska State Troopers
Department of Public Safety
PO Box 111200
Juneau, AK 99811-
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 335
Linda Freed
City Manager of Kodiak
722 Mill Bay Road
Kodiak, Alaska 99615
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 335
Steve Thompson
Mayor, City of Fairbanks
800 Cushman Street
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on CSSB 335
Paul Fuhs
No address provided
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on SB 396
Sally Saddler
Department of Community & Economic Development
PO Box 110800
Juneau, AK 99811-0800
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on SB 396
Representative Carl Morgan
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SB 396
Bob Charles
President, Calista Corporation
301 Calista Court, Suite A
Anchorage, Alaska 99518-3028
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 396
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 04-12, SIDE A
CHAIR BERT STEDMAN called the Senate Community and Regional
Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:36 p.m. Present
were Senators Wagoner, Gary Stevens, Elton, Lincoln and Chair
Stedman.
CSHCR 28(FIN) am -STUDIES OF SALMON HARVESTING COOPERATIVES
CHAIR STEDMAN announced HCR 28 to be up for consideration. He
asked the sponsor's staff to come forward.
CAMERON YOURKOWSKI, staff to Representative Paul Seaton,
explained that the resolution is sponsored by the joint
legislative Salmon Industry Task Force and asks the University
of Alaska to continue to study the effects of salmon harvesting
cooperatives. They are to focus on the socio economic impacts
that the cooperatives might have on coastal communities and the
processing sector.
Currently the one salmon cooperative that has allocative rights
is operating in Chignik Alaska. The Board of Fish established it
in 2002 and this season will be their third year of operation.
Noting that the co-op has been somewhat controversial, he
pointed out that the Salmon Industry Task Force reviewed the
policy issues associated with salmon harvesting co-ops, they
found that the economic data to try and weigh the pros and cons
of the co-ops really wasn't available. Because of that, the
resolution simply asks the university to study the issue
further, hence the zero fiscal note.
CHAIR STEDMAN commented that the Chignik fishermen are probably
ready to renegotiate their co-op.
MR. YOURKOWSKI said he didn't understand.
CHAIR STEDMAN said, "A merger."
MR. YOURKOWSKI said, "Oh right."
SENATOR GARY STEVENS raised a question about the cost of further
study and asked if the hope is that the university will absorb
the cost into their other studies.
MR. YOURKOWSKI said the university has indicated that they would
like to continue to study the issue.
SENATOR THOMAS WAGONER said he had several questions for Gunnar
Knapp, an economist with UAA.
Mr. Knapp was not on-line.
SENATOR WAGONER stated that he has voiced his concerns at
previous hearings. He was aware of one major fiberglass business
in Homer that went bankrupt and knew that a number of crewmen
would be put out of work so he favored a good study on co-ops
before going forward. "Co-ops can do some good things and
there's some good things about co-ops, but if you look overall
at all the people that have been involved in fisheries such as
this and you do an economic study, I think you're going to find
that the spin off of that is that there's a lot of other people
that are indirectly and directly penalized by the state
establishing these co-ops so I think it's a catch-22."
SENATOR KIM ELTON commented that there are justifiable fears
associated with the establishment of co-ops. He also noted that
other entities would get involved deciding on the type of
economic data that is needed before additional decisions are
made on co-ops. He stated support for the resolution and said he
would be happy to make the motion to move it forward.
SENATOR WAGONER wanted it on record that of the 100 permits, 70
some percent form the co-op. When an economic study is conducted
consideration should be given to what happens when you pull so
many boats from service and potentially put them on the market.
"How much of a depression does that have when it comes to
somebody else wanting to market a 58 foot limit seiner?"
SENATOR GARY STEVENS pointed out that farmed fish represent
stiff competition and that will likely increase as time goes on.
"What we have to do is find a way to improve the quality of the
product and find a way to reduce the cost," he said. Co-ops
might not be the right answer, but they do represent an attempt
to find an answer to reducing cost and improving quality. He
said he'd be happy to have Senator Elton make the motion.
CHAIR STEDMAN summarized that a co-op may work in select areas
in the state, but the socio-economic downside could be huge for
the state. "Hopefully the university, when they do these
studies, will definitely broaden the scope enough to pick up the
adverse impacts of [what] moving away from free competition
market place brings," he said.
SENATOR ELTON motioned to move CSHCR 28(FIN) am from committee
with the attached two zero fiscal notes and individual
recommendations.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she was curious whether it would take three
yeses to get the bill out of committee.
CHAIR STEDMAN answered through the chuckles that, "The way this
committee will run, we'll have three affirmative votes to move
any bill forward."
There being no objection, CSHCR 28(FIN) am moved from committee.
SB 335-EMERGENCY SERVICES DISPATCH/911 SURCHARGE
CHAIR STEDMAN announced SB 335 to be up for consideration and he
would like a motion to adopt the committee substitute (CS).
SENATOR THOMAS WAGONER made a motion to adopt CSSB 335(CRA) for
discussion purposes. There being no objection, it was so
ordered.
JOE MICHEL, legislative aide to Senator Ralph Seekins, told
members the CS addresses the questions raised by the committee
during the March 10 hearing. He said the bill reflects hard work
on the part of a number of people. He read:
This committee substitute addresses the major concerns
this committee had regarding multiple lines in a
residential home. There is concern of this committee
that the Legislature would have to deal with this
issue again and again as technology advanced and new
surcharge limits would need to be set as Alaska was
able to move on to Phase II, E-911 technology.
This bill is about enabling municipalities to have the
means to support a 911 system. Every citizen needs 911
services and the adjustments made by this CS will make
great strides towards the goal of local control for
city and borough governments.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS recalled there was considerable concern
about cell phones and wondered whether cell phones would work
through the 911 system.
MR. MICHEL replied they would. "It would be per billing
statement; it would be where the billing statement is located,"
he said.
SENATOR THOMAS WAGONER asked for expanded discussion about
multiple lines into a residence and how would be handled.
MR. MICHEL said, "The multiple phone lines now will be per
billing address per statement. It won't be if you have a fax
line, you're children have a line. All those go to whatever the
one statement is per billing address. There will be one
surcharge placed on that." He clarified that businesses are not
included.
SENATOR WAGONER questioned what would happen if he had two lines
into his house from ACS and one line from GCI.
MR. MICHEL replied, "If you had two different phone companies
coming into one address, I would say you would probably get the
surcharge twice because the individual companies are responsible
for collecting the surcharge on the phone bill."
SENATOR WAGONER commented that it's not really true that one
resident gets one surcharge.
MR. MICHEL agreed.
SENATOR WAGONER asked what he said about cell phones.
MR. MICHEL repeated that they're charged per billing statement.
SENATOR WAGONER remarked that he could receive two billings at
his residence for the service from two companies and one billing
for his cell phone.
MR. MICHEL agreed.
SENATOR KIM ELTON asked for a discussion on the rationale for
doing away with the caps.
MR. MICHEL said it's the result of discussion on a companion
House bill. The limits were lifted so that individual
municipalities could do what they saw fit to run their 911
services.
SENATOR ELTON asked if the state would be exempted from the
surcharge.
MR. MICHEL didn't know the answer, but said he'd find out.
SENATOR ELTON asked if there was discussion about how market
dynamics could change so there was shifting from one provider to
another to consolidate billings.
MR. MICHEL said there was discussion and opined that market
dynamics might be affected in an effort to avoid surcharges, but
he didn't think it would amount to much. "People would either
accept the phone charge or move on and try to consolidate their
companies," he said.
SENATOR ELTON remarked that cell phones are the tethers by which
families stay in contact with their teenagers. If cell phones
are billed by the number, then some families will pay the fee a
number of times.
MR. MICHEL thought the surcharge was per billing address, but if
different companies provided service to the same address, then
the fee would be paid more than once. The main rationale is to
assess a user fee for 911 service and not place the burden on
property tax owners.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked about municipalities receiving
reimbursement for providing 911 service to people that are
living outside the city borders but inside the service district.
MR. MICHEL said that areas get billed wherever the emergency
services are provided.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS noted that someone was shaking their head
so the question needs further exploration.
SENATOR THOMAS WAGONER remarked that in years past when PTI had
the phone system on the Kenai Peninsula, he was billed for local
service by PTI and then AT&T billed him for long distance
service. That would be two billings for 911 service for one
residence.
MR. MICHEL pointed to Section 5 and said it speaks to local
exchanges so the long distance providers wouldn't collect the
service charge.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked for verification that there is no longer a
cap and that businesses would be charged per line.
MR. MICHEL said that is correct.
SENATOR ELTON asked if the bill has any provisions to allow
municipalities to make local accommodations so that they could
configure local 911 charges to their liking.
MR. MICHEL said the purpose of the bill is to allow
municipalities local control over funding their 911 systems.
SENATOR ELTON narrowed his question and asked whether a
municipality would have the ability to charge a residence just
one service fee regardless of the fact that the residence may
have more than one cell phone and more than one land line
MR. MICHEL said, "Yes sir, the whole goal is for the
municipality to run their show as they see fit. We used the word
may many times just to provide them with plenty of wiggle room,
depending on what they feel their municipality needs to fund
this service."
SENATOR GEORGIANNA LINCOLN noted that the committee aide
distributed an amendment that she wanted to offer.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked whether she wanted to discuss it informally
or make a formal motion.
SENATOR LINCOLN made a motion to adopt amendment 1, which adds a
new section on page 8.
SENATOR WAGONER objected for discussion purposes.
SENATOR LINCOLN continued to explain that the new section is the
exact verbage that was offered on a companion bill in the House.
It reads:
AS 42.05 is amended by adding a new section to read:
Sec. 42.05.295. Routing 911 calls. Notwithstanding AS
42.05.711, to ensure statewide access by all residents
to 911 wireline services, traditional or enhanced, for
areas where there is no local or regional public
safety answering point, the state shall provide a
toll-free, statewide default public safety answering
point to which each local exchange telephone company
must route all 911 calls originating from within its
customer service base.
She noted that AT&T supports the amendment fully. The amendment
would allow the rural areas of Alaska to have access to 911
service. Currently the rural areas aren't able to access 911
service and with the decrease in public safety officers in the
small communities, this access can be critically important.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS said he wasn't familiar with the term
"wireline services" and mused that it might be the opposite of
"wireless services."
SENATOR LINCOLN wasn't altogether sure, but took the lead from
some nodding heads and agreed that was probably correct.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS said he understood the reasoning, but he
wasn't sure how that would work because there wouldn't
necessarily be any anyone close enough to respond.
SENATOR LINCOLN said:
There was an example used when a village member in
Aniak was able to get a hold of a person to be able to
call the dispatcher - has to call Bethel to get an
okay to respond. In this manner they would have the
hubs and the hubs would be able to respond to those
911 calls without having to go through different
phases of getting to the next larger community.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked if that meant that she wasn't
suggesting a trooper dispatch service, but that every community
would have a hub for calls to come into.
SENATOR LINCOLN said that's correct and she didn't think it
would cost the state.
SENATOR WAGONER asked who would pay for the service.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she didn't want to put anyone on the spot,
but she hoped that someone from AT&T could answer those
questions. She understood that it isn't a cost to the state.
It's an option for the communities so the villages would have
access. She said, "I would imagine that it would be through the
communities if there's any expense."
SENATOR WAGONER questioned, "If you're in Nightmute and you want
to call in a 911 call - it originates in a residence - and the
state then has a line that calls it into a 911 center?"
SENATOR LINCOLN understood that the 911 call would go in to the
closest hub and that person would then contact the needed
service.
SENATOR WAGONER asked if the people in the hub community would
pay for all the 911 calls and the individuals making the
emergency calls from the remote areas would pay nothing under
the proposed amendment.
SENATOR LINCOLN said it was her understanding that there was no
charge to the state and she didn't know how the rest of the
costs would be distributed.
SENATOR WAGONER understood that the state wouldn't get the
fiscal note, but it would cost whoever was supporting the hub.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked if the state currently has any calling
centers.
SENATOR LINCOLN couldn't put her finger on one in her district
of 127 communities.
CHAIR STEDMAN pointed out that the verbage is that the state
shall provide.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS said he wouldn't feel comfortable voting
for the amendment until he heard from the communities that would
subsidize the service to areas outside their boundaries.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked if anyone would like to speak to the
amendment and received no response.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked to hear from the Alaska Municipal
League.
KEVIN RICHIE, Alaska Municipal League, noted that Tim Rogers was
on-line to help, but his quick answer is that: "Given the
ability to adjust your calling area, I believe that this
provision would allow PSAP, Public Safety Answering Points,
which is a calling center - whatever calling center was taking
the calls would have the ability to collect the surcharge on the
telephones within that area." He understands that, "by expanding
those calling areas it would be possible - if this bill were to
go though as it is allowing a municipality to essentially
recover the costs that it actually expends - to not have some
area subsidizing others because you would be collecting enough
to run the system potentially within the larger calling area."
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked if it's his feeling that these
centers could be funded at no cost to the local community. They
would receive the money needed to run the centers without
subsidizing them from the local tax base.
MR. RICHIE replied that is his understanding, but he would defer
to Mr. Rogers to make sure that's the case.
TIM ROGERS, Alaska Municipal League, spoke via teleconference to
say that the intent of the amendment is to establish an ability
for the rural areas that currently don't have 911 service to
have the local phone companies be able to switch back into a
statewide 1-800 number that would allow them to reach an
emergency services dispatcher. Currently there are a number of
areas in the state that don't have 911 service and this would
provide that access.
SEANTOR WAGONER said the question was who would pay for the
service.
MR. ROGERS opined the state would have to pay for the cost of
the 800 service and there would have to be an agreement made
with each dispatch center.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked if it's his understanding that if the
system were developed with the regional service areas that local
cities wouldn't have to subsidize a larger area.
MR. ROGERS replied that his understanding of the amendment is
that it would require the local telephone companies to have a
switching mechanism so that any time a 911 call came in and it
was not a local PSAP [Public Safety Answering Point], it would
automatically switch to an 800 number that would go to some
dispatch center within the state.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked him to verify that the state wouldn't have
to pay for this and that there had been some discussion about
placing a 5-cent surcharge on all billings to ensure that this
service was available statewide.
MR. ROGERS told her he knew nothing about a 5-cent surcharge or
any type of statewide surcharge. When he spoke with an AT&T
representative he was told that the state could have a simple
switch to an 800 number then to a dispatch center for little or
no expense.
SENATOR WAGONER disputed the previous comment saying that there
is an expense. It comes from operating the 911 system and if
individuals outside a service area use the system without paying
a fair portion then that's an expense to the cities or
municipalities.
TAPE 04-12, SIDE B
2:23 pm
SENATOR ELTON said he could see an additional cost, but he
viewed it as a good neighbor policy for larger areas to offer
access to 911 service to outlying areas. For instance, if a 911
call was made to the Juneau center from Tenakee Springs, it
would be a good neighbor policy to call the Coast Guard for a
MediVac or whatever service was needed. He said, "I think the
argument may be a good argument if in fact additional resources
are needed, but I suspect that you're probably not going to need
additional resources. You're just going to be using the existing
resources."
SENATOR WAGONER said his point is that when these systems are
established you figure out the costs to run the system. "So if
they want to participate at that level, I'll buy into that
argument, but if they want to participate at that level after
the system is set up, manned and put in place and the equipment
purchased, I don't buy that." He questioned whether that 5-cent
surcharge would be for everyone statewide or just those that
don't currently participate in a 911 system. If it
SENATOR LINCOLN said it's statewide.
SENATOR WAGONER said that's inequitable.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS agreed with Senator Wagoner's comments.
SENATOR ELTON said those same types of subsidies are provided in
public protection as well. "Those kind of subsidies are natural
kind of subsidies. They're using our roads when they come to
visit town and we're not trying to recapture those costs."
SENATOR WAGONER said those who have been involved in municipal
government clearly understand the burden that's created when
areas outside the city or municipality borders use and don't pay
for city services. He told an anecdotal story about the
communities of Kenai and Soldotna that used to pay for fire
protection services to areas beyond their borders and how that
impacted property owners. "This 911 system looks to me like
we're going down that same road and I don't think we should go
there and I think we should have a lot of input from
municipalities before we go this way because I know what my
municipality would say I'm sure," he said.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked who was on line to testify.
CHAIR STEDMAN told her Mayor Thompson from Fairbanks, Linda
Freed from the City of Kodiak, Lieutenant Storey with the
troopers, and someone from the Department of Law were available.
SENATOR LINCOLN apologized for not having the answers to the
questions that were raised and then pointed out that the
municipalities would have the option to charge the phone users
through a surcharge. The amendment was intended to allow 911
access to all areas in the state and not just in the
municipalities or boundaries of a borough.
Rather than have the amendment go down in flames, she asked
whether she could withdraw her amendment to provide the people
waiting on line the opportunity to comment.
CHAIR STEDMAN was agreeable and stated that testimony would be
taken on the \D version and anyone who wanted to comment on the
amendment was free to do so. He called on Lieutenant Storey.
LIEUTENANT AL STOREY, Alaska State Trooper, Department of Public
Safety, said he had several comments. First, Section 1 relates
to actionable claims against the state and the department likes
the provision, he said.
He expressed concern with the proposed amendment that had a
friendly withdrawal. The fiscal note would be indeterminate
rather than zero. "Common sense would dictate that the troopers
and Public Safety would probably be the primary call takers for
any regional call centers that were set up." Currently they have
a system for networking with local emergency services, but it
isn't a 911 system. They recognize that a 911 system is needed,
but they don't want to jump in without a comprehensive and
organized plan with identified funding sources and distribution
of responsibility. It's important to provide the best 911
service possible, but routing an emergency call through a
dispatch center in Anchorage when the emergency originates in
Shaktoolik might not satisfy the caller's needs as quickly and
efficiently as you might like.
The bill does allow municipalities to collect surcharges, but
there is no provision where the state could benefit from
collection of any surcharge so any cost incurred would have to
be covered by the state.
SENATOR WAGONER asked for verification that more time is needed
to study the impacts of proposed amendment 1.
LIEUTENANT STOREY replied that is correct. He knew that AT&T
association members have expressed concerns on the liability
that might be extended to them in not being able to send calls
to a PSAP.
LINDA FREED, city manager for the City of Kodiak, testified via
teleconference in support of the committee substitute, version
\D. The City of Kodiak is the PSAP for the Kodiak road system
representing about 15,000 people and they spend about $.5
million per year to operate their E 911 and dispatch systems.
They take in about $45,000 under the system that is
legislatively capped. It's important to pass the legislation
this session so they can find a local funding source to help
defray the large subsidy they now provide for their dispatch
system.
The E 911 and dispatch systems cover an area that stretches well
beyond the city limits. They are very happy with language that
would allow them to extend a levy to support their dispatch
system, which is more costly than the E 911 portion. The E 911
part handles the emergency calls coming in and the dispatch
system is the response calls out and the way they communicate
when they have a disaster or an emergency response. That's where
a lot of staff time is consumed.
With regard to proposed Amendment 1, she said the House
companion bill removed that portion because of the many
unanswered questions. The House suggested a letter of intent
speaking of the need to establish a coordinator position to
review and come up with a workable system for communities that
don't currently have E 911 service without burdening those that
are already subsidizing the system with local tax dollars.
STEVE THOMPSON, mayor of the City of Fairbanks, testified via
teleconference in support of the committee substitute. He
complimented Ms. Freed for covering most of the points they feel
are important. The mayors of North Pole and Fairbanks North Star
Borough also support the \D version CS for SB 335.
He noted that utility providers want the cap, but the question
arises over whether the cost to provide emergency dispatch
services to Barrow compared to Fairbanks compared to Anchorage
is the same. "With new technologies coming on line would both be
going back to Juneau trying to get the cap changed in the next
year or the year after because it doesn't provide enough money?"
Having the dispatch area authority set the rate to cover the
cost of the services is a good way to do it, he said.
SENATOR WAGONER asked if the city or borough runs the 911
service in Fairbanks.
MR. THOMPSON said they currently have five different dispatch
answering services in the valley. They're trying to combine them
into one. The borough operates the technical 911 switch that is
used by the local phone exchange and that's the only way the
borough is involved for dispatching.
The combined cost for the five dispatch centers is about $4.7
million per year. They look for a considerable reduction in
operating costs when they consolidate.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked whether he had any comments on
proposed Amendment 1 that would probably make the city
responsible for a number of communities outside of the ones they
currently deal with.
MR. THOMPSON called it a good concept, but he couldn't see how
they could foresee the cost or any of the other particulars.
When they answer an E 911 call now they know exactly the address
the call is coming from. If they were to receive out of area
calls they would have no location data whatsoever. It's a good
idea for sometime in the future after more study. "We're not
really in favor of that at this time. In the future I can see it
happening though," he said.
SENATOR LINCOLN thanked him for saying the concept was good
rather than saying it was a rotten idea.
CHAIR STEDMAN noted there was no one else to give testimony.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she heard the concerns expressed about the
proposed amendment and she would like to withdraw Amendment 1 at
that time.
CHAIR STEDMAN announced Amendment 1 was withdrawn.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS said he appreciated what he was doing, but
it's an important principle and he wondered if he would favor a
letter of intent to work toward developing a statewide
coordinated system.
SENATOR LINCOLN seconded the idea.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked for a motion.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS made a motion to draft a letter of intent
stating support for a coordinated statewide system. There being
no objection, it was so ordered.
SENATOR WAGONER made a motion to move CSSB 335 from committee
with individual recommendations. He added "and hopefully there
will be a resolution to this in the near future."
There being no objection, CSSB 335 \D moved from committee.
TAPE 04-13, SIDE A
2:53 pm
CHAIR STEDMAN called a short at ease.
SB 396-INTERIOR RIVERS PORT AUTHORITY
CHAIR STEDMAN announced SB 396 to be up for consideration. He
didn't intend to move the bill that day and there would likely
be a committee substitute offered at the next hearing.
PAUL FUHS introduced himself and said:
At the request of Representative Morgan I helped draft
this legislation and helped him work on it. It was his
idea to provide a regional approach to providing
economic development and provision of some services in
the Interior rivers area.
I'll hold up a map for you to see. It's all pretty
much small communities. They're all 80 to 300 people.
They all face a lot of the same issues of high cost of
energy, limited transportation, limited economic
development opportunities although there are some
pretty good mineral developments in the area.
In studies on the area for its municipal government,
there isn't enough there to really justify it so
they've really been looking for the ways how can they
do some of the things that local government would do
especially in the economic development area. They're
looking for transportation - with the Donlin Creek
Mine going in - to help facilitate that - some of the
other mines. Transportation in the area, the bill
would allow them to do bulk fuel purchases. It would
allow them to look at inter-ties if that made more
sense and could provide power cheaper or could help
develop some of the mining properties. Also look at
tourism development in the area.
In your packet you'll see that all the major
landholders and agencies in the area have supported
this and are looking for a way to try and lift the
whole region up.
Port authorities have been used around the world
because they really provide a clear focus for economic
development or whatever purpose they're put up for.
We've seen a couple of others. The Prince of Wales
Island Port Authority that's doing the ferry
transportation down here has been real successful
[and] we've got the Knik Arm Crossing. There's also
been a proposal for airport authority at the
international airports.
It provides a legal framework for providing financing
for economic development projects and I think one of
the most important provisions that you want to look at
in the legislation is on page 15. And if I was sitting
in your seat, this is one of the things I'd be
concerned about. You're setting up an authority that
has the ability to issue bonds and go into debt and
yet it's set up as a state corporation and that's
necessary because there is no local government there.
Alaska's port authority legislation, which authorizes
municipalities to form it - which I worked on in '93
with Drew Pearce - you have to have municipalities to
do it. The reason state legislation is needed here is
because this is an unorganized section of the state.
And I would say that this is probably one of the first
times that the Legislature is really acting as the
borough assembly for the unorganized borough, which is
one of your mandates under the constitution. So it is
one of those steps.
The question would be if they take on debt, is that
something that the state is going to end up being
responsible for? And under this section, the credit of
the state is not pledged. If they go out and issue
revenue bonds, they are dependant upon the revenues of
the project. They have to pass an independent third
party independent evaluation by both investment
banking firm to take the deal to Wall Street and then
for Wall Street to buy the bonds so it would have to
be pretty strong. If the project failed, it would be
the bondholders who would be responsible, not the
State of Alaska. So we gave that protection.
Other than that, the authority has pretty broad powers
to act in the interests of its residents. It is
permissive legislation. The only thing that they have
to do is on page 23. They really have to come back
with a development plan and say: 'Here's the
transportation under regional development plan -
energy and tourism related.'
The Department of Environmental Conservation has been
very interested in is regional landfills and things
like this where it can be more efficient. We've got a
lot of uncovered landfills out there that are creating
some serious health issues and they'd really like to
have a regional entity to look at to do it more
efficiently and to do it better.
So I would leave it at that Mr. Chairman. I would be
glad to answer any questions that you may have. I
would just say that part of the reason that
Representative Morgan asked me to do this is I've been
involved in the writing of almost every authority in
the state so far and I also served as chairman of the
AIDA Board, the Energy Authority, and the State Bond
Committee so I could answer questions concerning
financing also.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS remarked that the governor appoints a board
of directors, but that board could be making communities liable
for bonds. He asked how the communities buy into what the board
has decided to do.
MR. FUHS told him that because the communities aren't organized,
this would be the debt of the authority as a whole not of those
communities. The entire region would take on the debt as the
authority and go out with revenue bonds or whatever else.
There's no municipal tax base or general obligation taxing
authority in the area.
CHAIR STEDMAN questioned whether it would be just revenue bonds.
MR. FUHS said yes and it also has the authority to receive funds
from federal, state and private sources. It could receive land
or enter into contracts with other entities. The Denali
Commission is also interested because they're looking for ways
to do deliver services more efficiently in that area so they
would welcome this and perhaps be able to provide technical
assistance grants or funding for projects. Also quite a lot of
federal money has been identified for the Donlin Creek Road,
which would connect the two rivers with a port on each side.
CHAIR STEDMAN remarked it's a good concept. It creates economic
development in the area and some inter-tie among the
communities, which might raise the standard of living for
everyone in the area.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked if this would ever have an
opportunity of moving outside that specific geographic area or
would it be limited to the one area.
MR. FUHS replied that it's limited to the described area unless
the state changes the statute to include other areas. "But it
could just by contract, memorandum of agreement or any other
mechanism have joint ventures or do things with other parts of
the state," he said.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked him to speak to the board structure.
MR. FUHS explained that it's a nine-member board. All land
owners and organizations in the area would propose a list of
people to the governor who would freely choose and then there
would also be a couple of public members chosen. They're trying
to get everyone in the area that has a stake in the authority to
be involved.
CHAIR STEDMAN said everyone should be represented.
MR. FUHS agreed.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked whether the administration supported the
legislation.
MR. FUHS said he didn't know whether the administration had
taken a formal position, but he knew that some of the
departments were interested in the regional approach.
SENATOR LINCOLN said perhaps Representative Morgan had an answer
and that she would like to hear from the departments that had
expressed support.
MR. FUHS told her the Department of Commerce, DOT and DEC had
expressed interest.
SALLY SADDLER with the Department of Community and Economic
Development stated, "the concept has merit particularly as we
talk about putting an economic development entity in place that
can help this region take control and charge of their economic
destiny." Currently they are evaluating the bill and if any
questions arise they pledge to work toward a resolution.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked Ms. Saddler to be at the next hearing of the
bill.
MS. SADDLER agreed to be at the next hearing.
REPRESENTATIVE CARL MORGAN, bill sponsor, first noted that some
were concerned that there was too much Native corporation
representation in the original board composition. He then
explained that the board has nine members; three seats are
public members appointed by the governor, one seat is an
industry member who is working in the area, and the rest are
Native corporation members.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked him to speak to the fiscal note.
REPRESENTATIVE MORGAN said the fiscal note is indeterminate.
CHAIR STEDMAN asked him to talk about the economic benefit this
would bring to the region.
REPRESENTATIVE MORGAN explained that this area has been studied
extensively and the conclusion is always the same. It's
difficult to do business in the region, it's impoverished, and
it's mineral rich. The Donlin Creek Mine holds much promise, but
it's held back because of a lack of infrastructure.
SENATOR WAGONER asked what kind of commercial enterprises are in
the area currently.
REPRESENTATIVE MORGAN told him that it's largely barge service
and air transportation freight currently. With the possibility
of the road corridor tying the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, it'll
basically be railroad to rivers to roads to resources.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked whether the public members would
specifically not be Native.
REPRESENTATIVE MORGAN said it would be up to the governor.
CHAIR STEDMAN stated that neither nationality nor ethnic or
religious backgrounds should preclude anyone from having access
into and benefit of the economic system.
SENATOR LINCOLN said she appreciates that very much and she
commended Representative Morgan for having put the bill together
at such a late date.
SENATOR WAGONER stated that, "just because they're Natives from
the Native corporations and the Native association sets out the
representation of those groups, it doesn't mean they have to be
a Native. ... It doesn't matter. I think if this thing happens,
I think it should be controlled by the people in that district."
REPRESENTATIVE MORGAN added that this is the first of its kind.
It has taken considerable time trying to get all the entities to
agree. The 25 villages and communities are scattered throughout
the region with populations that average 225 people. They can't
support a municipality, but getting them to work together was a
major step.
There were no further questions asked of Representative Morgan.
BOB CHARLES, the Calista Corporation president, testified via
teleconference in support of SB 396. The measure has a focused
approach to economic development and they look forward to its
passage so they can get to work.
There were no questions.
CHAIR STEDMAN announced he would hold SB 396 in committee and
adjourned the meeting at 3:15 pm.
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