02/16/2004 03:36 PM Senate RES
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 16, 2004
3:36 p.m.
TAPE(S) 04-9
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Scott Ogan, Chair
Senator Thomas Wagoner, Vice Chair
Senator Fred Dyson
Senator Ralph Seekins
Senator Kim Elton
Senator Georgianna Lincoln
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Ben Stevens
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 190
"An Act adding certain state-owned land and water to the Kenai
River Special Management Area; relating to the mineral estate of
the state-owned land and water in the Kenai River Special
Management Area; relating to the Kenai River Special Management
Area advisory board; and providing for an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 271
"An Act amending the purpose of the Alaska Natural Gas
Development Authority to include planning, developing,
constructing, managing, or operating an economically viable gas
pipeline project from the North Slope of Alaska by a route that
parallels the Trans Alaska Pipeline System or the Alaska
Highway; authorizing evaluation of opportunities for private
sector involvement in the project; amending requirements related
to the Authority's preparation of a development plan; and
providing for an effective date."
MOVED SB 271 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 190
SHORT TITLE: KENAI RIVER SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) WAGONER
04/16/03 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/16/03 (S) STA, RES
01/20/04 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 211
01/20/04 (S) Moved CSSB 190(STA) Out of Committee
01/20/04 (S) MINUTE(STA)
01/21/04 (S) STA RPT CS 3DP 1NR NEW TITLE
01/21/04 (S) DP: STEVENS G, COWDERY, STEDMAN;
01/21/04 (S) NR: GUESS
02/16/04 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: SB 271
SHORT TITLE: NATURAL GAS DEVEL AUTHORITY PROJECTS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) OGAN
01/21/04 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/04 (S) RES, FIN
01/26/04 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
01/26/04 (S) Heard & Held
01/26/04 (S) MINUTE(RES)
02/16/04 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
Ms. Amy Seitz
Staff to Senator Thomas Wagoner
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 190 for sponsor.
Mr. Pete Panarese
Field Operations
Division of Parks and outdoor Recreation
Department of Natural Resources
400 Willoughby Ave.
Juneau, AK 99801-1724
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 190.
Ms. Janet Burleson-Baxter, Legislative Liaison
Department of Natural Resources
400 Willoughby Ave.
Juneau, AK 99801-1724
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 190.
Mr. Robert Valdatta
Municipal Advisory Panel on Stranded Gas
Seward AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 190 and SB 271.
Mr. Harold Heinze, CEO
Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority
Department of Revenue (DOR)
PO Box 110400
Juneau, AK 99811-0400
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 271.
Mr. Steven Porter, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Revenue
PO Box 110400
Juneau, AK 99811-0400
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 271.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 04-9, SIDE A
SB 190-KENAI RIVER SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA
CHAIR SCOTT OGAN called the Senate Resources Standing Committee
meeting to order at 3:36 p.m. Present were Senators Thomas
Wagoner, Fred Dyson, Kim Elton, Georgianna Lincoln and Chair
Scott Ogan. Senator Ralph Seekins arrived at 3:37 and Senator
Ben Stevens was excused. The first order of business to come
before the committee was SB 190.
MS. AMY SEITZ, Staff to Senator Thomas Wagoner, sponsor,
explained that the two main purposes of SB 190 are to transfer
lands to the Kenai River Special Management Area (KRSMA) and to
change the makeup of the advisory board. The new lands would be
put into KRSMA so they can be managed by people who focus on
maintaining the Kenai River system, an important resource for
the whole state. She related that the KRSMA was established in
1984 to protect the Kenai River system and covers about 105
million square miles. SB 190 adds 536 acres of land acquired
from funds from the Exxon Valdez oil spill settlement and a few
parcels that were left out of the original 1984 bill.
MS. SEITZ said SB 190 would change the makeup of the advisory
board to be more of a citizen's board by changing the state and
federal agency members to ex-officio members.
CHAIR OGAN asked her if anyone hates this bill.
MS. SEITZ replied that she didn't think anyone hated it.
SENATOR THOMAS WAGONER said that various quarters have resisted
adding acreage, but these lands are important at this time.
Other bills might add more acreage later if enough public
support could be mustered.
SENATOR RALPH SEEKINS asked which activities would not be
allowed on this land under this bill. He thought that it removed
the mineral estate, like gold mines and gravel pits. He wondered
what would be protected.
MS. SEITZ responded that those activities are not allowed
currently under the Exxon Valdez Oil Settlement (EVOS).
SENATOR WAGONER observed that putting lands into the state park
is the ultimate protection next to proclaiming it a wilderness
area. Some of the parcels are down-river where a boat ramp has
been considered. Putting in a boat ramp would be tougher to do
on park land.
CHAIR OGAN asked if he is talking about a park, because the bill
refers to the Kenai River Special Management Area.
MS. SEITZ clarified that KRSMA is managed though the Division of
Parks in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
SENATOR SEEKINS said he wanted to make sure there were no
unintended consequences.
SENATOR WAGONER didn't see any unintended consequences at this
time.
CHAIR OGAN asked if the land that was purchased with EVOS money
was mostly privately held.
SENATOR WAGONER responded that these lands were proposed
additions in the original bill from three years ago.
MS. SEITZ affirmed that all the properties acquired through EVOS
were state lands.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked Senator Wagoner to expand on the reasoning
behind going to a more public membership board. She noted an
article in which a member disagreed with the proposed makeup due
to his concern about special interest groups controlling the
board.
SENATOR WAGONER responded that, due to lack of participation
through absentees or whatever on this board, the only special
interests are the agency representatives. The agencies should
continue to attend and have input, but that's their job; it's
the citizens' job to have the final vote and the final say. He
professed:
That board will represent the three municipalities
that are on the river - basically the Kenai Peninsula
Borough, the City of Kenai and the City of Soldotna.
Other members are members at large - members of the
guide industry, members of the commercial fishing
industry. I just feel more comfortable with that board
and them having the say, not the agencies. I see too
many times, the agencies tend to dominate meetings and
dominate the outcome.
SENATOR LINCOLN followed up saying that she had heard criticism
that there are no municipal representatives currently on the
board from Seward, Homer or Anchorage, but that membership would
be confined to adjacent management areas. She asked if those
people are precluded from serving on the board.
SENATOR WAGONER responded that he didn't quite understand her
question, but stated that Seward, Homer and Anchorage are not on
the Kenai River; and the City of Soldotna, the City of Kenai and
the Borough are the municipalities that are adjacent to the
river and the properties. He claimed further:
We didn't see any great need for them to have the
voting representation. Seward would have
representation through the borough-appointed
representative - and so would, basically, Homer, but
Homer is about 72 miles from the Kenai River and these
properties.
SENATOR LINCOLN had information indicating that adjacent to
these waters are 15 state parks, subunits, lands owned by the
cities, the borough and the federal government and private
Native lands. She asked how many members are on the board and
how would one go about becoming a member of it.
SENATOR WAGONER answered that the board membership rotates every
two years. He offered the name of current members and a brief
comment about each. Joe Connors, who used to teach at Anchorage
Community College, is now a guide and was a commercial fisherman
in Cook Inlet for years. Ted Wellman is an attorney from
Anchorage and a very active member on the board. Paul Shadura is
a commercial fisherman and Native leader. Jim Golden is an
outfitter using the Kenai River. David Westerman is from Cooper
Landing. Roland Maw is the Executive Director of United Cook
Inlet Drift Association. Ken Lancaster, the representative who
started this bill four years ago, is a past mayor of the City of
Soldotna. Jeff King is a life-long Alaskan sport fishing guide
on the Kenai River. He didn't know Richard Hahn.
SENATOR ELTON asked if there were restrictions now on the use of
EVOS lands and were they open to oil and gas leasing, for
instance.
MR. PETE PANARESE, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation,
DNR, answered that section 3 amends AS 41.21.502(c) referring to
the Kenai River Special Management Area. The EVOS lands that are
currently outside the management area are not available for oil
and gas exploration. When they are included in KRSMA, they fall
under its umbrella.
SENATOR ELTON clarified that those lands are currently not open
to oil and gas leasing, but if they were added to the special
management area, they would be.
MR. PANARESE affirmed that.
SENATOR ELTON said it seemed to him that changing the makeup of
the board is a rather substantive change, because it makes some
government members ex-officio while municipal government members
retain their ability to vote. Even more to the point, section 4,
which says a majority of the voting members of the advisory
group shall be residents of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, is
creating a couple of classes of people. For instance, some
fisheries guides that operate on the river live in Anchorage and
it seems that a majority of the users of the river are probably
from outside the borough. Also, when the majority of voting
members have to be residents of the borough a second class of
user is created. He asked what is envisioned by creating those
different classes of people.
SENATOR WAGONER answered that that language is already in
statute.
SENATOR ELTON granted that that language is already in statute,
but pointed out that it is being perpetuated here.
It just seems to me that you are disenfranchising
river guides that live in Anchorage or that live
elsewhere outside of the borough and you're
disenfranchising many of the users of the Kenai River,
those people who live outside the borough who come
down to enjoy one of the natural wonders of your area.
SENATOR WAGONER responded:
We don't preclude them from serving. We just say a
majority of them will be from the Kenai Peninsula.
That doesn't exclude them from serving in one of the
seats that's not on the Kenai Peninsula.... I do
believe in local control - as much as you can get to
local control. Those people that live on the Peninsula
have a vested interest - a lot of them a lot longer
than any other people around and especially the cities
and municipalities have a vested interest in the
business people in Soldotna and Kenai. That's the
lifeblood of a lot of businesses. It's not the
lifeblood of a lot of beds and breakfasts in Anchorage
or the Mat Valley or any other place, but it is the
lifeblood of a lot of bed and breakfasts and guide
businesses in Kenai. I don't think you'll find that
there are a lot of guides that guide in the Kenai
River that live in Anchorage - not nearly as many as
you might think.
SENATOR SEEKINS said it looked like the attempt was to add
acreage to the already existing management area. He asked, if
those lands are open to oil and gas leasing, are there setbacks
or other statutory requirements that would apply to those
activities for reasonable protection of the river.
CHAIR OGAN replied that state law already delineates 500 ft.
setbacks from rivers and lakes; mitigation measures are in every
plan of operation that is reviewed by the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), the Department of Conservation (DEC) and Alaska
Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).
SENATOR ELTON said he wanted to make sure that when EVOS
purchased the land there weren't stipulations in the contract
that are being set aside by opening up that land to oil and gas
leasing.
MR. PANARESE answered that he wasn't clear on that and would
have to get back to him on it.
SENATOR ELTON said he wanted to know what the conditions of
purchase were and what is really allowed in section 3.
CHAIR OGAN said he also had a question about section 3 and
interpreted it to mean the land would be open for oil and gas
leasing, but not for mining.
MR. PANARESE replied that was his understanding, also. He
thought the Legislature had the use of directional drilling in
mind, not actually putting facilities on park land.
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if Senator Wagoner was anticipating having
no travel costs for the citizen advisory boards.
SENATOR WAGONER replied that had not been the case in the past
and he didn't foresee that changing.
SENATOR LINCOLN responded that the reason that hasn't been the
case in the past is because the agencies have paid for it, but
it's different when it's applied to a citizen group, which is
why she questioned it. She asked if there were any letters of
support.
MS. SEITZ replied that they didn't really ask for letters of
support, but they have one from the Kenai Peninsula Borough that
supports the bill and opposes adding any other land to KRSMA.
SENATOR ELTON asked how people were chosen for the current
board.
MS. SEITZ answered that the commissioner of DNR appoints them
from names that are submitted.
SENATOR ELTON asked if there are designated seats for guides and
sport fishermen, etc.
MS. SEITZ replied that there weren't designated seats.
MR. PANARESE added that the by-laws of the board require the
board to propose three names. The public member nominees submit
a short resume' to the commissioner of DNR and perhaps indicate
their preference. The commissioner then appoints one of them.
The government members would be appointed by the commissioners
of the departments they represent. The Fish and Wildlife Service
and Forest Service would each appoint their representative, as
would the other three branches of government local to the Kenai
Peninsula.
SENATOR ELTON said it would be helpful to get a copy of the by-
laws. He wanted to be sure they would not end up with
municipality people precluding the recreational users of the
river from being fully represented.
MR. ROBERT VALDATTA, member of the Municipal Advisory Panel on
Stranded Gas in Soldotna, said that the bridge is the main
concern.
CHAIR OGAN asked him how that issue is relevant to the present
bill.
SENATOR WAGONER asked him if he was talking about the proposed
bridge between Sterling and Funny River and the boat ramp that
is a part of that project.
MR. VALDATTA replied yes and added that it was being discussed
20 years ago.
SENATOR WAGONER illuminated him saying that it is still being
discussed. He thought a lawsuit was being filed by some people
who live in a couple of subdivisions on the road that was chosen
as the preferred site. However, he didn't think this bill was
relevant to those lands.
CHAIR OGAN thanked everyone for their comments and said SB 190
would be held for further work.
4:15 p.m. - 4:17 p.m. - at ease
SB 271-NATURAL GAS DEVEL AUTHORITY PROJECTS
CHAIR SCOTT OGAN announced SB 271 to be up for consideration.
MR. HAROLD HEINZE, CEO, Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority
(ANGDA), noted the current zero fiscal note. He informed the
committee that to stay involved in the project, he had written a
letter to the two different applicant groups under the Stranded
Gas Act. He could live with a zero fiscal note for the present,
but if ANGDA's involvement became serious in the future, it
would need additional support.
CHAIR OGAN asked if he had received a response to the letters.
MR. HEINZE replied that he only wrote the letters last week
and, therefore, it was a little early.
SENATOR ELTON asked if he had any discussion with the Department
of Revenue (DOR) on protocol when he wrote the letters.
MR. HEINZE replied that since the last hearing, he had numerous
discussions with Deputy Commissioner Porter on their
relationship. He summarized the discussions saying that the
Authority is prepared to work diligently as a major element of
the team to assure that the stranded gas applications receive
all the consideration possible. He wrote the letters because he
wanted both applicants to understand that the authority had
certain abilities that were very unique to it as a public
corporation.
SENATOR ELTON was concerned that the applicants know there is
only one point of access to negotiate their contracts and he
wanted it to be through the governor's negotiating team.
MR. HEINZE responded that the Authority has nothing to do with
the negotiations that will take place, but it does help the
project move along to becoming a commercial reality.
SENATOR ELTON continued to voice his concern that ANGDA express
itself through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the
governor's negotiating team.
CHAIR OGAN chimed in to say that ANGDA has nothing to do with
the TransCanada pipeline project; its scope is Prudhoe Bay to
Valdez. But, the Authority's tax-free status might be of
interest to the applicants [the producers] and requiring it to
review the state's involvement in the pipeline is important,
because it uses more of a private sector approach.
MR. HEINZE pledged:
If it is the desire of the State of Alaska, as a
matter of policy, that the Authority not look at the
fact that we share the first 530 in common with moving
gas from the North Slope down the highway or wherever
it goes, if we're not supposed to look at that in a
commercial way - we might combine our efforts with
each of the sponsor groups - then, I think we need to
know that. It is certainly the view of the Authority,
and we have maintained this position throughout, we
will work with any legitimate project sponsor in any
way, shape or form...[END OF TAPE].
TAPE 04-9, SIDE B
SENATOR ELTON said he didn't know the tenor of the letters and
asked if Mr. Heinze could send a copy to the chair.
MR. HEINZE apologized that that hadn't been done and said he
would.
SENATOR ELTON expanded on his concern saying that DOR had the
responsibility to share appropriate information with ANGDA and
that ANGDA should share information with DNR, also. Letters that
go out should be funneled through one place.
MR. HEINZE offered to send copies of all his letters to the
committee and to send them through whomever they direct him to
send them through.
MR. STEVEN PORTER, Deputy Commissioner, DOR, inserted that there
is a single contact point for negotiations and both
Exxon/ConocoPhillips/BP [the Producers] and MidAmerica know who
they are negotiating with and how to distinguish between the
Authority and negotiations with the state under the Stranded Gas
Act. He affirmed that there are two applications under the
Stranded Gas Act and that he intends to negotiate with them
simultaneously. He used a truckers analogy to expand on his
explanation. Basically, the State of Alaska is the owner of a
field; the industry leased the field and produced a harvest. The
harvest can go to market one of three ways. Industry can do it
themselves; the state can buy its own trucking line and
independents can bring the product to market. Often, a trunk
line goes from L.A. to Chicago and the little cities in between
don't get serviced unless the independents service them. He sees
the Authority complementing the trunk line by focusing on in-
state gas benefits (like spur lines to smaller communities).
SENATOR ELTON took a line out of one of the letters to
ConocoPhillips/BP and ExxonMobil [the Producers] that read:
Your Beaufort Sea alternative route might become
possible if North Slope gas was available to Alaskans
as provided for in our project and we would also
welcome the opportunity to discuss your cooperation
toward that objective.
He asked if that letter had been vetted by Mr. Porter, would
that line have been in it.
MR. PORTER answered that ANGDA reports through DOR and the
governor's position has not changed on that issue. The primary
goal [of the letter] is gas to market and in-state gas benefits.
Mr. Heinze brought forward the secondary issue of the Beaufort
Sea route as a future possibility and Senator Elton would have
to ask him what his intent was.
SENATOR ELTON said he didn't want anyone to suggest that the
Beaufort Sea alternative route might become possible if North
Slope gas was available to Alaskans. This sentence seems to him
to illustrate why the administration should be speaking to the
applicants with one voice.
MR. PORTER retorted that the administration is speaking with one
voice in its negotiations with the applicants.
SENATOR ELTON insisted that his point is that another state
entity is also speaking with one clear voice. "I want to make
sure the clear voices are saying the same thing."
CHAIR OGAN said Senator Elton's point is well taken and that he
shared his concern with the language mentioning the Beaufort Sea
route. He thought it sent mixed signals to the industry.
MR. HEINZE vouched that the application filed by the producers
clearly states that it is not route specific and proposes two
routes. That is what he was responding to. ANGDA would share the
first 530 miles of the first alternative, the highway route, and
something there might be beneficial to both projects. The second
alternative, the over-the-top route, is not abandoned in their
application.
SENATOR SEEKINS said he wasn't aware of anything in ANGDA that
says their CEO cannot communicate however he wants to.
CHAIR OGAN said he was correct and that it was a matter of
judgment.
SENATOR LINCOLN said the Legislature is expanding the
responsibilities of the Authority and she is uncomfortable
because she senses it does not have the complete blessing of the
administration. The current fiscal note is zero through 2010 and
the second paragraph says explicitly that to reduce duplication,
the state will coordinate research on all gas pipeline options
and provide ANGDA with any research it develops that may assist
ANGDA in the fulfillment of its obligations. There may also be
research that is appropriate for ANGDA to conduct and to provide
that information to the State of Alaska. She cautioned:
It doesn't sound to me that that coordination is there
and when we're talking about the Authority taking on
additional responsibilities of evaluation of
opportunities for private sector involvement in the
planning, development, construction, management and
operations of the gas transmission pipeline project, I
don't know how that can be a zero. And that report has
to come back to us within a year, before January of
'05 - that report including the new task we gave them
has to be before us in less than a year and yet we
still have a zero fiscal note.... I don't want the
Authority coming back and saying we don't need more
money because SB 271 gave us additional
responsibilities to handle....
CHAIR OGAN compared SB 271 to, "...putting our bait in the
water. We want to attract a strike."
If companies express an interest, he'd get the checkbook out and
write a check. However, they might not express interest and this
won't do anything. He asked Mr. Heinze if that was a fair
assessment.
MR. HEINZE replied that he has looked at the Authority's ability
under several different scenarios and the supplemental request
of $2.5 million will allow it to pursue any of the projects.
However, he doesn't have a good sense of how long the state will
pursue the stranded gas application process and said:
I'm happy at this point to leave it at a zero fiscal
note. I do not believe I could probably promise
Senator Lincoln that under all circumstances I
wouldn't need additional funding....
SENATOR LINCOLN said he was assuming that the Authority's $2.5
million request would be fully funded. If it isn't, she
suggested that he rethink his reply in regards to SB 271.
MR. HEINZE replied that if the funding situation changed
substantially, he would have to rethink the whole relevance of
the Authority and what SB 271 was asking ANGDA to do.
CHAIR OGAN said that SB 271 goes to Finance next and he hoped to
get it there so it could be considered along with the bill
requesting the supplemental funding.
MR. PORTER enlightened the committee with his explanation of the
indeterminate fiscal note saying that the key is to assume the
present law is fully funded and go from there. Some information
may become available to ANGDA in such a way that may save money
on the original plan; it could easily be a wash. "We do not
believe this will incrementally cost the state additional funds
at this present time."
CHAIR OGAN asked if he thought this was an important tool to
have - that may or may not work for this project.
MR. PORTER replied with a question. If proposition 3 didn't
exist and the Legislature decided to create an entity, what
responsibilities would it give it over Alaska gas? He thought
evaluating the TransCanada pipeline and how it complements their
mission was a fair use of ANGDA's time and he recommended
broadening their responsibility to include it.
SENATOR SEEKINS said proposition 3 passed because of frustration
over the lack of action and he encouraged every entity,
including ANGDA, to try to help the state and the Legislature
find ways to get the gas to market as economically and quickly
as possible.
SENATOR ELTON noted that the title of SB 271 gives ANGDA
authority to evaluate opportunities for private sector
involvement in the project, but page 2, line 13, says:
(C) to authorize as part of the Authority's
development planning, evaluation of opportunities for
private sector involvement in the planning,
development, construction, management, and operation
of the project.
He asked if this authority gives ANGDA a seat at the table as
the state evaluates the MidAmerica application that envisions
private sector involvement.
CHAIR OGAN pointed out that he was reading intent language.
SENATOR ELTON maintained that the lines he referenced
"authorized" ANGDA's participation in evaluation of private
sector involvement. He rephrased his question and asked if Mr.
Porter took this as a legislative directive to have ANGDA
involved at the table in the review of the MidAmerica
application.
MR. PORTER answered no.
MR. HEINZE further answered:
I felt that language was an instruction to the
Authority that we should include in any of our
thinking ways that private individuals and other
investors, frankly, could become involved in the
project if they wished in whatever we did.
CHAIR OGAN said he didn't have any problem with taking the
intent language out.
MR. PORTER expanded his answer saying it is not the intent to
have ANGDA sit at the table with the state in negotiating with
MidAmerica. However, he felt that both the state and the
Authority are committed to in-state gas benefits from local hire
and contracting, including participation in ownership of the
pipeline.
MR.HEINZE said he found the language in SB 271 helpful because
it added consideration of a special offering to Alaskans to
whatever ANGDA developed in the way of a funding plan.
SENATOR DYSON echoed Senator Seekins' comment about voter
frustration and wanting to see things move. He has respect for
Mr. Heinze and hears him saying ANGDA wants to be very useful in
collecting needed information to make informed decisions.
Expanding its ability to look at the possibility of a shared
portion of the pipeline is very useful.
MR. ROBERT VALDATTA, member of the Municipal Advisory Panel on
Stranded Gas, Seward, supported SB 271, because it would put
Alaskans to work.
SENATOR WAGONER moved to pass SB 271 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note.
SENATOR ELTON objected saying, while he intends to vote for
passage of SB 271 and supports the $2.5 million request so the
state can have every tool it needs:
We have to carefully parse, kind of, the testimony
from the department whether they are supportive of
$2.5 million or how does this work with ANGDA. And,
while I agree that all the tools ought to be there, we
ought to have a good understanding of who is using the
tools and what the tools are meant to accomplish. And,
I'm not quite there, yet. So, I think that puts a
little bit of responsibility on the Department of
Revenue and on ANGDA to develop those protocols so
that we understand and we're comfortable with the
process - because I do believe that we are at a very
delicate stage right now. I don't want the left hand
not knowing what the right hand is doing as potential
contracts that are going to be presented to the whole
body, hopefully in a timely manner, come up.... I'm
going to be a no-rec on the bill. I think it's
important to move it forward so that we can keep some
momentum behind this.... It would sure be helpful if
we knew what those protocols were before we finally
vote.
CHAIR OGAN responded that his points are well taken. He has been
told that the state often sends a very mixed, and somewhat
dysfunctional, message to the market.
SENATOR ELTON removed his objection.
CHAIR OGAN announced that SB 271 passed from committee. There
being no further business to come before the committee, he
adjourned the meeting at 5:05 p.m.
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