Legislature(1993 - 1994)
02/16/1993 03:38 PM Senate TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
February 16, 1993
3:38 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bert Sharp, Chairman
Senator Randy Phillips, Vice Chairman
Senator Tim Kelly
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Jay Kerttula
Senator Georgianna Lincoln
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 82
"An Act relating to the Dalton Highway."
SENATE BILL NO. 110
"An Act requiring the use of a motorcycle helmet when
operating or riding on a motorcycle; and providing for an
effective date."
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 82 - No previous action to record.
SB 110 - No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
Senator Steve Frank
State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SB 82.
Frank Turpin, Commissioner
Department of Transportation
and Public Facilities
3132 Channel Drive
Juneau, Alaska 99801-7898
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 82.
John Murphy, Director
Division of Alaska State Troopers
Department of Public Safety
5700 Tudor Road
Anchorage, Alaska 99507-1225
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on SB 82.
Wayne Regelin, Deputy Director
Division of Wildlife Conservation
Department of Fish and Game
P.O. Box 25526
Juneau, Alaska 99802-5526
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on SB 82.
Keith Gerkin, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Transportation
3132 Channel Drive
Juneau, Alaska 99801-7898
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 82.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 93-6, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN SHARP called the Senate Transportation Committee
meeting to order at 3:38 p.m.
The first order of business the committee addressed was SB
82 (OPENING THE DALTON HIGHWAY). SENATOR STEVE FRANK,
sponsor of the legislation, said the bill would open the
Dalton Highway for public use and would allow people to
drive their personal vehicles on it. Currently, the highway
is closed to the general public from Disaster Creek up to
Prudhoe Bay. At the present time, to qualify for a permit
to drive the highway you must have a commercial or
industrial use. He said in his opinion, there is no real
reason not to have the road open to the public as it is
owned by the public and maintained with public money. In
the summer, the Dalton Highway is no more dangerous than the
Taylor or Denali Highways. Senator Frank indicated that
there may be a safety concern during the winter and he
anticipates that the commissioner of the Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT/PF) will close the
road. He said that the department has indicated it is no
more costly to open the road to the public as it is
currently being maintained for industrial traffic. Senator
Frank explained the primary issue that has kept the road
closed is concern on the part of rural residents - North
Slope Borough, Tanana Chiefs Conference - in that it may
have some detrimental impacts on fish and wildlife resources
in the area. He noted that the Department of Fish and Game
is comfortable opening the highway. Senator Frank said in
the past, the Department of Public Safety has asked for more
money to put more safety officers on the highway. He said
that is a matter of discretion and opinion as to how
important it would be to have a public safety officer on the
Dalton versus the Taylor or Steese or any other area of the
state. Senator Frank said he believes that opening the road
would enhance tourism opportunities and people's enjoyment
of their publicly owned highway system.
CHAIRMAN SHARP said there have been concerns expressed by
the North Slope Borough, in past years, relating to the
ability to respond in the case of an accident. Senator
Frank referred to the Steese or Denali Highways, and asked
if is there any compelling difference. He said people
travel at their own risk.
Number 139
FRANK TURPIN, Commissioner, Department of Transportation and
Public Facilities, testified in favor of opening the Dalton
Highway. Currently, the Dalton Highway is a 416 mile route
of which 209 miles are already open to the public. The
remaining 207 miles would save DOT/PF a considerable amount
of state money in improving the road surfacing and replacing
some bridges which are beginning to be limited to the gross
weights of the trucks that now travel the highway. He
explained that there are three bridges that must be replaced
with an estimated cost of $1.8 million, which would have to
be provided out of state dollars. By opening the road to
public use, it would provide more recreational areas and the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has recognized that and has
developed a plan for providing rest facilities and other
recreational activities along the route.
CHAIRMAN SHARP noted if the road is opened, federal funds
may be utilized on the road. He asked Commissioner Turpin
if utilizing federal funds would allow the department to
reduce overall operational maintenance costs in the 207 mile
distance. Commissioner Turpin explained DOT/PF was able to
perform some work on 50 miles with state funding last
summer. That helped to reduce winter maintenance costs as
the highway was elevated so that the snow was blown clear by
the wind. He said federal capital money would reduce the
amount of state maintenance money required.
Number 213
JOHN MURPHY, Director, Division of Alaska State Troopers,
Department of Public Safety, explained that the department
doesn't object to opening the haul road. He said he
believes that opening the road would bring tourism and it
will have an impact on public safety. Mr. Murphy indicated
that it is difficult to figure what that impact will be. He
discussed a situation where there was an accident on the
road where a trucker broke his neck. He said if the road is
open, with the increased traffic and if a camp ground is
built, there will be a need of a presence of an officer on
the highway. He said he isn't sure what the impact will be
but he believes it will be substantial.
CHAIRMAN SHARP asked how many troopers there are between
Fairbanks and Cold Foot. Mr. Murphy said there aren't any,
but he believes there is one Fish and Wildlife Trooper at
Cold Foot. He noted that the position and an aircraft will
be moved out on July 1.
Number 265
WAYNE REGELIN, Deputy Director, Division of Wildlife
Conservation, Department of Fish and Game, said the
department doesn't have a problem with opening the haul
road, but does have a few concerns about wildlife
populations and increased hunting. The department has asked
for a small amount of money to hire a technician during the
summer to monitor the road and help with law enforcement.
He explained that most hunters hunt caribou. They drive up
the road and fly back from various points. He noted the
department wants to keep a close eye on the sheep and bear
populations.
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS referred to a similar situation with
the Dempster Highway, located in the Yukon, and asked Mr.
Regelin if he knows how they manage their fish and game
along the 325 mile road. Mr. Regelin said he didn't know,
but would make an attempt to find out.
CHAIRMAN SHARP asked where the present "no hunting zone" is
except for bow hunting. Mr. Regelin said it is five miles
on each side, but it has become more complicated over the
last six months as the federal subsistence board is allowing
hunting in the five mile corridor by rural residents. He
explained that since there wasn't any customary and
traditional determinations for any of the species, any rural
resident that qualifies for federal subsistence can go up
there and hunt. Mr. Regelin said the department has asked
BLM and the Federal Subsistence Board to try to correct
this. It is open for hunting in the five mile zone, but
only with bow and arrows. He noted there is a problem with
off-road vehicles as there is a statute that says you cannot
use off-road vehicles within the five mile corridor except
for mining. Mr. Regelin said over the past few months,
there has been a lot of reports from bow hunters complaining
about people hunting with rifles. He said they believe it
is because of the subsistence confusion with the federal
regulations.
There being no further testimony, Chairman Sharp indicated
the bill would be heard the following Tuesday and noted
there would also be a teleconference on the measure.
Number 364
The second order of business to come before the Senate
Transportation Committee was SB 110 (REQUIRE USE OF
MOTORCYCLE HELMETS). KEITH GERKIN, Deputy Commissioner,
Department of Transportation, informed the committee that
the bill was introduced because of a federal policy where a
decision was made in Congress that they should encourage the
mandatory use of helmets by motorcycle riders in all states.
Congress has put in law a requirement that if a state fails
to require motorcycle helmets, that they will divert a
certain amount of federal highway dollars from the
construction part of the program, which DOT/PF manages, to
safety education enforcement managed by the Department of
Public Safety. Mr. Gerkin said the department doesn't have
any problems with the Department of Public Safety or others
doing more work toward highway safety and education,
however, the amount of money is about $5.25 million federal
dollars each year that would diverted. He said the
department's desire is that the state adopt a law in
conformance with the federal requirement which would require
motorcycle drivers to wear the helmets. He noted that there
is a current requirement for helmets to be worn by
passengers and people under the age of 18.
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asked what the results were when the
State of Nevada challenged the federal government on the
speed limits.
Mr. Gerkin explained that Nevada and California lead a
strong effort to do away with the 55 mph speed limit. He
said Congress has changed the law to have certain speed
limits raised above that. He noted that a significant
portion of the Parks Highway has a higher speed limit. Mr
Gerkin said there have been some states that have had funds
sanctioned for failure to maintain roads.
Senator Randy Phillips asked what the department's position
is on changing the effective date to midnight, September 30,
1993. Mr. Gerkin said the federal law requires conformance
to be prior to the next fiscal which begins on October 1.
He said leaving it to the last minute may create some
problems in getting projects obligated early in the year.
As a practical matter, the department begins to use the
money immediately, but if the law is in place and it is
clear that it will happen, there probably wouldn't be a
problem. He said he was handed a memorandum from the
Governor's Office in Washington, D.C., where the National
Highway Traffic Safety Agency has suggested that submission
of a resolution or legislation by April 1, would be
necessary to ensure certification by October 31. It is
important that they know that the bill has been signed into
law by April 1.
Number 455
There being no further testimony on SB 110, Senator Randy
Phillips moved to delete "July 1" and insert "September 30,
1993" on page 1, line 7. Hearing no objection, the motion
carried.
Senator Randy Phillips moved that CSSB 110 (TRA), be passed
out of the Senate Transportation Committee with individual
recommendations. Hearing no objection, the bill moved out
of committee.
There being no further business to come before the
committee, CHAIRMAN SHARP adjourned the meeting at 4:24 p.m.
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