03/20/2007 01:00 PM Senate TRANSPORTATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB105 | |
| HB102 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| * | SB 105 | ||
| SB 68 | |||
| HB 102 | |||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 20, 2007
1:07 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Albert Kookesh, Chair
Senator John Cowdery, Vice Chair
Senator Donny Olson
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator Gary Wilken
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative John Coghill
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 105
"An Act relating to reimbursement to municipalities by the
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for debt
incurred by those municipalities for certain capital projects;
and providing for an effective date."
MOVED CSSB 105(TRA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 68
"An Act requiring motor vehicle insurers to provide to the
commissioner of administration a database listing vehicle
insurance policy information that will allow the commissioner to
verify whether mandatory motor vehicle insurance has been
obtained, limiting access to the database, establishing methods
for proving that mandatory motor vehicle insurance is in place,
allowing the additional penalties of suspending registration and
vehicle impoundment and forfeiture for failure to have mandatory
motor vehicle insurance, and authorizing hearings after
suspension of registration for failure to have mandatory motor
vehicle insurance."
SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 102
"An Act relating to vacating lanes or slowing down for certain
vehicles stopped along the side of a road."
MOVED HB 102 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 105
SHORT TITLE: REIMBURSEMENT FOR MUNICIPAL DEBT
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) HOFFMAN
03/05/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/05/07 (S) TRA, FIN
03/20/07 (S) TRA AT 1:00 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: HB 102
SHORT TITLE: PASSING STATIONARY VEHICLES
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) COGHILL
01/22/07 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/07 (H) TRA, JUD
02/15/07 (H) TRA AT 1:30 PM CAPITOL 17
02/15/07 (H) Moved Out of Committee
02/15/07 (H) MINUTE(TRA)
02/19/07 (H) TRA RPT 4DP
02/19/07 (H) DP: JOHNSON, DOOGAN, SALMON, NEUMAN
02/26/07 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
02/26/07 (H) Moved Out of Committee
02/26/07 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
02/28/07 (H) JUD RPT 6DP
02/28/07 (H) DP: GRUENBERG, LYNN, DAHLSTROM,
SAMUELS, HOLMES, RAMRAS
03/01/07 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/01/07 (H) VERSION: HB 102
03/02/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/02/07 (S) TRA
03/20/07 (S) TRA AT 1:00 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
John Weise
Staff to Senator Lyman Hoffman
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 105
Ray Gillespie, lobbyist
Unalaska, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: In support of SB 105
Carl Moses, representing himself
Sand Point, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: In support of SB 105
Chris Hladick, City Manager
City of Unalaska
Unalaska, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: In support of SB 105
Frank Kelty, resource analyst
City of Unalaska
Unalaska, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: In support of SB 105
Stephen Boardman
Army Corps of Engineers
Unalaska, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Available for questions on SB 105
Shirley Marquardt, Mayor
City of Unalaska
Unalaska, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Available for questions on SB 105
Daniel Hoffman, Chief of Police
Fairbanks, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Available for questions on HB 102
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR ALBERT KOOKESH called the Senate Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:07:53 PM. Present at the call to
order were Senators Wielechowski, Wilken, Olson, Cowdery, and
Chair Kookesh.
SB 105-REIMBURSEMENT FOR MUNICIPAL DEBT
CHAIR KOOKESH announced the consideration of SB 105.
1:08:47 PM
JOHN WEISE, staff to Senator Lyman Hoffman, sponsor of SB 105,
said that the bill addresses the delay of debt repayment for
various harbor projects, only one of which, in Unalaska, will
not be able to meet the repayment date. The entire project in
question is for a two-part harbor, the outer section of which
must be completed before the state-funded inner portion can be
started. The inner harbor will cost $12.9 million, of which
state debt reimbursement will total $5 million.
CHAIR KOOKESH asked Mr. Weise to expand on the main object of
the bill.
MR. WEISE said that SB 105 tries to name the only small boat
harbor still owing repayment from the original bill. There
hasn't been any change in other parts of the bill.
1:12:20 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the money was previously
appropriated and the bill will simply be extending the date of
debt repayment.
MR. WEISE replied that was correct.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the fiscal note is zero.
MR. WEISE replied in the affirmative.
SENATOR OLSON asked how many boats will be served by the harbor.
MR. WEISE said that final capacity will be 75 boats; there's
already another harbor in Unalaska that holds 60 to 65 but is
currently overfull, so once the new harbor is completed it will
already be full.
SENATOR OLSON asked who owns the existing harbor, and if they
charge for the slips.
MR. WEISE replied that the city owns the harbor, and he doesn't
know if they charge for the slips; he pointed out a map showing
the location of the future harbor.
SENATOR KOOKESH asked if all the permits for the inner harbor
have already been obtained.
MR. WEISE said that the permits for the outer harbor have all
been obtained, but he was unsure as regards the inner harbor.
SENATOR OLSON asked if there will be a waiting list for slips
once the harbor is completed.
MR. WEISE replied that the harbor will be first come first
serve, but that many boats need a place to have safe harbor in
bad weather.
1:15:59 PM
RAY GILLESPIE, lobbyist for the city of Unalaska, said that he
was prepared to answer questions about the harbor and described
the poster showing the harbor construction.
SENATOR KOOKESH asked Carl Moses if he would like to make any
comments on the bill.
CARL MOSES, former state representative, said that the project
has been delayed and is over 40 years overdue. It will provide
safe harbor to many boats in the busiest fishery in the United
States.
SENATOR WILKEN wished Mr. Moses well.
MR. MOSES thanked him.
CHRIS LADDOCK, Unalaska City Manager, said that the slips will
have a rental fee, as in the existing harbor. There's currently
a wait list of 30-45 boats, and at under two-thirds capacity the
harbor will already be self-supporting. There have been problems
in congress with continuing authorization for project bidding;
it's unsure whether the project will be included in this year's
budget.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for an estimate on how much the
project will cost.
MR. LADDOCK said that the total cost will be $27 million.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for the amount for which the debt
reimbursement extension is being requested.
MR. LADDOCK replied that the amount is $5 million.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI commented that the bill seems open-ended in
terms of debt reimbursement, and asked if there are cost control
measures in place.
MR. LADDOCK replied that the original appropriation was for $5
million, and the city has contributed funding for cost overruns.
SENATOR OLSON asked for the operating and maintenance plan, and
means of payment for such, for the harbor.
MR. LADDOCK said that he doesn't anticipate any problems in
paying for operational and maintenance costs.
SENATOR OLSON asked if there are safety provisions for shipping
of cargo containers.
MR. LADDOCK said that the harbor department takes care of
security issues, and almost all the vessels coming through the
harbor are registered with the federal government.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said that the bill doesn't refer to the
harbor alone in terms of debt repayment extension, and asked if
it's the only project the bill would apply to.
MR. WEISE replied that it is.
1:25:18 PM
FRANK KELTY, resource analyst for the City of Unalaska, urged
the committee to move the bill, and said that it's an important
and long-overdue project. Unalaska is the largest fishing port
in the nation, and has many vessels trying to seek port there.
The weather in Unalaska is intense, and vessels need to be
properly moored. The project should be supported, and it will
help the community grow economically.
STEPHEN BOARDMAN, with the Army Corps of Engineers, said that
the 2007 work plan was received that morning and funding was not
included for the harbor construction.
SENATOR OLSON asked for detail on what the lack of funding will
mean for the harbor.
MR. BOARDMAN said that the Corps has notified Congress of its
capability of executing the project, and hopefully funding will
be received by next year.
SENATOR OLSON asked if the city is expecting to see construction
begin in 2009.
MR. BOARDMAN said that he hopes to see congress includes the
project in its budget in 2008, which means it will be begun
later that year.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said that his only concern is that there's
a number of projects listed in the section of the bill
concerning the harbor, and the bill should only be applied to
this one project.
SENATOR WILKEN remarked that the bill appears not to extend
beyond a certain list of harbors.
SENATOR KOOKESH said that the committee would officially
recognize Senator Wielechowski's clarification of the intent of
bill.
SHIRLEY MARQUARDT, mayor of the city of Unalaska, said that the
city will do everything in its power to move the project forward
as soon as possible. Congress has approved the project and all
the documents are in order, so the city wants to move forward as
soon as the Army Corps of Engineers receives additional funding.
SENATOR WILKEN commented that line ten of the bill could be
interpreted as an open-ended ruling for many DOT projects, and
that perhaps the bill should be made more restrictive.
CHAIR KOOKESH restated that the committee would officially
recognize the previously discussed clarification of the bill.
1:35:50 PM
SENATOR OLSON moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute
(CS) to SB 102, labeled 25-LS0707\M, as the working document of
the committee. There being no objection, the motion carried.
SENATOR COWDERY motioned to report CS for SB 105 from committee
with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, CSSB 105(TRA) moved from committee.
HB 102-PASSING STATIONARY VEHICLES
1:39:00 PM
CHAIR KOOKESH announced that the committee would be holding SB
68 for future consideration. He then announced HB 102 to be
under consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL, sponsor of HB 102, said that the bill
was inspired by an encounter with a constituent. The current law
doesn't designate a clear procedure for pulling over for
emergency vehicles, so the bill cleans up current law.
SENATOR COWDERY said that enforceability is an obvious problem,
and asked if the bill fully addresses the problem.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL said that he worked with policemen to
form the bill, and that it covers the different procedures for
single- and double-lane highways.
DANIEL HOFFMAN, Chief of Police for the City of Fairbanks, said
that the basic problem is the way the initial statute was
written; it provided an unclear choice between slowing down and
moving over. The current bill will allow slowing down if there's
no option to move into another lane and stop.
SENATOR OLSON asked if the bill only applies to municipal or
state roads, or all roads.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL said that it applies to all roads where
safety is an issue, thus all roads where safety officers can
enforce law.
SENATOR OLSON said that North Slope Borough roads aren't state
or municipality roads, and asked how they would fit under the
law.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL replied that anywhere where there is a
police force, the law can be enforced.
SENATOR COWDERY asked how the bill would function in a
particular situation.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL replied that if pulling into a particular
lane wasn't safe, then slowing down and proceeding would be
allowed.
MR. HOFFMAN said that the bill only applies to roads with two or
more lanes in the same direction.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL referenced lines four to seven of the
bill to show how the bill treats smaller roads.
1:47:29 PM
CHAIR KOOKESH said that he intended to move the bill from
committee.
SENATOR COWDERY made a motion to move HB 102 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There
being no objection, the motion carried.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Kookesh adjourned the meeting at 1:48:09 PM.
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