SB 6 - SUSPEND DRIVERS LICENSES/TRAFFIC OFFENSES Number 039 CO-CHAIR IVAN announced SB 6 would be first, sponsored by Senator Taylor. In members' packets was a proposed amendment, fiscal notes, sponsor statement and backup materials. He invited Joe Ambrose of Senator Taylor's to present the bill. JOE AMBROSE, Legislative Assistant to Senator Taylor, introduced the bill on behalf of Senator Taylor, who was the prime sponsor. He stated that the intent of the legislation was to encourage individuals to pay some of the 25,000 traffic fines for moving violations that go uncollected each year. It provided the court with additional leverage in collecting the fines and applied to a person who failed to appear in court as ordered. It allowed the court to suspend the driver's license of anyone who failed to appear in court or pay a fine. It also had a provision for attaching the permanent fund dividend. Section 3 of the bill addressed a perceived problem with the Anchorage Parking Authority and would restrict the amount municipalities could collect on traffic citations issued. He indicated that this section would affect any municipality that uses other than peace officers to do parking enforcement. Number 089 CO-CHAIR AUSTERMAN asked what the provision referring to the citation form meant. MR. AMBROSE stated that a standard citation form was laid out by state law. This section of the bill required all municipalities to use that form or something very similar. Number 106 REPRESENTATIVE AL VEZEY asked if Section 3 was, in effect, killing the privatization of certain government services. MR. AMBROSE indicated that it would restrict the amount of a fine that could be collected by a municipality that operated with private sector enforcement. Number 128 REPRESENTATIVE PETE KOTT stated he thought the answer to Representative Vezey's question was that it did restrict the municipalities from contracting with the private sector because it required a citation to be issued by a peace officer. Number 137 CO-CHAIR AUSTERMAN asked if that was the objective to stop privatization of these activities. MR. AMBROSE indicated that it was not Senator Taylor's intent. The amendment had been added on the Senate floor and was not part of the original bill. The sole intent of the original legislation was to give the court system some leverage to collect some of the outstanding fines for moving violations. Number 147 REPRESENTATIVE KOTT stated that he had an amendment to delete section 3 and moved the amendment. REPRESENTATIVE KIM ELTON asked what the justification was for the insertion of the section. MR. AMBROSE noted that the legislation had been introduced last year and amended in Senate Finance to add a provision linking renewal of motor vehicle registration to parking violations. In essence, it strengthened the authority of the Anchorage Parking Authority or any similar entity. The bill was reintroduced this year with that provision in it. That provision was deleted and on the Senate Floor the issue was brought up and Section 3 was inserted in the bill. Senator Taylor supported Representative Kott's amendment. Number 197 CO-CHAIR IVAN asked if the objection was maintained. Hearing none, that amendment was adopted. Number 206 REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY moved HCS SB 6(CRA) be passed from committee with individual recommendations. CO-CHAIR IVAN indicated that motion was adopted without objection. REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY amended his motion to include the fiscal notes. CO-CHAIR IVAN asked if there was objection. Hearing none, the bill passed from committee with no objections.