HB 413 - BURNING CAPABILITY OF CIGARETTES 2:40:26 PM CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 413, "An Act relating to the burning capability of cigarettes being sold, offered for sale, or possessed for sale; and providing for an effective date." [Before the committee was CSHB 413(STA); in members' packets was a proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 413, Version 24-LS1495\F, Bannister, 4/5/06.] 2:40:37 PM MIKAYLA SAITO, Intern to Representative Reggie Joule, Alaska State Legislature, relayed on behalf of the sponsor, Representative Joule, that HB 413 establishes a standard of safety by [requiring a reduction in the ignition propensity of cigarettes sold in Alaska], and that similar legislation has been introduced in the states of New York and California. 2:41:48 PM DAVID HULL, Chief, North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department (NTVFD), after relaying that he is also speaking on behalf of Scott Davis - Chief of the South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department (STVFD) - pointed out that a cigarette has been involved in every one of the several fire deaths he has had to deal with in his over 30 years' of experience in firefighting and emergency medical service (EMS). He opined that HB 413 raises a lifesaving issue, and thus the tobacco industry should not be a primary participant in the discussion; rather the people should be the primary participants. MR. HULL referred to the findings and intent section of HB 413 and noted that one of the findings states that cigarettes are the leading cause of fire-related deaths in the U.S. each year, claiming a 1,000 lives and causing nearly 2,000 injuries and nearly $400,000 in direct property damage; furthermore, he remarked, Alaska leads in every one of those categories. The simple technology to significantly reduce such deaths and carnage is already available, other states have already enacted legislation similar to HB 413, and Alaska should join those other states. One really need look no further than Cable News Network (CNN) reports regarding how this type of legislation would benefit not only those who smoke [and their families] but the EMS personnel who must respond to fires that result from cigarettes. MR. HULL pointed out that the severe fire aboard a Princess cruise ship in the Caribbean was caused by a discarded, unattended cigarette. Furthermore, on the cruise ship docks in Ketchikan, people discard their lit cigarettes on the dock on dry days and those cigarettes get in between the pieces of lumber that make up the docks and smolder, and the fire departments are called in a few hours later to fight a dock fire, and although most such fires are small, at least once a year a major fire erupts. If not for the quick and expert response by the Ketchikan Fire Department, he relayed, these fires would have easily spread underneath the buildings and simply burnt away the foundations of millions of dollars in real estate, not to mention the potential loss of jobs, taxes, and human lives that were put in danger by a cigarette that didn't self-extinguish. Furthermore there is also the danger that firefighters face in responding to such fires. MR. HULL, in conclusion, asked members to choose lives over the needs of tobacco industry stockholders by supporting HB 413. 2:46:27 PM STEVEN "RUSTY" BELANGER, Assistant State Fire Marshal, Central Office, Division of Fire Prevention, Department of Public Safety (DPS), relayed that the DPS supports the passage of HB 413. Alaska has one of the highest per capita fire fatality rates in the nation, he remarked, adding that over the last 10 years, one-fourth of Alaska's fire fatalities have been caused by cigarettes. Often, those dying are not the smokers themselves, but rather their family members and friends. Via advances in technology and the tobacco market, there now exists the means by which to address a significant portion of this horrific fire record; by requiring cigarettes [being sold in Alaska] to comply with already existing burning standards in major U.S. markets and in all of Canada, Alaska can begin to enjoy a reduction in fire fatalities and property loss. MR. BELANGER remarked that it will be easier to address the ignition propensity of cigarettes than it would be to regulate all the home furnishings that are often typically ignited by unattended cigarettes. He remarked that this is not an anti- smoking issue but is instead a life- and property-conservation issue; all manufacturers can and do produce these types of cigarettes already, and so [passage of HB 413] will not affect revenues or retailers. "This bill makes good sense for Alaska, and I ask you to help us as we do what we can to reduce our fire-loss record," he concluded. 2:48:33 PM JOHANNA BALES, Excise Audit Manager, Tax Division, Department of Revenue (DOR), noted that although the DOR had recommended some changes to the sponsor, not all of them were incorporated into the CS. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 413, Version 24-LS1495\F, Bannister, 4/5/06, as the work draft. There being no objection, Version F was before the committee. MS. SAITO acknowledged that although the changes recommended by the DOR were submitted to Legislative Legal and Research Services, not all of them were included in Version F. She suggested that perhaps some of the recommendations were simply overlooked by the drafter. CHAIR McGUIRE set HB 413, Version F, aside for the purpose of allowing the sponsor time to work further with the DOR regarding its recommendations. [Later in the meeting Representative Gruenberg mentioned that he'd be helping the sponsor and his staff work on HB 413.]