HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE STANDING COMMITTEE February 9, 1993 3:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Rep. Bill Hudson, Chairman Rep. Joe Green, Vice Chairman Rep. Eldon Mulder Rep. Brian Porter Rep. Joe Sitton Rep. Jerry Mackie MEMBERS ABSENT Rep. Bill Williams COMMITTEE CALENDAR HB 41: "An Act relating to civil liability for skiing accidents, operation of ski areas, and duties of ski area operators and skiers; and providing for an effective date." MOVED FROM COMMITTEE *HB 65: "An Act relating to the improvement of state finances through reduction of operating costs of certain state agencies and establishment of certain fees; and providing for an effective date." HEARD AND HELD IN COMMITTEE * First public hearing. WITNESS REGISTER SANDY NUSBAUM Administrative Assistant Rep. Gail Phillips State Capitol, Room 216 Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182 465-2689 Position Statement: Spoke on behalf of Rep. Phillips, Prime sponsor of HB 41 CRAIG LINDH P.O. Box 33036 Juneau, Alaska 99801 789-7388 Position Statement: Supported HB 41 STEPHANIE COLE Deputy Administrative Director Alaska Court System 303 K Street Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2084 264-8230 Position Statement: Opposed one portion of HB 65 (Testified via teleconference) CHERYL FRASCA, Director Division of Budget Review Office of Management and Budget Office of the Governor P.O. Box 110020 Juneau, Alaska 99811-0020 465-3568 Position Statement: Supported HB 65 ART SNOWDEN Administrative Director Alaska Court System 303 K Street Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2084 264-0547 Position Statement: Opposed one portion of HB 65 JAY DULANY, Director Division of Motor Vehicles Department of Public Safety 5700 E. Tudor Rd. Anchorage, Alaska 99507-1225 269-5559 Position Statement: Answered questions on HB 65 JACK WRAY, Executive Director Police Standards Council Department of Public Safety P.O. Box 111200 Juneau, Alaska 99811-1200 465-4371 Position Statement: Answered questions on HB 65 PREVIOUS ACTION BILL: HB 41 SHORT TITLE: CIVIL LIABILITY FOR SKIING ACCIDENTS BILL VERSION: SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) PHILLIPS,Hudson,Porter,Toohey TITLE: "An Act relating to civil liability for skiing accidents, operation of ski areas, and duties of ski area operators and skiers; and providing for an effective date." JRN-DATE JRN-PG ACTION 01/11/93 34 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME/REFERRAL(S) 01/11/93 35 (H) LABOR & COMMERCE, JUDICIARY, FINANCE 01/26/93 (H) L&C AT 03:00 PM CAPITOL 17 01/26/93 (H) MINUTE(L&C) 01/29/93 183 (H) COSPONSOR(S): TOOHEY 02/04/93 (H) L&C AT 03:00 PM CAPITOL 17 02/09/93 (H) L&C AT 03:00 PM CAPITOL 17 BILL: HB 65 SHORT TITLE: FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION OF STATE GOVT. BILL VERSION: SPONSOR(S): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR TITLE: "An Act relating to the improvement of state finances through reduction of operating costs of certain state agencies and establishment of certain fees and providing for an effective date." JRN-DATE JRN-PG ACTION 01/15/93 75 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME/REFERRAL(S) 01/15/93 75 (H) L&C, STATE AFFAIRS, JUDICIARY, FINANCE 01/15/93 75 (H) -8 FNS(2-DEC, 2-DHSS, LABOR, DNR, DPS 01/15/93 75 (H) ADM) PUBLISHED 1/15/93 01/15/93 75 (H) -5 REVENUE FNS(DPS, 2-LABOR, 2-DOE)1/15 01/15/93 75 (H) -5 ZERO FNS (3-ADM, LABOR, REV) 1/15/93 01/15/93 75 (H) GOVERNOR'S TRANSMITTAL LETTER 02/01/93 201 (H) -REVISED FN (DNR) 2/1/93 02/08/93 251 (H) -CORRECTED FN (DNR) 2/8/93 02/09/93 (H) L&C AT 03:00 PM CAPITOL 17 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 93-8, SIDE A Number 000 CHAIRMAN HUDSON called the House Labor and Commerce Committee to order at 3:10 p.m. on February 9, 1993. Members present were Reps. Hudson, Mackie, Sitton, Porter, Green and Mulder. HB 41: CIVIL LIABILITY FOR SKIING ACCIDENTS REP. ELDON MULDER, CHAIRMAN OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HB 41, presented the work of the committee. He stated that the subcommittee adopted the Senate's committee substitute (CS) and made some amendments now contained in CSHB 41(L&C). Number 130 REP. JOE GREEN suggested the addition of some information regarding safety on the back of ski rental agreements. Number 171 REP. JERRY MACKIE moved the adoption of the CSHB 41(L&C). No objections were heard; it was so moved. Number 180 SANDY NUSBAUM, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO REP. GAIL PHILLIPS, PRIME SPONSOR OF HB 41, expressed concern regarding the wording on page 5, lines 8 through 10. She noted the bill states that the plans for the operation of ski areas must be approved, and the bill lists several different persons or entities. She said, The question is, who makes that determination? Discussion ensued. Number 294 REP. MACKIE offered Amendment 1, page 5, line 8: delete semicolon through line 10. There were no objections and the amendment was adopted. Number 330 MS. NUSBAUM raised the concern that on page 10, line 22, the bill states that a person caught skiing in a reckless and careless manner can have their skiing privileges revoked, but it doesn't specify how long. REP. MULDER responded that the ski area operators would have to define that in their own written policies. Number 349 MS. NUSBAUM inquired of the subcommittee if the subject of small nonprofit ski areas was brought up. RREP. MULDER responded no. Number 362 CRAIG LINDH, REPRESENTING HIMSELF, stated that he was in support of HB 41. Number 380 REP. GREEN moved Amendment 2, page 10, line 16: after skiers add "...including equipment rental agreements." Discussion ensued. Number 440 REP. PORTER offered a friendly amendment to Amendment 2, page 10, line 16: add the words "...and printed upon equipment rental agreements." Amendment 2 as amended was adopted with unanimous consent. REP. BRIAN PORTER moved that CSHB 41(L&C)am pass with individual recommendations. No objections were heard; it was so ordered. HB 65: FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION OF STATE GOVT. CHAIRMAN HUDSON brought up HB 65. Number 539 STEPHANIE COLE, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM (Court System), testified via teleconference from Anchorage in opposition to the transfer of the Office of Public Advocacy's budget to the Court System. Ms. Cole stated the Court System was opposed specifically to Sections 49, 64 and 69 of HB 65. TAPE 8, SIDE B Number 001 CHAIRMAN HUDSON suggested that the discussion be continued at a future date when the committee could hear from the head of the Office of Public Advocacy (OPA), and the committee had a chance to review the material presented in written form. Number 010 CHERYL FRASCA, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF BUDGET REVIEW, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, testified on HB 65. Ms. Frasca read the sectional analysis of the bill and offered to answer any questions. (The sectional analysis is available in the committee file.) Number 455 REP. GREEN asked about the fiscal impact of transferring the OPA to the Court System. MS. FRASCA responded that the Court System would have to pay the going market cost for attorneys, which would increase the fiscal impact. Number 465 ART SNOWDEN, ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM, testified that the cost to the Court System would be $449,000. Mr. Snowden also pointed out that this issue surfaced in 1991 and the Office of Management and Budget did a review at that time and found it to be a bad idea. MR. SNOWDEN noted that the major problem was not the agencies that administered the programs, it was the uncontrollable factors. In this case, the Office of Public Advocacy doesn't know from year to year how many people will be walking through their doors with what types of crimes. Number 475 REP. PORTER inquired if the appointment structure would change if the OPA is transferred from Administration to the Court System. MR. SNOWDEN responded that most of the court mandated appointments were made because the court had previously ruled that the persons in this situation had a constitutional right to representation. He further noted that the amount of work would not change who administers the funding. Number 500 MS. COLE stated that in statute 25.24.310 the court may appoint an attorney to represent a minor in custody disputes between the parents. Number 600 JAY DULANY, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, announced that he was present at the committee meeting to answer any questions the committee members might have. Number 702 CHAIRMAN HUDSON asked who acquires vehicle registration lists and if there were any problems with rights of privacy. MR. DULANY responded that vehicle registration lists were public information under Title 9. He further stated that there were only two requests for the entire file. Number 751 CHAIRMAN HUDSON expressed his concern that the title of the bill might not be sufficiently broad enough to cover the whole bill. TAPE 93-9, SIDE A Number 000 REP. PORTER asked Mr. Dulany how Alaska's fee structure stacked up against the rest of the states'. Number 013 MR. DULANY stated that Alaska's passenger registration fees were about average. Many states attach a tax to the registration fees, which causes Alaska's total fees to be very low. Commercial vehicles, even without a tax, are significantly lower than most other states. Number 028 REP. MULDER inquired if there was a demand for special license plates. MR. DULANY stated there is a demand for special license plates and the state could produce some revenue this way. Number 037 REP. MULDER asked that it be noted that he liked the optic yellow license plates. REP. SITTON asked who was exempt from the license fees and how much was lost by those exemptions. Number 043 MR. DULANY stated he did not have that information with him. Number 065 CHAIRMAN HUDSON wanted to know the importance of this legislation of the Governor's FY 94 budget. Chairman Hudson noted that a number of the sections in HB 65 carried a fiscal impact and he wanted to inquire how that would affect the governor's budget. Number 078 MS. FRASCA replied that the increase in revenues was not reflected in the Governor's budget, with two exceptions, amounting to approximately $750,000. Number 115 CHAIRMAN HUDSON asked Ms. Frasca if any portions of the legislation was tied to other legislation, specifically, the clean air bill. Number 119 MS. FRASCA responded that the some of the agencies did indicate a relationship, but she did not have that information with her. Number 123 CHAIRMAN HUDSON asked Ms. Frasca to provide a cross reference so the committee could see the relationships between this omnibus bill and other pieces of legislation, federal law or order. Number 128 REP. PORTER asked for the rationale for charging a fee for certification to corrections officers but not for Department of Public Safety officers. Number 144 JACK WRAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, POLICE STANDARDS COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, answered that the problem was in the wording. Number 160 REP. PORTER commented that all officers should be treated the same. CHAIRMAN HUDSON adjourned the meeting at 4:55 p.m.