SENATE RESOURCES COMMITTEE April 29, 1996 3:42 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Loren Leman, Chairman Senator Drue Pearce, Vice Chairman Senator Steve Frank Senator Rick Halford Senator Robin Taylor Senator Georgianna Lincoln MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Lyman Hoffman COMMITTEE CALENDAR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 456(L&C) "An Act relating to the Board of Storage Tank Assistance; and providing for an effective date." CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 538(2d FSH) "An Act relating to vessels participating in the Bering Sea Korean hair crab fishery; relating to a vessel permit limited entry system; and providing for an effective date." CS FOR SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 191(FIN) "An Act relating to the management and disposal of state land and resources; relating to certain remote parcel and homestead entry land purchase contracts and patents; and providing for an effective date." HB 58 (CHICKALOON FLATS CRITICAL HABITAT AREA) was scheduled but not taken up this date. PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION HB 456 - See Resources minutes dated 4/27/96. HB 538 - No previous action to record. HB 191 - See Resources minutes dated 3/1/96. WITNESS REGISTER John Barnett, Executive Director Board of Storage Tank Assistance 410 Willoughby Ave., Suite 105 Juneau, AK 99801-1795 POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information in support of CSHB 436(L&C) Jim Hayden, Program Manager Storage Tank Program Division of Spill Prevention & Response Department of Environmental Conservation 410 Willoughby Ave., Suite 105 Juneau, AK 99801-1795 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of CSHB 436(L&C) Roger Poppe, Aide to Representative Pete Kott State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on CSHB 436(L&C) Representative Alan Austerman State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Prime Sponsor of HB 538 Gordon Blue Sitka, AK POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of CSHB 538(2d FSH) John Winther P.O. Box 509 Petersburg, AK 99833 POSITION STATEMENT: Supports CSHB 538(2d FSH) Frank Homan, Commissioner Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission 8800 Glacier Highway, Suite 109 Juneau, AK 99801-8079 POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on CSHB 538(2d FSH) Representative Gene Therriault Sara Fisher, Staff to Representative Gene Therriault State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on CSSSHB 191(FIN) Steve Borell, Executive Director Alaska Miners Association 501 W. 9th Ave., #203 Anchorage, AK 99503 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of CSSSHB 191(FIN) Bill Barker P.O. Box 2135 Kodiak, AK 99615 POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes Sections 24, 25 & 26 in CSSSHB 191(FIN) Duncan Fields P.O. Box 25 Kodiak, AK 99615 POSITION STATEMENT: Has concerns with CSSSHB 191(FIN) Robert Purpura P.O. Box 423 Homer, AK 99603 POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes Section 26 in CSSSHB 191(FIN) Ms. Lauren Carlton P.O. Box 198 Homer, AK 99603 POSITION STATEMENT: Suggested changes to CSSSHB 191(FIN) Jules Tileston, Director Division of Mining & Water Management Department of Natural Resources 3061 C St., Suite 800 Anchorage, AK 99803-5935 POSITION STATEMENT: Available for questions on CSSSHB 191(FIN) Ron Swanson Division of Land Department of Natural Resources 400 Willoughby Ave. Juneau, AK 99801-1724 POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on CSSSHB 191(FIN) Reed Stoops 240 Main St., #600 Juneau, AK 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Suggested amendment to CSSSHB 191(FIN) ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 96-68, SIDE A Number 001  CSHB 456(L&C) BOARD OF STORAGE TANK ASSISTANCE  CHAIRMAN LEMAN called the Senate Resources Committee meeting to order at 3:42 p.m. He stated the meeting would be considered a work session until a quorum as established. He then introduced CSHB 456(L&C) as the first order of business. JOHN BARNETT , Executive Director of the Board of Storage Tank Assistance, said the board was formed through legislation adopted in 1990. It is comprised of seven members: the commissioner of the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities; the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation; and five members from the private sector. HB 456 replaces one of the commissioners with a member of the general public that has no personal financial interest in underground storage tanks, This change, in addition to the actual extension of the board, was a recommendation of a legislative audit conducted last year. Mr. Barnett explained the board is a judicial appeal board and acts as a mediator between the regulated underground tank owners community and the Department of Environmental Conservation. When tank owners have disputes with DEC, they can go before the board and the board can make rulings which affect DEC or affect the owner-operator. Also, the board can make recommendations. The board also resolves disputes regarding eligibility for financial assistance, as well as providing educational assistance and technical assistance to tank owners throughout the state. Mr. Barnett noted there are 1,000 unfunded financial assistance requests on file, which represent about $50 million. The board sets the ranking criteria to rank those sites. He noted the board has been very successful over the last four years in ensuring that smaller businesses get the funds in general. Mr. Barnett said the board has also been very successful at eliminating problems before they escalate. By acting as a mediator they can actually assist a tank owner in getting assistance, either technical, financial or otherwise. Mr. Barnett stated the board supports the legislative audit recommendation of continuation for four more years. CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked how much the program costs, and if it breaks even with the user fees. MR. BARNETT replied that the user fees they've taken in through tank registration receipts are slightly under $400,000 a year, and the board cost is approximately $114,000 a year. He added that this year they are funded at about $1.9 million for financial assistance grants and loans, the source of these funds is in the response fund. CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked if DEC supports the legislation, and MR. BARNETT acknowledged that they do. Number 172 JIM HAYDEN, Program Manager, Storage Tank Program, Department of Environmental Conservation, said in 1988 it was recognized that new federal rules would impact the small businesses and that they would have a very difficult time of administering or coming up to speed with the new rules so the board was brought into play to try to mediate between the department and the small tank owner. He said the program has worked very well, and the department is very much in favor of the board's participation and continued participation. ROGER POPPE, aide to Representative Pete Kott who is prime sponsor of HB 456, clarified the legislation applies to just underground storage of which there are approximately 2,500 in the state at 900 facilities. He said EPA already has a great many restrictions with some new ones going into effect in 1998, which is a good argument for continuation of the board just in anticipation of how to deal with those new federal restrictions. There being no further testimony on CSHB 456(L&C), CHAIRMAN LEMAN closed the public hearing and stated the bill would be set aside until a quorum was established. CSHB 538(2d FSH) HAIR BRAB VESSELS; LTD ENTRY FOR VESSELS  CHAIRMAN LEMAN brought CSHB 538(2d FSH) before the committee as the next order of business. REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN said he introduced HB 538 as a result of discussions with fishermen, the Department of Fish & Game and the Limited Entry Commission. Representative Austerman said the Bering Sea hair crab fisheries is a very delicate and rather small fishery in the Bering Sea that first started back in about 1980, ran for a couple of years, and then crashed because of over-fishing. It started up again in about 1990, but with the way the other crab fisheries are going out in the Bering Sea, there is more and more of a concentrated effort on the Korean hair crab. It has become apparent that because of the small fishery that it is and hair crab being such a delicate crab itself, that a moratorium should be placed on this fishery until Fish & Game has a chance to take a hard look at it to see if it needs to be limited on the number of boats that are operating out there. CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked if there has been any opposition to the legislation. REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN acknowledged there was some opposition from some of the small fishing boats in the Bering Sea and the St. Paul-St. George area. The legislation was then amended to allow smaller vessels to be involved. CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked if the legislation disallows larger vessels from being involved. REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN replied that within five miles of the shore, a vessel may not be longer than 58 feet, but it does not disallow larger vessels outside that five-mile limit. REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN pointed out that the legislation provides that the moratorium will be repealed on July 1, 2000. During the moratorium period, these are interim permits that are non- transferrable and with no value to them. He said it has been suggested to the Limited Entry Commission that they take a look at setting up a system that if they do limited entry, they make them non-transferrable permits that could possibly be returned to the state and then given out either through some type of an auction, or all allocation, or a drawing of some kind, so that we're not really getting into giving away the state resources. CHAIRMAN LEMAN opened the hearing on HB 538 to public comment. Number 279 GORDON BLUE , testifying from Sitka, stated he shares the ownership of two vessels that are in the Bering Sea crab fisheries and also engaged in the Korean hair crab fishery around St. Paul Island. The partners in the vessels include TDX Corporation, which is the village corporation for St. Paul, and the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Corporation, which is a subsidiary of Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association, a community development group for St. Paul Island. Mr. Blue said they helped to restart the fishery in 1990, as well as helping to develop a special gear tact that's now in the regulations that is designed to limit by-catch and other kinds of crab, and to run a clean fishery for hair crab in this area. They have developed techniques to try to handle these animals as little as possible and as delicately as possible in the conditions that are out there. He noted the Bering Sea red king crab fishery in Bristol Bay has been closed for the last two seasons, it will probably be closed again this year, and possibly for years in the future according to the Department of Fish & Game. This has resulted in going from a pioneering effort of two vessels to a total of 18 vessels last year. He said they have been told that if this progression continues, the Department of Fish & Game will close the fishery, deeming it unmanageable with the kind of effort that's near doubling every year. If the red king crab fishery is closed again this year and they don't have some sort of protection, they probably won't have a fishery at all. Mr. Blue stressed the fishery has been vital to their business plan for the small boats and the relatively small crab boats that they are operating in that area. These are 100 foot boats so they are not the same small boats that were also included in the bill under the five-mile language. The intent there was to allow community members in the partnership to try to operate within the shelter and lee of the islands and take some of the crab that is near shore. Concluding his testimony, Mr. Blue said he has a lot of hope that this bill will do what it sets out to do, which is to shelter the existing fleet, to prevent the fishery from being decimated by too much effort, or alternatively, from losing all economic benefit and having the fishery closed, and to just give a little breathing room for a program to be fully developed. CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked Mr. Blue if he supports the bill as currently written. MR. BLUE answered that he does. JOHN WINTHER, a resident of Petersburg testifying from Anchorage in support of CSHB 536(2d FSH), stated he has been involved in the Bering Sea crab fishery since 1973. Mr. Winther pointed out that the hair crab fishery is one of the few fisheries in that area totally managed by the state of Alaska. Most of them are managed through the federal system or the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. This is why the fishermen came to the Legislature asking for help to implement a moratorium. Because it is state managed, it's one of the few fisheries that's not included in the current moratorium in the Bering Sea. Mr. Winther said he thinks the level of effort right now is as much as the fishery can sustain. The quotas are roughly 1.5 million to 2 million pounds a year, the stocks seem fairly healthy, and the harvest looks like it can sustain that level. He urged passage of the legislation so that the fishermen can work with the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission to get something into place that will benefit those already involved in the fishery. He also noted that probably 75 percent of the harvest is being done by Seattle boats. FRANK HOMAN, Commissioner, Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, said the Commission has been working with the sponsor and the fishermen in the development of the moratorium legislation since late last year when they were petitioned to investigate limited entry for the hair crab fishery. The current system, which is a individual license program, didn't fit the type of fishery that's in the Bering Sea, which is larger boats that have relief skippers. If they had gone ahead with their traditional system that's in place, it would have allowed for eligibility from whatever skippers had been on the vessels in the last four or five years, and that would have substantially increased the numbers because some of them have two or three different skippers. So they were looking for another management system under a moratorium or limited entry, and HB 538 directs the commission to look at a vessel licensing system while providing a moratorium for up to four years. Mr. Homan pointed out that the bill calls for a five-mile offshore boundary and the moratorium would start at that point. The inshore would be open to small boats, and the idea around that was to protect an area for some of the local fishermen on some of the resource there. Page 3, lines 2-5, allows the Commission to establish administrative areas for the fishery. He said within Fish & Game there are statistical areas that are used for reporting, and one of them is a three-mile radius around the islands of St. Paul and St. George. It would be the Commission's intention to extend that by another two miles and call that the administrative area so that the moratorium would apply outside of that five miles. There being no further testimony on CSHB 538(2d FSH), CHAIRMAN LEMAN closed the public hearing and stated the bill would be set aside until a quorum was established. Number 435  CSSSHB 191(FIN) MANAGEMENT OF STATE LAND AND RESOURCES  CHAIRMAN LEMAN brought CSSSHB 191(FIN) before the committee as the next order of business. He noted there was a draft Resources SCS before the committee, but suggested waiting until a quorum was established before going through the entire bill section by section. CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked why the sponsor and the department are proposing to change the rate for the shore fishery leases from the way it is now, which is a system that recovers the cost of operating that program, to one in which it not only does that, but goes beyond and establishes a rental rate based on a percentage of the permit value. SARA FISHER , staff to Representative Gen Therriault who is prime sponsor of HB 191, said basically there is a use of state land that has a commercial value and the restructuring of these sections would recognize the commercial use of these sites. She pointed out that in Section 25 of the new draft Resources SCS, the reference to the term "action" has been removed which restores it to the original language requiring the director to attempt to determine who is the most qualified applicant for the site. If one application is received, the commissioner may issue a lease at a rental rate, as opposed to the administrative rate which is set in regulation and is currently $300. Many of the leases that had been signed many years ago are still under the old lease rate of $150 per year. CHAIRMAN LEMAN pointed out the shore fishery lease program is a voluntary program to help sort out conflicts between adjoining or adjacent shore fishery participants. His concern is that by raising the price and going beyond what is taken out to cover the program, it will drive people out. He wondered if an analysis has been done on what percentage of people will be driven out and what the impact will be on the program if the fee is raised. CHAIRMAN LEMAN opened the hearing to public comment. STEVE BORELL, Executive Director, Alaska Miners Association, testifying from Anchorage, stated their support for CSSSHB 191(FIN) and in particular Sections 30-35. Mr. Borell said earlier in the session, Representative Therriault removed a section from this legislation and place it into CSHB 331(RES), and he suggested the section be reinserted in HB 191. He said the issue in HB 331 is to clarify the existing statute and establish in statute the current interpretation of practice that has been followed by DNR and by industry effectively since statehood. The change is needed to ensure that the rights of the state to its subsurface mineral resources where the surface estate has been sold or otherwise transferred to a third party. Unless specifically closed to mineral entry, this land is still available for staking of mining claims. It has been the interpretation and practice of the state that claims staking alone can be allowed and without giving permission of the third party surface estate owner. He pointed out that in the Fairbanks area there are various small homesites of a few acres that run the risk of causing existing mining claims to be void. Number 545 BILL BARKER, a set netter testifying from Kodiak, voiced his opposition to Section 24, 25 & 26. He said there doesn't appear to be any reason to change the fee structure at this time. If the basis for the fee structure is placed on the limited entry permit and the value of the limited entry permit, then we have a tax being placed on the fishery resource, not on the land resources. He suggested if there is going to be a tax placed on the fisheries resource, then it needs to be placed on all of the fishermen. As far as the operation of the shore fisheries leases and the pursuit of the shore-based gillnet operation, he said everybody understands the rules, and with some of the language being proposed in HB 191, the rules start to change and he can see many problems with bringing these changes. TAPE 96-68, SIDE B Number 025 CHAIRMAN LEMAN informed Mr. Barker that the Resources SCS before the committee addresses some of the issues he spoke to. DUNCAN FIELDS, testifying from Kodiak, concurred that it is the consensus of his community that the shore fishery lease program is paying for itself, in fact current information shows that revenues in excess of expenditures in FY 95 is about $150,000. He questioned why the lease rate for set net leases is being increased when the program is paying for itself. He pointed out many of the current lease holders pay a rate of $150, and with the current language in the bill, that will jump to approximately $556, which is approximately a $400 increase per permit holder. He believes this will drive people away from the program, and the net result will be less revenue than the program currently enjoys. He also suggested a lease rate of a definite amount makes much more sense than a sliding scale based on a percentage of permit value. Number 086 CHAIRMAN LEMAN commented that it appears that the only section that's really in conflict in the bill is the new Section 26. He said Sections 25 and 27 were reworked to accommodate the concerns that were expressed by a lot of people. ROBERT PURPURA, representing the Katsitsna Bay Salmon Producers and testifying from Homer, stated their objection to the language in Section 26, namely the 0.6 percent assessment on limited entry permits with a $600 cap. They believe it is unfair to target a small group of other set netters, and they do not feel that any extra cost at this time is warranted in their fishery. He urged that the committee not support the language to determine the fee of the leases be tied in with the permit. MS. LAUREN CARLTON , a setnetter testifying from Homer, referred to language on page 12, line 2, which provides that the rental rate shall be adjusted annually, and she said she would like to see it only adjusted every five years, which would provide the opportunity to look at the long-term values and how they have changed. She said their permit value might be high because they are part of Cook Inlet, but their sites are not valued as high, so just going on a permit value is not really being equitable to those who do not have a valuable site. She pointed out her area has seen a drastic decline in their salmon runs. She also pointed out that when someone goes in to buy a permit at a set net price, they are paying for the right to use that area, and there are also added costs that are not seen up front. Number 240 CHAIRMAN LEMAN said his recommendation is that Section 26 be deleted in its entirety which would mean that there would be no change to the existing system. JULES TILESTON , Director, Division of Mining & Water Management, Department of Natural Resources, testified from Anchorage that he was present to respond to questions dealing with the amendments associated with mining when they came before the committee. RON SWANSON , Division of Land, Department of Natural Resources, said after a hearing earlier in the session, he thinks the concerns relating to the bidding war were addressed by taking care of the problem of the department having to try to figure out who is most qualified, and if they can't, they would then draw the name out of the hat. It was also made clear that somebody with an existing lease would get a preference to renew. Mr. Swanson said the shore fishery lease is the only voluntary program that the Division of Land administers, and they consider it a commercial use of state land, so they believe that the compensation rate should go up rather than just covering the administrative cost. He said when it comes to budget cuts, the first thing that they have to look at is non-voluntary programs. He sated the Administration is neutral on what the compensation rate should be. CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked if it would be acceptable to the department to delete that section which would leave it as it is now which says that it must cover administrative costs. MR. SWANSON responded that the department would not oppose the deletion of that section. REED STOOPS , testifying on behalf of AJ Associates and speaking to a proposed amendment dealing with the right of entry on private land by a party for the sake of filing mining claims, said the reason for the amendment is the result of a Superior Court decision in a lawsuit that AJ Associates is involved with. There is a dispute over whether mining claims were validly filed on property that AJ Associates is the surface owner of. Judge Jahnke, in his decision, interpreted existing law to mean that anybody that's going to file a mining claim on land that has been conveyed by the state to a private party either has to have the permission of the land owner or alternatively permission of the Department of Natural Resources in order to file that claim. He said if the Legislature were to adopt the amendment the way it's drafted, it is not only prospective but retroactive, and by making it retroactive, it would have a direct impact on their case which is pending before the Supreme Court. He added if the Supreme Court overturns Judge Janke's ruling, the amendment may not be necessary. Their preference would be to not have to go litigate the case again because it will have effectively changed the decision is that case. For that reason, he said he would recommend that if the Legislature thinks it is good policy, it ought to do it prospectively at this pint, at least until the Supreme Court has rendered a decision. CHAIRMAN LEMAN said he was not sure he wanted to take that issue up in this bill, that it is something that should fly on its own, but he wanted to discuss that with the bill's sponsor. CHAIRMAN LEMAN recessed the meeting at 5:05 p.m. until a quorum could be established. The meeting was called back to order at 5:50 p.m. with a quorum of committee members present. Number 455 SENATOR PEARCE moved the adoption of SCS CSSSHB 191(RES), version "W" dated 4/26/96. Hearing no objection, the motion carried. REPRESENTATIVE THERRIAULT , speaking to deleting Section 26 in the Resources SCS, explained an agreement had been reached on Section 26, that instead of trying to attach the lease fee to a sliding scale, they were agreeable to just go to a flat $300 fee. He suggested deleting all the language in Section 26 and replacing it with language saying that the annual rental rate shall be set at $300. CHAIRMAN LEMAN added that the understanding is that existing leases do not shift to the rate until they expire. RON SWANSON added that their current fee is $300, although a lot of the leases are at $150, and this would fix them all at $300 and bring in a revenue to the state of a little over $400,000. It costs about $250,000 to administer the program. Number 515 SENATOR PEARCE moved as Amendment No. 1 to delete the language in Section 26 and replace it with language saying that the annual rental rate shall be set at $300. Hearing no objection, the Chairman stated the amendment was adopted. RON SWANSON , speaking to the issue in HB 331 relating to access for mining staking, explained that the proposed Amendment No. 2 is to exclude private land until the Supreme Court rules. It would make it very clear that a bond does not have to be posted before the claim is staked. SENATOR TAYLOR moved to adopt Amendment No. 2. Hearing no objection, the amendment was adopted. CHAIRMAN LEMAN said he would like to have a conceptual amendment to the amendment stating that this would apply only to municipal and state lands and would not get into the private land dispute right now. SENATOR TAYLOR moved the conceptual amendment. Hearing no objection, it was adopted. Number 600 SENATOR PEARCE noted Section 21 of CSSSHB 191(FIN) was not in the Resources SCS, and she asked if this means we are now going back to the mandatory preference right that is in current law about agricultural land. RON SWANSON explained that originally if you were an adjacent farmer you would not have a preference to pick up the land next to you, even if you needed it for expansion of your facility, and this will allow that to happen. It only goes to an Alaskan bidder, and it gives them a first preference to meet high bid. SENATOR LINCOLN referred to page 18, line 29, and the language "an operated exclusively." She said she had an amendment which would delete the word "exclusively." She said the reason for the amendment was because of an old school that was no longer in use in one of the communities, and the community wanted to use it but they couldn't under present law. By deleting "exclusively" they would then be able to utilize the abandoned school. MR. SWANSON stated the department would support the amendment. TAPE 96-69, SIDE A Number 025 SENATOR LINCOLN moved the adoption of Amendment No. 3, which would delete the word "exclusively." Hearing no objection, the amendment was adopted. SENATOR PEARCE asked if anything in the bill changes the liability that the purchaser or recipient of state lands would have for previous hazardous substance releases on state lands. MR. SWANSON responded that there are a couple of sections in the bill saying that the holder of the lease at the time the problem occurred is responsible for cleaning up anything. SENATOR PEARCE pointed out that AIDEA can't lease lands that they got back from Mark Air after the bankruptcy because DOT is trying to force AIDEA to do all the cleanup from even pre-Mark Air days. MR. SWANSON acknowledged that there is nothing in the bill that changes the liability standard if somebody leases state land. CHAIRMAN LEMAN directed attention to a memorandum from the legislative drafter suggesting technical changes to page 25, lines 13 & 14 relating to effective dates. Hearing no objection, he stated the drafter would be instructed to make the changes. SENATOR TAYLOR moved as Amendment No. 4, on page 14, line 5 delete "private residential" and delete all references to "residential" in subsection (f). SENATOR HALFORD directed attention to Section 29, and said to make it conforming under (a) it would necessitate deleting (2) which is all buildings and fixtures including gravel pads, foundations and slabs not belonging to the state within 60 days of termination of the lease. He also suggested in subsection (c) deleting "buildings and fixtures" on lines 23, 25, 27 & 28. The effect of these changes would be there would still be the cleanup requirements and the requirements regarding everything but essentially the real property improvements that can't be removed, and then they are treated in the same way that (f) would treat them for a residence. SENATOR LINCOLN asked if the effect of the amendment was just removing "private residential" and "residential" in subsection (f). SENATOR HALFORD responded that it was, so that condition and that method still applies to commercial improvements. All of the cleanup requirements still apply to everything but buildings and fixtures, which are the permanent fixtures. SENATOR TAYLOR suggested as part of Amendment No. 4, on page 14, line 7 to insert the words "shall be leased or purchased." After extensive discussion relating to Amendment No. 4 as outlined by Senator Taylor and Senator Halford, CHAIRMAN LEMAN stated the amendment was adopted. Number 305 SENATOR HALFORD moved as a conceptual Amendment No. 5 to insert exactly the same language in exactly the same way in whatever title deals with DOT on airports. He explained the amendment would fit into the title of the bill and it would fix an area where there are numerous problems for rural airports all across the state. REPRESENTATIVE THERRIAULT said he made a commitment that he would not allow a lot of different issues to be added to this bill, and he also pointed out that Representative Hanley has done a lot of work on a House bill that is in the system. SENATOR HALFORD stated he would withdraw the amendment. Number 459 SENATOR HALFORD moved as Amendment No. 5 to page 5, line 19, to delete the word "should" and insert "may" in its place. He said the change would take out at least some of the preload of the section toward anything but sale to private ownership. Hearing no objection, the Chairman stated Amendment No. 5 was adopted. SENATOR HALFORD said Sections 16, 17 and others which repeal the bidder must appear in person at the auction provisions are contrary to a general intent of the Legislature to always try and load any of these programs to be the most beneficial to Alaska residents. MR. SWANSON explained these provisions relate to a Superior Court case dealing with a Kodiak land disposal six years ago, and this brings the statute into compliance with that decision. After further questions and discussion on section of the bill, the committee took a brief at ease at 6:50 p.m., coming back to order at 7:19 p.m. CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked for the pleasure of the committee on HB 191. SENATOR PEARCE moved SCS CSSSHB 191(RES) be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. TAPE 96-69, SIDE B  CSHB 456(L&C) BOARD OF STORAGE TANK ASSISTANCE  CHAIRMAN LEMAN brought CSHB 456(L&C) back before the committee and asked for the pleasure of the committee. SENATOR TAYLOR moved CSHB 456(L&C) be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered.  CSHB 538(2d FSH) HAIR CRAB VESSELS; LTD ENTRY FOR VESSELS  CHAIRMAN LEMAN brought CSHB 538(2d FSH) back before the committee, and asked for the pleasure of the committee. SENATOR TAYLOR moved CSHB 538(2d FSH) be passed out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 7:38 p.m.