SENATE TRANSPORTATION February 13, 1996 1:33 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Steve Rieger, Chairman Senator Lyda Green Senator Al Adams MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Robin Taylor, Vice Chair Senator Georgianna Lincoln COMMITTEE CALENDAR SENATE BILL NO. 226 "An Act relating to biennial registration of motor vehicles; imposing biennial registration fees on motor vehicles and authorizing a scheduled biennial municipal tax on motor vehicles; relating to fees for motor vehicle emissions control programs; and providing for an effective date." SENATE BILL NO. 241 "An Act relating to the use of studded tires on the Sterling Highway." PREVIOUS SENATE ACTION SB 226 - No previous action to record. SB 241 - No previous action to record. WITNESS REGISTER Tom Williams, Staff Senator Frank State Capitol Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Read the sponsor statement. Juanita Hensley, Chief Driver's Services Division of Motor Vehicles Department of Public Safety PO Box 20020 Juneau, Alaska 99811-0020 POSITION STATEMENT: Supported the concept of SB 226. Jay Dulany, Director Division of Motor Vehicles Department of Public Safety 5700 E. Tudor Road Anchorage, Alaska 99507 POSITION STATEMENT: Offered to answer any questions. Senator John Torgerson, Prime Sponsor State Capitol Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Discussed the need for SB 241. Bo Brownfield, Deputy Commissioner Department of Transportation 3132 Channel Drive Juneau, Alaska 99801-7898 POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 241. ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 96-1, SIDE A STRA - 2/13/96 SB 226 MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION/EMISSIONS  Number 002 CHAIRMAN RIEGER called the Senate Transportation meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. and introduced SB 226 as the first order of business before the committee. TOM WILLIAMS, Staff to Senator Frank, read the following sponsor statement: SB 226 requires motor vehicle registrations to be renewed once every two years instead of annually. This will result in shorter customer service lines at the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) by reducing the necessity for as frequent public contact. To help offset the burden of having to pay two years of fees at once, this legislation gives the public a small registration fee break. However, despite the small fee break to the public, the state and those municipalities which have a motor vehicle registration tax will receive additional one time revenue in the year of implementation due to accelerated collections. This legislation dovetails with DMV's current plans to convert to biennial vehicle registration in Anchorage and Fairbanks and allows DMV sufficient time to convert to a statewide biennial system! I believe this is a good piece of legislation and encourage your support. Mr. Williams noted that the committee packets contained a sectional analysis, an overview outline, and a summary of highlights. He explained that the first schedule illustrated the projected vehicle registration by utilizing the actual numbers in 1994 and 1995 while the numbers for the years 1996 to 2002 are based on an annual increase of three percent. The second schedule projects the cash flow under the current fees. The third schedule shows the projected cash flow with the new fees, assuming that the effective date is July 1, 1997. There is a cash flow difference of $12.3 million between the total revenues with the new fees and the total revenues with the old fees. There is a one time net cash flow increase of $9.8 million. Number 092 JUANITA HENSLEY, Chief of Driver's Services for DMV, said that the department does support this concept. A biennial registration program has been supported in previous years, but the annual emissions testing in Anchorage and Fairbanks have been an obstacle for the implementation of such a program. She said that a voluntary biennual program is planned to begin in July. This would benefit the people of Alaska. CHAIRMAN RIEGER understood that biennial registration would become mandatory after the transition period. JUANITA HENSLEY clarified that SB 226 would mandate biennial registration whereas now it is an initiative of DMV to voluntarily do biennial registration. CHAIRMAN RIEGER asked if there would be a refund of any portion of the registration fee, if a vehicle leaves the state or is involved in a car accident. JUANITA HENSLEY replied no. CHAIRMAN RIEGER pointed out that this analysis may fail to capture the unused registration fee. Under the old system, a car that was totalled in an accident or owned by a person who moved to another state would leave the remaining months of registration fee. Under the new system those free months of registration fee would be increased. That must happen frequently. Chairman Rieger stated that all of the fiscal impacts must then be understated. Biennial registration may be more revenue generating than the information suggests. Was that factored into the analysis? JUANITA HENSLEY said that she did not know, but the division does support the projections that were presented by Mr. Williams. TOM WILLIAMS informed the committee that the projections utilized the actual vehicle registration from 1995 with a three percent increase projected. Nothing that Chairman Rieger suggested was taken into account. JAY DULANY, Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, offered to be available for questions. SENATOR ADAMS moved that SB 226 be moved out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objections, it was so ordered. STRA - 2/13/96 SB 241 STUDDED TIRES ON STERLING HIGHWAY  CHAIRMAN RIEGER introduced SB 241 as the next order of business before the committee. Number 177 SENATOR TORGERSON, Prime Sponsor of SB 241, explained that SB 241 would establish the same studded tire rules for the entire Sterling Highway. The bill would prohibit the use of studded tires on the Sterling Highway from May 1 through September 15. SB 241 would treat the traveling public on Sterling Highway the same. With regard to the attached fiscal note, Senator Torgerson did not believe it to contain much merit. He felt that wear on the road from studded tires already existed; no one is really changing his or her tires on this highway. BO BROWNFIELD, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, said that the current legislation regarding this highway is confusing because there are two standards on the same highway. DOT supported SB 241. Regardless of the current wear on this highway, passage of SB 241 would increase the wear to about $60,000 a year. SENATOR ADAMS pointed out that the fiscal note says that 90 percent of the funding for maintenance of the highway is received from the federal government which is matched by Alaska. Senator Adams emphasized that he has always supported studded tires for Alaskans because it saves lives. Number 227 SENATOR ADAMS moved that SB 241 be forwarded out of committee with individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. CHAIRMAN RIEGER informed the committee that his staff would be arranging an overview of the DOT three year plan for next week. SENATOR ADAMS asked if various districts, specifically those projects in the northern districts, would be present in the three year plan. CHAIRMAN RIEGER said that it would be the entire State's three year plan. There being no further business before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 1:46 p.m.