00 HOUSE BILL NO. 471 01 "An Act amending the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority Act and the powers and 02 authority of the authority, and making conforming changes to statutes relating to 03 issuance, renewal, or reinstatement of driver's licenses and to levy on permanent fund 04 dividends; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06  * Section 1. AS 19.75.111 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 19.75.111. Powers and duties of the authority. (a) Except as otherwise  08 explicitly made applicable to the authority, the performance of the authority's  09 duties and the exercise of its powers, including its powers to issue bonds and  10 otherwise incur debt, shall be governed exclusively by this chapter. In furtherance 11 of its purposes, the authority may 12 (1) own, acquire, construct, develop, create, reconstruct, equip, 13 operate, maintain, extend, and improve the Knik Arm bridge and its appurtenant 14 facilities; 01 (2) sue and be sued; 02 (3) adopt a seal; 03 (4) adopt, amend, and repeal regulations under AS 44.62 and establish 04 bylaws; 05 (5) make and execute agreements, contracts, and all other instruments 06 with any public or private person, governmental unit or agency, corporation, or  07 other business entity lawfully conducting business in the United States for the 08 exercise of its powers and functions under this chapter for the financing, design,  09 construction, maintenance, improvement, or operation of facilities, properties, or  10 projects of the authority, including making and executing contracts with any 11 person, firm, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity for the purpose of  12 (A) incurring indebtedness, obtaining investments in the  13 authority's projects, acquiring or granting lump sum payments for  14 services in advance or in arrears, grants, and other financing; and  15 (B) entering into public-private partnerships or service  16 contracts in any form; 17 (6) in its own name acquire, lease, rent, sell, or convey real and 18 personal property; 19 (7) issue and refund bonds [AND OTHERWISE INCUR 20 INDEBTEDNESS,] in accordance with this chapter [AS 19.75.211], in order to pay 21 the cost of the Knik Arm bridge and its appurtenant facilities; the authority may also 22 secure payment of the bonds or other indebtedness as provided in this chapter 23 [AS 19.75.221]; 24 (8) incur other indebtedness, including indebtedness to the Federal  25 Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation, under 23  26 U.S.C. 101 - 164 (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of  27 1998), as amended;  28 (9) apply for and accept gifts, grants, or loans from a federal agency or 29 an agency or instrumentality of the state, or from a municipality, private organization, 30 or other source, including obtaining title to state, local government, or privately  31 owned land, directly or through a department of the state having jurisdiction of  01 the land; 02 (10) [(9)] fix and collect fees, rents, tolls, rates, or other charges for the 03 use of the Knik Arm bridge and appurtenant facilities, or for a service developed, 04 operated, or provided by the authority; notwithstanding AS 37.10.050(a), fees, rents, 05 tolls, rates, and other charges fixed and collected under this paragraph may exceed the 06 actual operating cost of the use of the bridge, facility, or service; 07 (11) bring civil actions, refer criminal actions to the appropriate  08 authority, and take other actions or enter into agreements with law enforcement  09 and collection agencies to enforce the collection of its fees, rents, tolls, rates, other  10 charges, penalties, and other obligations;  11 (12) [(10)] pledge, encumber, transfer, or otherwise obligate fees, 12 rents, tolls, rates, charges, or other revenue of the authority as security for bonds or  13 other indebtedness or agreements of the authority; 14 (13) [(11)] deposit or invest its funds, subject to agreements with 15 bondholders; 16 (14) [(12)] procure insurance against any loss in connection with its 17 operation; 18 (15) [(13)] contract for and engage the services of consultants, experts, 19 and financial and technical advisors that the authority considers necessary for the 20 exercise of its powers and functions under this chapter; 21 (16) [(14)] apply for, obtain, hold, and use permits, licenses, or 22 approvals from appropriate agencies of the state, the United States, a foreign country, 23 and any other proper agency in the same manner as any other person; 24 (17) [(15)] perform reconnaissance studies and engineering, survey, 25 and design studies with respect to the Knik Arm bridge and its appurtenant facilities; 26 (18) [(16)] exercise powers of eminent domain or file a declaration of 27 taking as necessary for the Knik Arm bridge and appurtenant facilities under 28 AS 09.55.240 - 09.55.460 to acquire land or an interest in land; 29 (19) [(17)] confer with municipal and other governments, metropolitan 30 planning organizations, and the department, concerning the Knik Arm bridge; 31 (20) [(18)] do all acts and things necessary to carry out the powers 01 expressly granted or necessarily implied in this chapter. 02 (b) The authority shall 03 (1) prepare an annual report of its operations to include a balance 04 sheet, an income statement, a statement of changes in financial position, a 05 reconciliation of changes in equity accounts, a summary of significant accounting 06 principles, an auditor's report, comments regarding the year's business, and prospects 07 for the next year; the report shall be completed by the third day of each regular session 08 of the legislature, and the authority shall notify the governor, the commissioner of the 09 department, the presiding officers of each house of the legislature, and the Legislative 10 Budget and Audit Committee that the report is available; 11 (2) comply with the provisions of AS 37.07 (Executive Budget Act), 12 except that AS 37.07 does not apply to the activities of the authority that relate to the 13 authority's borrowing of money as provided in this chapter, including the issuing of its 14 obligations or evidence of that borrowing and the repayment of the debt obligation; 15 (3) establish a personnel management system for hiring employees and 16 setting employee-benefit packages; 17 (4) establish procedures, rules, and rates governing per diem and travel 18 expenses of the employees of the authority in substantial conformity to statutes, 19 procedures, rules, and rates applicable to state employees of similar state entities; 20 (5) coordinate the exercise of its powers to plan, design, construct, 21 operate, and maintain the Knik Arm bridge with the department, and with the mayors 22 of the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough;  23 (6) have the exclusive authority to determine and fix fees, rents,  24 tolls, rates, and other charges, including the tolls for the use of the bridge and  25 appurtenant facilities and the use of all other properties under the control of or  26 owned or managed by the authority. 27  * Sec. 2. AS 19.75 is amended by adding a new section to read: 28 Sec. 19.75.113. Assets, funds, and revenue of the authority. (a) The 29 Department of Revenue shall separately hold and account for all funds, assets, and 30 revenue of the authority. 31 (b) The deposit or investment of money in the authority's funds may be made 01 as the board determines. The interest earned on or profits derived from the deposit, 02 investment, or sale of an investment by the authority are funds of the authority. 03  * Sec. 3. AS 19.75.211 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 19.75.211. Bonds of the authority. Notwithstanding any other  05 provision of law, the [THE] authority may borrow money and issue and refund 06 bonds on which the principal and interest are paid out of and secured by the gross  07 revenue derived by the authority from the ownership, use, and operation of its  08 toll facilities, including [PAYABLE FROM] money derived from the fees, rents, 09 tolls, rates, charges, and other revenue of the authority under this chapter and any  10 other revenue or money that the legislature may appropriate, except a state tax  11 or license. Before issuing bonds for the Knik Arm bridge, the authority shall submit to 12 the state bond committee a description of the bond issue and a preliminary prospectus, 13 offering circular, or official statement relating to the bond issue. Bonds may not be 14 issued unless the state bond committee finds, based upon the information submitted by 15 the authority under this section and other information that is reasonably available to 16 the committee, that the Knik Arm bridge revenue and other revenue available to the 17 authority can be reasonably expected to be adequate for payment of the principal of 18 and interest on the bonds to be issued and that issuance of the bonds by the authority 19 would not be expected to adversely affect the ability of the state or its political 20 subdivisions to market bonds. [BONDS MAY NOT BE ISSUED UNLESS THE 21 PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF THE BOND ISSUE IS AUTHORIZED BY LAW.] 22  * Sec. 4. AS 19.75.211 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 23 (b) The authority may issue bonds in an aggregate amount not to exceed 24 $500,000,000, plus the cost of issuance. 25 (c) The amount of refunding bonds that may be issued by the authority and 26 bond premiums may not be included in the aggregate amount, but may be in addition 27 to the amount authorized by (b) of this section. 28  * Sec. 5. AS 19.75.221 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 29 (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority may establish 30 other funds and reserves as the board of directors may determine reasonable and 31 prudent for the issuance of bonds or for the conduct of the business and affairs of the 01 authority. The interest earned on or profit derived from these funds and reserves shall 02 be the property of the authority. 03  * Sec. 6. AS 19.75.241(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) The bonds issued by the authority do not constitute an indebtedness or 05 other liability of the state or of a political subdivision of the state other than the 06 authority, but shall be payable solely from the income, receipts, or other money or 07 property of the authority. All documents prepared by and used in or for the  08 issuance of bonds by the authority must state that they are prepared by or for the  09 authority. 10  * Sec. 7. AS 19.75.241(c) is amended to read: 11 (c) The authority may not pledge the faith or credit of the state or of a political 12 subdivision of the state other than the authority, and the issuance of a bond by the 13 authority does not directly, indirectly, or contingently obligate the state or a political 14 subdivision of the state to apply money from, levy, or pledge any form of taxation to 15 the payment of the bond or to make payments due on the bonds from any source of  16 funds not pledged for repayment of the bonds. 17  * Sec. 8. AS 19.75 is amended by adding new sections to article 2 to read: 18 Sec. 19.75.330. Bond terms. The bonds of the authority mature at the time 19 fixed by the board. The bonds may be subject to redemption before their fixed 20 maturities as determined by the board and with the premium fixed by the board, but a 21 bond may not be subject to redemption before its fixed maturity date unless the right 22 to redeem that bond is expressly mentioned on the face of the bond. The bonds 23 (1) may be in denominations determined by the board; 24 (2) may be issued in coupon form or in fully registered form, and may 25 be registrable as to principal or both principal and interest, all under regulations and 26 conditions the board provides; 27 (3) are payable as to principal and interest at the place determined by 28 the board; 29 (4) shall be signed on behalf of the authority as the board may direct; 30 the signatures may be facsimile signatures; each of the interest coupons attached to the 31 bonds shall be signed by the facsimile signatures of the officials as the board may 01 direct; 02 (5) shall have the seal of the authority impressed, printed, or 03 lithographed on them; and 04 (6) shall be issued under and subject to the terms, conditions, and 05 covenants, providing for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds and 06 the other terms, conditions, covenants, and protective features safeguarding this 07 payment and relating to the maintenance, operation, and improvement of the toll 08 facilities as found necessary by the board, which covenants may include a provision 09 requiring the setting aside and maintenance of certain reserves to secure the payment 10 of the principal and interest. 11 Sec. 19.75.332. Bond resolution. When issuing bonds of the authority, the 12 board shall adopt the bond resolution and prepare all other documents and proceedings 13 necessary for the issuance, sale, and delivery of the bonds or any part or series of 14 them. The bond resolution shall fix the principal amount, denomination, date, 15 maturities, place or places of payment, rights of redemption, if any, terms, form, 16 conditions, and covenants of the bonds or each series of them. The board shall also 17 determine and provide for the date and manner of sale of the bonds, and shall provide 18 whether the notice of sale is to be published elsewhere in addition to the publication 19 required by AS 19.75.330. 20 Sec. 19.75.334. Enforcement by holder. The holder of any bonds or the 21 trustee for the holders of the bonds or any series of them, may, by appropriate 22 proceedings in state court, compel the transfer, setting aside, and payment of money 23 and the enforcement of all of the terms, conditions, and covenants as required and 24 provided in AS 19.75.330 and 19.75.332 and in the bond resolution. 25 Sec. 19.75.336. Bond negotiability. The bonds and the coupons attached to 26 them are fully negotiable instruments under the laws of the state. 27 Sec. 19.75.338. Refunding. (a) The bonds or any part of them may be 28 refunded at or before their maturity by the issuance of refunding revenue bonds of the 29 authority if, in the opinion of the board, refunding is advantageous to and in the best 30 interest of the authority. 31 (b) The issuance of refunding bonds need not be authorized by an act of the 01 legislature. The board shall adopt the resolution authorizing refunding and prepare all 02 other documents and proceedings necessary for the issuance, exchange or sale, and 03 delivery of the bonds. All provisions of AS 19.75.330 - 19.75.340 applicable to 04 revenue bonds are applicable to the refunding bonds and to the issuance, sale, or 05 exchange of the bonds, except as otherwise provided in this section. 06 (c) Refunding bonds may be issued in a principal amount sufficient to provide 07 money for the payment of all bonds to be refunded by them and, in addition, for the 08 payment of all expenses incident to the calling, retiring, or paying of the outstanding 09 bonds, and the issuance of the refunding bonds. These expenses include the difference 10 in amount between the par value of the refunding bonds and any amount less than par 11 for which the refunding bonds are sold, any amount necessary to be made available for 12 the payment of interest on the refunding bonds from the date of sale of them to the 13 date of payment of the bonds to be refunded or to the date on which the bonds to be 14 refunded will be paid under the call of the bonds or agreement with the holders of 15 them, and the premium, if any, necessary to be paid in order to call or retire the 16 outstanding bonds and the interest accruing on the outstanding bonds to the date of the 17 call or retirement. 18 Sec. 19.75.340. Bonds as legal investments. Bonds of the authority, including 19 toll facilities bonds, are legal investments for all banks, trust companies, savings 20 banks, savings and loan associations, and other persons carrying on a banking 21 business, all insurance companies and other persons carrying on an insurance business, 22 and all executors, administrators, trustees, and other fiduciaries. The bonds may be 23 accepted as security for deposits of all money of the state and its political subdivisions. 24  * Sec. 9. AS 19.75 is amended by adding new sections to read: 25 Sec. 19.75.915. Liability for payment of tolls. (a) The owner of a vehicle 26 using a facility owned, controlled, or managed by the authority for which a toll or fee 27 is imposed is liable for the payment of the toll or fee solely because of the vehicle 28 ownership, unless the vehicle, except a rental vehicle, is used without the owner's 29 knowledge and incurs the toll or fee during operation. 30 (b) Unpaid tolls or fees due the authority by a person entitled to receive an 31 Alaska permanent fund dividend shall be a lien on and entitled to payment from the 01 permanent fund dividend of the person from the date the authority notifies the 02 Department of Revenue of the amount due and owing 30 days after the due date. 03 (c) Upon agreement between the authority and the commissioner of 04 administration, a vehicle owner liable for an unpaid toll or fee due the authority may, 05 after 30 days after the due date, be barred from obtaining or renewing a driver's license 06 or a vehicle registration or license, regardless of whether the vehicle was used at the 07 authority's facilities or incurred the toll or fee, until the toll or fee is paid in full. 08 Sec. 19.75.920. Statutory construction. This chapter shall be liberally 09 construed in order to carry out the purposes for which it was enacted. All existing laws 10 in conflict with this chapter are superseded as necessary to accomplish the purposes of 11 this chapter. 12  * Sec. 10. AS 19.75.980 is amended to read: 13 Sec. 19.75.980. Definitions. In this chapter, except as otherwise provided  14 and unless the context requires otherwise, 15 (1) "authority" means the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority; 16 (2) "board" means the board of directors of the authority; 17 (3) "department" means the Department of Transportation and Public 18 Facilities;  19 (4) "state bond committee" means the state bond committee  20 created by AS 37.15.110. 21  * Sec. 11. AS 28.15.031(b) is amended to read: 22 (b) The department may not issue an original or duplicate driver's license to, 23 nor renew or reinstate the driver's license of, a person 24 (1) whose license is suspended or revoked, except as otherwise 25 provided in this chapter; 26 (2) who fails to appear in court for the adjudication of a certain 27 vehicle, driver, or traffic offense when the person's appearance is required by statute, 28 regulation, or court rule; 29 (3) who is an habitual user of alcohol or another drug to such a degree 30 that the person is incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle; 31 (4) [REPEALED 01 (5)] when the department, based upon medical evidence, has 02 determined that because of the person's physical or mental disability the person is not 03 able to drive a motor vehicle safely; 04 (5) [(6)] who is unable to understand official traffic control devices as 05 displayed in this state or who does not have a fair knowledge of traffic laws and 06 regulations, as demonstrated by an examination; 07 (6) [(7)] who has knowingly made a false statement in the person's 08 application for a license or has committed fraud in connection with the person's 09 application for, or in obtaining or attempting to obtain, a license, or who has not 10 applied under oath on the form provided for the purpose of obtaining or attempting to 11 obtain a license or permit; [OR] 12 (7) [(8)] who is required under AS 28.20 to furnish proof of financial 13 responsibility and who has not done so; or  14 (8) who is liable for an unpaid toll or fee under AS 19.75.915(c). 15  * Sec. 12. AS 43.23.065(b) is amended to read: 16 (b) An exemption is not available under this section for permanent fund 17 dividends taken to satisfy 18 (1) child support obligations required by court order or decision of the 19 child support services agency under AS 25.27.140 - 25.27.220; 20 (2) court ordered restitution under AS 12.55.045 - 12.55.051, 21 12.55.100, or AS 47.12.120(b)(4); 22 (3) claims on defaulted education loans under AS 43.23.067; 23 (4) court ordered fines; 24 (5) writs of execution under AS 09.35 of a judgment that is entered 25 (A) against a minor in a civil action to recover damages and 26 court costs; 27 (B) under AS 34.50.020 against the parent, parents, or legal 28 guardian of an unemancipated minor; 29 (6) a debt owed by an eligible individual to an agency of the state, 30 including the University of Alaska, unless the debt is contested and an appeal is 31 pending, or the time limit for filing an appeal has not expired; 01 (7) a debt owed to a person for a program for the rehabilitation of 02 perpetrators of domestic violence required under AS 12.55.101, AS 18.66.100(c)(15), 03 AS 25.20.061(3), or AS 33.16.150(f)(2);  04 (8) an unpaid toll or fee under AS 19.75.915(b). 05  * Sec. 13. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).