CSSB 308(FIN): "An Act relating to certain vessels operating in the marine waters of the state; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 308(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to certain vessels operating in the marine waters of the state; 02 and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 43 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 05 Chapter 52. Excise Tax on Travel Aboard Commercial Passenger Vessels. 06 Sec. 43.52.010. Levy of excise tax on overnight accommodations on 07 commercial passenger vessels. There is imposed an excise tax on travel on 08 commercial passenger vessels providing overnight accommodations in the state's 09 marine water. 10 Sec. 43.52.020. Rate of tax. The tax imposed by AS 43.52.010 - 43.52.095 11 is levied at a rate of $50 a passenger per voyage. 12 Sec. 43.52.030. Liability for payment of tax. A passenger traveling on a 13 commercial passenger vessel providing overnight accommodations in state marine 14 water is liable for the tax imposed by AS 43.52.010 - 43. 52.095. The tax shall be
01 collected and is due and payable to the department 02 (1) by the person who provides travel aboard a commercial vessel for 03 which the tax is payable; and 04 (2) in the manner and at the times required by the department by 05 regulation. 06 Sec. 43.52.040. Disposition of receipts. (a) The proceeds from the tax on 07 travel on commercial passenger vessels providing overnight accommodations in the 08 state's marine water shall be deposited in a special commercial vessel passenger tax 09 account in the general fund. The legislature may appropriate money from this account 10 for the purposes described in (b) of this section and for state-owned port and harbor 11 facilities. 12 (b) For each sailing of a commercial passenger vessel providing overnight 13 accommodations, the commissioner shall identify the first five ports of call in the state 14 and the number of passengers on board the vessel at each port of call. Subject to 15 appropriation by the legislature, the commissioner shall distribute to each of the first 16 five ports of call $5 per passenger of the tax revenue collected from the tax levied 17 under this chapter. If the port of call is a city located within a borough, the 18 commissioner shall distribute $2.50 per passenger to the city and $2.50 to the borough. 19 Sec. 43.52.050. Administration. (a) The department shall 20 (1) administer this chapter; and 21 (2) collect, supervise, and enforce the collection of taxes due under this 22 chapter and penalties as provided in AS 43.05. 23 (b) The department may adopt regulations necessary for the administration of 24 this chapter. 25 Sec. 43.52.060. Prohibition on local levies. A municipality, whether home 26 rule or general law, may not impose any form of tax on travel on commercial 27 passenger vessels in state marine water. 28 Sec. 43.52.095. Definitions. In this chapter, 29 (1) "commercial passenger vessel" means a boat or vessel that is used 30 in the common carriage of passengers in commerce; "commercial passenger vessel" 31 does not include
01 (A) vessels with fewer than 50 berths or overnight 02 accommodations for passengers; 03 (B) noncommercial vessels, warships, and vessels operated by 04 the state, the United States, or a foreign government; 05 (2) "marine water of the state" and "state marine water" have the 06 meaning given to "waters" in AS 46.03.900, except that they include only marine 07 waters. 08 (3) "passenger" means a person whom a common carrier has contracted 09 to carry from one place to another. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 46.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 11 Sec. 46.03.072. Exemption for certain United States Navy vessels from 12 state marine water quality standards applicable to the discharge of hydrocarbons. 13 (a) Until September 1, 2005, the state's water quality standards, adopted as regulations 14 under AS 46.03.020(10) to carry out the purposes of this chapter and under other 15 sections of this chapter, establishing limits on the total aqueous hydrocarbons and total 16 aromatic hydrocarbons permissible in the marine water column that are more stringent 17 than the requirements of comparable water quality standards set out in federal law or 18 adopted in federal regulation do not apply to a vessel of the United States Navy 19 operating in the marine waters of the state if the vessel uses a seawater compensation 20 system. 21 (b) Notwithstanding the exemption provided by (a) of this section, a vessel of 22 the United States Navy operating in the marine waters of the state that uses a seawater 23 compensation system may not discharge oil into state waters in violation of 33 U.S.C. 24 1321 (sec. 311, Federal Water pollution Control Act, as amended) and regulations 25 adopted under authority of that section. 26 * Sec. 3. AS 46.03 is amended by adding new sections to read: 27 Article 6A. Large Passenger Vessels. 28 Sec. 46.03.460. Registration requirements. (a) Except as provided in 29 AS 46.03.484, each calendar year in which the owner or operator of a large passenger 30 vessel intends to operate, or cause or allow to be operated, the vessel in the marine 31 waters of the state, the owner or operator of the vessel shall register with the
01 department. The registration shall be completed no later than 72 hours after any large 02 passenger vessel of the owner or operator calls upon a port in the state. The 03 registration must include the following information: 04 (1) the vessel owner's business name and, if different, the vessel 05 operator's business name for each large passenger vessel of the owner that is scheduled 06 to be in the marine waters of the state during the calendar year; 07 (2) the postal address, electronic mail address, telephone number, and 08 facsimile number for the principal place of each business identified under (1) of this 09 subsection; 10 (3) the name and address of an agent for service of process for each 11 business identified under (1) of this subsection; the owner and operator shall 12 continuously maintain a designated agent for service of process whenever a large 13 passenger vessel of the owner or operator is in the marine waters of the state, and the 14 agent must be an individual resident of this state, a domestic corporation, or a foreign 15 corporation having a place of business in and authorized to do business in this state; 16 and 17 (4) the name or call sign of and Port of Registry for each of the 18 owner's or operator's vessels that is scheduled either to call upon a port in this state 19 or otherwise to be in the marine waters of the state during the calendar year occurring 20 after the date of registration. 21 (b) Registration under (a) of this section shall be signed under oath by the 22 owner or operator. 23 (c) Upon request of the department, the registrant shall submit registration 24 information required under this section electronically. 25 Sec. 46.03.465. Information-gathering requirements. (a) Owners and 26 operators of large passenger vessels shall, for the time during any calendar month in 27 which they operate, or cause or allow to be operated, a large passenger vessel in the 28 marine waters of the state, record or cause to be recorded all information necessary to 29 completely report as required by AS 46.03.475. 30 (b) At least once during each calendar month in which a large passenger vessel 31 is present in the marine waters of the state, the owner and operator of the vessel shall
01 measure visible emissions, excluding condensed water vapor, of the vessel while the 02 vessel is at berth or at anchor in a port of this state. Except as provided in (d) of this 03 section, the measuring technique and the duration of the measurement used to satisfy 04 the requirement of this subsection must have been approved by the department before 05 the measurement was taken. 06 (c) The department may adopt regulations directing owners and operators of 07 large passenger vessels to quantify and qualify the releases of waterborne pollutants 08 from their vessels into the marine waters of the state. 09 (d) If the owner or operator of a large passenger vessel has, when complying 10 with another state or federal law that requires substantially equivalent information 11 gathering, gathered the type of information required under this section, the owner or 12 operator shall be considered to be in compliance with this section. 13 Sec. 46.03.470. Record keeping requirements. An owner or operator subject 14 to AS 46.03.465 shall record the information required to be gathered under that section 15 and shall maintain the records for three years after the date the information was 16 gathered. 17 Sec. 46.03.475. Reporting requirements. (a) An owner or operator of a 18 large passenger vessel shall, within 10 days after the end of a calendar month in which 19 the owner or operator has operated, or caused or allowed to be operated, a large 20 passenger vessel in the marine waters of the state, submit to the department a report 21 concerning the offloading or release of pollutants from that vessel that occurred during 22 the previous calendar month. The report must 23 (1) include the information required for releases by (c) and (d) of this 24 section; 25 (2) include the information required for offloading by (e) - (g) of this 26 section; and 27 (3) be limited to releases and offloading that occurred while the vessel 28 was in the marine waters of the state. 29 (b) The information in the report required under this section may be provided 30 by referring to, or including copies of, other reports concerning pollutants that are 31 required by substantially equivalent state or federal reporting requirements.
01 (c) For each release of a pollutant, except for a release by an emission to 02 ambient air from a stack, the report required under this section must describe the 03 (1) location of the release, including latitude and longitude; 04 (2) date and time of the release; 05 (3) volume or weight, and type and source of the pollutant released; 06 (4) processing or treatment used on the pollutant before the release; 07 (5) circumstances surrounding and cause of the release, including a 08 statement as to whether the release was intentional or accidental; 09 (6) environmental damage caused by the release, to the extent the 10 damage can be reasonably identified; and 11 (7) remedial efforts taken to prevent accidental recurrence of the 12 release. 13 (d) For emissions to ambient air from a stack, the report required under this 14 section must include the measurements of visible emissions collected under 15 AS 46.03.465(b) and, if a stack on the vessel is equipped with continuous emission 16 monitors, the recordings printed by the monitors for the time during that month that 17 the vessel was in the marine waters of the state. 18 (e) For pollutants that were offloaded, the report required under this section 19 must describe the 20 (1) location of offloading; 21 (2) date of offloading; 22 (3) volume or weight, and type and source of the offloaded material; 23 (4) ultimate destination of the offloaded material; and 24 (5) processing or treatment received by the offloaded material before 25 or during the offloading. 26 (f) If hazardous waste was offloaded from the vessel and the hazardous waste 27 was manifested in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 6921 - 6939a (Subtitle C of the Solid 28 Waste Disposal Act), the report required under this section may, instead of the 29 information described in (e) of this section, include a copy of the manifest. If 30 hazardous waste was offloaded from the vessel without a manifest, the report required 31 under this section must, in addition to the information described in (e) of this section,
01 describe the reasons why the waste was offloaded without a manifest. 02 (g) For graywater, sewage, and other wastewater, the report required under this 03 section must state whether the graywater, sewage, and other wastewater were mixed 04 with one another or with other pollutants before or during offloading. If mixing of 05 pollutants occurred before or during offloading, the report must identify the specific 06 pollutants involved in the mixing, if feasible. If identification of the specific pollutants 07 is not feasible, the report must identify the waste streams in the mixture. 08 (h) To the extent allowed under federal law, the department may by regulation 09 require an owner or operator to submit supplemental or additional information 10 concerning the releases or offloading of pollutants. 11 (i) A record or report submitted under this section shall be signed under 12 penalty of unsworn falsification by the owner, operator, or a responsible official of the 13 reporting vessel and must include the following statement: "Based on information and 14 belief formed after reasonable inquiry, I certify that the statements and information in 15 and attached to this document are true, accurate, and complete." 16 (j) Upon request of the department, the report required under this section shall 17 be submitted electronically. 18 (k) This section does not relieve the owner or operator of a large passenger 19 vessel from other applicable reporting requirements of state or federal law. 20 Sec. 46.03.480. Penalties. (a) An owner or operator who fails to comply with 21 AS 46.03.460 may not bring a claim or counterclaim in a court of this state for a cause 22 of action that arose during the time that the owner or operator was out of compliance 23 with AS 46.03.460. 24 (b) An owner or operator who fails to comply with AS 46.03.460 or a 25 reporting requirement of AS 46.03.475 is subject to an administrative penalty of not 26 more than $50 a day for each day of noncompliance with each requirement as 27 determined by the commissioner subject to right of appeal to the superior court. 28 Sec. 46.03.484. Exemption for vessels in innocent passage. AS 46.03.460 - 29 46.03.490 do not apply to a large passenger vessel that operates in the marine waters 30 of the state solely in innocent passage. For the purpose of this section, a vessel is 31 engaged in innocent passage if its operation in state waters would constitute innocent
01 passage under the 02 (1) Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 03 April 29, 1958, 15 U.S.T. 1606; or 04 (2) United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, 05 December 10, 1982, United Nations Publication No. E.83.V.5., 21 I.L.M. 1261 (1982). 06 Sec. 46.03.485. Regulations. The department may adopt regulations that are 07 necessary for the implementation of AS 46.03.460 - 46.03.490. 08 Sec. 46.03.490. Definitions. In AS 46.03.460 - 46.03.490, 09 (1) "agent for service of process" means an agent upon whom process, 10 notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served upon the owner or 11 operator may be served; 12 (2) "air contaminant" means a substance within the meaning given to 13 "air contaminant" in either AS 46.03.900 or AS 46.14.990; 14 (3) "ambient air" has the meaning given in AS 46.14.990; 15 (4) "ballast water" means water and suspended matter taken on board 16 a vessel to control or maintain trim, draught, stability, or stresses of the vessel, 17 regardless of how the water and suspended matter are carried; 18 (5) "emission" means a release of one or more pollutants into the 19 atmosphere; 20 (6) "graywater" means galley, bath, and shower water; 21 (7) "hazardous substance" has the meaning given in AS 46.03.826; 22 (8) "hazardous waste" has the meaning given in AS 46.03.900 and 23 includes wastes that meet that definition and have been collected from staterooms, 24 crew quarters, and other passenger or crew accommodations; 25 (9) "large passenger vessel" means a vessel of 300 gross registered tons 26 or greater that is engaged in the carrying of passengers for hire, excluding 27 (A) vessels without berths or overnight accommodations for 28 passengers; and 29 (B) noncommercial vessels, warships, and vessels operated by 30 the state, the United States, or a foreign government; 31 (10) "marine waters of the state" has the meaning given to "waters" in
01 AS 46.03.900 except that it includes only marine waters; 02 (11) "medical waste" includes each of the types of solid waste listed 03 in 42 U.S.C. 6992a (Demonstration Medical Waste Tracking Program, sec. 11002 of 04 the Solid Waste Disposal Act); 05 (12) "offloading" means the removal of pollutants from a large 06 passenger vessel onto or into a controlled storage, processing, or disposal facility or 07 treatment works; 08 (13) "oil" has the meaning given in AS 46.04.900; 09 (14) "pollutant" means air contaminant, biological materials, chemical 10 wastes, graywater, hazardous substances, hazardous waste, industrial waste, incinerator 11 residue, medical waste, munitions, oil, radioactive materials, sewage, sewage sludge, 12 solid waste, toxic waste, and wrecked or discarded equipment, except that "pollutant" 13 does not include ballast water, a consumer product in consumer use, or, with respect 14 to offloading, a product that remains capable of being put to the beneficial use for 15 which the product was intended; 16 (15) "release" means spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, 17 emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, placing, or disposing 18 of pollutants into the environment, including the abandonment or discarding of bags, 19 containers, and other receptacles containing a pollutant, and without regard to whether 20 the pollutants left the vessel through a discrete conveyance or a nonpoint source; 21 (16) "responsible official" means 22 (A) for a corporation, a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice- 23 president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person 24 who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation, or a duly 25 authorized representative of that person if the delegation of authority to the representative is 26 approved in advance by the department; 27 (B) for a partnership, sole proprietorship, or limited liability 28 company, a general partner, the proprietor, or the manager or managing 29 member, respectively; 30 (17) "sewage" has the meaning given in 33 U.S.C. 1322 (sec. 312, 31 Water Pollution Control Act);
01 (18) "stack" means a chimney or conduit through which air or air 02 contaminants are emitted into the atmosphere; 03 (19) "vessel" means any form or manner of watercraft, other than a 04 seaplane on the water, whether or not capable of self-propulsion. 05 * Sec. 4. AS 46.03.760(e) is amended to read: 06 (e) A person who falsifies a registration or report required by AS 46.03.460 07 or 46.03.475 or who violates or causes or permits to be violated a provision of 08 AS 46.03.250 - 46.03.314, 46.03.460 - 46.03.490, AS 46.14, or a regulation, a lawful 09 order of the department, or a permit, approval, or acceptance, or term or condition of 10 a permit, approval, or acceptance issued under AS 46.03.250 - 46.03.314 , 46.03.460 - 11 46.03.490, or AS 46.14 is liable, in a civil action, to the state for a sum to be assessed 12 by the court of not less than $500 nor more than $100,000 for the initial violation, nor 13 more than $10,000 for each day after that on which the violation continues, and that 14 shall reflect, when applicable, 15 (1) reasonable compensation in the nature of liquidated damages for 16 any adverse environmental effects caused by the violation, that shall be determined by 17 the court according to the toxicity, degradability and dispersal characteristics of the 18 substance discharged, the sensitivity of the receiving environment, and the degree to 19 which the discharge degrades existing environmental quality; for a violation relating 20 to AS 46.14, the court, in making its determination under this paragraph, shall also 21 consider the degree to which the discharge causes harm to persons or property; this 22 paragraph may not be construed to limit the right of parties other than the state to 23 recover for personal injuries or damage to their property; 24 (2) reasonable costs incurred by the state in detection, investigation, and 25 attempted correction of the violation; 26 (3) the economic savings realized by the person in not complying with 27 the requirement for which a violation is charged; and 28 (4) the need for an enhanced civil penalty to deter future 29 noncompliance. 30 * Sec. 5. This Act takes effect July 1, 2000.