CSHB 103(ENE): "An Act establishing the Alaska Railbelt energy fund and relating to the fund; relating to and repealing the Railbelt energy fund; relating to the quorum of the Alaska Energy Authority; relating to the powers of the Alaska Energy Authority regarding employees and the transfer of certain employees of the Alaska Industrial Development Export Authority to the Alaska Energy Authority; relating to the acquisition or construction of certain projects by the Alaska Energy Authority; relating to the definition of 'feasibility study' in the Alaska Energy Authority Act; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 103(ENE) 01 "An Act establishing the Alaska Railbelt energy fund and relating to the fund; relating 02 to and repealing the Railbelt energy fund; relating to the quorum of the Alaska Energy 03 Authority; relating to the powers of the Alaska Energy Authority regarding employees 04 and the transfer of certain employees of the Alaska Industrial Development Export 05 Authority to the Alaska Energy Authority; relating to the acquisition or construction of 06 certain projects by the Alaska Energy Authority; relating to the definition of 'feasibility 07 study' in the Alaska Energy Authority Act; and providing for an effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 * Section 1. AS 37.05.520 is amended to read: 10 Sec. 37.05.520. Railbelt energy fund. There is established in the general fund 11 the Railbelt energy fund. The fund consists of money appropriated to it by the 12 legislature and interest received on money in the fund. The Department of Revenue 13 [DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE] shall manage the fund. The legislature may
01 appropriate money from the fund to capitalize the Alaska Railbelt energy fund 02 (AS 42.45.035) or for programs, projects, and other expenditures to assist in meeting 03 Railbelt energy needs, including projects for retrofitting state-owned buildings and 04 facilities for energy conservation. 05 * Sec. 2. AS 39.25.110 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 06 (44) the executive director and other staff of the Alaska Energy 07 Authority appointed under AS 44.83.040. 08 * Sec. 3. AS 42.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09 Sec. 42.45.035. Alaska Railbelt energy fund. (a) The Alaska Railbelt energy 10 fund is established as a separate fund. The fund consists of 11 (1) money appropriated to the fund by the legislature; 12 (2) gifts, bequests, contributions from other sources, and federal 13 money; 14 (3) interest earned on the fund balance; and 15 (4) investments, to be managed by the Department of Revenue, which 16 shall be the fiduciary of the fund under AS 37.10.071. 17 (b) The fund is not a dedicated fund. 18 (c) The legislature may appropriate money from the fund to conduct feasibility 19 studies on, license, permit, acquire, construct, or make grants for power projects and 20 electrical transmission lines and interties that serve the Railbelt region. 21 (d) In this section, "Railbelt region" means the service territories of the 22 electrically interconnected electric utilities that serve Fairbanks, Wasilla, Palmer, 23 Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, and other electrically interconnected communities. 24 * Sec. 4. AS 44.83.040(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) The chair and vice-chair of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export 26 Authority shall serve as officers of the Alaska Energy Authority. The powers of the 27 Alaska Energy Authority are vested in the directors, and four [THREE] directors of 28 the authority constitute a quorum. Action may be taken and motions and resolutions 29 adopted by the Alaska Energy Authority at a meeting by the affirmative vote of a 30 majority of the directors. The directors of the Alaska Energy Authority serve without 31 compensation, but they shall receive the same travel pay and per diem as provided by
01 law for board members under AS 39.20.180. 02 * Sec. 5. AS 44.83.040 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 03 (e) The authority may appoint persons as staff, including an executive 04 director, and may employ professional advisors, counsel, technical experts, agents, and 05 other employees. The executive director and employees of the authority are in the 06 exempt service under AS 39.25.110. 07 * Sec. 6. AS 44.83.080 is amended to read: 08 Sec. 44.83.080. Powers of the authority. In furtherance of its corporate 09 purposes, the authority has the following powers in addition to its other powers: 10 (1) to sue and be sued; 11 (2) to have a seal and alter it at pleasure; 12 (3) to make and alter bylaws for its organization and internal 13 management; 14 (4) to adopt regulations governing the exercise of its corporate powers; 15 (5) to improve, equip, operate, and maintain power projects and bulk 16 fuel, waste energy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, and alternative energy 17 facilities and equipment; 18 (6) to issue bonds to carry out any of its corporate purposes and 19 powers, including the acquisition or construction of a project to be owned or 20 leased, as lessor or lessee, by the authority or by another person or the 21 acquisition of an interest in a project or a right to capacity of a project, the 22 establishment or increase of reserves to secure or to pay the bonds or interest on them, 23 and the payment of all other costs or expenses of the authority incident to and 24 necessary or convenient to carry out its corporate purposes and powers; 25 (7) to sell, lease as lessor or lessee, exchange, donate, convey, or 26 encumber in any manner by mortgage or by creation of any other security interest, real 27 or personal property owned by it, or in which it has an interest, when, in the judgment 28 of the authority, the action is in furtherance of its corporate purposes; 29 (8) to accept gifts, grants, or loans from, and enter into contracts or 30 other transactions regarding them, with any person; 31 (9) to deposit or invest its funds, subject to agreements with
01 bondholders; 02 (10) to enter into contracts with the United States or any person and, 03 subject to the laws of the United States and subject to concurrence of the legislature, 04 with a foreign country or its agencies, for the construction, financing, acquisition, 05 operation, and maintenance of all or any part of a power project or bulk fuel, waste 06 energy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, or alternative energy facilities or 07 equipment, either inside or outside the state, and for the sale or transmission of power 08 from a project or any right to the capacity of it or for the security of any bonds of the 09 authority issued or to be issued for the project; 10 (11) to enter into contracts with any person and with the United States 11 [,] and, subject to the laws of the United States and subject to the concurrence of the 12 legislature, with a foreign country or its agencies for the purchase, sale, exchange, 13 transmission, or use of power from a project, or any right to the capacity of it; 14 (12) to apply to the appropriate agencies of the state, the United States, 15 and a foreign country and any other proper agency for the permits, licenses, or 16 approvals as may be necessary, to acquire, construct, maintain, and operate power 17 projects in accordance with the licenses or permits, and to obtain, hold, and use the 18 licenses and permits in the same manner as any other person or operating unit; 19 (13) to enter into contracts or agreements with respect to the exercise 20 of any of its powers, and do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its 21 corporate purposes and exercise the powers granted in this chapter; 22 (14) to recommend to the legislature 23 (A) the pledge of the credit of the state to guarantee repayment 24 of all or any portion of revenue bonds issued to assist in construction of power 25 projects; 26 (B) an appropriation from the general fund 27 (i) for debt service on bonds or other project purposes; 28 or 29 (ii) to reduce the amount of debt financing for the 30 project; 31 (15) to carry out the powers and duties assigned to it under AS 42.45;
01 (16) to make grants or loans to any person and enter into contracts or 02 other transactions regarding the grants or loans; 03 (17) to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency, and alternative 04 energy through training and public education; 05 (18) to acquire power projects, whether by construction, purchase, 06 gift, or lease; 07 (19) to perform feasibility studies and engineering and design with 08 respect to power projects. 09 * Sec. 7. AS 44.83 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10 Sec. 44.83.085. Creation of subsidiaries. The authority may create one or 11 more subsidiary corporations for the purpose of constructing, financing, acquiring, 12 owning, operating, or maintaining power projects. A subsidiary corporation created 13 under this section may be incorporated under AS 10.20.146 - 10.20.166. The authority 14 may transfer assets of the authority to a subsidiary corporation created under this 15 section. A subsidiary corporation created under this section may borrow money and 16 issue bonds as evidence of that borrowing and has all the powers of the authority that 17 the authority grants to it. Unless otherwise provided by the corporation, the debts, 18 liabilities, and obligations of a subsidiary corporation created under this section are not 19 the debts, liabilities, or obligations of the authority. 20 * Sec. 8. AS 44.83.090 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 21 (c) In this section, "authority" includes a subsidiary corporation created under 22 AS 44.83.085. 23 * Sec. 9. AS 44.83.396(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) A power project that was acquired or constructed under AS 44.83.080(18) 25 or as part of the former energy program for Alaska is owned, and shall be 26 administered, by the authority. 27 * Sec. 10. AS 44.83.396 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 28 (f) In this section, in reference to a specific power project, "authority" means 29 the subsidiary corporation created under AS 44.83.085, if the authority has created a 30 subsidiary corporation under AS 44.83.085 to construct, finance, acquire, own, or 31 operate the specific power project.
01 * Sec. 11. AS 44.83.990(3) is amended to read: 02 (3) "feasibility study" 03 (A) means a study conducted for the purpose of establishing the 04 economic and environmental practicality of completing a proposed power 05 project [UNDER FORMER AS 44.83.181]; 06 (B) includes engineering and design work to meet the 07 requirements for submission of a license application for a proposed new 08 project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; 09 * Sec. 12. AS 37.05.520 is repealed. 10 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11 read: 12 TRANSITION: CERTAIN STATE EMPLOYEES. The Alaska Energy Authority and 13 the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority shall jointly identify the employees 14 of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority who will be transferred as staff to 15 the Alaska Energy Authority. The transfer of employees to the Alaska Energy Authority shall 16 be completed not later than December 31, 2011. 17 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 18 read: 19 REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION. The revisor of statutes is instructed to change the 20 heading of AS 44.83.040 from "Officers; meetings; quorum" to "Officers; meetings; quorum; 21 employees." 22 * Sec. 15. Section 12 of this Act takes effect, if it takes effect, the day after the unexpended 23 and unobligated balance in the Railbelt energy fund (AS 37.05.520) is appropriated and 24 transferred to the Alaska Railbelt energy fund (AS 42.45.035), created by sec. 3 of this Act, or 25 is appropriated and expended on other authorized purposes. The commissioner of the 26 Department of Administration shall notify the lieutenant governor and the revisor of statutes 27 when the conditions described in this section are met. 28 * Sec. 16. Except as provided in sec. 15 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under 29 AS 01.10.070(c).