2000-02-07                     House Journal                      Page 2122
HB 352                                                                       
HOUSE BILL NO. 352 by the House Rules Committee by request of                  
the Governor, entitled:                                                        
                                                                               
"An Act relating to five-year schedules of timber sales planned on            
land managed by the Department of Natural Resources; and                       
providing for an effective date."                                              
                                                                               
was read the first time and referred to the Resources and Finance              
Committees.                                                                    
                                                                               
The following fiscal note applies:                                             
                                                                               
Zero fiscal note, Dept. of Natural Resources, 2/7/00                           
                                                                               
                                                                               
The Governor's transmittal letter dated February 4, 2000, appears              
below:                                                                         
                                                                               
"Dear Speaker Porter:                                                          
                                                                               
As part of the Administration's efforts to operate efficiently and             
responsibly meet budget constraints, I am transmitting this bill to            
change the requirement for state publication of the five-year timber           
sale schedule from annual to biennial.  This change will increase the          
efficiency of state government without diminishing the quality of the          
schedule or the public's opportunity to comment.                               
                                                                               
Before a timber sale on state land may currently proceed, the                  
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is required to list the sale in          

2000-02-07                     House Journal                      Page 2123
HB 352                                                                       
two separate five-year sale schedules.  Although this bill provides that       
a sale would only be listed on one schedule, it would still be required        
to appear for two years.                                                       
                                                                               
The timber schedules are scoping documents, not decision documents,            
and no change is proposed to the decision documents issued for every           
proposed sale.  These Forest Land Use Plan/final best interest findings        
will still be published for every proposed sale and subject to public          
and agency review.                                                             
                                                                               
Publishing the five-year timber schedule is a time-intensive task.  The        
change proposed in this bill, to publish the schedule every other year         
instead of every year, will continue to provide the public notice that         
interested parties have come to rely on when scrutinizing Alaska's             
timber sale program.  But it will also allow DNR greater ability to            
direct its efforts toward other management concerns during years in            
which the schedule need not be produced.                                       
                                                                               
							Sincerely,                                                              
							/s/                                                                     
							Tony Knowles                                                            
							Governor"