Legislature(2011 - 2012)HOUSE FINANCE 519
03/20/2012 09:00 AM House FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB261 | |
| HB196 | |
| HB9 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 196 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 261 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 9 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 9
"An Act requiring the Joint In-State Gasline
Development Team to report to the legislature
recommended changes to state law that are required to
enable or facilitate the design, financing, and
construction of an in-state natural gas pipeline so
that the in- state natural gas pipeline is operational
before 2016; and providing for an effective date."
10:46:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER, DISTRICT 32, announced that the
sponsors submitted two amendments to HB 9. He reported that
one amendment dealt with confidentiality and the provisions
of state agencies. The other amendment was considerable and
concerned "regulatory authority under the Regulatory
Commission of Alaska (RCA) for contract carrier pipelines."
TOM WRIGHT, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CHENAULT, briefly
synopsized that Amendment 2 was requested by the Department
of Law (DOL) to ensure that any information the state
obtained remained confidential. The amendment was a
collaboration between the DOL and Alaska Gasline
Development Corporation (AGDC). The amendment required the
consent of the third-party to allow AGDC access to the
information.
RENA DELBRIDGE, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER explained
that the other amendment replaced three sections in HB 9.
The amendment would exempt the gasline from regulatory
oversight. The amendment would insert a new chapter into
the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) statutes that
indicated how the gasline was regulated within the
Regulatory Commission of Alaska's statutory framework for
regulating an instate gas pipeline explicitly authorized to
operate as a contract carrier. Currently no statutes
existed to regulate a contact carrier pipeline. The
amendment created the framework for regulation and
"required regulation on the front end through approval of
contracts as just and reasonable provided they were entered
into at arm's length, and required a special limited scope
certificate of public convenience and necessity for the
special pipeline."
10:50:53 AM
Representative Gara spoke to amendment 3. He highlighted
that the amendment proposed that the gas pipeline advanced
only if it was the most efficient project that offered the
lowest prices to Alaskan consumers. The amendment mandated
the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority (ANGDA) to
analyze alternative projects such as determining if Cook
Inlet contained enough natural gas reserves for further
development as a stop gap until a large pipeline project
was built. He opined that a large diameter pipeline
produced the lowest price gas and generated the most
revenue for the state. He added that another amendment
would maintain RCA's current statutory framework. The RCA's
process protected the consumer.
Co-Chair Stoltze announced that all of the amendments were
posted on BASIS for the public's interest and
participation.
HB 9 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.