02/28/2018 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 120                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to the Department of Law public                                                                           
     advocacy function to participate in matters that come                                                                      
     before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission."                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
9:09:27 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair MacKinnon  directed attention to HB  120, which had                                                                    
been heard  in committee on  Monday, February 26,  2018. She                                                                    
relayed that the  public hearing had been  opened and closed                                                                    
and there  had been  no testimony. Additionally,  the fiscal                                                                    
note had been reviewed. She  noted that Senator Micciche had                                                                    
indicated  he   believed  the  fiscal  note   should  remain                                                                    
indeterminate. She  invited the  Department of Law  (DOL) to                                                                    
the table.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Senator Stevens asked about the  cost of outside counsel for                                                                    
the past several years.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
JOHN  PTACIN, CHIEF  ASSISTANT ATTORNEY  GENERAL, REGULATORY                                                                    
AFFAIRS  AND PUBLIC  ADVOCACY,  DEPARTMENT  OF LAW,  replied                                                                    
that he  had obtained  the outside  counsel fees  on Federal                                                                    
Energy  Regulatory Commission  (FERC) matters  for the  past                                                                    
five years. The  fees had been $613,000  in 2013, $1,050,000                                                                    
in 2014  (the "SR" case  had been  heating up at  the time),                                                                    
$39,000 in 2015  (the SR case had ended),  $195,000 in 2016,                                                                    
and $215,000 in 2017.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair  Bishop asked  for verification  that "SR"  meant                                                                    
strategic  reconfiguration on  Trans-Alaska Pipeline  System                                                                    
(TAPS).                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Ptacin  replied in the  affirmative. He detailed  it had                                                                    
been  a large  case where  DOL had  looked at  a large-scale                                                                    
project on  the pipeline and  sought to get the  costs taken                                                                    
out of rates.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Bishop  MOVED to REPORT  HB 120 out  of Committee                                                                    
with individual recommendations  and the accompanying fiscal                                                                    
note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
HB  120 was  REPORTED  out  of committee  with  a "do  pass"                                                                    
recommendation and  with one new  zero fiscal note  from the                                                                    
Department of Law.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
9:12:31 AM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:16:07 AM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED