Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
05/03/2024 01:30 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB149 | |
| SB187 | |
| HB307 | |
| SB74 || SB75 | |
| HB232 | |
| SB104 | |
| SB118 | |
| HB122 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 187 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 307 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 118 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 177 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | SB 74 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 75 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 232 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 104 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 149 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HOUSE BILL NO. 122
"An Act authorizing the Alaska Railroad Corporation to
issue revenue bonds to finance the replacement of the
Alaska Railroad Corporation's passenger dock and
related terminal facility in Seward, Alaska; and
providing for an effective date."
8:05:13 PM
Co-Chair Foster asked for a brief recap of the legislation.
Representative Tomaszewski explained that the original bill
started out as a bond authorization for the Railroad
Corporation to build a new dock and terminal facility in
Seward. He explained that a couple of amendments had been
made throughout the bill process including the addition of
a $58 million bond for the complete phase 1 of the
Mackenzie railroad extension and the authorization of a
$300 million bond for Alaska Industrial Development and
Export Authority (AIDEA) for critical minerals and rare
earth metals.
Co-Chair Foster noted that Representative Cronk had
rejoined the meeting via teleconference.
8:06:35 PM
Representative Ortiz asked what the $58 million bond that
had been added to the legislation was for.
Representative Tomaszewski replied that the bill authorized
the Alaska Railroad to issue a bond up to $58 million to
complete phase 1 of the Port Mackenzie rail extension. He
stated it was not a bandaid; it merely gave the railroad
the authority to exercise the ability to complete phase 1
of the extension.
Representative Ortiz asked if the Alaska Railroad or the
state would be the backer of the bond.
Representative Tomaszewski assumed that prior to the
issuance of any bond, the railroad would find an anchor
client to use the port to pay for the rail extension,
somewhat similar to the Seward dock. He believed one of the
cruise lines would be the anchor client in Seward and the
bond authorization for the Seward port and terminal
facility had zero fiscal impact on state funds. The project
would be paid for entirely from the cruise ship client.
8:08:27 PM
Representative Josephson MOVED Amendment 1 to HB 122 33-
LS0623\S.3, Walsh, 4/30/24:
Page 1, lines 3 - 7:
Delete "authorizing the Alaska Railroad Corporation to
issue revenue bonds to finance the completion of the
Port Mackenzie Rail Extension in Point Mackenzie,
Alaska; authorizing the Alaska Industrial Development
and Export Authority to issue bonds to finance
infrastructure that supports development of critical
mineral and rare
earth element projects;"
Page 2, line 13, through page 3, line 26:
Delete all material.
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
Co-Chair Foster OBJECTED for discussion.
Representative Josephson highlighted that Mr. Bill O'Leary
with the Alaska Railroad had testified on the legislation
exclusively about improvements to the Seward dock. He added
that the bill sponsor noted that the original bill
pertained to the Seward dock. He shared that when he had
asked Mr. O'Leary how much the road under Section 2 of the
bill (that would be deleted by Amendment 1) would really
cost, Mr. O'Leary had testified that he would need $275
million to $300 million. He was not certain what the $58
million would do. He stated that Mr. O'Leary had never
testified that he really wanted Section 2 in the bill. He
did not know how Section 2 had come to be included in the
bill. He asked for members to support its deletion by
adopting Amendment 1.
8:09:52 PM
Representative Tomaszewski was in opposition to the
amendment. He stated that the bill did not force the Alaska
Railroad to utilize the bond to finish phase 1. He did not
have a complete understanding of how many phases were
needed to complete the rail extension to Port Mackenzie. He
knew it was an important piece of infrastructure that would
contribute to the state's economic development. He was
amenable to including the section in the bill.
Co-Chair Foster MAINTAINED the OBJECTION.
A roll call vote was taken on the motion.
IN FAVOR: Josephson, Galvin, Hannan, Ortiz, Edgmon
OPPOSED: Tomaszewski, Cronk, Coulombe, Stapp, Johnson,
Foster
The MOTION to adopt Amendment 1 FAILED (5/6).
[Note: Action on Amendment 1 was rescinded later in the
meeting and the amendment was subsequently adopted. See
approximately 8:21 p.m. for details.]
8:11:59 PM
Representative Josephson MOVED Amendment 2 to HB 122 33-
LS0623\S.4 (Walsh, 5/1/24):
Page 1, lines 5 - 7:
Delete "authorizing the Alaska Industrial Development
and Export Authority to issue bonds to finance
infrastructure that supports development of critical
mineral and rare earth element projects;"
Page 3, lines 7 - 26:
Delete all material. 8
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
Representative Stapp OBJECTED.
Representative Josephson explained that earlier in the day
an opinion editorial had been published in the Alaska Daily
News (AND) written by former Alaska Senate President Rick
Halford titled "It's time for the Legislature to Restore
Alaska's Constitutional Balance." He explained that the
entire piece was about how AIDEA was not well monitored and
had grown to be independent of oversight. He stated it
stood to reason that Mr. O'Leary would want a railroad
because he ran the railroad, but there had been zero
indication that he also wanted AIDEA's bonding authority to
be included in the package. His concern with Section 3 of
the bill was that it spoke to the very thing former Senator
Halford feared. He asked members to support the amendment.
8:13:56 PM
Representative Tomaszewski opposed the amendment. He noted
it was by coincidence that the previous bill heard by the
committee was SB 118, which related to critical and
essential minerals. The specific section of the bill
[Section 3] authorized AIDEA to issue $300 million in bonds
for statewide critical minerals and rare earth metals. He
remarked that Senator Merrick had made a good point about
rare earth minerals coming to the U.S. from other
countries. He recognized the section was not part of the
original bill, but he did not oppose its inclusion.
Representative Hannan supported the amendment. She opposed
the blanket authority given by the section [to AIDEA]. She
remarked that it was a very large amount. She stated that
she could vote for it if it was bonding for the Niblick
project and it was delineated for specific minerals at a
given price, but it was not. She had grave concerns that
the board authorized projects at $300 million only to find
out there was a different critical mineral the legislature
did not have the bonding authority to go for because it
gave the authority to AIDEA without having reviewed it. She
stated it was the check and balance, which the legislature
was supposed to have over AIDEA.
Co-Chair Edgmon stated it was his first exposure to the
legislation. He recalled when AIDEA had to get bonding
authority from the legislature for $10 million, which had
increased to $25 million. He understood that AIDEA was now
seeking a larger number in a different bill. He highlighted
that the first two words in Section 3 of the bill were
"legislative approval," which he found to be an oxymoron.
He stressed that the legislature was not approving anything
other than authorizing $300 million for AIDEA to do what it
wanted. He did not support the legislature's appropriation
powers being taken away. He was astounded by the dollar
amount. He supported the message to some degree in former
Senator Halford's editorial. He stressed that the
legislature should never give anyone $300 million to go do
what they wanted to do. He acknowledged the cause was
worthy, but there should be some legislative direction. He
was a hard no on the inclusion of Section 3. He strongly
supported the amendment.
Co-Chair Foster spoke in support of the amendment. He
thought AIDEA had a public image problem. He had been
contacted by a number of his constituents about the agency.
He noted that the issue arose with the agency's prior
leadership. He had faith in the current executive director
who he believed was very capable and he was looking forward
to hopefully a new direction. Until AIDEA was able to fix
its image, he thought it was too much money. He believed
the agency needed to rebuild the public's trust prior to
receiving authorization for any additional funding.
8:19:36 PM
Representative Coulombe remarked that it was difficult for
her to vote against anything pertaining to infrastructure
or resource development. She understood that AIDEA was
controversial. She ultimately wanted the original bill to
pass and would hate to see the amendment kill the bill on
the House floor. She did not believe the original bill was
the right place for [the AIDEA bond authorization] because
the Seward project was very important. She would likely
vote in support of Amendment 2.
Co-Chair Edgmon echoed Representative Coulombe's comments.
He believed the underlying purpose of the legislation rose
above any speculative amendment like the $300 million [in
bond authorization to AIDEA]. He stated it had guided his
no vote on Amendment 1 as well.
Representative Stapp MAINTAINED the OBJECTION.
A roll call vote was taken on the motion.
IN FAVOR: Ortiz, Josephson, Hannan, Coulombe, Galvin,
Edgmon, Foster
OPPOSED: Tomaszewski, Cronk, Stapp, Johnson
The MOTION PASSED (7/4). There being NO OBJECTION,
Amendment 2 was ADOPTED.
8:21:33 PM
Representative Stapp MOVED to RESCIND action on Amendment
1.
Co-Chair Foster asked Representative Josephson if he wanted
to reintroduce Amendment 1.
Representative Stapp stated that the second half of
Amendment 1 included language about critical mineral
infrastructure and AIDEA bonding. He noted the language was
no longer viable due to the passage of Amendment 2;
therefore, he would likely change his vote on Amendment 1.
8:22:21 PM
AT EASE
8:22:39 PM
RECONVENED
Representative Josephson MOVED to ADOPT Amendment 1 (copy
on file)[see 8:08 p.m. for amendment details].
Representative Cronk OBJECTED.
Representative Josephson stated that he had no additional
comments.
Representative Stapp called the question on the motion.
A roll call vote was taken on the motion.
IN FAVOR: Galvin, Ortiz, Hannan, Josephson, Stapp, Edgmon
OPPOSED: Tomaszewski, Stapp, Cronk, Johnson, Foster
The MOTION PASSED (6/5). There being NO OBJECTION,
Amendment 1 was ADOPTED.
Co-Chair Foster noted that Amendments 1 and 2 had both been
adopted. He asked if the bill sponsor would like to make
any comments prior to going to a motion on the bill.
8:24:31 PM
Representative Tomaszewski thanked the committee for all of
the help he had received with the legislation. He looked
forward to moving the bill out and passing it over to the
Senate.
Co-Chair Johnson MOVED to REPORT CSHB 122(FIN) out of
committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal notes and with permission for
Legislative Legal Services to make technical and conforming
changes.
There being NO OBJECTION, CSHB 122(FIN) was REPORTED out of
committee with eight "do pass" recommendations and one
"amend" recommendation and with one new zero note from the
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
and one previously published zero note: FN1 (CED).
Co-Chair Foster reviewed the meeting schedule.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 307 Amendments 1 - 8 050324 (2).pdf |
HFIN 5/3/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 307 |
| SB 118 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HFIN 5/3/2024 1:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB 118 cs Summary of Changes.pdf |
HFIN 5/3/2024 1:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB118 Sectional.pdf |
HFIN 5/3/2024 1:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB 187 HCS FIN Amendment Pkt 1-14 050324.pdf |
HFIN 5/3/2024 1:30:00 PM |
SB 187 |
| HB307 Amendment 3 Backup 050324.pdf |
HFIN 5/3/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 307 |
| HB 232 Public Testimony Rec'd by 050324.pdf |
HFIN 5/3/2024 1:30:00 PM |
HB 232 |