02/25/2020 01:00 PM House TRANSPORTATION

         HB 253-SALE, TRANSFER, OR DISPOSAL OF FERRIES                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:13:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STUTES announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL NO.  253,  "An  Act relating  to  the  powers of  the                                                               
Department of Transportation and  Public Facilities; and relating                                                               
to the sale, transfer, or disposal of state ferries."                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:14:37 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE    JONATHAN     KREISS-TOMKINS,    Alaska    State                                                               
Legislature, as  prime sponsor, introduced  HB 253,  a three-line                                                               
bill which  would ask  for approval  from the  legislature before                                                               
disposal of  assets of the  Alaska Marine Highway  System (AMHS).                                                               
He added  that HB 253  is in  response to frustration  in Coastal                                                               
Alaska  over the  state  of  the AMHS.    Even  with more  [AMHS]                                                               
structure and  funding, Representative  Kreiss-Tompkins imparted,                                                               
if core  assets were  "rashly" disposed of,  then there  would no                                                               
longer exist a system to put back together.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:16:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STUTES  added that she  would like to  amend HB 253  to say                                                               
that if any  AMHS assets were sold, then the  funds would go back                                                               
into the AMHS.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:17:09 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CLAMAN  asked how  HB  253  would deal  with  the                                                               
legislature's lack of fast action when it may be needed.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:18:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS replied  to Representative  Stutes                                                               
that he  thought there  was a  lot of  logic in  putting proceeds                                                               
from  asset   sales  back  into   the  AMHS  fund.     Addressing                                                               
Representative Claman,  he said he  saw that lack of  fast action                                                               
as analogous to the court  system where individual legislation is                                                               
required  to   add  specific   judgeships:     it  would   be  an                                                               
administrative  change and  yet  it would  be  a modification  of                                                               
statute;   similarly    to   the    legislative/judicial   branch                                                               
interaction,  it   seems  functional  that  there   would  be  an                                                               
interaction  between the  executive  branch  and the  legislative                                                               
branch in terms of vessel sales.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   KREISS-TOMKINS   added   that   the   underlying                                                               
motivation behind  HB 253 is  one of  defense.  Alaskans  wish to                                                               
prevent  the AMHS  from becoming  dismantled, to  protect assets,                                                               
and to  ensure that rash decisions  are not being made.   He went                                                               
on to say  that there is currently no check  on mainline ferries,                                                               
the   main   assets  of   the   AMHS,   from  being   eliminated.                                                               
Furthermore, he admitted that if the  AMHS did move to the public                                                               
corporation model and  it did have independent  governance of the                                                               
system,  then  HB  253  may  become moot.    Since  the  AMHS  is                                                               
currently  not  operating  under the  public  corporation  model,                                                               
however, and  there is currently  real existential  concern about                                                               
the AMHS, HB 253 is a defensive reaction.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:20:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN said he could see  how HB 253 does speak to                                                               
the  lack of  long-term  planning.   It would  be  one thing,  he                                                               
added, if  there were a decision  made over the course  of a year                                                               
that determined  a fast ferry  should be sold, and  quite another                                                               
to  suddenly decide  to sell  one of  the fast  ferries within  a                                                               
month  if  it  were  not  being used.    One  scenario  suggested                                                               
planning  and  time  to coordinate  with  the  legislature  while                                                               
another suggested a  decision that may not be made  with any kind                                                               
of  in-depth analysis,  Representative  Claman  surmised; HB  253                                                               
would facilitate the former and hinder the latter.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:22:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   KREISS-TOMKINS   said   that  he   agreed   with                                                               
Representative  Claman  regarding  the fast  ferries  not  coming                                                               
back, at least  in the foreseeable future.  The  main idea behind                                                               
HB  253 was  making sure  the  mainliner vessels,  which are  the                                                               
fleet's core assets, were protected and not eliminated.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:23:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  DRUMMOND asked  whether the  M/V Chenega  and the                                                               
M/V Fairweather  could return to  service or whether it  had been                                                               
decided  that they  were  too  expensive to  operate.   She  also                                                               
mentioned that the M/V Tazlina and  the M/V Hubbard had long been                                                               
problematic but  the former two  could have been  "pinch hitting"                                                               
during   this   time   when   no   ships   were   in   operation.                                                               
Representative Drummond  disagreed that  the M/V Chenega  and the                                                               
M/V Fairweather  should be eliminated  from the impact of  HB 253                                                               
as it is currently written.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:25:52 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS said  that he  would defer  to the                                                               
will  of the  committee and  stakeholders,  and if  they did  not                                                               
object, then he did not object either.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:26:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STORY  asked  Representative  Kreiss-Tompkins  to                                                               
refresh her  memory on how the  M/V Taku was handled,  as she had                                                               
heard from constituents that its removal had been hasty.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:27:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS  answered   that  he  thought  the                                                               
Department  of Transportation  &  Public  Facilities (DOTPF)  had                                                               
been  in contact  with an  outfit  in Portland,  Oregon, who  had                                                               
expressed interest in  buying it for use as an  attraction on the                                                               
waterfront, but that fell through,  and ultimately the vessel was                                                               
sold for  only "$100,000 or  $200,000" to a shipwrecking  yard in                                                               
Bangladesh or  India.  He added  that the low price  point of the                                                               
M/V Taku  sale was indicative  of there  being no market  for the                                                               
ships.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:29:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MATT  MCLAREN,   Business  Development  Manager,   Alaska  Marine                                                               
Highway   System,   Department   of   Transportation   &   Public                                                               
Facilities, informed  the committee  that the  M/V Taku  had sold                                                               
for $172,000.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:29:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY repeated that  some of her constituents felt                                                               
there had not  been an adequate public process  regarding the M/V                                                               
Taku and she had been  wondering about the legislative and public                                                               
input stages.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:30:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. MCLAREN  said that the  first step had  been to see  if there                                                               
were any  other public  entities in  Alaska or  in the  U.S. that                                                               
were interested  in the vessel's  purchase.  Mr. McLaren  said he                                                               
was unaware of public process as far  as input.  In response to a                                                               
follow-up question, he confirmed he  was not aware of any process                                                               
or approval that went through the legislature.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:31:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MIKE LESMANN Legislative Liaison,  Department of Transportation &                                                               
Public  Facilities,  recalled going  to  Ketchikan  for a  public                                                               
meeting  on the  M/V  Taku and  seeing  Representative Ortiz  and                                                               
community members in the room.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:32:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   STORY   asked   whether  the   Alaska   Railroad                                                               
Corporation is  required to go  through the legislature if  it is                                                               
going to dispose of any assets.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
1:32:40 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO said that he believed legislative                                                                       
approval was required.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:32:58 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STUTES announced that HB 253 would be held over.