04/12/2006 08:30 AM Senate JUDICIARY

              HB 318-LIMITATION ON EMINENT DOMAIN                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:38:14 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  RALPH SEEKINS  announced CSHB  318(FIN)  AM to  be up  for                                                               
consideration.  The last  bill hearing  saw extensive  amendments                                                               
and so  the drafters  submitted a  committee substitute  (CS) for                                                               
the committee's consideration.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CRAIG JOHNSON, Staff to  Representative Lesil McGuire, introduced                                                               
the CS.  The staff and Peter  Putzier from the Department  of Law                                                               
have reviewed the CS and  feel that it appropriately reflects the                                                               
intended changes. He  advised that there need be  one more change                                                               
and  that was  on  page 4,  line 27  where  the committee  should                                                               
remove the words "prior owner."                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR CHARLIE HUGGINS  moved to adopt version C  as the working                                                               
document before the committee. Hearing  no objections, the motion                                                               
carried.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR HUGGINS  moved Amendment  1. Page 4  line 27;  strike the                                                               
words  "prior  owner." Hearing  no  objections,  Amendment 1  was                                                               
adopted.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:40:17 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  SEEKINS  reminded the  committee  that  he had  previously                                                               
closed public testimony but noting  continuing public interest he                                                               
opened public testimony on the bill.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
8:40:58 AM                                                                                                                    
Senator Gretchen Guess joined the meeting.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
DAVE FEEKIN, Alaska Association  of Realtors, testified regarding                                                               
the amendment that dealt with  municipalities exercising power to                                                               
acquire private  property for the  purpose of  transferring title                                                               
for economic  development. He said the  committee has essentially                                                               
allowed for  the Kelo  case to  happen [Kelo  versus City  of New                                                               
London].                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Eminent  domain is  a national  issue. For  example, Florida  has                                                               
unanimously  passed  a   constitutional  amendment  dealing  with                                                               
eminent  domain  for  economic   development  on  all  properties                                                               
including slums  and blighted areas.  There are  currently 10,000                                                               
active  cases of  private property  taking in  the nation,  which                                                               
averages out  to 200 per  state. Alaska  has none. The  media has                                                               
drawn attention  to the point that  the issue is now  an election                                                               
issue,  he   said.  Passing  the  municipality   amendment  could                                                               
restrict economic development money to blighted areas.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:44:23 AM                                                                                                                    
MR.  FEEKIN  suggested  that  50  years  from  now  people  would                                                               
remember that the Legislature passed this bill.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GUESS responded  the Kelo case was  different because the                                                               
city council  delegated authority to  a non-profit entity  and so                                                               
it was not an elected body  that made the decision. She asked Mr.                                                               
Feekin   whether  the   realtors  have   an  opinion   about  the                                                               
legislative language in the bill.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FEEKIN said  the discussion  among realtors  recognized that                                                               
the  New London  city council  delegated the  authority but  they                                                               
also  approved  the  action.  The issue  has  gotten  beyond  the                                                               
semantics of  how New London  did it,  he said. The  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature is  a more deliberate  body and things don't  move as                                                               
fast and so  the Association would rather see  the authority left                                                               
at a state level.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GUESS  said she appreciated  the legislative  process but                                                               
noted that things can get put into  a bill at the last minute and                                                               
so  she  disputed his  statement  that  legislative authority  is                                                               
better  than   local  authority.   Both  local   and  legislative                                                               
processes have pros and cons in this situation.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:47:53 AM                                                                                                                    
MR.  FEEKIN countered  that eminent  domain  is not  as large  an                                                               
issue in Alaska as it is  in other states. Other states are going                                                               
to  extremes  to protect  private  property  and the  Association                                                               
believes that since it would  take far more deliberative votes to                                                               
decide  the issue  the  authority  should be  left  at the  state                                                               
level, especially  noting that  the decision  would have  to pass                                                               
both legislative bodies.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GUESS  said she wanted  to make it  clear that it  is not                                                               
possible  to determine  whether  local control  or state  control                                                               
would benefit the  community in consideration. It  depends on the                                                               
particular issue at hand and the politics of the day.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:51:49 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR SEEKINS  said that the  committee perused  legislation from                                                               
other states and  noted that they are all  different. He surmised                                                               
that  the discussion  would continue  and the  bill would  change                                                               
before it reached the Senate floor session.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR HUGGINS  moved SCS  CSHB 318(JUD)  out of  committee with                                                               
individual recommendations and attached  fiscal notes. Hearing no                                                               
objections, the motion carried.