04/13/2016 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

        HCR 17-SUPPORT AVIATION INDUSTRY; USE STATE LAND                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:32:44 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR GIESSEL  announced consideration  of HCR 17  [CSHCR 17(TRA)                                                               
was before the committee].                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
GINGER BLAISDELL, staff to  Representative Shelley Hughes, Alaska                                                               
State  Legislature,  said  this  measure  was  brought  to  their                                                               
attention by  the Unmanned Aircraft System's  Task Force, because                                                               
one individual was able to  secure a contract with the Department                                                               
of Natural Resources  (DNR) to test his  unmanned aircraft system                                                               
equipment  by using  state lands.  The task  force put  this idea                                                               
together and HCR 17 is the result.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SHELLEY HUGHES,  Alaska State Legislature, Juneau,                                                               
Alaska, sponsor  of HCR  17, said the  task force's  top priority                                                               
has  been safety  and  privacy,  but they  are  also tasked  with                                                               
promoting economic  activities related to this  industry and that                                                               
is what HCR 17 does.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
She  said Alaska  has a  lot of  space, which  is unique,  and if                                                               
state  land can  be made  available,  industry could  use it  for                                                               
research  testing, training,  manufacturing  and maintenance  and                                                               
operations of the systems. She  said this will be a multi-billion                                                               
industry and would be a good  thing for the state. These are high                                                               
tech jobs  and young people are  very interested in this  kind of                                                               
activity. It could open the door for some of them in the future.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:36:27 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR GIESSEL commented that the  University of Alaska, Fairbanks                                                               
(UAF)  has the  Poker Flats  Research area  where her  son worked                                                               
developing  the  initial  Unmanned  Aircraft  Program  (UAP).  He                                                               
counted  walrus in  the  Aleutians with  a  little aircraft  that                                                               
could fly over  them without them being concerned at  all, but if                                                               
a regular  aircraft went over,  even if  it was higher,  they all                                                               
jumped into the  water. It has multiple uses and  was also tested                                                               
on the TransAlaska Pipeline System (TAPS).                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COSTELLO thanked  the sponsor  for  this resolution  and                                                               
asked if she had run into any  privacy issues or if there are any                                                               
privacy guidelines to oversee this industry.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES replied  that privacy is always  a topic on                                                               
their agenda  and Alaska  has statutes that  do apply.  Right now                                                               
they are  working with  law enforcement to  create tools  to deal                                                               
with situations  if they  don't already  exist. It's  tricky, but                                                               
she  has  a draft  bill  for  next  year. Congress  is  currently                                                               
looking at the  FAA reauthorization bill and there  is talk about                                                               
restricting states  as to what they  can do and whether  they can                                                               
even specify unmanned  aircraft systems in their  statutes. It is                                                               
an  evolving technology  and she  doesn't want  to penalize  this                                                               
industry specifically if laws are  already on the books that will                                                               
work.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:39:20 PM                                                                                                                    
She  said concerns  about  privacy were  expressed  on the  House                                                               
floor  and a  bill was  passed a  couple of  years ago  requiring                                                               
search  warrants in  conjunction with  the use  of drones.  There                                                               
were attempts  to put  privacy language  in this  resolution, but                                                               
this  bill  is about  economic  opportunities,  and another  bill                                                               
would be a proper vehicle for that.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  GIESSEL opened  public comment.  Finding none,  she closed                                                               
public testimony.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:40:36 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  COSTELLO  moved to  report  CSHCR  17(RES), version  29-                                                               
LS1327\E,  from  committee  with individual  recommendations  and                                                               
attached zero  fiscal note. There  were no objections and  it was                                                               
so ordered.