Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 120
04/09/2011 12:30 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR4 | |
| HB215 | |
| SB31 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HJR 4 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 31 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 215 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HJR 4 - CONST. AM: TRANSPORTATION FUND
[Contains brief mention of HB 30 and HB 31, which address the
funding and other necessary statutory changes related to HJR 4's
proposed transportation infrastructure fund.]
12:37:38 PM
CHAIR GATTO announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4, Proposing amendments to the
Constitution of the State of Alaska creating a transportation
infrastructure fund. [Before the committee was CSHJR 4(TRA).]
12:38:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PEGGY WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, as one of
the joint prime sponsors, explained that [if passed by the
legislature,] HJR 4 would place before the voters a proposed
amendment to the Alaska State Constitution establishing a
dedicated fund - in the form of a transportation infrastructure
fund - that would be used to fund Alaska's transportation
projects. There are three pieces of legislation that together
would enable the establishment of the proposed transportation
infrastructure fund: HJR 4 would place the proposed change to
the Alaska State Constitution before the voters, HB 31 would
provide for the appropriation of an initial $1 billion to the
fund, and HB 30 would provide the other necessary statutory
changes. The proposed constitutional amendment is broad enough,
she posited, to provide some flexibility for future legislatures
but concise enough to ensure that the proposed transportation
infrastructure fund would not be depleted and could instead
provide transportation funding far into the future. In response
to questions, she relayed that if passed by the legislature,
HJR 4's proposed constitutional amendment would go before the
voters at the 2012 general election; that the Department of
Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is responsible for
Alaska's roads, airports, harbors, and the Alaska Marine Highway
System (AMHS), but not Alaska's railroads; and that under a
change made by the prior committee, the proposed transportation
infrastructure fund would no longer include [revenues from
airport leases].
12:42:40 PM
BECKY ROONEY, Staff, Representative Peggy Wilson, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative P. Wilson, one of
HJR 4's joint prime sponsors, added that this change was made
due to a federal requirement that such lease revenues be
returned to the airports from which they were collected. In
response to other questions, she said that revenues from the
state's studded-tire tax would be included in the proposed
transportation infrastructure fund, as would revenues from the
state's identification (ID) card fees; and that under the
proposed constitutional amendment, the legislature, in any given
year, could appropriate up to 50 percent of the proposed
transportation infrastructure fund's yearly revenue.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON indicated that the remaining 50 percent
would remain in the proposed transportation infrastructure fund
in order to inflation-proof it and help it grow. In response to
another question, she relayed that in order to provide the
legislature with additional flexibility, the proposed
constitutional amendment was drafted such that the legislature
could also appropriate up to 6 percent of the proposed
transportation infrastructure fund's market value averaged over
the previous five fiscal years. The legislature would not be
required to appropriate the maximum percentages provided for via
HJR 4's proposed constitutional amendment, however, and
depending on the status of Alaska's economy in a particular
year, it could be wiser not to.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON, in response to questions, indicated
that [outlining the specific revenue sources in both statute and
the Alaska State Constitution] would protect the proposed
transportation infrastructure fund while also providing the
legislature with flexibility, and that HB 30 would provide the
necessary statutory changes, including outlining what the
appropriated funds could be used for and specifying the
percentages of the revenues that could be used for those things.
MS. ROONEY, in response to a further question, explained that
the ballot measure would [in part] consist of the language in
Section 2's proposed Section 18 of Article IX of the Alaska
State Constitution. She added that language [on page 2,
lines 2-3 - specifically that which says, "and from other
transportation-related fees and funds designated by the
legislature" - would allow for the possible future
appropriation] of revenue streams that don't yet exist.
CHAIR GATTO, after ascertaining that no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HJR 4.
12:50:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON moved to report CSHJR 4(TRA) out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHJR 4(TRA) was
reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
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