05/15/2021 10:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

          SB  71-COUNCIL ON ARTS: PLATES & MANAGE ART                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
12:16:40 PM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS  announced that the final  order of business                                                               
would be  CS FOR  SENATE BILL  NO. 71(FIN),  "An Act  relating to                                                               
special  request   registration  plates  celebrating   the  arts;                                                               
relating to artwork in public  buildings and facilities; relating                                                               
to  the management  of artwork  under  the art  in public  places                                                               
fund;  relating to  the powers  and  duties of  the Alaska  State                                                               
Council on  the Arts; establishing  the Alaska arts  and cultural                                                               
investment fund; and providing for an effective date."                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
[Before the committee was CSSB 71(FIN).]                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
12:16:49 PM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  STEVENS, prime  sponsor,  introduced CSSB  71(FIN).   He                                                               
stated  that the  bill had  been drafted  at the  request of  the                                                               
Alaska  State   Council  on  the   Arts  resulting   from  budget                                                               
complications in  its 2019  cycle.  He  stated that  the proposed                                                               
bill would curtail the council's  reliance on the general fund by                                                               
allowing private fundraising activities.   He added that existing                                                               
license plate project is mandatory, and the bill would make the                                                                 
program optional and would permit the council to modestly                                                                       
compensate the winning artist.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
12:18:33 PM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. LAMKIN, on  behalf of Senator Stevens, prime  sponsor of CSSB
(FIN),  presented   a  sectional  analysis  [included   in  the                                                               
sectional analysis], which read  as follows [original punctuation                                                               
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Sec. 1: AS  28.10.421(a), relating to fees  paid to the                                                                    
     Division of  Motor Vehicles  (DMV) for  vehicle license                                                                    
     plates,  allows for  an additional  fee, set  by Alaska                                                                    
     State Council on the Arts (ASCA) regulation, and not                                                                       
     to  exceed  $50,  when  a   person  chooses  a  new  or                                                                    
     replacement ASCA artistic plate.                                                                                           
     The  subsection  also  provides that  these  additional                                                                    
     fees  will be  accounted  for separately  and that  the                                                                    
     total  amount that  exceeds the  costs of  the Artistic                                                                    
     License Plate  Program may be appropriated  to fund the                                                                    
     ASCA.                                                                                                                      
     Sec. 2: AS  35.27.020(h), relating to the  Art Works in                                                                    
     Public  Buildings and  Facilities program,  adds a  new                                                                    
     subsection to specify  ASCA's management responsibility                                                                    
     for  public  artwork  created  under  the  program,  to                                                                    
     include the management  of the relocation, disposition,                                                                    
     or exchange of such artwork.                                                                                               
     Sec. 3: AS 44.27.050(7), relating  to the duties of the                                                                    
     ASCA, is a cross reference to the prior section,                                                                           
     specifying ASCA's management  responsibility for public                                                                    
     artwork created  through its  programs, to  include the                                                                    
     management of the  relocation, disposition, or exchange                                                                    
     of such artwork.                                                                                                           
     Sec.  4:  AS  44.27.053(a),  establishes  the  Attorney                                                                    
     General being legal counsel for  ASCA, similar to other                                                                    
     state  agencies,   and  allows   the  ASCA   to  retain                                                                    
     additional  legal counsel  as  needed,  subject to  the                                                                    
     approval of the Attorney General.                                                                                          
     Sec. 5: AS 44.27.055(d),  relating to the ASCA managing                                                                    
     its affairs, exempts from the purview of the Executive                                                                     
     Budget Act  those funds received  by ASCA  from private                                                                    
     non-profit foundation partners.                                                                                            
     Sec. 6: AS 44.27.080(a),  relating to an ASCA-sponsored                                                                    
     competition for artistic plates design, from being                                                                         
     mandatory to  being optional, every four  years, at the                                                                    
     discretion of ASCA.                                                                                                        
     Sec.  7:  AS  44.27.080(c), relating  to  the  artistic                                                                    
     plate  design competition,  restores authority  for the                                                                    
     ASCA  to  award the  artist  of  the winning  design  a                                                                    
     monetary amount set in regulation, from the funds                                                                          
      generated by the artistic plates. This provision was                                                                      
     repealed in 2018.                                                                                                          
     Sec. 8: Provides an effective date of July 1, 2021.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. LAMKIN added that the creation  of a new fund under Section 6                                                               
would itemize the  privately raised funds to  protect those funds                                                               
from veto separate from its state funds.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
12:21:59 PM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
BENJAMIN  BROWN, Chair,  Alaska  Council on  the Arts,  testified                                                               
that the most  important aspect of the bill is  the license plate                                                               
monetization  section  because  it  would  permit  collection  of                                                               
revenue to  support the programs  to aid in meeting  federal fund                                                               
matching  requirements.   He recalled  that Senate  Bill 154  had                                                               
created that  Alaska artistic  license plate  program.   He added                                                               
that the  council's board  of trustees  had coordinated  with the                                                               
bill sponsor to improve the statutes governing the program.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that  there exist many questions that                                                               
she  hoped to  ask  during future  committee  hearings and  would                                                               
include specific questions  regarding the artwork that  is in the                                                               
custody of the council.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
12:25:21 PM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 12:25 p.m. to 12:27 p.m.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
12:27:25 PM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  KREISS-TOMKINS advised  that the  committee recess  to the                                                               
following Monday.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
12:28:03 PM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
ADJOURNMENT                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being no  further business before the  committee, the House                                                               
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was recessed at 12:28.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
[The meeting was recessed to 9:00 a.m. Monday, May 17, 2021.]