01/30/2012 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

                   SB 173-2012 REVISOR'S BILL                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:00:11 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 173.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
KATHRYN KURTZ,  Assistant Revisor of Statutes,  Legislative Legal                                                               
and  Research  Services  Division,  Legislative  Affairs  Agency,                                                               
explained  that that  SB 173  is the  general revisor's  bill. It                                                               
suggests improvements  to the statutes by  correcting or removing                                                               
conflicts, deficiencies,  and obsolete  provisions. This  year it                                                               
contains a lot of fixes to obsolete provisions.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Sections  1 and  2  remove obsolete  date  references. Section  3                                                               
removes  a  reference  to  federal  territorial  law.  Section  4                                                               
updates the  name of the  "municipal harbor facility  grant fund"                                                               
to the  "harbor facility grant  fund" to reflect  earlier changes                                                               
to the program to cover more than just municipalities.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:02:19 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  referred to Section  3, and asked  what was                                                               
included in 48 United States Code (U.S.C.) 473-479.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MS. KURTZ  explained that  those sections  were omitted  from the                                                               
federal code  because they related  to Alaska as a  territory and                                                               
thus were obsolete.  Language was retained that  makes the Alaska                                                               
National  Guard  and the  Alaska  Naval  Militia subject  to  all                                                               
applicable   federal  laws,   but  the   reference  to   adopting                                                               
regulations  that   are  not  inconsistent  with   law  that  has                                                               
essentially gone away at the federal level wasn't helpful.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  FRENCH  observed that  the  legal  profession is  slow  to                                                               
change its verbiage.  If the statute were written  today it might                                                               
say "consistent with" rather than "not inconsistent with."                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. KURTZ agreed it would sound better.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:04:47 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH  noted that Section  5 [removes a reference  to "the                                                               
effective date of  this subsection"] and inserts  a specific date                                                               
that might sometime need to be removed.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. KURTZ agreed that the  specific date would eventually need to                                                               
be  changed, but  the  reference  to the  effective  date of  the                                                               
section was deleted because it wasn't helpful.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Sections  5-12  deal with  definitions  that  were repealed,  but                                                               
still referred to  someplace. Section 5 removes  a definition for                                                               
"renewable energy  resources" by reference to  AS 42.45.045 since                                                               
that section is subject to a  delayed repeal that is scheduled to                                                               
occur  in  2013.  Section  6  inserts  in  a  new  subsection  AS                                                               
42.05.711(s),  the definition  for  "renewable energy  resources"                                                               
currently in  AS 42.45.045. Now  the same definition  will appear                                                               
in two places; one will sunset and the other will not.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Sections  7-12 deal  with the  definition  of "school  district."                                                               
Section  7  amends  AS  43.20.014(f)(1),  which  defines  "school                                                               
district" by reference  to the definition in  AS 14.03.126, which                                                               
was repealed in 2006 and  effective in 2009. This section removes                                                               
the  reference  to AS  14.03.126  and  inserts  the text  of  the                                                               
definition  in  AS  43.  20.014.   Sections  8-12  refer  to  the                                                               
definition of "school district" given in AS 43.20.014.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Section  13  amends  AS  44.62.190, relating  to  notice  of  the                                                               
proposed  adoption,  amendment or  repeal  of  a regulation.  The                                                               
paragraph   amended,  AS   44.62.190(a)(6)   that  provides   for                                                               
electronic notice of these changes  to legislators. The amendment                                                               
deletes  the  qualifying phrase  "if  the  state agency  has  the                                                               
technological capability," because,  according to the regulations                                                               
attorney  at the  Department of  Law, all  departments have  this                                                               
capability. This  section also deletes  the clause  permitting an                                                               
agency  to  furnish the  notice  by  other  means if  the  agency                                                               
doesn't  have   the  capability   to  furnish   the  notification                                                               
electronically.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Section  14  repeals  AS 21.27.380(f),  which  provides  for  the                                                               
renewal  of  two  year  trainee licenses  issued  to  a  managing                                                               
general  agent,  reinsurance   intermediary  broker,  reinsurance                                                               
intermediary  manager, or  surplus lines  broker. The  provisions                                                               
permitting  issuance of  those  two year  trainee  licenses -  AS                                                               
21.27.600,  AS 21.27.680,  AS 21.27.740  and  AS 21.27.800,  were                                                               
repealed in 2004 so the renewal provision is superfluous.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the definition for "school                                                                        
district" in Section 7 is the same definition that was in AS                                                                    
14.03.126.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. KURTZ answered yes.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:08:43 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH announced he would hold SB 173 in committee.