Legislature(2021 - 2022)BARNES 124
05/13/2022 09:00 AM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB190 | |
| SB132 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 132 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 190 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 190-REGULATORY COMMISSION AK/REFUSE UTILITIES
9:05:44 AM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the first order of business
would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 190(FIN), "An Act extending the
termination date of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska;
relating to Regulatory Commission of Alaska regulations
regarding refuse utilities; relating to the powers and duties of
the legislative audit division; and providing for an effective
date."
9:06:16 AM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS moved to adopt Amendment 2 to CSSB 190(FIN),
labeled 32-LS1525\W.3, Ambrose, 5/12/22, which read:
Page 1, line 2, following "utilities;":
Insert "relating to municipal refuse utilities;"
Page 1, line 11, following "filings.":
Insert "It is the intent of the legislature under
sec. 4 of this Act to ensure the Regulatory Commission
of Alaska and local decision makers make informed
decisions in the public interest; it is not the intent
of the legislature to interfere with normal rate-
making methodologies."
Page 2, following line 8:
Insert new bill sections to read:
"* Sec. 3. AS 42.05.641 is amended to read:
Sec. 42.05.641. Regulation by municipality. The
commission's jurisdiction and authority extend to
public utilities, including a municipal refuse
utility, operating within a municipality, whether home
rule or otherwise. In the event of a conflict between
a certificate, order, decision, or regulation of the
commission and a charter, permit, franchise,
ordinance, rule, or regulation of [SUCH] a local
governmental entity, the certificate, order, decision,
or regulation of the commission shall prevail.
* Sec. 4. AS 42.05.641 is amended by adding new
subsections to read:
(b) A municipality that seeks to privatize a
municipal refuse utility that is subject to the
provisions of this chapter shall submit a proposal to
the commission for review. The commission may approve
the proposal if the commission finds, after
consideration of whether the proposal will result in
higher rates for consumers, that privatization is in
the public interest. A privatization proposal must
include
(1) a business plan that lists the
prospective vendors;
(2) the projected cost of private operation
compared to continued municipal operation for a 10-
year period;
(3) disclosure of any potential conflicts
of interest on the part of municipal officials; and
(4) proposed methods
(A) for periodically evaluating the
utility's performance to avoid diminished service
quality, interruption, or stoppage of work by the
contractor;
(B) to encourage competition and
productivity;
(C) for monitoring a contract in order to
detect any contractor defaults, monitor penalties, and
prepare for contract renewals or renegotiations and
inflation; and
(D) to address municipal employee
displacement.
(c) In this section, "privatize" means
(1) selling, renting, leasing,
transferring, or bequeathing a certificate of public
convenience and necessity obtained by a municipality
to another entity; or
(2) subcontracting a portion of refuse
collection in a particular service area to another
entity.
* Sec. 5. AS 42.05.990(6) is amended to read:
(6) "public utility" or "utility" includes
every
(A) corporation whether public,
cooperative, or otherwise, company, individual, or
association of individuals, their lessees, trustees,
or receivers appointed by a court, that owns,
operates, manages, or controls any plant, pipeline, or
system for
(i) [(A)] furnishing, by generation,
transmission, or distribution, electrical service to
the public for compensation;
(ii) [(B)] furnishing telecommunications
service to the public for compensation;
(iii) [(C)] furnishing water, steam, or
sewer service to the public for compensation;
(iv) [(D)] furnishing by transmission or
distribution of natural or manufactured gas to the
public for compensation;
(v) [(E)] furnishing for distribution or by
distribution petroleum or petroleum products to the
public for compensation when the consumer has no
alternative in the choice of supplier of a comparable
product and service at an equal or lesser price;
(vi) [(F)] furnishing collection and
disposal service of garbage, refuse, trash, or other
waste material to the public for compensation;
(vii) [(G)] furnishing the service of
natural gas storage to the public for compensation;
(viii) [(H)] furnishing the service of
liquefied natural gas storage to the public for
compensation;
(B) plant, pipeline, or system for
furnishing collection and disposal service of garbage,
refuse, trash, or other waste material to the public
for compensation that is owned, operated, managed, or
controlled by a municipality;"
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
9:06:18 AM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ objected for the purpose of discussion.
9:06:20 AM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS noted the committee has been trying to refine
this amendment in coordination with the Regulatory Commission of
Alaska (RCA), Department of Law, and Legislative Legal Services.
9:06:45 AM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ requested Co-Chair Fields describe how
Amendment 2 is different from "the earlier version" the
committee was considering.
CO-CHAIR FIELDS said Amendment 2 isn't substantively different,
it is how the amendment is going to work. Amendment 2, he
stated, would ensure the RCA does a review to make certain that
proposed private ownership or proposed private operations do not
adversely impact consumers. If a municipality is subsidizing
municipal services, he continued, the intent is that the RCA
back out those costs and look at an apples-to-apples comparison.
9:07:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY inquired whether the apples-to-apples
evaluation would include looking at whether the subsidy is out
of property tax. For example, he said, the cost may go up if a
business takes over, but the taxation may go down.
CO-CHAIR FIELDS responded yes. He explained that the amendment
isn't written at that level of detail because the RCA would be
able to do that analysis.
9:08:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN requested the bill sponsor provide his
view of Amendment 2.
9:08:17 AM
SENATOR ROBERT MYERS, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor
of CSSB 190(FIN), noted that he saw the amendment yesterday. He
responded that it is still a big policy call, and he would
prefer to see it as its own legislation rather than tacked onto
this bill. He said he can live with it, however, and would like
for the bill to move to the next committee.
9:08:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON requested the RCA provide its opinion of
Amendment 2.
9:09:01 AM
ROBERT "BOB" PICKETT, Chair, Regulatory Commission of Alaska
(RCA), responded that he saw the amendment about 25 minutes ago
and has no opinion on it. He said the priority is to get this
extension bill out of committee as soon as possible because the
consequences of not doing so, and setting into motion the
winddown procedure, would be severe and consequential for all
Alaskans.
CO-CHAIR FIELDS stated that the RCA sent some guidance that was
attempted to be incorporated when the amendment was drafted, and
that is what he was referencing regarding coordination.
9:09:39 AM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ removed her objection to Amendment 2.
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN objected to Amendment 2.
9:09:43 AM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives McCarty, Schrage,
Snyder, Fields, and Spohnholz voted in favor of Amendment 2.
Representatives Nelson and Kaufman voted against it. Therefore,
Amendment 2 to CSSB 190(FIN) was adopted by a vote of 5-2.
9:10:20 AM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS moved to report CSSB 190(FIN), as amended, out
of committee with individual recommendations and the attached
fiscal notes. There being no objection, HCS CSSB 190(L&C) was
reported out of the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 132 AKVMA White Paper.pdf |
HHSS 4/19/2022 3:00:00 PM HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM SHSS 2/3/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 132 |
| SB 132 Testimony PowerPoint ASVMA 2.1.22.pdf |
HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 132 |
| SB 132 Letters of Support as of 4.13.22.pdf |
HHSS 4/26/2022 3:00:00 PM HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 132 |
| SB 132 Letters of Opposition as of 4.8.22.pdf |
HHSS 4/26/2022 3:00:00 PM HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 132 |
| SB 132 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HHSS 4/26/2022 3:00:00 PM HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 132 |
| SB 132 Fiscal Note 2.9.22.PDF |
HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 132 |
| CS for SB 132 Sectional Analysis 5.11.22.pdf |
HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 132 |
| SB 190 Amendment #2 - Fields 5.13.22.pdf |
HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 190 |
| CS for SB 132 Sponsor Statement 5.11.22.pdf |
HL&C 5/13/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 132 |