Legislature(2013 - 2014)BARNES 124
04/14/2014 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB99 | |
| SB140 | |
| SB194 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 99 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 140 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 194 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 194-TOURISM MARKETING BOARD
4:31:41 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced that the final order of business would be
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 194(FIN), "An Act creating the Alaska
Tourism Marketing Board; and relating to tourism marketing."
4:31:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 194 labeled 28-LS1497\R, Martin, 4/9/14
as the working document.
CHAIR OLSON objected for discussion purposes.
4:32:07 PM
GENEIVIEVE WOJTUSIK, Staff, Senator Lesil McGuire, Alaska State
Legislature, explained this bill would create the Alaska Tourism
Marketing Board within the Department of Commerce, Community &
Economic Development consisting of 21 members, including one
member appointed by the House and Senate and one DCCED member.
She stated that 18 members will represent Southeast,
Southcentral, Southwest, Interior Alaska, and the far north.
The categories would include accommodations, activities,
attractions, transportation, cruise travel, tour operators, and
destination management organizations (DMOs). She explained that
SB 194 would require the department and the board to work
together to plan and execute a destination tourism marketing
plan for Alaska. The public members on the board serve at no
cost to the state and the board will sunset in 2018. The quorum
to conduct business would require nine members but must include
one representative from each part of the state.
4:33:16 PM
MS. WOJTUSIK explained the changes in the proposed committee
substitute, Version R. She referred to page 3, line 16,
changing "governor shall" to "governor may." It also changes
the number of appointees from a "list of three" to a "list of
nominees." It also clarifies on page 3, line 31 and page 4,
line 1, that the state does not pay for the per diem or travel
expenses for the 18 remaining board members to attend meetings.
4:33:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON referred to the sponsor statement
noting that the bill is an important step in continuing the
growth of one of Alaska's most important industries. He asked
how this bill would do that beyond what is currently happening.
MS. WOJTUSIK answered that it formalizes the Alaska Tourism
Marketing Board as a process, and she hoped the 18 members plus
the legislative and department members can create [the
additional industry growth.]
4:34:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON referred to page 2, line 30, which
reads, "(1) the 18 members appointed by the governor who are
members of the leading statewide nonprofit tourism association
...." He offered his belief the Alaska Travel Industry
Association is the leading tourism association
MS. WOJTUSIK agreed.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON referred to page 3, line 16, "(C),
which allows the governor to appoint the members from a list of
nominees for each seat submitted by the leading statewide
nonprofit tourism marketing association and asked for
clarification on "shall" and "may." He said it is mandated on
page 2, but the governor "might" pick from there on page 3.
MS. WOJTUSIK referred to page 3, which clarifies the number of
nominees since it had previously read "three" nominees, but is
now a list of nominees.
4:35:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT expressed concern that regions of the
state are represented, but he did not see the Kenai Peninsula
represented. He suggested that the Kenai Peninsula is as much a
destination of the Far North. He wondered if anyone has raised
this issue when the bill was considered by other committees.
MS. WOJTUSIK said it has not been brought up. She deferred to
the Alaska Travel Industry Association.
4:37:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON referred to page 3 of the bill and said
it seemed as though if the governor selected someone not on the
statewide nonprofit tourism marketing association, the person
would need to join the association.
MS. WOJTUSIK agreed with that assessment.
4:37:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON asked whether the bill has another
committee of referral.
MS. WOJTUSIK said it would go to the House Finance Committee
next.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON suggested the requirement to join an
association may come up.
4:38:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD asked if this bill is for the tourism
industry or if the sponsor would like to create the vision of
what Alaska looks like in the future.
MS. WOJTUSIK offered her belief that this is limited to the
current tourism industry. She recalled some preliminary
discussions about doing something with other divisions, but at
this point, SB 194 is limited to tourism.
4:39:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD remarked that if the state knows what it
wants to look like in the future, it would make it easier to
manage where tourism, roads, and infrastructure is placed.
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT noted the proposed board was a 21-member
board, but only 9 members would be needed to establish a quorum.
He was not aware of any instance in which a minority of
membership could establish a quorum since the quorum typically
requires half or more of the board membership to be present.
MS. WOJTUSIK answered that initially the quorum was 11 members,
but Senator Fairclough pointed out that it can be hard to get a
quorum. Thus the figure was changed, but it requires one member
from each region.
4:40:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT commented it can be hard to hold
meetings that work with everyone's schedule so sometimes it is
easier to get a smaller group together. He acknowledged that
meeting during the tourism timeframe could be difficult.
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON acknowledged that a lot of tourists don't
want infrastructure and seek a lack of infrastructure. He
suggested it could be an important quality.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON commented that the Kenai Peninsula is a
unique, stand-alone place and arguably is the most remarkable
place in the state. He also agreed some people want to be "off
the grid." He hoped that if the board is created it will
consider some opportunities for non-consumptive use. He said,
"That's what tourists want as well. They want to see wildlife,
and we've got to make sure that happens."
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD agreed. She wondered what locations
should be identified as natural locations and where
accommodations should be located. She further asked what the
state would like to see in 10, 20, 50, or 100 years.
4:43:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER referred to page 3, line 16-19,
[subsection (d)], which allows the governor to reject a list.
He asked whether it is the sponsor's intent that there isn't any
duplication.
MS. WOJTUSIK answered that she was unsure. She suggested that
this language was used for other boards.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER could understand the request to consider
non-consumptive use, but he thought it was equally important to
have "consumptive" use represented so all aspects of tourism are
on the proposed ATMB.
4:44:56 PM
BILL PEDLAR, Government Relations, Alaska Travel Industry
Association (ATIA), related he is also president of Knightly
Tours, which is a small tour company that specializes in in-
bound vacation travel to Alaska. He said Knightly Tours has
been in business for over 45 years. He said, most notably, the
ATIA recognizes the Kenai as a hugely important area in tourism;
the definitions of the areas represent the areas the state uses
to market Alaska in the state's Alaska Travel Planner. Thus,
this is where the five regions were derived from and it was
thought it would be easier to use the regional definitions the
travel industry currently uses.
4:46:07 PM
CHAIR OLSON answered that the visitor guide will link up.
MR. PEDLAR agreed.
4:46:18 PM
MR. PEDLAR explained that the ATIA has often discussed the
"rings of tourism" including high, mid, and low density. In
fact, over the years, the travel industry has come forward with
several plans that mirror the way agencies manage state and
federal lands. From that point the ATIA believes there is
pretty good synergy. He said that this board's function is to
renormalize a relationship between the industry and the DCCED
that went awry several years ago. However, the statute has been
in effect since 1988. Further, the industry would like a broad
representation to have small to large businesses. He
characterized it as bringing the best marketing talent to the
table to help the state efficiently market the money. He
suggested that thus far it has worked out well.
4:47:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON remarked that he recalled the conversation
on tourism and the board. He offered his belief that this
"reset" is a good way to move forward. He suggested that this
group of people decide together on sustainable and practical
approaches to tourism because the state wants people to visit.
MR. PEDLAR commented on the quorum. He recalled that Senator
Fairclough pointed out she didn't want a quorum not to occur if
the three government employees serving on the board could not
attend. Thus the quorum was reduced to nine, he said.
4:49:23 PM
JOSEPH JACOBSON, Director, Division of Economic Development,
Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, stated
that this this essentially formalizes the relationship that the
department currently has with the Alaska Travel Industry. He
said the department supports SB 194.
4:50:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT asked for clarification on how the
members would be picked to serve on the board. He further asked
whether the seats would be dedicated.
MR. PEDLAR answered the ATIA has found that the broadest
representation, such as three members from each region and three
"at large" appointments, always tends to work the best. The
industry has found that if it does not have broad based
representation that the industry can miss part of the market.
He emphasized the importance of the ATIA to make sure the
membership represents very balanced representation throughout
the state. He said the ATIA doesn't want people complaining
they have not been listened to. He acknowledged that it was
left "a little loose" intentionally so it wasn't too highly
defined to get best marketing talent available to the state.
4:52:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER said sometimes there are informal
allocations of seats and asked him to identify three
representatives, and whether it would be for categories of big
boats and aviation. He asked for the "understood" division.
MR. PEDLAR responded that currently there are about six
different classes of tourism operators defined at the state
level. The ATIA's goal would be to have a balance, that it
would not be a board of big cruise, big airlines, helicopter
operators, or fishing operators. He said people volunteer to
serve from the big Westmark chain of hotels to bed and
breakfasts and emphasized the importance of achieving diversity.
4:53:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked for the six general areas.
MR. PEDLAR listed the six areas as being accommodations,
activities, attractions, transportation, cruise travel, tour
operators and destination marketing organizations, predominately
the convention and visitor bureaus.
4:54:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER referred to page 2, line 30, which read,
"(1) 18 members appointed by the governor who are members of the
leading statewide nonprofit tourism association ...." He asked
him to identify the organization that is the leading statewide
nonprofit tourism association.
MR. PEDLAR answered the ATIA is the only organization that
currently fills that role. He clarified that the language is
general so if the association changes its name, or the ATIA is
no longer the leading association, that it would still apply.
4:55:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether anyone would feel that they
are "aced out" of serving on the board.
MR. PEDLAR acknowledged there is always someone who wants to
serve. He stated that the goal is to have people bring ideas to
the table. In the past, ATIA has had a significant subcommittee
structure that allows interested parties to serve. He said that
for the key 18 members, the industry tried to narrow it down
from a larger board to one that is still representative of all
the facets of the industry as well as the geographical
distribution of the industry.
4:56:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON asked for further clarification, that the
definition of Southcentral and Interior is understood. He
wondered about the Southwest and the Far North. He asked
whether a loose geographical description would be the area west
of the Alaska Range to the end of the chain, up to the Yukon and
that the Far North would be north of the Yukon, wrapping around
the coast to Barrow and Kaktovik.
MR. PEDLAR answered yes.
4:56:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON asked whether segments of the tourism
economy feel unappreciated by the ATIA, such as eco-tourism or
subsistence tours on the North Slope.
MR. PEDLAR acknowledged that many years ago it was probably
true. He said that there was some general animosity, but the
industry has "grown up" and that "all inclusive" tends for
better ideas and decisions. He noted that members and segments
may not always agree, but everyone's ideas are allowed to come
to the table and be heard. He did not believe that there is any
group left out of the current way the state is marketed.
4:58:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT acknowledged the intent is to ensure
that all industry and all user groups are "under the tent." He
said he does not have any amendment at this point, but he just
wants to be sure the Kenai Peninsula is represented. He
expressed confidence that the ATMB will ensure all Alaskans are
represented.
4:59:05 PM
CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on SB 194.
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON moved a conceptual amendment that can be
dealt with at a later time to add Kenai as an area of the state
that could be added to the five areas represented by the ATMB.
In response to a question, he agreed that some committee members
could further discuss this with the sponsor.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD noted that Eagle River wants to be
remembered, too.
5:00:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD moved to the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for SB 194 labeled 28-LS1497\R, Martin, 4/9/14,
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, the HSC CSSB 194(L&C) was
reported from the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.