Legislature(2013 - 2014)SENATE FINANCE 532
03/13/2014 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearings | |
| SB194 | |
| SB64 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 194 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 64 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SENATE BILL NO. 194
"An Act creating the Alaska Tourism Marketing Board
and relating to tourism marketing."
9:32:22 AM
SENATOR LESIL MCGUIRE, explained SB 194. She referred to
the Sponsor Statement (copy on file).
SB 194 creates a structure for marketing by the State
of Alaska and develops a funding intent formula that
can be supported by the legislature, the
administration, and the private sector, so that
tourism marketing is professionally led and managed.
The Alaska tourism board would be created in statute
and comprised of a minimum of twenty one members.
Eighteen of those would be recommended by ATIA, one
member of the board from the Department of Commerce,
Community and Economic Development, one member would
be appointed from the House, and one member appointed
from the Senate.
Tourism continues to be a growing, renewable industry
that is the second largest employer in the state. Over
1.9 million visitors came to Alaska from October 2012-
September 2013 spending over 1.8 billion dollars. This
bill is an important step in continuing the growth of
one of our most important industries.
Senator McGuire noted that tourism in Alaska was a
statewide issue. The marketing for a tourist across the
state varied area to area, and there were different
categories for each tourist.
Senator McGuire noted that there was a zero fiscal note,
because there was money that was already allocated to cover
the cost of tourism marketing in the state.
Senator McGuire outlined the sections of the bill. Section
1 addressed the purposes of the board, which stated that
expansion and growth of the state's visitor industry will
benefit all of Alaska. She stated that the TAPS revenue was
declining, and the benefits for increasing new development
were still unknown. She stressed that Alaska must continue
to diversify its economy. She shared that the board would
help to increase the number of job opportunities and
training for Alaskans. Section 2 formalized the
relationship between Department of Commerce, Community and
Economic Development (DCCED) and the board. She stated that
there were different governors with different emphases over
the years. The section's intent was to ensure that the
board would stay intact through perpetuity. Section 3 set
up the board. There would be at least three nominees
submitted by Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA),
because there was an effort to not politicize the board.
The board's focus would be tourism marketing for Alaska.
The board would meet at least twice a year. She looked at
page 4, which addressed the rotation of terms to reflect
some institutional knowledge. There would be six members
who would serve three terms; six members serving two terms;
and six members serving for one term.
9:39:34 AM
Co-Chair Meyer stated that the committee was apprehensive
about creating new boards and commissions. He felt that
this board seemed to be different, and that the tourism
industry should be exploited. He wondered if the sponsor
would be amenable for a sunset date and allow the board to
be audited. Senator McGuire replied in the affirmative.
Co-Chair Meyer looked at page 4, and noted there were 21
members, and wondered what would happen to the other three.
Senator McGuire explained that those three members would
follow their appointment.
Co-Chair Meyer noted that he was unsure about the
commissioner appointments. Senator McGuire stated that the
DCCED commissioner or their designee should be a constant
presence on the board.
Co-Chair Meyer queried the effective date. Senator McGuire
responded that the effective date would be based on whether
the industry would want an immediate effective date.
Co-Chair Kelly looked at Section 3, and appreciated the
value of elected individuals in choosing appointed
individuals.
9:44:28 AM
Senator Olson felt that a large board would result in a
cumbersome work, and work may be slowed down because of so
many personalities. Senator McGuire replied that there was
often an exclusion of one region or a type of tourism
operator. She felt that including all aspects of the
industry was essential to the functioning of the board.
Senator Hoffman looked at page 2, line 31, and noted that
18 members would represent different regions of the state.
He wondered if there could be an additional language that
specifies, "including, but not limited to, the Arctic, the
Interior, the Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest."
Senator McGuire replied that she would love to include that
specification.
Senator Bishop would like some assurance that the 18
members held some smaller operators as well. Senator
McGuire replied that the intent was to include some smaller
businesses, and many letters of support indicated similar
requests for inclusion on the board.
9:49:10 AM
Vice-Chair Fairclough looked at page 3, line 16, and noted
the requirement for a quorum. She wondered if that would
create a challenge depending on travel. She felt that the
quorum may be hard to reach, because of the large number of
members and possible conflicts or constraints. Senator
McGuire replied that she was open to the change in language
related to quorum requirements.
Senator McGuire explained that travel and per diem were
only paid for the two legislative members and the
commissioner.
BILL PEDLAR, CHAIR, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE, ALASKA
TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, introduced himself. He
testified in support of SB 194, and remarked that diversity
in the travel industry made the industry very strong. He
felt that the marketing board should represent that
diversity. He stressed that the industry was careful to not
get too specific. He remarked that achieving a quorum had
never been a problem. He felt that the size of the board
allowed for a wide range of inputs and values related to
Alaska tourism.
Senator Olson queried the Mr. Pedlar's opinion on inserting
a sunset into the legislation. Mr. Pedlar responded that
that it was good business to include a sunset date, because
everything deserves to be reviewed.
9:55:43 AM
Senator Olson queried a fair number of years to determine
the effectiveness of the board. Mr. Pedlar replied that a
five or six year window would be prudent. He stated that
marketing had a cumulative effect.
Vice-Chair Fairclough remarked that there was sometimes
hesitation in setting the sunset date too far ahead
initially, in order to prevent bad habits. She wanted to
ensure public participation, meeting notification, and
handling the investment properly. She supported a sooner
sunset date of the board. She furthered that there were
different ways of establishing quorums on boards, and
remarked that legislative members may need to address state
business of greater priority. She wondered if a quorum may
be met by requiring at least one member of each region
attending the meeting, rather than basing a quorum on a
majority of participants. Mr. Pedlar replied that nine
voting members attending would be fine for a quorum. He
furthered that he had been involved in cooperative
marketing in his career, and had never had an issue in
establishing a quorum. He stressed that the industry
members would pay their own way to attend the meetings,
which indicated a high level of commitment.
10:00:32 AM
ROBBIE GRAHAM, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF
COMMERCE, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,(DCCED)
stressed that it was important to recognize the
collaboration with the state and the travel industry. She
shared that there was a recent, formal collaboration
through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed
in FY 12 and reiterated in FY 13. She felt that she and the
DCCED commissioner were uniquely qualified to implement the
program based on their experiences in the tourism industry.
She stated that the tourism marketing program was in the
Division of Economic Development, and she pointed out the
expertise of the leaders of those programs.
Ms. Graham highlighted some of the accomplishments of the
tourism industry marketing program. She stated that summer
visitation had reached similar numbers to 2007 and 2008 at
1.96 million visitors. The annual conversion rate was 12
percent, and pointed out that over a four year period there
was 30 percent conversion rate. The state had generated 16
million through the public relations program and Alaska
tourism promotions were recently published in the New York
Times and other broadcast and social media. She stated that
there was a cultural tourism program, and focused on
Northwest Alaska. There was a movement to take the program
statewide in the next years. There were international
efforts that were enacted to enhance the 2014 season.
CHRIS PELOSO, ATTORNEY, DEPARTMENT OF LAW, JUNEAU,
explained some technical problems with the bill. He looked
at page 2, line 30, which read, "four members from ATIA."
He stated that traditionally bills did not highlight a
specific organization. He looked at language in AS
43.98.040 which involved a similar organization. That
statute stated that "the members be nominated from the
leading nonprofit trade association." He felt that
specifying a specific organization runs the risk of
invalidating the statute, if the organization is dissolved
at any time. He also looked at page 3, line 9, Section 3
which gave power to appoint members of the board to a
private organization and only gave the governor a form a
veto of the recommendations. He felt that it was an
unconstitutional limitation of the governor's authority.
Under the Alaska Constitution, the governor was the only
appointing authority, unless expressly addressed in the
constitution itself. The legislature could no more provide
to the governor to share power with an agency created by it
than it can share the power itself. He suggested that the
ability to appoint members solely rested with the governor.
10:08:21 AM
Vice-Chair Fairclough requested amended language. Mr.
Wilson suggested that the language read, "have the governor
appoint members."
Co-Chair Meyer wondered if Ms. Martin agreed with the
perspective of Mr. Peloso.
HILARY MARTIN, LEGISLATIVE LEGAL SERVICES, JUNEAU (via
teleconference), replied that naming the organization was a
decision that the legislature should make. She understood
the concern regarding changing the statute, if ATIA were
dissolved. She felt that there was no clear answer
regarding submitting a list of requested individuals for
the governor to choose from.
Senator Dunleavy asked if boards existed with the similar
processes outlined in the legislation. Ms. Martin asked for
clarity of the question.
Senator Dunleavy asked if the governor traditionally
appointed individuals based on a list of recommendations.
Ms. Martin replied that she believed that there were other
boards that submitted lists, but she could not name those
boards.
Co-Chair Meyer encouraged the sponsor to work with the
Department of Law to ensure the constitutionality of the
legislation. Senator McGuire replied that she was unaware
of the opinion of the Department of Law. She announced that
Legislative Legal had approved the draft, and was willing
to amend the language to the leading nonprofit in the
industry. Regarding to the appointments, she was willing to
say that the list was recommendations. She stressed that
the recommendations must be submitted by the public to
ensure transparency.
SB 194 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
10:16:05 AM
AT EASE
10:17:28 AM
RECONVENED
10:17:48 AM
RECESS
5:14:52 PM
RECONVENED
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB194 sponsor statement.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 194 |
| Assessment Review - Mandell.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
|
| Assessment Review - Washington.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
|
| SB194-DCCED-DED-3-12-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 194 |
| CS SB64 Explaination of Changes.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| CS SB64 Fiscal Note Comparison Version L&D.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| CS SB64 work draft version L.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| FN - SB 64 - AJC - 3-13-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB064CS(FIN)-ACS-TRC-03-10-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB064CS(FIN)-DHSS-ASAP-03-12-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB064CS(FIN)-DHSS-ASAP-03-13-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB064CS(FIN)-DHSS-ASS-03-11-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB064CS(FIN)-DHSS-ASS-03-13-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB064CS(FIN)-DOC-OC-03-12-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB064CS(JUD)-ACS-TRC-02-17-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| FN - SB 64 - AJC - 3-13-14 (2).pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |