Legislature(1995 - 1996)
02/01/1996 08:00 AM House STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HJR 49 - DEDICATED HIGHWAY FUND
The next order of business to come before the House State Affairs
Committee was HJR 49.
CHAIR JAMES called on Barbara Cotting, Legislative Assistant to
Representative Jeannette James to present the sponsor statement.
Number 2191
BARBARA COTTING, Legislative Assistant to Representative Jeannette
James, said there was a wide amount of support for HJR 49. She
said this resolution differed from similar ones in that it utilized
only state taxes on motor vehicle fuel, and that the legislature
may appropriate money from the fund only for the maintenance of
roads and highways. She said it did not deal with aircraft and
watercraft, and enforcement of motor vehicle laws as other attempts
had done. Ms. Cotting said the amendment was an attempt to tighten
the resolution. She further said the Department of Transportation,
truckers, and the tourist industry supported HJR 49. There was
information available if the committee members wanted describing
the research behind the resolution and what other states had done.
CHAIR JAMES announced to Robert Gigler in Anchorage that the House
State Affairs Committee would not be hearing HB 363 today in the
event he needed to leave.
CHAIR JAMES referred the committee members to the amendment and
read, "from state taxes on fuel used for the propulsion of highway
or road use motor vehicle."
TAPE 96-9, SIDE A
Number 0000
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN IVAN asked how a road was defined in HJR 49.
He cited in rural Alaska there were many dirt and gravel roads.
Number 00029
CHAIR JAMES said anyplace a road tax was paid. She cited a federal
definition that mentioned a maintained road.
Number 0076
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER enquired about the previous attempt and the
problems.
CHAIR JAMES called on the next witness in Juneau, Sam Kito III, to
answer Representative Porter's question.
Number 0102
SAM KITO III, Legislative Liaison/Special Assistant, Office of the
Commissioner, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities,
said the previous dedicated fund resolution contained too many
components and too many interests which created problems. He said
it was too big of a bill.
CHAIR JAMES asked about licensing fees.
MR. KITO III responded licensing fees were included as well as
funding provisions.
Number 0182
REPRESENTATIVE OGAN said he did not understand the fiscal note and
wondered if it would increase the appropriations for road
maintenance.
Number 0205
CHAIR JAMES replied, no, because the amount of motor vehicle tax
received was $24 million to $25 million and the state was spending
$75 million in road maintenance. She further said there was a road
tax being proposed, and the public was willing to pay a higher tax
if they knew it went into a fund. Therefore, HJR 49 would
guarantee a certain level of funding and would not suffer with the
declining budget.
Number 0295
REPRESENTATIVE OGAN wondered if this was a cog in the wheel of the
long range fiscal plan.
Number 0305
CHAIR JAMES replied it could be. She read the following definition
of a highway found in a statute.
"`highway' means the entire width between the boundary lines of
every way that is publicly maintained when a part of it is open to
the public for purposes of vehicular travel, including but not
limited to every street and the Alaska state marine highway system
but not vehicular ways or areas."
Number 0349
MR. KITO III added the Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities was very interested in the concept of a dedicated fund
because it ensured a revenue stream for maintenance. This, he
alleged, was valuable to guarantee the state road system was
adequately maintained.
Number 0380
CHAIR JAMES said there was support for a similar resolution for
boat and aircraft taxes. She said she did not want to include them
to keep HJR 49 focused in-order-to pass.
Number 0434
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN mentioned the 90/10 federal government rebate
split for road maintenance in Alaska and wondered how HJR 49 would
affect it.
Number 0475
MR. KITO III said HJR 49 would demonstrate to the federal
government the state was trying to maintain our existing highway
system. The split he cited was between $6 to $7 for every tax
dollar put into the fund. He cited California put in $1 and
received 80 cents and they wanted to get their dollar back. He
said Alaska needed to justify that $7 for every $1 put in the fund
to other states for support. He cited seven alternatives were
released in a report by the General Accounting Office for
redistribution of the federal highway trust revenues to the states.
He said in the alternatives the state of Alaska went from $230
million to $89 million in the best case scenario. In the worst
case scenario, he stated, Alaska went from $230 million to $37
million. He further said Congress did not have to choose one of
the alternatives, but they would take it under advisement.
Therefore, he said in six years or so the state could see a serious
decrease in federal dollars. He also said at this point the
department did not collect enough tax revenue to develop a state
program if the federal funding was lost.
Number 0598
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN replied the federal government would probably
look more favorable towards Alaska by adopting HJR 49.
Number 0624
MR. KITO III responded, yes. He said any indication that the state
was working towards stabilizing a maintenance fund for the highways
would look favorably compared to other states.
Number 0639
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER wondered if other states that contributed to
a federal highway fund used motor fuel taxes or general funds.
Number 0666
MR. KITO III cited two states and the District of Columbia that did
not have a dedicated fund for transportation. He said the state of
Texas did not have a fund dedicated for transportation, but for
every penney raised the state increased the revenue by $200
million. He said he did not know how the money was allocated to
transportation, but the revenue generated was enough to adequately
fund the transportation system. He further stated most states had
a constitutional provision or a statute that set aside a separate
account for maintenance and operation of the highways.
Number 0715
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER wondered if the state would contribute to the
fund through a general appropriation.
Number 0723
MR. KITO III said everybody in the U.S. paid a federal fuel tax,
that went back into the federal highway trust fund then
subsequently reallocated. Therefore, the state of Alaska was not
paying money directly, but paying through the usage of the fuel.
Number 0742
CHAIR JAMES announced to the audience the House State Affairs
Committee would not be hearing HB 368 today.
CHAIR JAMES called on the next witness via teleconference in
Anchorage, Robert Eakman.
Number 0779
ROBERT EAKMAN, General Manager, Alaska Independent Truckers
Association, announced his support of HJR 49. He wondered about
the definition of the word "maintenance" in the resolution. Mr.
Eakman wondered if fixing pot holes or tearing up roads and
replacing with better material, for example, were included in the
definition. He cited roads were surfaced very recently in
Anchorage that needed repairing again due to ruts creating a
hazard.
Number 0848
MR. KITO III replied the maintenance that would be covered in HJR
49 would include filling of pot holes and minor resurfacing, for
example. He also said the revenue coming in from the bill would
not increase the current budget so the department would not be able
to do more until the tax revenue increased.
CHAIR JAMES called on the next witness via teleconference in
Anchorage, Jack Wiegel.
Number 0895
JACK WIEGEL, President, Alaska Independent Trucking Association,
said he had been a resident of Alaska for 25 years. He stated his
support for HJR 49 and alleged it would create jobs. He said it
would be a direct injection of dollars into the economy as well as
promote safety on the highways.
CHAIR JAMES called on the next witness via teleconference in
Anchorage, Ted Deboer.
Number 0935
TED DEBOER, Alaska Operations Manager, Totem Ocean Trailer Express,
stated his full support for HJR 49. He alleged it would solve a
lot of the highway problems, as well as promote safety.
CHAIR JAMES called on the next witness via teleconference in
Anchorage, Duane Saulnier.
Number 0969
DUANE SAULNIER stated his support for HJR 49. He further said he
would like to see some up-keep on the roads.
CHAIR JAMES called on the next witness via teleconference in
Anchorage, Blaine Ghan.
Number 0990
BLAINE GHAN, Lynden Transport, said his company strongly supported
HJR 49. He said the wording was critical. He said the dedication
of a highway maintenance fund would be very beneficial to the
highway system for the public and the industry. In conclusion, he
said, provided the wording was correct, his company was in full
support.
CHAIR JAMES called on the next witness via teleconference in
Anchorage, Kym Swift.
Number 1031
KYM SWIFT, said she did not understand why HJR 49 was before the
legislature this year. She said the Administration alleged the
resolution would not increase maintenance. She wondered why the
money was being taken off the table when the state was facing a
$500 million fiscal gap. She further said the framers of the
constitution prohibited this for logical reasons because it made it
hard to adopt in changing economic times which Alaska was about to
face. She stated 25 states in the U.S. had dedicated education
funds and Alaska should look at that before a highway maintenance
fund.
Number 1099
CHAIR JAMES reiterated the amendment before the committee to HJR 49
was to tighten the language to specifically refer to motor
vehicles.
Number 1122
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER moved to adopt the amendment. Hearing no
objection it was so adopted.
Number 1152
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER moved that HJR 49 move from the committee
with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note. Hearing
no objection, it was so moved from the House State Affairs
Committee.
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