04/05/2001 08:05 AM House STA

HB 167-MOTOR VEH. LIC.PLATES: NATL GRD/ANTIQUE                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Number 0054                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL  announced that the  first order of  business would                                                               
be HOUSE  BILL NO. 167,  "An Act  relating to license  plates for                                                               
Alaska National  Guard personnel and for  antique motor vehicles;                                                               
relating  to  gold rush  license  plates;  and providing  for  an                                                               
effective date."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Number 0140                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FRED   DYSON,  Alaska  State   Legislature,  came                                                               
forward to testify as  sponsor of HB 167.  He  began by saying he                                                               
believes  HB 167  has  "no  downside."   A  number of  automobile                                                               
hobbyists approached  him several years  ago asking that  the law                                                               
be  changed to  allow them  to use  (if they  can find  them) old                                                               
Alaska  license plates  that  match the  year  of manufacture  of                                                               
their  antique or  collectable cars.    About half  of the  other                                                               
states allow  this, he said.   If  HB 167 passes,  the automobile                                                               
owners will ask  the Department of Motor Vehicles  (DMV) to check                                                               
to see if  there is a duplicate number among  the current plates.                                                               
If  there is  not and  the old  plate is  legible, then  DMV will                                                               
allow the person  to use the old plate with  a sticker indicating                                                               
the current  registration.  He  said DMV is comfortable  with the                                                               
idea and does not see it as a problem.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Number 0280                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  DYSON  explained  that  when he  started  out  to                                                               
sponsor HB  167, one of his  colleagues in the Senate  said there                                                               
are people who  want to be able to get  the so-called "gold rush"                                                               
type  license plates  as  vanity plates  with  their initials  or                                                               
whatever on them.  His friend  in the Senate added that provision                                                               
to  the  bill,   "and  the  bill  kind  of  went   in  a  ditch,"                                                               
Representative  Dyson said.   When  he resurrected  the idea  for                                                               
this session,  the bill  still contained  the part  pertaining to                                                               
gold  rush plates.   He  asked the  House State  Affairs Standing                                                               
Committee to amend  HB 167 by taking the gold  rush plates out of                                                               
it.   He thinks there is  very little demand for  those, and that                                                               
part of the bill places the most of a fiscal note on HB 167.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Number 0366                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON then said DMV  had asked that a small change                                                               
be made  so that  people who have  Alaska National  Guard license                                                               
plates would not be required to turn  them in at the end of their                                                               
term  of  service  and  DMV   would  not  be  burdened  with  the                                                               
bookkeeping  and "going  out and  chasing them  down."   From his                                                               
perspective, HB  167 largely  has to do  with allowing  people to                                                               
use year-of-manufacture  license plates on their  collector cars,                                                               
and the  section on the National  Guard plates is being  added as                                                               
an accommodation to DMV.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Number 0420                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  COGHILL asked  if the  part  pertaining to  the gold  rush                                                               
plates was subsection (w), page 2, line 11.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  DYSON  replied that  there  also  was mention  in                                                               
paragraph (4), line 30, of that same page.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL asked if cost  and/or the impracticability were the                                                               
reason for deleting it.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON replied, "Yes, sir."                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Number 0460                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL said  he would take that as  a conceptual amendment                                                               
and ask  a drafter  to delete subsection  (w) and  paragraph (4),                                                               
taking out the  gold rush plates.  There being  no objection, the                                                               
conceptual amendment  [Amendment 1]  was adopted.   Chair Coghill                                                               
asked if  there was  anyone who  wished to speak  on HB  167, and                                                               
said  he personally  likes the  bill, "now  that it  is a  little                                                               
lighter economically."                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Number 0536                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES moved  to report HB 167, as  amended, out of                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations and  the accompanying                                                               
fiscal notes.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Number 0552                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STEVENS asked  about  the fiscal  note, which  he                                                               
assumed would change considerably in response to Amendment 1.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL  said he  thinks the  fiscal note  will go  down to                                                               
zero.  He  called attention to the second sentence  of the fiscal                                                               
note,  which  says,   "Due  to  the  low  number,   this  is  not                                                               
anticipated to  have a fiscal impact."   That being the  case, he                                                               
thought the committee could zero out the fiscal note.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Number 0597                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  COGHILL then  called for  the  question.   There being  no                                                               
objection,  CSHB  167(STA)  was  moved out  of  the  House  State                                                               
Affairs  Standing Committee  with individual  recommendations and                                                               
the accompanying zero fiscal note.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
HB 167 - MOTOR VEH. LIC.PLATES: NATL GRD/ANTIQUE                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Number 1270                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Attention was  returned briefly  to HOUSE BILL  NO. 167,  "An Act                                                               
relating to  license plates for  Alaska National  Guard personnel                                                               
and for  antique motor  vehicles; relating  to gold  rush license                                                               
plates; and providing for an effective date."                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said  he wished to correct  something he had                                                               
said earlier in  the meeting concerning HB 167.   He had said the                                                               
accommodation on  National Guard  license plates was  the request                                                               
of the Department  of Motor Vehicles (DMV).   That was incorrect,                                                               
he said.   The  request originally came  from a  constituent and,                                                               
when asked,  DMV said  that would  not be  a problem,  would help                                                               
them, and would change the law to reflect current DMV practice.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL  said it  seemed to  him that  the request  now was                                                               
coming "from us rather than from them."                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  DYSON  agreed,  but  said he  had  misspoken  and                                                               
wished to set the record straight.