Legislature(2013 - 2014)
04/04/2013 02:36 PM House TRA
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB24 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 24-MARINE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD
2:36:54 PM
CHAIR P. WILSON announced that the only order of business would
be SENATE BILL NO. 24, "An Act relating to the Alaska Marine
Transportation Advisory Board."
2:37:18 PM
DOUG LETCH, Staff, Senator Gary Stevens, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, stated that SB 24 would
add an additional seat to the 11-member Alaska Marine
Transportation Advisory Board (MTAB). The new seat would
represent the Kenai Peninsula areas of Seldovia and Homer, and
the Kodiak Island communities that receive ferry service,
including Kodiak, [and the smaller communities of Port Lions,
Old Harbor, Ouzinkie, Seldovia, and Homer]. The additional MTAB
member would allow these communities to submit names to serve on
the board. Additionally, the bill would allow Gustavus an
opportunity to apply to the board since this community has had
ferry service in recent years. He clarified that this change
would not guarantee that anyone from these communities would be
appointed to serve; however, it would give them an opportunity
to advance a name for consideration to the MTAB.
2:39:24 PM
MR. LETCH stated that the sponsor questioned the even number
membership of the MTAB since the bill would increase membership
to 12 members. The sponsor has subsequently discussed this with
the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities' (DOT&PF)
liaison. He provided additional information. First, there are
not any bylaws for the MTAB. Second, there has never been a tie
vote; however, in the event of a tie vote the issue would die.
He offered his belief that the MTAB currently seems to get along
well, without any personality conflicts. Further, the MTAB's
role is to provide an advisory role on marine transportation
issues. He related the bill has a small fiscal note in the
amount of $3,000 per year. The board requires members to attend
one meeting in person each year. The bill had unanimous support
in the Senate when it came up for a vote. He characterized this
bill as a good bill that will give people opportunities to
better represent their communities on the MTAB, in particular,
since the area represents a large geographical area, stretching
from the Aleutian chain to Prince William Sound and the Kenai
Peninsula area of Kachemak Bay. He thanked members and
understood an amendment may be forthcoming.
2:41:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON also questioned the even number of MTAB
members and asked if it is common for state boards to not have
bylaws.
MR. LETSCH answered he was unsure, but offered to find out for
the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON pointed out the even-numbered membership
on the board could result in split decisions. He offered his
support for the bill; however, he did raise the concern.
2:42:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTIS said she has served on municipal advisory
boards, but has not served on state advisory boards. She
recalled her groups got together as working groups and served in
an advisory capacity. She further recalled the municipal groups
could advise; however, the municipal officials could choose to
do something else. She offered her belief that the key is that
the MTAB is advisory in nature.
2:43:26 PM
CHAIR P. WILSON recalled the MTAB was created via an executive
order under Governor Murkowski, but the next governor halted the
MTAB. However, since the MTAB is so important to communities,
she subsequently introduced a bill to place the MTAB into
statute. She offered her belief that the MTAB has made a
difference. While everyone wants to see services expand, she
cautioned that she did not want services expand at the expense
of losing service for communities currently served. She would
like to ensure that existing services are not decreased. She
also suggested that the MTAB must be careful in this regard.
2:45:02 PM
MR. LETCH acknowledged Chair Wilson has raised a good point and
the MTAB's history is accurate. He recalled the Kodiak Chamber
of Commerce considered MTAB membership, too, and is one reason
the sponsor is limiting the board membership to just add one
seat; that the goal is to keep the MTAB's membership as small as
possible, but expand the communities' sense of being
represented. He pointed out that Kodiak is very reliant on the
Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). He remarked that the
community is vocal on questions about vehicle maintenance and
scheduling. Senator Stevens frequently hears from constituents
throughout the year. The intent of the bill is to separate a
little of the large geographic area with no malice towards the
current MTAB representative for the area, who is the mayor of
Unalaska. Instead, the bill would give the communities more
voice on issues since the AMHS is Kodiak's highway as well as
the small communities also served by ferries. In conclusion, he
related that the bill was introduced in response to the
communities' need with the added goal of keeping the cost very
low.
2:46:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE clarified that the bylaws are addressed in
statute under AS 65.
2:47:15 PM
JOE BAILOR, Economic Development Specialist, Kodiak Chamber of
Commerce, offered his support for SB 24, which will add an
additional seat for Southcentral Alaska to the MTAB board. He
said that this community needs adequate representation for the
Kodiak region to communicate service needs for the region. The
Kodiak region has been growing and last summer the AMHS added
Old Harbor and Ouzinkie to its M/V Tustumena route. This brings
the total number of communities served on Kodiak Island to four.
The community needs reliable and consistent marine
transportation to fuel growth and development for the whole
island. Many businesses and individuals rely on the M/V
Tustumena and the M/V Kennicott to provide basic transportation
and shipping needs to the Kodiak region. The Kodiak region,
like other medium-sized Alaskan communities, has seen a loss and
consolidation of local businesses. The community has become
more reliant on the Anchorage, and Kenai areas to provide basic
needs. However, the only link to those communities is the AMHS
except for air freight. A few years ago, Kodiak Island lost
regular barge service from Western Pioneer in Seattle. This
forced the village leadership to look for other transportation
solutions for their basic necessities, which sometimes has
involved using more costly air freight. The U.S. Coast Guard
transfers continue each summer and many families use the AMHS to
relocate their families to and from Kodiak Island. Further,
local schools and activity groups use the ferry to keep costs
down and enable more kids to travel to various communities to
compete in academics and sports and to also bring students to
Kodiak for home meets and competition events. The economy in
the Kodiak region is tied to its infrastructure, which the
community needs to continue to develop, which includes the AMHS,
to support growth for the region. The first step requires good
communication, which will come with the added seat on the MTAB
to represent Kodiak, [Old Harbor, Port Lions, Ouzinkie,
Seldovia, and Homer]. In conclusion, he said that Kodiak and
Southcentral Alaska needs the AMHS's support. He urged members
to pass SB 24 this legislative session.
2:50:30 PM
CHAIR P. WILSON made a motion to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1,
on page 2, line 10, delete "retired" and add "with 20 or more
years" after "engineer."
CHAIR P. WILSON explained that it is sometimes difficult to find
retired people willing to serve [on the MTAB], so an alternative
would be to have someone serve who has 20 or more years of
experience.
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE objected for purpose of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE removed his objection.
2:51:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE moved to amend Conceptual Amendment 1, to
add "experience" after "with 20 or more years". There being no
objection, the amendment to Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted.
2:52:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS objected for the purpose of
discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS asked whether the source of
Conceptual Amendment 1 was feedback from MTAB.
CHAIR P. WILSON answered yes; a member of MTA suggested it.
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS removed his objection.
CHAIR P. WILSON announced that Conceptual Amendment 1, as
amended was adopted.
2:53:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE moved to report SB 24, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no further objection, the HCS SB
24(TRA) was reported from the House Transportation Standing
Committee.
2:54:41 PM
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