Legislature(2011 - 2012)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/15/2011 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB65 | |
| SB96 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 96 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | HB 65 | ||
SB 96-APPLICATION OF VILLAGE SAFE WATER ACT
3:36:40 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced the consideration of SB 96.
3:37:01 PM
DAVID SCOTT, Staff to Senator Donny Olson, said the committee
substitute (CS) for SB 96 does two things. First, it raises the
threshold for a village from 600 residents to 1,000 residents.
Second, in modifies the definition of what communities are
eligible to receive Village Safe Water project funds.
3:37:45 PM
SENATOR KOOKESH moved to adopt CSSB 96 ( ), labeled 27-LS057\I
as the working document.
SENATOR WAGONER objected for the purposes of discussion.
3:38:26 PM
RALPH WOLFE, Intern for Senator Albert Kookesh, sponsor of SB
96, said this bill would add home rule language to AS 46.07.080.
He explained that this addition would allow home rule cities
with a population between 25 and 600 residents to be eligible
for grants under the Village Safe Water Act. He explained that
this would help get the program to the villages it was intended
to help. Under the current language of the statute home rule
cities are excluded from this act, while being eligible through
most of the other requirements. He noted that many villages in
Alaska lack a safe source of drinking water or safe means of
sewage disposal, which the Village Safe Water program was
enacted to provide. This program provides technical and
financial support to Alaska's smallest communities in order to
design and construct water and wastewater systems.
SENATOR KOOKESH clarified that the CS would change the
population requirement from 600 to 1,000 residents, which would
include five to six more villages. He asked for confirmation
that this is correct.
MR. SCOTT replied that there are several more villages that
would be eligible under the increase.
SENATOR KOOKESH said the intention of the change found in the CS
was to make sure that all of the villages in Alaska that are
needy would be eligible under the program. He noted that the
Village Safe Water program is funded primarily by the federal
government. There are a lot of villages that do not have running
water and the intention of the bill is to make sure that those
villages would be eligible to apply for these grants.
3:41:08 PM
SENATOR WAGONER referred to the handout from the Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) which gave a brief history on
the funding for the Village Safe Water program [included in the
document packet]. He said the efforts to improve sanitation
conditions in rural and Native Alaska began in the 1960's and
1970's by the Indian Health Service. Following this, in 1972,
the state of Alaska became involved, and now provides 25 percent
of the funding for the Village Safe Water program. He said that
the way he reads this, it makes the program a rural-Native
village program. He asked if this is correct.
SENATOR KOOKESH replied that this program is based on villages
and there can be villages that are made up of individuals who
are not Native. He said that the federal government funds 75
percent of the grant, with a 25 percent state match.
SENATOR WAGONER said he wanted to make sure that this was the
case because all of these small villages need clean water and
sewage.
3:42:58 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced he would hold SB 96 in committee.
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