02/13/2020 01:00 PM House TRANSPORTATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB208 | |
| HB185 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 185 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 208 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 13, 2020
1:18 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Louise Stutes, Chair
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Matt Claman
Representative Harriet Drummond
Representative Andi Story
Representative Dave Talerico
Representative Mel Gillis
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 208
"An Act renaming College Road in Soldotna as Alan Boraas Road."
- MOVED HB 208 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 185
"An Act relating to the registration of commercial vessels; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 208
SHORT TITLE: RENAMING COLLEGE RD AS ALAN BORAAS RD
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) KNOPP
01/21/20 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/20 (H) TRA
02/06/20 (H) TRA AT 1:30 PM BARNES 124
02/06/20 (H) Failed to Move Out of Committee
02/06/20 (H) MINUTE(TRA)
02/13/20 (H) TRA AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
BILL: HB 185
SHORT TITLE: REGISTRATION OF BOATS: EXEMPTION
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) STUTES
01/21/20 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/20
01/21/20 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/20 (H) FSH, TRA
02/04/20 (H) FSH AT 11:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
02/04/20 (H) Heard & Held
02/04/20 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
02/06/20 (H) FSH AT 11:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
02/06/20 (H) Moved CSHB 185(FSH) Out of Committee
02/06/20 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
02/07/20 (H) FSH RPT CS(FSH) 4DP 1NR
02/07/20 (H) DP: KOPP, EDGMON, TARR, STUTES
02/07/20 (H) NR: NEUMAN
02/13/20 (H) TRA AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE GARY KNOPP
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, introduced HB 208.
ERIC BORAAS
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As the son of Alan Boraas, testified in
support of HB 208.
MATT GRUENING, Staff
Representative Louise Stutes
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 185 on behalf of
Representative Louise Stutes, prime sponsor.
JOANNE OLSEN, Interim Director
Division of Motor Vehicles
Department of Administration
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information and answered questions
during the hearing on HB 185.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:18:16 PM
CHAIR LOUISE STUTES called the House Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:18 p.m. Representatives Story,
Claman, Talerico, and Stutes were present at the call to order.
Representatives Edgmon, Gillis, and Drummond arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
HB 208-RENAMING COLLEGE RD AS ALAN BORAAS RD
1:19:14 PM
CHAIR STUTES announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 208, "An Act renaming College Road in Soldotna as
Alan Boraas Road."
1:19:33 PM
CHAIR STUTES sought to reverse the previous action of the
committee [in failing to move HB 208 out of committee by a vote
of 2-3 during its hearing on 2/6/20]. She explained that it had
been her intent to set HB 208 aside for further consideration.
1:20:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN moved to reconsider his vote on HB 208.
1:20:23 PM
CHAIR STUTES reported that, there being no objection, HB 208 was
back before the committee.
1:20:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GARY KNOPP, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor of HB 208, reminded the committee that the community [of
Soldotna] had requested to change the name of College Road in
Soldotna to Alan Boraas Road after Alan Boraas, PhD, a faculty
member at Kenai Peninsula College (KPC) for 46 years, who "lived
and breathed" the Dena'ina language and the Kenaitze Indian
Tribe heritage and culture. Representative Knopp also brought
the committee's attention to a letter from Joel Isaak [included
in the committee packet], which had come in since the
committee's first hearing of HB 208.
1:23:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN let the committee know that he appreciated
Mr. Isaak's letter, especially in that it identified that the
[KPC] anthropology lab had already used the Dena'ina name that
his honorary tribe had bestowed upon Dr. Boraas. He added that
he was in full support of the road's renaming and that he
considered it especially fitting considering the relationship
between Dr. Boraas and Peter Kalifornsky, after whom the
intersecting highway is named.
1:23:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON echoed Representative Claman's sentiment
of support and gratitude for Dr. Boraas, his connection to the
Kenaitze Indian Tribe, and his writings. He went on to say that
HB 208 was an important measure and that he looked forward to
supporting it.
1:24:29 PM
ERIC BORAAS, Dr. Boraas's son, imparted to the committee that he
sought to recognize his father's almost five decades of work,
primarily in the Kenai Peninsula and Soldotna with the Kenaitze
Indian Tribe, and also let the committee know that the entire
family was behind the decision to rename College Road "Alan
Boraas Road."
1:26:30 PM
CHAIR STUTES announced that she would like to move HB 208 from
committee.
1:26:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN moved to report HB 208 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HB 208 was reported out of the
House Transportation Standing Committee.
1:27:04 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 1:27 p.m.
HB 185-REGISTRATION OF BOATS: EXEMPTION
1:29:48 PM
CHAIR STUTES announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 185, "An Act relating to the registration of
commercial vessels; and providing for an effective date."
[Before the committee was CSHB 185(FSH).]
1:30:48 PM
MATT GRUENING, Staff, Representative Louise Stutes, Alaska State
Legislature, presented HB 185 on behalf of Representative
Stutes, prime sponsor. He explained vessel documentation, a
national form of registration through the United States Coast
Guard's (USCG's) national vessel documentation center. A
brochure located on the Alaska Legislature's Bill Action &
Status Inquiry System (BASIS) from the USCG fully explains what
USCG documentation is.
1:31:46 PM
MR. GRUENING imparted that vessel documentation is one of the
oldest functions of the federal government, dating back to the
Eleventh Act of the first Congress in 1789. He said HB 185
would exempt active commercial fishing vessels from duplicative
registration requirements largely created by passage of Senate
Bill 92, the Derelict Vessel Bill, in 2018 [passed during the
Thirtieth Alaska State Legislature], removing requirements for
current Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC)-licensed
vessels to be registered every three years with the Division of
Motor Vehicles (DMV).
MR. GRUENING pointed out that prior to the passage of Senate
Bill 92 in 2018, USCG-documented vessels were exempt from DMV
registration. That registration was repealed with Senate Bill
92 and, as a result, larger vessels fell under the DMV's
purview. The rationale at the time, Mr. Gruening pointed out,
was to provide the state and local municipalities with a state-
maintained database on who owned and operated vessels as well as
how to contact those individuals.
MR. GRUENING said Senate Bill 92 overlooked the CFEC database.
Vessel licensure with the CFEC, he pointed out, already required
annual renewal and provided the necessary contact information in
a shareable, publicly accessible state database. He added for
committee members' reference that anyone can get on his or her
cell phone and access the CFEC database: it's online, publicly
accessible information.
1:33:20 PM
MR. GRUENING informed the committee that HB 185, in addition to
removing a duplicative registration on larger vessels created by
the passage of Senate Bill 92, would also take the additional
step of exempting USCG-undocumented, CFEC-registered vessels
under five net tons from a preexisting registration requirement
with the DMV. He added that the vessels in question would still
be subject to the new titling requirement of the DMV that was
created by Senate Bill 92.
MR. GRUENING imparted that commercial fishing vessels are the
backbone of Alaska's most vital industry, and it's the sponsor's
intent with HB 185 that vessels would not be required to
register every three years with the DMV at additional cost and
frustration, only to provide the same information the state
already has through the vessel's annual licensure process.
1:34:26 PM
MR. GRUENING briefly ran through the CFEC licensing process and
what it entailed. With very few exceptions, he stated, all
commercial fishing vessels, including tenders, processors, and
transporters engaged in commercial fishing in Alaska waters,
require CFEC licensure. The exceptions are primarily limited to
setnet skiffs, he added. The licensing statute for commercial
fishing vessels in Alaska states that as a condition of delivery
or landing fish or engaging in commercial fishing in the state,
a license is required for a commercial vessel. To give an idea
of scope, the CFEC licensed 8,806 vessels in 2019 for a total of
$629,052 in licensing fees.
MR. GRUENING stated that the commission's license forms require
quite a bit of ownership and contact information: the owner's
name and permanent address, the owner's authorized agent, the
name and number of the vessel, the vessel license number, the
area to be fished, and any other information deemed reasonable
by the CFEC. He proceeded to show the committee a copy of the
four different CFEC licensing forms with the different areas
asking for ownership information, vessel lineage, and ways to
identify the vessel highlighted in yellow. On page 1 of the
vessel licensing form, under penalty of perjury, the applicant
must identify the legal owner of the vessel, a contact person if
that is a different individual, the owner's mailing and
permanent address, social security number, phone number, date of
birth, and email address.
MR. GRUENING stated that if the vessel is new to the individual
or the fisheries in Alaska and thus does not have an Alaska
Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) number, then the applicant
must submit a current copy of the vessel's USCG documentation or
state registration to the CFEC and fill out an additional vessel
history in section 2.
MR. GRUENING let the committee know that every year in order to
re-license a vessel, the same information needed to be verified,
updated, and signed under penalty of perjury. Intentionally
providing false information is punishable by up to a year in
prison and/or a $25,000 fine, and falsifying information also
subjects the permit holder to a suspension of fishing privileges
or permanent revocation of permit. Mr. Gruening passed to the
committee an example of the decal to be displayed on a vessel,
which is issued every year by CFEC. The metal plate to be
permanently affixed to the vessel was also explained to the
committee. More specifics about registering vessels with CFEC
and the correct way to display said registration were explained.
MR. GRUENING stated that HB 185 would remove the duplicative
registration requirement on larger vessels created by the
passage of Senate Bill 92. Those vessels will still be subject
to the new titling requirement with the DMV as well as the
annual CFEC licensure, Mr. Gruening added, but three different
state registrations seemed too much. With the passage of HB
185, all the information provided by the documented boats is
there, and the new titling requirement in Senate Bill 92 is
viewed in lieu of USCG documentation.
MR. GRUENING added that there is a fiscal impact to HB 185. He
added that the DMV is not concerned with the lack of revenue,
but it has been suggested that an amendment could be added to
make up for the DMV's lost funds. He added that HB 185 is not a
free pass for life for commercial fishing vessels, but a one-
year exemption for active businesses that have renewed that
year. Mr. Gruening pointed out that there have been many
letters from businesses as well as from individuals in support
of HB 185.
1:43:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked why there would not be a
corresponding reduction in cost because people [in the DMV]
would not be having to do as much work.
1:44:27 PM
MR. GRUENING replied that he had asked representatives of the
DMV whether, while making the fiscal note, they could take a
look at the reduced labor costs, and they said they would.
1:44:33 PM
JOANNE OLSEN, Interim Director for the Division of Motor
Vehicles, Department of Administration, said that she did not
have a breakdown of costs for an employee who would be handling
the transaction.
1:45:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN said that he would like to know more about
the labor savings achieved by essentially not having to process
as many applications.
1:45:25 PM
MS. OLSEN said that she would be happy to provide that.
1:45:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON followed up by commenting that Senate Bill
92 wasn't in effect long enough for the DMV to be actively
involved, because it wasn't even in place in the summer of 2019.
1:46:16 PM
MR. GRUENING also pointed out that a lot of people didn't comply
and that the fiscal notes may not yet be accurate, but that he
would work with the DMV on the matter.
1:46:57 PM
CHAIR STUTES opened public testimony on HB 185. After
ascertaining there was no one who wished to testify, she closed
public testimony.
1:47:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO said it seemed as though the DMV may be
the one place that "carries its own water," and that this loss
probably has almost no effect [on the DMV].
1:48:30 PM
CHAIR STUTES announced that HB 185 was held over.
1:49:03 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Transportation Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:49
p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 208 v.A 02.04.2020.PDF |
HTRA 2/6/2020 1:30:00 PM HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 208 |
| HB 208 Sponsor Statement 1.31.2020.pdf |
HTRA 2/6/2020 1:30:00 PM HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 208 |
| HB 208 Fiscal Note DOT 02.05.2020.pdf |
HTRA 2/6/2020 1:30:00 PM HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 208 |
| HB 208 Map 1.31.2020.pdf |
HTRA 2/6/2020 1:30:00 PM HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 208 |
| HB 208 KPB Resolution.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 208 |
| HB 208 Support 1 2.11.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 208 |
| HB 208 Support 2 2.10.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 208 |
| HB 185 v. S 2.7.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 Sponsor Statement v. S 2.11.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 Fiscal Note DMV 2.7.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 Fiscal Note DPS 2.7.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 CFEC Vessel Licensing Forms 2.2.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 CFEC Vessel License. Number Plate, and Decal 2.3.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 CFEC 2020 Fishing Vessel Licensing 2.3.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 USCG Brochure Documentation and Tonnage.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 SB 92 (Enrolled 2018).PDF |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 SB 92 |
| HB 185 UFA Support Letter 1.20.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 208 KPB Resolution 02.05.2020.pdf |
HTRA 2/6/2020 1:30:00 PM HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 208 |
| HB 185 USAG Support Letter 1.31.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 ABSCA Support Letter 2.3.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 CDFU Support Letter 2.3.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 BBDEC Support Letter 2.7.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 Testimony Recieved by 2.3.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB185 AAHPA Board Statement 2.3.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 City of Seldovia CFEC Automatic Registration Resolution.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |
| HB 185 SEAFA Support Letter 2.12.20.pdf |
HTRA 2/13/2020 1:00:00 PM HTRA 2/25/2020 1:00:00 PM |
HB 185 |