Legislature(2021 - 2022)BARNES 124
03/23/2021 01:30 PM House TRANSPORTATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): Board of Marine Pilots | |
| SJR9 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | SJR 9 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 23, 2021
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Grier Hopkins, Chair
Representative Sara Hannan, Vice Chair
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Harriet Drummond
Representative Tom McKay
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Mike Cronk
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): BOARD OF MARINE PILOTS
- HEARD
CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 9(L&C)
Urging the United States Congress to exempt cruise ships from
certain provisions of the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA)
and other applicable provisions of federal law for the period
during which Canadian ports are closed to cruise ships carrying
more than 100 people; and urging the President of the United
States not to fine or take actions against cruise ships sailing
to the state.
- MOVED CSSJR 9(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SJR 9
SHORT TITLE: URGE EXEMPTION FOR CRUISE SHIPS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) KIEHL
02/10/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/10/21 (S) TRA, L&C
02/18/21 (S) TRA AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/18/21 (S) Moved SJR 9 Out of Committee
02/18/21 (S) MINUTE(TRA)
02/19/21 (S) TRA RPT 2DP 1NR
02/19/21 (S) DP: MYERS, KIEHL
02/19/21 (S) NR: SHOWER
03/03/21 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/03/21 (S) Scheduled but Not Heard
03/05/21 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/05/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/05/21 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
03/15/21 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/15/21 (S) Moved CSSJR 9(L&C) Out of Committee
03/15/21 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
03/17/21 (S) L&C RPT CS 4DP SAME TITLE
03/17/21 (S) DP: STEVENS, GRAY-JACKSON, REVAK,
HOLLAND
03/19/21 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
03/19/21 (S) VERSION: CSSJR 9(L&C)
03/20/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/20/21 (H) TRA
03/23/21 (H) TRA AT 1:30 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
LUCAS HASENBANK
Appointee
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented and answered questions during the
meeting.
RICK HARRIS
Appointee
City & State
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented and answered questions during the
meeting.
SENATOR JESSE KIEHL
Senator
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented SJR 9.
ANDREW CREMATA, Mayor
Skagway, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 9.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:33:56 PM
CHAIR GRIER HOPKINS called the House Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. Representatives
Drummond, Cronk, Hannan, McCabe, McKay, and Hopkins were present
at the call to order. Representative Spohnholz arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): Board of Marine Pilots
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): Board of Marine Pilots
1:34:59 PM
CHAIR HOPKINS announced that the first order of business would
be confirmation hearings for the Board of Marine Pilots.
1:35:28 PM
CHAIR HOPKINS informed the committee the Board of Marine Pilots
(BMP) appointees were appointed by the governor and confirmed by
the Alaska State Legislature. He said the board consisted of
seven members, six of whom were appointed by the governor, two
of whom were licensed pilots, two of whom were agents or
managers of vessels, and two of whom were members of the public,
plus the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic
Development commissioner or their designee. Not more than one
pilot or one agent should be from any one judicial district on
the board; all must be Alaska residents, he shared. Excepting
the commissioner's designee, members were appointed for
staggered terms of four years, and members shall serve until
they are replaced or resign. The board adopts members to carry
out its mission to provide efficient and competent pilotage
services and meets three times per year, he imparted.
1:36:59 PM
LUCAS HASENBANK, Appointee, informed the committee he was up for
the agent representative spot and informed the committee he had
obtained his undergraduate degree and his Master of Business
Administration from the University of South Dakota. Has served
as President of Alaska Maritime Agencies since 2003, he stated.
He shared he had a good working relationship with both the
Southwest Pilots and the Alaska Marine Pilots Associations. He
added he has been a regular at BMP board meetings for the past
10 years, that he has served on the Prince William Sound
Regional Citizens Awareness Council for three-plus years, was an
Alaska State Chamber of Commerce representative, and acted as
Agent Representative for the Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee.
1:39:41 PM
RICK HARRIS, Appointee, said he was up for reappointment to the
Board of Marine Pilots for a second term as one of the public
members on the board. He shared his work at SeaAlaska
Corporation as a Senior Executive from 1980 until 2014, which
afforded him experience in both Natural Resources Management and
Public Policy Development, crafting both state and federal
regulations. Mr. Harris came to Alaska in 1973 to work in
aquaculture, he shared. He is also an army veteran with the
rank of sergeant, he added. The BMP played a critical role in
SeaAlaska's timber operations, he shared. His family has also
worked in the cruise industry as port agents and ship agents, he
shared. Mr. Harris would bring to the BMP a public voice to
ensure rigorous control and safe passage of vessels, as well as
knowledge of regulatory and budget issues.
1:43:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ asked why Mr. Harris was interested in
serving on the BMP.
MR. HARRIS replied he was retired and wanted to give back to the
community; he added with his experience with marine pilots as
well as with the cruise industry, he was a good fit.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ asked him to share some of the big
issues he has worked on over the years.
MR. HARRIS replied recently foreign pleasure crafts or large
private yachts must have pilots on board or must apply for
exemptions with requisite knowledge and skilled people on board
vessels, and he helped clarify how waivers worked to make it
easier for the state to determine who qualified for exemption.
1:44:58 PM
CO-CHAIR HOPKINS opened public testimony on the confirmation
hearing for appointees to the Board of Marine Pilots. After
ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, he
closed public testimony.
1:45:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN commented Mr. Hasenbank's "landlocked"
alma mater ought to be proud their MBA was serving Alaska so
well. She also pointed out that there was still a vacancy on
the BMP after these confirmation hearings.
1:46:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN made a motion to advance the confirmation
of Lucas Hasenbank and Richard Harris, appointees to the Board
of Marine Pilots, to the joint session for consideration. He
reminded the committee that signing the reports regarding
appointments to boards and commissions in no way reflects
individual members' approval or disapproval of the appointees,
and the nominations are merely forwarded to the full legislature
for confirmation or rejection.
1:47:09 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 1:47 p.m. to 1:49 p.m.
SJR 9-URGE EXEMPTION FOR CRUISE SHIPS
1:49:40 PM
CO-CHAIR HOPKINS announced that the final order of business
would be CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 9(L&C), Urging the
United States Congress to exempt cruise ships from certain
provisions of the PVSA and other applicable provisions of
federal law for the period during which Canadian ports are
closed to cruise ships carrying more than 100 people; and urging
the President of the United States not to fine or take actions
against cruise ships sailing to the state.
1:49:51 PM
SENATOR JESSE KIEHL, Senator, Alaska State Legislature, shared
in 2019 Alaska had 2.2m tourists, most of whom came in on big
ships. The tourists were responsible for about $4B in economic
activity across Alaska, he shared. In 2020 the number was close
to zero, he shared, putting small- and medium-sized Alaska
businesses and their employees at great risk. There were
federal payroll protection programs, disaster loans, Alaska
CARES Act money, and unemployment assistance; yet, if the 2021
numbers looked similar, there would be very few businesses which
would survive.
SENATOR KIEHL stated in 2021 with the Canadian closure, a series
of American federal laws were positioned to prevent another
cruise ship season. In effect, with big ships' obligatory stops
in Canada on their way to Alaska canceled, SJR 9 would ask for
temporary reprieve during the pandemic and closed Canadian
waters. He noted SJR 9 had been developed with the
Congressional delegation; that all three members had introduced
legislation that would do what SJR 9 requested. If SJR 9 did
not pass, it would ensure prohibitive laws did not pass. It did
not ask for any breaks or shortcuts on COVID-19 safety, he
pointed out. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) put out a 40-
page manual for COVID-19 mitigations should sailing again become
safe. There were safe ways for cruising to resume, he added.
1:55:14 PM
CO-CHAIR HOPKINS thanked the sponsor for bringing forth the
statewide issue.
1:55:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked about the similarity between SJR 9
and House Bill 13.
SENATOR KIEHL said the only change was some clarifying language
in the second resolved clause to clarify no enforcement would be
taken against ships under the Passenger Vessel Services Act
(PVSA).
1:56:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK asked when Congress would "deal with this,"
and if getting ships to Juneau in the summer of 2021 were a
possibility.
SENATOR KIEHL said he could not predict Congress. At one time
he thought the provisions could have been inserted into the
American Rescue Act because it was done through the budget
reconciliation process and was not an order, he shared.
Congressman Don Young originally introduced legislation on the
matter, he stated, and shared he thought the solution "elegant."
There are a couple potential vehicles in which to insert this
resolution, he said. There was no date, he said. The cruise
lines needed to make decisions; the CDC was still in partial
shutdown mode; and it would take 90 days "from the word go" to
get paying passengers on board, so there was very little chance
before mid- or late-July.
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK said he supported SJR 9.
1:59:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND asked if other states impacted had asked
for similar dispensation; for example, Washington, where many of
the cruise ships originated.
SENATOR KIEHL said he had been working with the Washington State
delegation and several members of their legislature, but there
had been no resolution from Washington. There were several
issues, and the Port of Seattle would see significant impacts if
the big ships didn't begin any voyages there this summer, he
added.
2:00:31 PM
CO-CHAIR HOPKINS opened public testimony.
2:00:45 PM
ANDREW CREMATA, Mayor of Skagway, testified in support of SJR 9.
Mr. Cremata said the PVSA presented a "significant hurdle" to
cruises resuming their ability to pay visits to Skagway and
described the dire situation in that community due to the
pandemic and subsequent loss of cruise ship revenue income to
the tune of $160m in 2020. The loss of the 2021 cruise season
would mean 2.5 years in the best-case scenario. Has sent letter
of support of SJR 9 to federal delegation and spoken with
legislators, he stated. He has also encouraged independent
traffic, but the border is closed for many of the same reasons
Canada's were, he said. Other port communities were affected,
as is Denali Borough, he imparted.
2:03:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked about the total revenue loss
compared to total of $160m in 2020.
MR. CREMATA responded it was almost an entire year's income and
that property taxes even had to be waived for businesses that
couldn't afford to pay. Going into 2021 budget cycle with 6%
revenue projected, which is optimistic. There was still sales
tax revenue, but the significance of the impact wasn't shown, he
said. It was 96% - 98% percent of revenue, he shared.
2:04:32 PM
CO-CHAIR HOPKINS asked if Skagway had a similar problem with
allocations based on population like Denali.
MR. CREMATA responded CARES Act money was put back into the
hands of residents and created a grant program for businesses
out of sales tax. He emphasized SJR 9 was a matter of survival
for the community of Skagway.
2:06:27 PM
CO-CHAIR HOPKINS closed public testimony on SJR 9.
2:06:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN moved to report SJR 9 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, SJR 9 moved out of the House
Transportation Standing Committee.
2:07:04 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 2:07 p.m. to 2:09 p.m.
2:09:39 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Transportation Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:09
p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HTRA Confirmation Hearing - Board of Marine Pilots - Lucas Hasenbank 3.23.2021.pdf |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
Confirmation Hearing |
| HTRA Confirmation Hearing - Board of Marine Pilots - Richard Harris 3.23.2021.pdf |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
Confirmation Hearing |
| SJR 9 Letters of Support 2021-03-15.pdf |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 9 |
| SJR 9 Explanation of Changes.pdf |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 9 |
| SJR 9 Letters of Opposition 2021-03-15.pdf |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 9 |
| SJR 9 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 9 |
| SJR 9 Supporting Document KTOO Article on Federal Legislation.pdf |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 9 |
| SJR 9 ver. B.PDF |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 9 |
| SJR 9 Zero Fiscal Note.PDF |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 9 |
| SJR 9 Letter of Support Fairbanks Chamber 3.23.2021.pdf |
HTRA 3/23/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 9 |