Legislature(1997 - 1998)

03/10/1997 01:35 PM Senate CRA

Audio Topic
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
txt
         SENATE COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE                         
                         March 10, 1997                                        
                           1:35 p.m.                                           
                                                                               
                                                                               
  MEMBERS PRESENT                                                              
                                                                               
 Senator Jerry Mackie, Chairman                                                
 Senator Gary Wilken, Vice Chairman                                            
 Senator Dave Donley                                                           
 Senator Randy Phillips                                                        
 Senator Lyman Hoffman                                                         
                                                                               
  MEMBERS ABSENT                                                               
                                                                               
 All members present                                                           
                                                                               
  COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                           
                                                                               
 SENATE BILL NO. 34                                                            
 "An Act giving notice of and approving a lease-purchase agreement             
 with the City of Soldotna for a maintenance facility of the                   
 Department of Transportation and Public Facilities."                          
                                                                               
  -- SB 34 MOVED OUT OF COMMITTEE                                              
                                                                               
 SENATE BILL NO. 50                                                            
 "An Act relating to administrative penalties for violation of                 
 public water supply system requirements; amending Alaska Rule of              
 Civil Procedure 82 regarding attorney's fees; and providing for an            
 effective date."                                                              
                                                                               
  -- CSSB 50(CRA) ADOPTED & MOVED OUT OF COMMITTEE                             
                                                                               
  PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION                                             
                                                                               
 SB 34 - No previous action to record.                                         
                                                                               
 SB 50 - Community & Regional Affairs minutes dated 2/5/97, 3/7/97.            
                                                                               
  WITNESS REGISTER                                                             
                                                                               
 Senator John Torgerson                                                        
 State Capitol                                                                 
 Juneau, AK 99801-1182                                                         
  POSITION STATEMENT:   Prime Sponsor of SB 34                                 
                                                                               
 Forrest Browne, Debt Manager                                                  
 Treasury Division                                                             
 Department of Revenue                                                         
 P.O. Box 110405                                                               
 Juneau, AK 99811-0405                                                         
  POSITION STATEMENT:   Outlined department's concerns with SB 34              
                                                                               
 Sam Kito, Special Assistant                                                   
   to Commissioner Perkins                                                     
 Department of Transportation & Public Facilities                              
 3132 Channel Drive                                                            
 Juneau, AK 99801-7898                                                         
  POSITION STATEMENT:   Department supports SB 34                              
                                                                               
 Bob Knight, Staff to Senator Gary Wilken                                      
 State Capitol                                                                 
 Juneau, AK 99801-1182                                                         
  POSITION STATEMENT:   Offered information on CSSB 50(CRA)                    
                                                                               
 Keith Kelton, Director                                                        
 Division of Facility Construction & Maintenance                               
 Department of Environmental Conservation                                      
 410 Willoughby Ave., Suite 105                                                
 Juneau, AK 99801-1795                                                         
  POSITION STATEMENT:   Responded to questions on CSSB 50(CRA)                 
                                                                               
  ACTION NARRATIVE                                                             
  TAPE 97-10, SIDE A                                                           
 Number 001                                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  called the Senate Community & Regional Affairs              
 Committee meeting to order at 1:35 p.m.  All committee members                
 were present.                                                                 
                                                                               
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  brought SB 34 before the committee as the first             
 order of business.                                                            
                                                                               
          SB 34 DOT MAINTENANCE FACILITY AT SOLDOTNA                         
                                                                               
  SENATOR TORGERSON , prime sponsor of SB 34, explained the                    
 legislation was introduced to facilitate the moving of the                    
 Department of Transportation & Public Facilities maintenance                  
 facility off of the Kenai River in downtown Soldotna to a location            
 that is off the river and away from any possibility of                        
 contaminating the Kenai River.  He added that this project has been           
 around for many years and has had the support of a lot of                     
 administrations, but it has never been put on any of their project            
 lists.                                                                        
                                                                               
 SB 34 authorizes the City of Soldotna to sell revenue bonds and to            
 enter into a lease-purchase agreement with the state of Alaska so             
 that it can finance and build a new maintenance facility on a new             
 site.                                                                         
                                                                               
 Senator Torgerson pointed out there are changes that need to be               
 made to the legislation in the financing structure as well as to              
 the fiscal note.  He said he hoped the committee would take up just           
 the issue of whether or not to move the bill out of committee and             
 then the financial portion of it could be handled in the Finance              
 Committee.                                                                    
                                                                               
 Number 050                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR PHILLIPS  asked if there was any potential opposition to the         
 legislation other than by DOT.   SENATOR TORGERSON  replied there             
 wasn't; everybody wants to see the facility moved out of downtown             
 Soldotna because it is a contaminated site and it is leaking                  
 hydrocarbons into the river.                                                  
                                                                               
 Responding to questions from Chairman Mackie,  SENATOR TORGERSON              
 explained that the City of Soldotna would finance and build the               
 facility and enter into a lease-purchase agreement with DOT, so the           
 state would eventually be the owner of the facility.  He also                 
 clarified it would be built on borough land, but if the state or              
 city was to be required to own the property for State Bond                    
 Committee then the land could be transferred to either the state or           
 the city.  He added that the is borough ready to do whatever is               
 necessary to make the land available for the site.                            
                                                                               
 Number 097                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR DONLEY  asked if the state owns the land where the facility          
 is now located, and if there is any plan for the use of that land             
 after the facility moves.   SENATOR TORGERSON  acknowledged that the          
 state owns the land, and future use of the land depends on whether            
 it is cleaned up and to what specifications the hydrocarbons are              
 cleaned up.   The City of Soldotna has a great deal of interest in            
 the land to make it a greenbelt or park, etc., but they are afraid            
 of the underlying liability that would come from a piece of                   
 property if additional cleanup was required.                                  
                                                                               
 Number 120                                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  noted that a new fiscal note had been received from         
 the Department of Revenue as well as a suggested committee                    
 substitute.   SENATOR TORGERSON  said he had just received the                
 committee substitute and that he doesn't agree with much of it.  He           
 added that if a committee substitute is to come before the                    
 committee, he would rather it be something that he'd generate.                
                                                                               
 Number 140                                                                    
                                                                               
  FORREST BROWNE , Debt Manager, Treasury Division, Department of              
 Revenue, said the department suggests the sponsor and the committee           
 consider a somewhat less restrictive statement as it has to do with           
 the financing.  The bill, as written, indicated that the lease-               
 financing be through the city.  The department has found in the               
 past that if the State Bond Committee has some flexibility in these           
 financings, they can effect some cost savings.  If the bill was               
 less restrictive and it specify who the issuer would be, they may             
 be able to effect some cost savings by packaging some of these                
 smaller financings when they go to market.  The department                    
 recommends making it a fairly generic approval, set a limit on the            
 project cost and what the annual and the total lease payments would           
 be, but perhaps give the State Bond Committee the option to package           
 it in the most cost-effective manner.                                         
                                                                               
 Number 185                                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  asked if the draft committee substitute with                
 Senator Torgerson's name on it was prepared by the department.   MR.          
 BROWNE  acknowledged that the department's legal counsel prepared it          
 strictly as a draft.  He also apologized that the department had              
 not discussed their suggested committee substitute with the sponsor           
 prior to the hearing, but he assured the Chairman that that they              
 would do so.                                                                  
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  asked if the Department of Revenue supports the             
 legislation.   MR. BROWNE  responded that   the project is doable in          
 terms of the financing, but they don't have that much familiarity             
 with the project itself.                                                      
                                                                               
 Number 225                                                                    
                                                                               
 SAM KITO , Special Assistant to Commissioner Perkins, Department of           
 Transportation & Public Facilities, voiced the department's strong            
 support for SB 34 and their interest in continuing to work with the           
 sponsor in an effort to refine some of the financing aspects of the           
 legislation.  He said the department is very interested in                    
 relocating the maintenance station to a new location.                         
                                                                               
 There being no further testimony on SB 34,  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  asked            
 for the pleasure of the committee.                                            
                                                                               
  SENATOR WILKEN  moved SB 34 and the accompanying fiscal notes be             
 passed out of committee with individual recommendations.  Hearing             
 no objection,                                                                 
 it was so ordered.                                                            
 Number 245                                                                    
                                                                             
       SB 50 PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY VIOL: ADMIN PENALTIES                       
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  brought SB 50 back before the committee, noting             
 that a subcommittee consisting of Senator Wilken and Senator                  
 Hoffman along with their staffs had been working on bill with the             
 Department of Environmental Conservation and had come with a                  
 proposed committee substitute.                                                
  SENATOR WILKEN  moved adoption of CSSB 50(CRA) for discussion                
 purposes.  Hearing no objection, the Chairman stated the committee            
 substitute was before the committee.                                          
                                                                               
  SENATOR WILKEN  stated he was satisfied with the provisions in the           
 committee substitute that protect the public against what he would            
 call arbitrary imposition of administrative procedures.  It now               
 requires the department has to go through delineated steps that               
 protect the interests of the people as well as the interests of the           
 state.                                                                        
                                                                               
 Number 262                                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  requested a brief overview on the changes made in           
 the committee substitute.                                                     
                                                                               
  BOB KNIGHT , staff to Senator Wilken, explained a reference to the           
 court rule change has been referenced in the title because of a               
 request to include the use of the district court as a place to file           
 an appeal.  The original bill limited it to superior court.                   
                                                                               
 At the prior hearing on the bill, there was concern that the level            
 of fines was limited to $1,000 per day for the larger communities             
 and $750 per day for the smaller communities.  The committee                  
 substitute breaks it into three levels so that the minimum required           
 by the federal legislation and the federal rules is a $1,000 per              
 day fine for communities over 10,000 people, for communities over             
 1,000 people up to 10,000 people the fine has been reduced from               
 $750 to $500 per day, and for communities under 1,000 people the              
 maximum penalty is $100 per day.                                              
                                                                               
 Section 2, subsection (f) addresses Senator Hoffman's concern to              
 permit the filing of appeals in district court.  The normal filing            
 in the superior court is covered under subsection (e).  Subsection            
 (c) increases the time for filing appeals from 30 days to 45 days.            
                                                                               
 Section 3 changes Rule 602(b) of the Alaska Rules of Appellate                
 Procedure to permit filing an administrative appeal in district               
 court.  Mr. Knight noted the Alaska Court System has some concern             
 about this procedural change.  In the past the court system has               
 taken the position that to allow filing in district court might               
 then begin to change the nature of the whole court system on where            
 to file and how to file.  However, Janice Adair of DEC has                    
 estimated that this change might involve one case every five years            
 that would go all the way to the appeal level.                                
                                                                               
 Section 5 requires the department to circulate copies of proposed             
 regulations to all legislators at least 30 days prior to such                 
 regulations going into effect.                                                
                                                                               
 Number 350                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR DONLEY  referred to subsection (j) in Section 2, which               
 provides that if the department prevails in a collection action,              
 the court shall order the person to pay attorney fees and costs               
 incurred by the department.  He asked if a citizen wins, why isn't            
 the citizen entitled to their full reasonable attorney fees.                  
  SENATOR HOFFMAN  answered that the issue had not been raised during          
 discussions on the bill.                                                      
                                                                               
  SENATOR WILKEN  referred to page 3, lines 5 and 6, subsection (c),           
 which increases the time for filing an appeal from 30 to 45 days,             
 and suggested the Finance Committee may want to look at tightening            
 up that time to about 15 days when the bill is before them.                   
                                                                               
 Number 379                                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  informed the committee that Janice Adair of DEC was         
 not able to participate in the hearing via the teleconference                 
 network because all of the circuits were tied up with other                   
 teleconferences, but she did send a letter stating that the                   
 department had worked with Senator Wilken and Senator Hoffman on              
 drafting the committee substitute and that they don't have any                
 problems with it.  He then asked Keith Kelton of DEC if he could              
 address Senator Donley's question relating to attorney fees.   KEITH          
 KELTON , Director, Division of Facility Construction & Maintenance,           
 Department of Environmental Conservation, said he agreed with                 
 Senator Donley's concern and he would have an answer to that                  
 question when the bill is before the Finance Committee.   SENATOR             
 DONLEY  suggested deleting the section, and then if the department            
 makes its case that it should be in the bill, the Finance Committee           
 can then consider adding it back in.                                          
                                                                               
 Number 390                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR DONLEY  moved that on page 4, beginning on line 27, delete           
 subsection (j) in its entirety and renumber subsequent sections               
 accordingly.  Hearing no objection, the amendment was adopted.                
                                                                               
 Number 400                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR WILKEN  moved that CSSB 50(CRA), as amended, and the                 
 accompanying fiscal notes be passed out of committee with                     
 individual recommendations.  Hearing no objection, it was so                  
 ordered.                                                                      
                                                                               
 There being no further business to come before the committee,                 
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  adjourned the meeting at 2:02 p.m.                          
                                                                               

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