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
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
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.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|