Legislature(1995 - 1996)
02/13/1996 01:33 PM Senate TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE TRANSPORTATION
February 13, 1996
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Steve Rieger, Chairman
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Al Adams
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Robin Taylor, Vice Chair
Senator Georgianna Lincoln
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 226
"An Act relating to biennial registration of motor vehicles;
imposing biennial registration fees on motor vehicles and
authorizing a scheduled biennial municipal tax on motor vehicles;
relating to fees for motor vehicle emissions control programs; and
providing for an effective date."
SENATE BILL NO. 241
"An Act relating to the use of studded tires on the Sterling
Highway."
PREVIOUS SENATE ACTION
SB 226 - No previous action to record.
SB 241 - No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
Tom Williams, Staff
Senator Frank
State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Read the sponsor statement.
Juanita Hensley, Chief
Driver's Services
Division of Motor Vehicles
Department of Public Safety
PO Box 20020
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0020
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported the concept of SB 226.
Jay Dulany, Director
Division of Motor Vehicles
Department of Public Safety
5700 E. Tudor Road
Anchorage, Alaska 99507
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered to answer any questions.
Senator John Torgerson, Prime Sponsor
State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Discussed the need for SB 241.
Bo Brownfield, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Transportation
3132 Channel Drive
Juneau, Alaska 99801-7898
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 241.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 96-1, SIDE A
STRA - 2/13/96
SB 226 MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION/EMISSIONS
Number 002
CHAIRMAN RIEGER called the Senate Transportation meeting to order
at 1:33 p.m. and introduced SB 226 as the first order of business
before the committee.
TOM WILLIAMS, Staff to Senator Frank, read the following sponsor
statement:
SB 226 requires motor vehicle registrations to be renewed once
every two years instead of annually. This will result in shorter
customer service lines at the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) by
reducing the necessity for as frequent public contact.
To help offset the burden of having to pay two years of fees at
once, this legislation gives the public a small registration fee
break. However, despite the small fee break to the public, the
state and those municipalities which have a motor vehicle
registration tax will receive additional one time revenue in the
year of implementation due to accelerated collections.
This legislation dovetails with DMV's current plans to convert to
biennial vehicle registration in Anchorage and Fairbanks and allows
DMV sufficient time to convert to a statewide biennial system!
I believe this is a good piece of legislation and encourage your
support.
Mr. Williams noted that the committee packets contained a sectional
analysis, an overview outline, and a summary of highlights. He
explained that the first schedule illustrated the projected vehicle
registration by utilizing the actual numbers in 1994 and 1995 while
the numbers for the years 1996 to 2002 are based on an annual
increase of three percent. The second schedule projects the cash
flow under the current fees. The third schedule shows the
projected cash flow with the new fees, assuming that the effective
date is July 1, 1997. There is a cash flow difference of $12.3
million between the total revenues with the new fees and the total
revenues with the old fees. There is a one time net cash flow
increase of $9.8 million.
Number 092
JUANITA HENSLEY, Chief of Driver's Services for DMV, said that the
department does support this concept. A biennial registration
program has been supported in previous years, but the annual
emissions testing in Anchorage and Fairbanks have been an obstacle
for the implementation of such a program. She said that a
voluntary biennual program is planned to begin in July. This would
benefit the people of Alaska.
CHAIRMAN RIEGER understood that biennial registration would become
mandatory after the transition period. JUANITA HENSLEY clarified
that SB 226 would mandate biennial registration whereas now it is
an initiative of DMV to voluntarily do biennial registration.
CHAIRMAN RIEGER asked if there would be a refund of any portion of
the registration fee, if a vehicle leaves the state or is involved
in a car accident. JUANITA HENSLEY replied no.
CHAIRMAN RIEGER pointed out that this analysis may fail to capture
the unused registration fee. Under the old system, a car that was
totalled in an accident or owned by a person who moved to another
state would leave the remaining months of registration fee. Under
the new system those free months of registration fee would be
increased. That must happen frequently. Chairman Rieger stated
that all of the fiscal impacts must then be understated. Biennial
registration may be more revenue generating than the information
suggests. Was that factored into the analysis?
JUANITA HENSLEY said that she did not know, but the division does
support the projections that were presented by Mr. Williams.
TOM WILLIAMS informed the committee that the projections utilized
the actual vehicle registration from 1995 with a three percent
increase projected. Nothing that Chairman Rieger suggested was
taken into account.
JAY DULANY, Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, offered to
be available for questions.
SENATOR ADAMS moved that SB 226 be moved out of committee with
individual recommendations. Hearing no objections, it was so
ordered.
STRA - 2/13/96
SB 241 STUDDED TIRES ON STERLING HIGHWAY
CHAIRMAN RIEGER introduced SB 241 as the next order of business
before the committee.
Number 177
SENATOR TORGERSON, Prime Sponsor of SB 241, explained that SB 241
would establish the same studded tire rules for the entire Sterling
Highway. The bill would prohibit the use of studded tires on the
Sterling Highway from May 1 through September 15. SB 241 would
treat the traveling public on Sterling Highway the same. With
regard to the attached fiscal note, Senator Torgerson did not
believe it to contain much merit. He felt that wear on the road
from studded tires already existed; no one is really changing his
or her tires on this highway.
BO BROWNFIELD, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of
Transportation & Public Facilities, said that the current
legislation regarding this highway is confusing because there are
two standards on the same highway. DOT supported SB 241.
Regardless of the current wear on this highway, passage of SB 241
would increase the wear to about $60,000 a year.
SENATOR ADAMS pointed out that the fiscal note says that 90 percent
of the funding for maintenance of the highway is received from the
federal government which is matched by Alaska. Senator Adams
emphasized that he has always supported studded tires for Alaskans
because it saves lives.
Number 227
SENATOR ADAMS moved that SB 241 be forwarded out of committee with
individual recommendations. Hearing no objection, it was so
ordered.
CHAIRMAN RIEGER informed the committee that his staff would be
arranging an overview of the DOT three year plan for next week.
SENATOR ADAMS asked if various districts, specifically those
projects in the northern districts, would be present in the three
year plan. CHAIRMAN RIEGER said that it would be the entire
State's three year plan.
There being no further business before the committee, the meeting
was adjourned at 1:46 p.m.
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