SB 47-CHUGACH STATE PARK EASEMENTS  1:12:27 PM CO-CHAIR EISCHEID announced that the only order of business would be SENATE BILL NO. 47, "An Act relating to Chugach State Park; and providing for an effective date." [Before the committee was CSSB 47(RES).] 1:13:20 PM SENATOR CATHY GIESSEL, Alaska State Legislature, prime sponsor of SB 47, began the presentation [hard copy included in committee packet] on slide 2 and stated that Chugach State Park has 1.5 million visitors per year. To slide 5, she emphasized that the park's fee station brings in nearly $600 thousand in revenue, $117 thousand coming from the Glen Alps Flattop access point, per year. She displayed slide 6 and explained that on the other side of the Glen Alps Flattop is the Rabbit Lake trailhead, which is accessed by Canyon Road. She stated that SB 47 addresses the unmaintained section of road contained in state property, depicted in green. She asserted that DOT&PF has not maintained the road in Chugach State Park, despite being required by statute, due to the difficulty. The Municipality of Anchorage is willing to take on the maintenance responsibility and to make minor road improvements. She added that the Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation has a grant to enlarge the parking lot due to the high volume of traffic. 1:19:19 PM PAIGE BROWN, Staff, Senator Cathy Giessel, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Senator Giessel, prime sponsor of SB 47, in response to questions from Representative Carrick, clarified that none of the $4 million that the Municipality of Anchorage bonded is eligible to be spent on Canyon Road in state land until SB 47 is passed. She affirmed that the $4 million currently is planned to be spent on improvements in the municipality land. SENATOR GIESSEL clarified that the road inside state land near the Rabbit Lake Trailhead also needs improvement but is solely the responsibility of DOT&PF. 1:21:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked for clarification on the language in CSSB 47(RES) on page 2, line 26. SENATOR GIESSEL replied that similar language is already in statute and additionally repeated in section 2, subsection (c). 1:23:25 PM REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked if there are any other state parks where DOT&PF is responsible for maintenance of public roads. 1:24:00 PM RICKY GEASE, Director, Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation, Department of Natural Resources, in response to a question from Representative McCabe, provided his understanding that DOT&PF is responsible for the roads in Chugach State Park and the highway through Denali National Park and Preserve. He stated he would provide the committee with a comprehensive list of roads in state parks that DOT&PF is responsible for. 1:26:00 PM SENATOR GIESSEL referred to page 1, lines 7-13 of the bill and clarified that existing statute specifically mentions Chugach State Park and the bill would move the language to a different section.