HOUSE BILL NO. 108 An Act relating to the use, operation, and regulation of boats; establishing a uniform state waterway marking system; and providing for an effective date. MIKE TIBBLES, STAFF, REPRSENTATIVE GENE THERRIUALT, spoke to Amendment #1, 1-LS0445\U.1, Ford, 2/7/00. [Copy on File]. The amendment would insert "by a person who has not established residency as described under AS 01.10.055". He noted that original language did not address the difference between residents and non-residents and would have exempted all paddleboats. The amendment adds the language, that if you are a non resident, you would have 90 days before you would be required to register your boat, however, if you are a resident, you would be required to register your paddle boat regardless of the amount of time intended to use the boat. Vice Chair Bunde MOVED to adopt Amendment #1. There being NO OBJECTION, Amendment #1 was adopted. Mr. Tibbles spoke to Amendment #2, 1-LS0445\U.3, Ford, 2/7/00. [Copy on File]. He explained in the current draft, the director of Legislative Finance would be responsible to notify the reviser of the statute. If no federal receipts were received by the State, the language of the amendment would speak to that. Amendment #2 would remove the director of the Legislative Finance Division and would specify the Chair of Legislative Council. Additionally, there would be language added which would speak to the federal funds received during the year. Co-Chair Therriault clarified that this should be action approved by the majority of the Legislative Council. MELINDA HOFSTAD, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE BILL HUDSON, testified that Representative Hudson did support Amendment Vice Chair Bunde MOVED to adopt Amendment #2. There being NO OBJECTION, it was adopted. Co-Chair Therriault questioned the fiscal note. Ms. Hofstad spoke to the Department of Administration's fiscal note. She commented on the potential to bring in federal dollars somewhere between $400,000 and $600,000 dollars per year to operate the boating safety program and the registration of the vessels. Ms. Hofstad reiterated, following the initial set-up costs, the State could expect to receive these funds to be used for the boating safety program. She clarified that it was expected that the funds would be used for that program, however, added that would be decided by future legislatures. Co-Chair Therriault asked if the amount should be indicated. Ms. Hofstad replied that it should represent total operating costs. She added that the program would be a potential moneymaker for the State and would be revenue positive after the first year. In response to queries by Co-Chair Therriault, Ms. Hofstad stated that she was referring to the total operating costs. She pointed out that changes in revenue are indicated on the note. Ms. Hofstad repeated that the intent of the proposed legislation was to get people into the safety aspect of the program. Co-Chair Mulder referenced the non-motorized boats such as canoes, 10' and over, and asked if they were currently required to be registered with the Coast Guard. Ms. Hofstad noted that they are not. She added that one reason they were included in the registration section is that a large percentage of the deaths which occur in recreational boating, happen in non-motorized vessels. She stated it is important that those boat owners are contributing and registered in the program in order that lives can be saved. Co-Chair Mulder interjected if these people will be taxed so that "they can be saved". Ms. Hofstad replied that there are two different programs which address the safety aspects. Additionally, there are two types of vessel groups, the motorized and the non-motorized. The intent is to include all boat users. Co-Chair Mulder emphasized that the pool of people being required to pay would be expanded through the proposed legislation. He pointed out that currently there are 33,300 non-powered boat registrations processed each year at $10 dollars. He believed his constituents would not appreciate the legislation. REPRESENTATIVE BILL HUDSON advised that the majority of accidents in the State of Alaska take place in small vessels. When providing search and rescue, it is difficult to determine who owns these boats. He pointed out that many times boats are found drifting. Through the proposed legislation, the boat owner would be required to have on their boat, a small decal with large numbers so that they could be quickly recognized. He emphasized that this is not a matter of the money to be generated, but rather an opportunity to help identify in the search and rescue situations. He understood the concerns voiced by Co-Chair Mulder. Representative Hudson clarified that the cost would be $10 dollars for three years. He reiterated that this legislation would help to save lives. Co-Chair Mulder noted that he had based his statement upon information included in the fiscal note. Representative Hudson clarified that the note stipulates only one third of the boats would register each year. Ms. Hofstad pointed out that Representative Hudson had worked with the two largest non-powered boat groups and that both of those groups had endorsed the legislation. They believe these safety benefits will help boat users. Co-Chair Mulder understood why the large groups would endorse the bill but he did not believe that group represented the general rank of the casual user. He stated that those constituents will resist the proposed legislation. He suggested that a good safety educational program could be provided without including that group under the umbrella of the bill. He recommended using the fiscal note to buy life jackets and then place them on the ends of each dock. He advised that would save more money than the proposed education program. Representative Grussendorf reminded members of previous testimony and the support voiced by specific groups. He did agree that the "paddle boat aspect" would be a concern for the individual users. Co-Chair Therriault referenced the fiscal note provided by the Department of Administration, Page 3, which would require three-year registration. He reiterated that language was not clear regarding the length of time for the registration renewals. He asked the total number of paddleboats in use throughout the State. Ms. Hofstad clarified that there are 90,000 paddleboats in the State, and noted that information had been specified in the bill. Co-Chair Therriault explained that the Department would address this work in much the same manner as it does with the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). He advised that if the municipalities wanted access to the raw data regarding the information, they would then be responsible to refine it at their at their own expense. Representative Austerman MOVED to report CS HB 108 (FIN) out of Committee with individual recommendations and with the accompanying fiscal notes. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. CS HB 108 (FIN) was reported out of Committee with a "do pass" recommendation and with a fiscal note by the Department of Administration and zero notes by the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Natural Resources.