HOUSE BILL NO. 9                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     "An   Act   requiring   the  Joint   In-State   Gasline                                                                    
     Development   Team  to   report   to  the   legislature                                                                    
     recommended changes  to state law that  are required to                                                                    
     enable  or   facilitate  the  design,   financing,  and                                                                    
     construction  of an  in-state natural  gas pipeline  so                                                                    
     that the in- state  natural gas pipeline is operational                                                                    
    before 2016; and providing for an effective date."                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
10:46:48 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER, DISTRICT  32, announced that the                                                                    
sponsors submitted two amendments to  HB 9. He reported that                                                                    
one amendment dealt with  confidentiality and the provisions                                                                    
of state agencies. The other  amendment was considerable and                                                                    
concerned   "regulatory  authority   under  the   Regulatory                                                                    
Commission of Alaska (RCA) for contract carrier pipelines."                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
TOM  WRIGHT, STAFF,  REPRESENTATIVE  MIKE CHENAULT,  briefly                                                                    
synopsized that Amendment 2 was  requested by the Department                                                                    
of  Law  (DOL) to  ensure  that  any information  the  state                                                                    
obtained   remained  confidential.   The  amendment   was  a                                                                    
collaboration   between   the   DOL   and   Alaska   Gasline                                                                    
Development Corporation  (AGDC). The amendment  required the                                                                    
consent  of the  third-party  to allow  AGDC  access to  the                                                                    
information.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
RENA DELBRIDGE, STAFF,  REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER explained                                                                    
that the  other amendment replaced  three sections in  HB 9.                                                                    
The  amendment  would  exempt the  gasline  from  regulatory                                                                    
oversight.  The amendment  would insert  a new  chapter into                                                                    
the  Regulatory Commission  of  Alaska  (RCA) statutes  that                                                                    
indicated  how   the  gasline   was  regulated   within  the                                                                    
Regulatory  Commission of  Alaska's statutory  framework for                                                                    
regulating an instate gas  pipeline explicitly authorized to                                                                    
operate  as  a  contract   carrier.  Currently  no  statutes                                                                    
existed  to   regulate  a  contact  carrier   pipeline.  The                                                                    
amendment   created  the   framework   for  regulation   and                                                                    
"required regulation  on the front  end through  approval of                                                                    
contracts as just and reasonable  provided they were entered                                                                    
into at arm's  length, and required a  special limited scope                                                                    
certificate  of public  convenience  and  necessity for  the                                                                    
special pipeline."                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
10:50:53 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Gara spoke  to amendment  3. He  highlighted                                                                    
that the  amendment proposed that the  gas pipeline advanced                                                                    
only if it  was the most efficient project  that offered the                                                                    
lowest prices  to Alaskan consumers. The  amendment mandated                                                                    
the  Alaska Natural  Gas  Development  Authority (ANGDA)  to                                                                    
analyze  alternative projects  such as  determining if  Cook                                                                    
Inlet  contained enough  natural  gas  reserves for  further                                                                    
development as  a stop  gap until  a large  pipeline project                                                                    
was  built.  He  opined  that   a  large  diameter  pipeline                                                                    
produced  the  lowest  price  gas  and  generated  the  most                                                                    
revenue  for  the state.  He  added  that another  amendment                                                                    
would maintain RCA's current  statutory framework. The RCA's                                                                    
process protected the consumer.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Stoltze  announced that all of  the amendments were                                                                    
posted   on   BASIS   for    the   public's   interest   and                                                                    
participation.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
HB  9   was  HEARD  and   HELD  in  committee   for  further                                                                    
consideration.