HJR 4 - CONST. AM: TRANSPORTATION FUND [Contains brief mention of HB 30 and HB 31, which address the funding and other necessary statutory changes related to HJR 4's proposed transportation infrastructure fund.] 12:37:38 PM CHAIR GATTO announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4, Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska creating a transportation infrastructure fund. [Before the committee was CSHJR 4(TRA).] 12:38:25 PM REPRESENTATIVE PEGGY WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, as one of the joint prime sponsors, explained that [if passed by the legislature,] HJR 4 would place before the voters a proposed amendment to the Alaska State Constitution establishing a dedicated fund - in the form of a transportation infrastructure fund - that would be used to fund Alaska's transportation projects. There are three pieces of legislation that together would enable the establishment of the proposed transportation infrastructure fund: HJR 4 would place the proposed change to the Alaska State Constitution before the voters, HB 31 would provide for the appropriation of an initial $1 billion to the fund, and HB 30 would provide the other necessary statutory changes. The proposed constitutional amendment is broad enough, she posited, to provide some flexibility for future legislatures but concise enough to ensure that the proposed transportation infrastructure fund would not be depleted and could instead provide transportation funding far into the future. In response to questions, she relayed that if passed by the legislature, HJR 4's proposed constitutional amendment would go before the voters at the 2012 general election; that the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is responsible for Alaska's roads, airports, harbors, and the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS), but not Alaska's railroads; and that under a change made by the prior committee, the proposed transportation infrastructure fund would no longer include [revenues from airport leases]. 12:42:40 PM BECKY ROONEY, Staff, Representative Peggy Wilson, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative P. Wilson, one of HJR 4's joint prime sponsors, added that this change was made due to a federal requirement that such lease revenues be returned to the airports from which they were collected. In response to other questions, she said that revenues from the state's studded-tire tax would be included in the proposed transportation infrastructure fund, as would revenues from the state's identification (ID) card fees; and that under the proposed constitutional amendment, the legislature, in any given year, could appropriate up to 50 percent of the proposed transportation infrastructure fund's yearly revenue. REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON indicated that the remaining 50 percent would remain in the proposed transportation infrastructure fund in order to inflation-proof it and help it grow. In response to another question, she relayed that in order to provide the legislature with additional flexibility, the proposed constitutional amendment was drafted such that the legislature could also appropriate up to 6 percent of the proposed transportation infrastructure fund's market value averaged over the previous five fiscal years. The legislature would not be required to appropriate the maximum percentages provided for via HJR 4's proposed constitutional amendment, however, and depending on the status of Alaska's economy in a particular year, it could be wiser not to. REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON, in response to questions, indicated that [outlining the specific revenue sources in both statute and the Alaska State Constitution] would protect the proposed transportation infrastructure fund while also providing the legislature with flexibility, and that HB 30 would provide the necessary statutory changes, including outlining what the appropriated funds could be used for and specifying the percentages of the revenues that could be used for those things. MS. ROONEY, in response to a further question, explained that the ballot measure would [in part] consist of the language in Section 2's proposed Section 18 of Article IX of the Alaska State Constitution. She added that language [on page 2, lines 2-3 - specifically that which says, "and from other transportation-related fees and funds designated by the legislature" - would allow for the possible future appropriation] of revenue streams that don't yet exist. CHAIR GATTO, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HJR 4. 12:50:51 PM REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON moved to report CSHJR 4(TRA) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHJR 4(TRA) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.