HB 99-ALASKA MINERALS COMMISSION  3:28:06 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE announced that the next order of business is HOUSE BILL NO. 99, "An Act extending the termination date of the Alaska Minerals Commission." 3:28:18 PM CO-CHAIR SADDLER introduced HB 99 as the sponsor of the bill. He paraphrased from the following prepared sponsor statement [Included in members' packets]: House Bill 99 extends the Alaska Minerals Commission until February 1, 2024 and provides for terms and term limits for those who serve on the Commission. The Commission is currently set to expire on February 1, 2014, and commissioners are not currently subject to terms or term limits. The Commission was created in 1986 and charged with making recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on ways to mitigate constraints on the development of minerals in Alaska. The Commission consists of 11 members: five appointed by the Governor, three by the Speaker of the House, and three by the President of the Senate. Each member must have at least five years of experience in the minerals industry. At least one member must reside in a rural community. Current commissioners represent the placer, hard rock, and coal mining industries across the state. The Commission annually reports its recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature during the first ten days of the legislative session. Key recommendations made by the Commission and implemented by the Legislature since the Commission's last reauthorization in 2003 include: - Funding infrastructure development under the Roads to Resources program - Reforming state permitting processes to make them timelier and more efficient - Gathering and publishing geological and geophysical data on Alaska's mineral potential - Assuming state primacy of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System - Accelerating state land entitlement conveyances in accordance with the Statehood Act - Reestablishing the Citizens Advisory Commission on Federal Areas - Asserting and defending public access to roads, trails, and navigable waterways - Funding University of Alaska mineral engineering and geology programs 3:30:39 PM CO-CHAIR SADDLER declared that the recommendations had helped to increase access, reduce permitting time, lower development costs, and encourage value added development of Alaska's mineral resources. He noted that the commission had recommended term limits for commissioners and annual election of a chair and vice chair. He pointed out that there were still significant constraints on Alaska's mineral industry. He reported that there had been $3.8 billion of mineral revenue generated in Alaska in 2011. He noted that there were seven large mines operating in the state and that these mines directly employed 4,500 Alaskans, and an additional 9,000 indirect jobs, with a combined payroll of $620 million. 3:31:27 PM CO-CHAIR SADDLER noted that the commission's focus emphasized mineral development and mining, which included oil and gas. He reported that oil and gas did share many of the same obstacles to development for which the minerals commission was seeking solutions. 3:31:58 PM CO-CHAIR SADDLER moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 99, labeled 28-LS0430\N, Martin, 2/15/13, as the working draft. There being no objection, it was so ordered. 3:32:49 PM TREVOR FULTON, Staff, Representative Dan Saddler, Alaska State Legislature, explained the changes in the CS, Version N, noting that the committee substitute would add three year staggered terms to the board, which would be limited to two consecutive terms, and it would provide for the election of a committee chair and vice chair. 3:33:46 PM [HB 99 was held over.]