HB 167-MOTOR VEH. LIC.PLATES: NATL GRD/ANTIQUE Number 0054 CHAIR COGHILL announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 167, "An Act relating to license plates for Alaska National Guard personnel and for antique motor vehicles; relating to gold rush license plates; and providing for an effective date." Number 0140 REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON, Alaska State Legislature, came forward to testify as sponsor of HB 167. He began by saying he believes HB 167 has "no downside." A number of automobile hobbyists approached him several years ago asking that the law be changed to allow them to use (if they can find them) old Alaska license plates that match the year of manufacture of their antique or collectable cars. About half of the other states allow this, he said. If HB 167 passes, the automobile owners will ask the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to check to see if there is a duplicate number among the current plates. If there is not and the old plate is legible, then DMV will allow the person to use the old plate with a sticker indicating the current registration. He said DMV is comfortable with the idea and does not see it as a problem. Number 0280 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON explained that when he started out to sponsor HB 167, one of his colleagues in the Senate said there are people who want to be able to get the so-called "gold rush" type license plates as vanity plates with their initials or whatever on them. His friend in the Senate added that provision to the bill, "and the bill kind of went in a ditch," Representative Dyson said. When he resurrected the idea for this session, the bill still contained the part pertaining to gold rush plates. He asked the House State Affairs Standing Committee to amend HB 167 by taking the gold rush plates out of it. He thinks there is very little demand for those, and that part of the bill places the most of a fiscal note on HB 167. Number 0366 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON then said DMV had asked that a small change be made so that people who have Alaska National Guard license plates would not be required to turn them in at the end of their term of service and DMV would not be burdened with the bookkeeping and "going out and chasing them down." From his perspective, HB 167 largely has to do with allowing people to use year-of-manufacture license plates on their collector cars, and the section on the National Guard plates is being added as an accommodation to DMV. Number 0420 CHAIR COGHILL asked if the part pertaining to the gold rush plates was subsection (w), page 2, line 11. REPRESENTATIVE DYSON replied that there also was mention in paragraph (4), line 30, of that same page. CHAIR COGHILL asked if cost and/or the impracticability were the reason for deleting it. REPRESENTATIVE DYSON replied, "Yes, sir." Number 0460 CHAIR COGHILL said he would take that as a conceptual amendment and ask a drafter to delete subsection (w) and paragraph (4), taking out the gold rush plates. There being no objection, the conceptual amendment [Amendment 1] was adopted. Chair Coghill asked if there was anyone who wished to speak on HB 167, and said he personally likes the bill, "now that it is a little lighter economically." Number 0536 REPRESENTATIVE HAYES moved to report HB 167, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. Number 0552 REPRESENTATIVE STEVENS asked about the fiscal note, which he assumed would change considerably in response to Amendment 1. CHAIR COGHILL said he thinks the fiscal note will go down to zero. He called attention to the second sentence of the fiscal note, which says, "Due to the low number, this is not anticipated to have a fiscal impact." That being the case, he thought the committee could zero out the fiscal note. Number 0597 CHAIR COGHILL then called for the question. There being no objection, CSHB 167(STA) was moved out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal note. HB 167 - MOTOR VEH. LIC.PLATES: NATL GRD/ANTIQUE Number 1270 Attention was returned briefly to HOUSE BILL NO. 167, "An Act relating to license plates for Alaska National Guard personnel and for antique motor vehicles; relating to gold rush license plates; and providing for an effective date." REPRESENTATIVE DYSON said he wished to correct something he had said earlier in the meeting concerning HB 167. He had said the accommodation on National Guard license plates was the request of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). That was incorrect, he said. The request originally came from a constituent and, when asked, DMV said that would not be a problem, would help them, and would change the law to reflect current DMV practice. CHAIR COGHILL said it seemed to him that the request now was coming "from us rather than from them." REPRESENTATIVE DYSON agreed, but said he had misspoken and wished to set the record straight.