HB 9-IN-STATE GASLINE DEVELOPMENT CORP  8:57:41 AM CHAIR OLSON announced the consideration of HB 9. 8:57:50 AM DAVID SCOTT, Staff for Senator Olson, Alaska State Legislature, noted that the new Senate committee substitute (CS) for CSHB 9 was version J. 8:58:09 AM SENATOR ELLIS moved Senate CS for CSHB 9, 27-LS0075\J, be considered the item before the committee. 8:58:17 AM CHAIR OLSON announced that without objection, version J was adopted as a working document. 8:58:30 AM MR. SCOTT reviewed the Senate CS sectional and said the intent was to pare the bill down to the bare minimum that the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) required to get to open season and allow funds to be spent from last year's appropriation. SECTION 1 - Adds a new section to AS 18.56, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), relating to AGDC's duties and abilities. • Empowered to construct, own, operate and manage pipelines throughout the state, while removing the specific reference to the project in the July 2011 report from AGDC. • Added legislation authorization prior to construction. • Authorization to acquire land and other interest in property. • Creates the in-state gas pipeline fund, which enables AGDC to use the $200 million appropriated by the legislature in 2011. • Shipping commitments resulting from an open season shall be reported to both presiding officers and published online within 10 days. • Removed authorization to operate as a contract carrier. • Removed authorization to issue bonds and incur debt. SECTION 2 - Adds a new section to 36.30 to exempt Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority (ANGDA) from the state procurement code when contracting for professional services. SECTION 3 - Amends 38.34.050(a) to provide ADGC access to information of state agencies that is directly related to designing, constructing and operation an in-state gasline and to protect existing confidentiality of information held by state agencies. SECTION 4 - Amends 38.34.050(b), which in current statute directs state agencies to cooperate with and give priority to information requests from the Joint In- State Gasline Development Team. The section replaces the reference to (JIGDT) with a direct reference to AGDC, to reflect the reorganization of the agency. SECTION 5 - Adds a new section to 38.34.050 to allow AGDC to disclose information unless the info discloses particular business or private information. - Specifies that an agreement to sell or manage a pipeline is public information. SECTION 6 - Definitions. SECTION 7 - Amends 40.25.120(a) to exempt information covered by an AGDC confidentiality agreement from the state public records act. SECTION 8 - Amends 41.41.010(a) to enable ANGDA to act as a gas marketer instead of a transporter. Removes authorization for ANGDA to design, construct, or operate pipelines. SECTION 9 - Amends 41.41.010(d) to clarify ANGDA as a gas marketer both in-state and for export. SECTION 10 - Repeals and reenacts 41.41.020 to state that AHFC's board is now the board of ANGDA. SECTION 11 - Amends 41.41.060 to conform to section 10, relates to per diem and travel expenses. SECTION 12 - Amends 41.41.070(d) to allow ANGDA to contract for legal counsel and exempts this from the state procurement code. SECTION 13 - Amends 41.41.090(b) to remove involvement with a 'project' from the circumstances requiring disclosure. Conforms with section 8. SECTION 14 - Amends 41.41.150(a) to expand ANGDA's existing confidential records authority to include info in a confidential agreement between AGDC and ANGDA. SECTION 15 - Amends 41.41.200 to remove ANGDA's authority to exercise eminent domain. Conforms with section 8. SECTION 16 - Amends 41.41.990(2) to confirm that AHFC's board is the board of ANGDA. Conforms with section 10. SECTION 17 - Repeals to conform with restructuring the AGDC governance by removing the JIGDT, and removing statutes related to ANGDA board elections. SECTION 18 - Repeals section 1 of the 2002 Ballot Measure 3, which are the findings that are no longer necessary with ANGDA's new and limited authority. SECTION 19 - Immediate effective date. 8:59:46 AM SENATOR KOOKESH arrived. 9:02:50 AM At ease 9:02:50 a.m. to 9:02:58 a.m. 9:02:58 AM REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CHENAULT, Alaska State Legislature, prime sponsor of HB 9, said the CS guts AGDC's ability to move forward on an in-state gas pipeline project. He said the CS takes away AGDC's ability to move forward with a pipeline and replaces it by requiring legislative sanctioning. He said the vision of HB 9 was to take politics out of a gasline moving forward and the CS puts politics right back in the middle of the project. He said the definition of insanity was doing the same thing and expecting a different result. He said AGDC's ability to work for the citizens of Alaska via moving the state's only pipeline project forward was neutered by the CS. REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT said a poll had indicated that Alaskans thought a lack of leadership, vision and courage were the reasons why the state did not have a pipeline. He said the CS takes away AGDC's ability to get a meaningful open-season in the quickest amount of time. CHAIR OLSON asked about the issue to require sanctioning of the legislature for project oversight to avoid significant cost overruns. 9:06:41 AM REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of HB 9, responded that the inherent in the structure of the original bill was to establish AGDC as a mechanism for Alaska to have a strong position with all commercial and state participatory gasline proposals. He said the Alaska Constitution only allowed the legislature to appropriate funds and it was a given for a project that required state investment to come before the legislature. He said a strong inherent sanctioning concept was built into the original document and requiring the private sector to come back before the legislature for sanctioning was inappropriate. 9:07:55 AM SENATOR WAGONER arrived. 9:08:09 AM CHAIR OLSON asked for comments on the CS. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER responded that the introduction for the CS stated that the intent was to reduce the bill and leave the minimum needed to get an open-season. He said the CS had taken out critical elements that provided the state with a strong seat and was well below the minimums needed to get to an open-season. He said any attempt for an open-season would be considered a farce. He said the original AGDC concept was that it merged the voter mandated ANGDA with AGDC. He said AGDC would be empowered to work the pipeline project to allow ANGDA to get the gas to market. He said the CS thwarts the will of Alaska voters by taking away any possibility of a project coming to fruition. CHAIR OLSON asked to verify that the Senate CS was done in cooperation with Representative Hawker or Representative Chenault. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER answered that was incorrect. REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT answered that was incorrect. He said information was supplied to the Chairman's office and he did not sit down with anyone to craft the Senate CS. CHAIR OLSON said HB 9 would be held.