CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 142(L&C) "An Act relating to ownership of land by regional school boards; and providing for an effective date." This was the first hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance Committee. Senator Bunde, the bill's sponsor by request of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, stated that this bill would correct "conflicting statutes regarding the ownership of land for State airports". While "the Legislature clearly intended to allow regional school boards the option of greater control of their facilities through acquisition of title, there is no record that the Legislature, however, intended to do so at the cost of federal liability, significant loss of federal funding, and a degraded state airport system". Senator Bunde noted that members' bill packets include a December 11, 2001 Department of Law legal opinion [copy on file] addressed to then-Commissioner of Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT), Joe Perkins, that reviewed the intent of the Legislature in regards "to this issue and the conflicting lands needs". Senator Bunde, reading from the Sponsor Statement, stressed that, "several regional schools are located on state properties, some in very close proximity to active runways and airport infrastructure. At various times, regional school boards have requested that DOT&PF convey full title of the airport land to the schools. This has caused confusion, staff time in both the Departments of Education and DOT&PF, as well as attorney costs, to defend DOT&PF's title to its airport property." Senator Bunde emphasized that the State receives "a substantial amount of money to build and maintain runways" from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). There was no Legislative intent "to breach FAA grant agreements". This bill would benefit the public, the regional school boards, the Department of Education and Early Development and DOT by clarifying the intent of the conveyance language to exclude airport properties." JANE ALBERTS, Staff to Senator Bunde, directed the Committee's attention to a list of areas on a handout titled "REAAs where Airport/DOT needs may overlap:" [copy on file], which was provided by Pamela Lewis of the DOT. The handout identifies areas in which "there could be possible conflicts between the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Regional School Boards". It should be noted however, that there is no indication that a conflict "might be brewing" in any of these areas at this time. Senator Bunde read the list for the record: possible areas of conflict in the Northern Region would include Anvik, Bettles, Galena, Noatak, Pilot Station and Unalakleet; areas in the Central Region would include Aniak, Cold Bay, Illiamna, Lime Village and Willow. Senator Hoffman asked the manner through which this legislation would resolve the conflict. Senator Bunde responded that the bill would clarify that the State would "control airport land and that the airport land could not be absorbed by the school district". Senator Hoffman asked regarding the situation that prompted a school district to seek title of the airport property. NONA WILSON, Legislative Liaison, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, expressed that one example of the confusion caused by the existing State Statute occurred when the Yukon- Koyukuk Regional School Board made an administrative claim for school property at the Bettles Airport in the year 2001. The school in Bettles, which was constructed in the 1970's, "is very close to the active runway, and is, in fact, partially in front of the building restriction line (BRL). A BRL limits construction of improvements near a runway for safety purposes. The school is actually located in an area identified by DOT and the FAA as being needed for future aviation purposes". Ms. Wilson continued that during subsequent discussions with the school district, DOT "obtained an Attorney General's Opinion, basically, in order to protect the integrity of the airport". While some non-conflicting BRL areas were identified, perimeter and runway safety issues were, in accordance with FAA guidelines, non- negotiable. Ms. Wilson informed the Committee that similar Rural Education Attendance Area (REAA) airport title requests were made by the Aleutian Regional School District near Cold Bay in 1986 and at the Lake and Peninsula School District in 1994. Rather than the purpose of the bill being to challenge school districts, its purpose would be to "rectify some language that has created some sticky situations in the past". Senator Hoffman voiced that, while he understood the position of DOT, he surmised there must be safety concerns on the part of the schools. To that point, he asked that an opinion on behalf of "the school board's interest" be provided; there must be some education concerns as otherwise there would be no desire to disrupt transportation in those areas. A solution might be to move the location of the school. Ms. Wilson deferred to Ms. Lewis of DOT who was more familiar with the situations in the Northern communities. Senator Hoffman asked whether a representative of the Department of Education and Early Development might be available to provide their perspective as opposed to someone working for DOT. Co-Chair Green asked whether a local community city council or school board member might better provide the schools' position. Senator Hoffman replied that the Department of Education and Early Development would be able to provide information regarding the situation for each of the communities on the aforementioned list. Senator Bunde, Chair of the Senate Labor & Commerce (L&C) Committee, conveyed that the Department of Education and Early Development had raised "no interest or concern" during the L&C Committee hearings on this bill. Co-Chair Green asked whether the Regional School Boards, the Alaska Association of School Boards, or the Alaska Municipal League had presented testimony to the L&C Committee. Senator Bunde replied in the negative. PAMALA LEWIS, Statewide Chief, Aviation Leasing and Airport Land Development, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities testified via teleconference from offnet site in Fairbanks to provide insight to the issues that might have prompted the Regional School Boards to ask for title to the airport property. The Bettles request occurred at a time when "the school was fighting" to remain open due to a decline in student enrollment. "The community desperately wanted the school to stay open." DOT had leased the land to the school for several years; however, "at some point" in the future, the building might have to be relocated behind the BRL. She speculated that the reason for the title request might have been an attempt "to secure a place for them to retain the school." The issues behind the Cold Bay or the Lake and Peninsula School District requests were unknown to her. However, she noted that a tremendous amount of DOT time and resources were exerted in the effort of explaining why the title to that land could not be ""relinquished". 9:23:24 AM Senator Hoffman clarified that rather than his question being about the issues relating to the relinquishing of the title, which was the focus of this bill, his question was in regards to the "bigger issue" of the safety of the students in the schools. "Students and airplanes don't mix." Therefore, he questioned whether any of the school district efforts were an attempt to address that issue by acquiring the land so that such things as a fence might be erected to further students' safety. Student safety should be a concern. 9:24:38 AM Ms. Lewis expressed that she "absolutely agreed" with Senator Hoffman about the safety issue. However, to her knowledge, none of the requests were based on the premise of acquiring land to erect fences or an effort to make the facility safer. To that point, the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has taken responsibility for such things as erecting fences to address the "serious concerns of runways and students not mixing". 9:25:47 AM Senator Hoffman asked, therefore, about the "conflict" that had prompted the school districts to further the airport title requests. Senator Bunde speculated that a school district might have desired to control the airport land, which in many communities might be the primary means of accessing a community, in speculation of it being "a potential revenue generator". Senator Bunde noted that, in addition to the student safety concern, another safety concern is that walkers and things as four- wheelers often utilize runways for recreation. Senator Bunde remarked that the State has two choices in regards to this bill: either continue its ownership of the airport land or return the money that the federal government "has provided to develop that airport". Fencing the airport area to address the safety issue would be the "cheaper" of the two options. 9:27:09 AM Co-Chair Green understood that the bill's primary purpose would be to resolve the conflict that exists between the federal FAA policies and State Statute regarding the conveyance of airport land titles. Senator Bunde concurred. However, the safety issue is a valid concern. One manner to address that issue would be to control access to the airport land. DOT might desire to address that concern by erecting fences. That would be a separate discussion, as the local community might not desire that. 9:28:13 AM Co-Chair Green pointed out that it is common for things such as schools, businesses, the runway, and other major components of a village to be built in concentrated areas in small communities. 9:28:44 AM Senator Olson asked whether the BRL specifications have been altered over time. 9:28:58 AM Ms. Lewis responded that the BRL was revised in the 1980s as a result of a new master plan being developed for the Bettles airport. The FAA approved that master plan and "a grant for further development" of the airport was also approved shortly thereafter. She was unsure of the conditions of the original BRL. Senator Olson understood that the current Bettles' BRL specifies that the State owns title to land up to 750 feet from the middle of the runway. Ms. Lewis concurred. Senator Olson asked whether different classes of airports had differing BRL standards. Some airports have the capacity to handle large aircraft such as jets while others could only accommodate small aircraft. Ms. Lewis affirmed that there are different classes of airports. Senator Olson asked whether this would result in there being different BRL parameters. Ms. Lewis was uncertain as to whether the type of airport or its classification was pertinent to this discussion. This bill is limited to addressing the title "to the land underlying the school facilities". She deferred to Kip Knudson, the DOT Deputy Commissioner of Aviation to address that question. Senator Olson asked whether the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, the Lower Yukon School District, and the Bering Strait School District, which are in his election district, were notified about this legislation. He also distributed a map [copy on file] depicting that the community of Noatak's school is adjacent to its airport. Ms. Lewis remarked that rather than separate notices being sent to the school districts, routine notification regarding the legislation was conducted. Senator Olson surmised therefore that the three school districts "have not been notified of this possible action." Ms. Lewis reiterated that routine notification procedures had been conducted. 9:32:08 AM KIP KNUDSON, Deputy Commissioner of Aviation, Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, voiced concern that safety issues were being interjected into the bill at hand. Despite the State's massive land holdings, there is extremely high competition for buildable land in village areas. The fact that airports have some of the best land in the villages is part of the reason that some schools are located on airport property. No other economically feasible building site might have been available. Such situations have led to there being "an uneasy relationship" between DOT and the villages. Mr. Knudson stated that safety concerns have been an on-going issue. DOT would request that schools be built elsewhere were other building sites an option. Mr. Knudson shared that prior to the introduction of this bill, he had discussed the issue with Eddy Jeans, Director, School Finance, Department of Education and Early Development. Mr. Jeans contacted the affected school districts about the proposed bill; no "negative feedback" had been received. Mr. Knudson reiterated that the focus of the bill is limited to the issue of land title. No request would be made to a school district to remove a school from the airport land, unless, through the development of a long-range plan, another feasible site might be identified. Were that the case, DOT would assist in facilitating that option in conjunction with any construction project that might be occurring. Senator Bunde, referencing the Noatak map provided by Senator Olson, spoke to the beach erosion issue facing the community. He noted that relocation of the school was included in the long-range plan to address the erosion issue. Senator Olson clarified that a river rather than the ocean was the cause of the erosion being experienced in Noatak. To that point, he whether Mr. Knudson needed a copy of the Noatak map for reference purposes. 9:34:50 AM Mr. Knudson responded that he was "painfully aware" of the erosion issue facing the Noatak community. The dilemma was whether to move the school for $20 or $30 million or to move the airport for $20 or $30 million. Senator Olson noted that, as depicted on the map, the erosion was projected to encroach upon the airport's land by the year 2010. He asked therefore whether future plans might include moving the airport. Mr. Knudson informed the Committee that the Department was currently developing a master plan. Alternatives, including moving or retaining the airport, were being evaluated. Nonetheless, "the school is the most pressing issue at the moment". Co-Chair Green understood that the State, specifically DOT, had no intention of transferring title of property to any regional school board, primarily in order to avoid litigation and the repayment of FAA funding. Thus, the issue at hand is an attempt to address the federal and State conflict. While Legislators would like to resolve the issue to better their own district, "the greater cause of what" is being addressed in this legislation must prevail. Senator Olson asked Mr. Knudson how non-support of this legislation would affect federal funding of the identified Rural airports. Mr. Knudson assured that "at this point", DOT is "not at risk of losing federal funds". The issue would be to resolve "the conflict and confusion that arises between the State Statute allowing districts to claim title to State land and the federal requirement that we maintain our airport boundaries". This legislation would "resolve a nagging bureaucratic problem." Co-Chair Wilken moved to report the bill from Committee with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CS SB 142(L&C) was REPORTED from Committee with zero Fiscal Note #1, dated March 18, 2005, from the Department of Education and Early Development and zero Fiscal Note #2, dated April 4, 2005, from the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.