HB 168-INJUNCTION SECURITY: INDUSTRIAL OPERATION                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:48:27 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR EGAN announced  consideration of HB 168  [CSHB 168(JUD) was                                                               
before the committee.].                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:48:55 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE ERIC FEIGE, sponsor of  HB 168, said over the past                                                               
several  years a  few  courts have  issued  injunctions or  stays                                                               
against  companies   engaged  in  the  development   of  resource                                                               
extraction  and   other  large  legally   permitted  construction                                                               
projects. These  court actions  have had  the effect  of delaying                                                               
worthwhile projects  and curtailing  employment within  the state                                                               
of  Alaska.  In some  cases  projects  have  been shut  down  and                                                               
employees  laid off.  More  often than  not,  the litigation  has                                                               
failed  or had  an  extremely  limited effect  in  hand with  the                                                               
stated objectives of the original  lawsuit. The overall objective                                                               
is not  often what is  stated in the suit  but merely to  delay a                                                               
project or prevent it from coming to fruition.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
HB  168 seeks  to  remedy  this situation  by  requiring a  party                                                               
seeking a  restraining order, a  preliminary injunction  or order                                                               
vacating  or staying  the  operation of  permit  that affects  an                                                               
industrial  operation to  give security  in an  amount the  court                                                               
considers  proper.    HB  168  asks  that  part  of  the  court's                                                               
deliberation  shall  take  into  account  payment  of  wages  and                                                               
benefits   for  employees   and   payment   to  contractors   and                                                               
subcontractors of the industrial operation.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
In  this  legislation  an  industrial  operation  is  defined  to                                                               
include a construction, energy or  timber activity, an oil gas or                                                               
mineral exploration development and production.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
He said  that HB 168  parallels the requirements of  Alaska Civil                                                               
Rule 65(c),  which already requires  a court to require  a person                                                               
seeking an  injunction to  provide security  to protect  a person                                                               
who  may  be  wrongfully  restrained or  enjoined.  It  does  not                                                               
prohibit  a  person  who  is  wrongly  enjoined  from  relief  or                                                               
otherwise  limit the  amount that  a  person may  recover in  the                                                               
action. It also  does not specify an amount that  is required and                                                               
does not  affect the  discretion of the  judge to  determine that                                                               
amount.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE offered his  understanding that state courts                                                               
do not  see very many of  these cases since most  involve federal                                                               
permits.  For those  few instances,  HB  168 seeks  to level  the                                                               
legal playing  field without infringing  on any parties  right to                                                               
bring a legitimate issue to court.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  EGAN said  public testimony  would  be taken  at the  next                                                               
meeting.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
[HB 168 was held in committee.]