SB 76-ABANDONED VEHICLES; PRIVATE PROPERTY  1:43:14 PM CHAIR COSTELLO reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 76 "An Act relating to vehicles abandoned on private property." 1:43:56 PM SENATOR KIEHL, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of SB 76, stated that this legislation shortens the time that private property owners have to wait before they are able to begin to deal with a vehicle abandoned on their property. "In essence, someone disposing of a car they can't sell on land they don't own." Today the private property owner must wait six months before they are able to initiate the prescriptive process to get title in order to pay for the disposal of the vehicle. SB 76 shortens the initial six months wait-time to one month, but it does not deprive the last registered owner of their legal notice that includes certified return mail receipt. He acknowledged that this is not a cure-all because the private property owner still must follow the process to dispose of the vehicle. SB 76 simply provides the opportunity for the private property owner to deal with an abandoned vehicle on their property without waiting six months to begin the process. 1:46:18 PM CHAIR COSTELLO informed the members that she heard the bill in the previous committee of referral and had no questions. 1:46:37 PM SENATOR STEVENS asked if there was a process for the registered owner to sell their vehicle and go to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to transfer the title. He acknowledged that this did not affect the bill. SENATOR KIEHL said yes; if he were to sell his vehicle, he could sign and return the slip at the bottom of the title to notify DMV that he was no longer the owner of the vehicle. SENATOR STEVENS asked if the slip at the bottom of the title has the address of the new owner. SENATOR KIEHL replied there is no requirement for the seller to file the name of the new owner with DMV. 1:47:32 PM SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON offered her understanding that the property owner has to wait six months before they are able to deal with the abandoned vehicle. SENATOR KIEHL clarified that the property owner must wait six months before they can begin the legal process that ends with being able to deal with the vehicle. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON recounted that the bill shortens the six months to 30 days. SENATOR KIEHL nodded. 1:48:15 PM SENATOR MICCICHE asked if the bill applies only to private property or if it also shortens the initial six months to 30 days for vehicles abandoned on municipal and state land. SENATOR KIEHL replied state and local governments generally do not use this process because they have additional authorities to deal with vehicles abandoned in their rights-of-way. SENATOR MICCICHE noted that not all state and municipal property is designated right-of-way. He asked if there was a different process for municipalities. SENATOR KIEHL answered yes; sections of the statutes relate to municipal rights and the state has significant rights to deal with abandoned vehicles on state land. He restated that SB 76 only applies to vehicles abandoned on private property. CHAIR COSTELLO requested the sectional analysis. 1:49:46 PM CATHY SCHLINGHEYDE, Staff, Senator Jesse Kiehl, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented the sectional analysis for SB 76 that read as follows: Section 1: A property owner with a vehicle abandoned on his or her land can currently start the process to claim title to the vehicle after six months. This section reduces the period to 30 days. Section 2: The change above only applies to vehicles abandoned after the effective date of the bill. 1:50:28 PM ALEC MESDAG, Vice President & Director, Alaska Electric Light & Power Company, Juneau, Alaska, related that AEL&P and its land holding company own a large amount of land around Juneau and they have had to deal with a significant number of vehicles abandoned on their property in recent years. The option under current law is to leave the vehicles alone for six months or tow them to a secure yard and hold them for six months before starting the retitle process. Eventually the company tows the vehicles for disposal. He said SB 76 provides relief by reducing the holding time for these derelict and abandoned vehicles that often are an environmental hazard. They leak fluids and often contain used needles and other biohazards. He described the six month holding period as too long and said SB 76 provides a meaningful improvement. He thanked the sponsor and the committee for its support for SB 76. SENATOR STEVENS commented that the bill makes sense. He asked how AEL&P disposes of the vehicles and if it is at the company's expense. MR. MESDAG confirmed that AEL&P pays for the disposal. He said recyclers dispose of standard automobiles but not campers with holding tanks. He recounted that he hauled one camper to the dump and paid about $1,400 for disposal only to see it alongside somebody's house several months later. He reiterated that shortening the initial six-month wait to 30 days would be very helpful. 1:54:09 PM KENNETH DARLING, Chief Credit Officer, Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union, Palmer, Alaska, stated support for SB 76 and offered his view that the environmental and biohazard discussion was enlightening. These derelict vehicles present more than just an eyesore. He advised that the credit union disposes of abandoned vehicles through an auction because they have salvage value. However, the value of the vehicle depreciates as it sits for six months so it would be helpful to shorten the initial wait time. It will help the environmental biohazard and help the depreciating asset have more value when it goes to auction. SENATOR STEVENS asked if the credit union is responsible for the vehicle if the vehicle owner cannot be located. MR. DARLING answered that is correct. As the lienholder, the credit union is a partial owner of the vehicle. 1:56:06 PM CHAIR COSTELLO opened public testimony on SB 76. 1:56:16 PM DIL UHLIN, Maintenance Director, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Kenai, Alaska, said reducing the time from six months to 30 days will mirror the municipality's notification timeline. He said rights of way are a little different but a vehicle in a school district parking lot for example, would sit for 30 days before it is presumed abandoned. The municipality would then move forward to notification and eventual disposal. He agreed with previous testimony that many of the vehicles left for six months become a public safety and environmental biohazard problems. He advised that the Kenai Peninsula Borough deals with abandoned vehicles weekly and he has experienced instances where the vehicle jeopardized public safety and others presented an environmental biohazard. The cost of disposal for these types of vehicles increases as they sit and deteriorate. He reported that the cost to decontaminate and dispose of one vehicle and clean up the surrounding property was over $30,000. He reiterated support for SB 76. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON thanked him for the testimony. CHAIR COSTELLO asked if the borough had contemplated holding the owner of the abandoned vehicle liable for cleanup costs and disposal. MR. UHLIN replied that the borough has established procedures to hold the last known owner liable but they generally do not recover the costs. However, he can say that the 30-day timeline is reasonable. The borough's experience is that anyone who intends to move their vehicle will do so in the first week after notification. He imagined that in the private sector a civil suit would be the way to recover costs. 2:00:31 PM CHAIR COSTELLO closed public testimony on SB 76. 2:00:37 PM At ease 2:01:17 PM CHAIR COSTELLO reconvened the meeting. 2:01:23 PM SENATOR STEVENS asked the sponsor if the bill would apply to borough property. SENATOR KIEHL answered no. SB 76 more closely aligns the laws for vehicles abandoned on private property to the laws for vehicles abandoned on public property. He noted the letter of support from the Alaska Municipal League and highlighted that giving private property owners additional tools to deal with these vehicles more quickly will benefit the entire community from a public safety standpoint. SENATOR MICCICHE related his experience with abandoned vehicles when he was mayor of a small town to explain the municipalities' interest in the bill. He thanked the sponsor. 2:03:25 PM SENATOR MICCICHE moved to report SB 76, work order 32-LS0005\A, from committee with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note(s). CHAIR COSTELLO found no objection so SB 76 was reported from the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.