SSSB 139-LIABILITY FOR AIRPORTS AND AIRSTRIPS  2:03:46 PM CHAIR KOOKESH called the meeting back to order and announced SSSB 139 to be under consideration. DAVE GRAY, staff to Senator Olson, sponsor of SB 139, said in 2004 there was an attempt to correct difficulties with limited liability for private airports that pepper the state, which ended up creating even more confusion. SSSB 139 is an attempt to correct these difficulties by repealing the fee section of AS 09.65.093. 2:05:12 PM SENATOR OLSON said that the bill came from a concern raised in past legislatures regarding airport liability. He gave an example of student pilot who lands at a private airport and runs off the runway. This is done without permission. It's a different story if you have permission. He said the confusion came from the Xs on the runway, which according to FAA regulations means it has been abandoned, not just closed. 2:08:05 PM SENATOR COWDERY said that he is still a licensed pilot and said the instrumentation on his last plane had a button to push that indicated exactly where the closest airfield was. It didn't differentiate between private or public; it's where you had to go or you would crash. He asked if that was a common occurrence for airplanes. SENATOR OLSON replied no; said that emergency functions are available in current GPS systems. 2:09:18 PM SENATOR COWDERY commented further on aircraft emergency equipment. 2:09:55 PM MR. GRAY related a personal story about flying with a pilot out of Kotzebue who had a rough engine and had to look for any place to land and finally made it back to a place southeast of Nome. 2:10:43 PM TOM GEORGE, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, said the state has many little airstrips and in many cases they are maintained by dedicated individuals, groups or organizations who volunteer their time and efforts. This statute was originally intended to provide limits on civil liability for people supporting rural runways either on public or private land. He worked with the legislature a couple of years ago to improve this statute, which passed with overwhelming support. However, language in section (b) caused a lot of confusion and it led people to think they had to close the runways to be protected. That is exactly the opposite of the intent. He said this bill seeks to remove that language and leaves the emphasis on the protection provided by people who are willing to construct and maintain airstrips on an uncompensated basis. 2:12:29 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what the difference is between (a) and (b) right now. MR. GEORGE clarified that section (b) used to be limited to private use airports. It said the limitation of liability would continue if you closed the airport by doing the items that are listed in parts (1) and (2). When it was changed two years ago, the differences were removed, which caused the confusion. The real emphasis here is section (a) which buys protection; section (b) was originally there because of the difference between public and private and that has become irrelevant from his perspective. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for the practical effect of removing section (b). MR. GEORGE replied that it simply removes confusion; it doesn't change anything else. 2:14:35 PM SENATOR COWDERY moved to report SSSB 139 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There being no objection, it was so ordered.