Alaska Conservation Voters

Conservation Watch

Alaska Conservation Voters
works to protect Alaska's environment through public education and advocacy, and supports pro-conservation candidates for public office.

Conservation Watch (CW) is a weekly publication of ACV highlighting conservation issues in the AK Legislature.

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Contributing Editors

Suzanne Bostrom
Legislative & Communications Manager
suzanne@akvoice.org

David Rogers
ACV Lobbyist

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ACV- Juneau
419 6th Street, #321
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 463-3366
(907) 463-2554 fax

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ACV- Anchorage
810 N Street #203
Anchorage, AK 99801
(907) 258-6171
(907) 258-6177 fax

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Web Resources

ACV Legislation Page
Bill position papers, back issues of Conservation Watch, and legislative updates

Legislative BASIS
Current bill text, history & committee schedules

Legislature Homepage
Find Your Legislators, party links, committee lists

State Homepage
Links to state agencies and the Governor

 ACV Homepage

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In This Issue

• It's In The Bag
• Action Briefs
  • On the Move
• Hearings this Week

It's In The Bag

With the recent introduction of SB118 by Senator Kim Elton (D-Juneau), Alaska has joined the ranks of villages, cities, states and countries worldwide that have begun to take a closer look at the impacts of plastic bags on our communities, businesses, landfills and water resources. SB118 would put in place a $.15 fee for disposable plastic bags and would establish the Alaska litter and marine debris reduction and recycling fund.

Globally, almost 1 million plastic bags are consumed per minute and whopping 500 billion are used on an annual basis. The U.S. alone consumes 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually, with around 8 billion pounds of them ending up as waste--mostly in landfills--every year. Retailers in the United States spend around $4 billion on these bags annually, the cost of which is passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, four out of five grocery bags distributed in the United States are plastic. While plastic is cheaper and takes less energy to manufacture and ship than paper, the standard white polyethylene bags typically distributed by grocery stores and restaurants are made from propane and butane, better known as liquid petroleum gas. U.S. consumption of these bags equates to approximately 12 million barrels of oil.

One of the oft-cited problems with plastic bags is the fact that they can exist in some form or another for up to 1,000 years. Since plastic bags photo-degrade--not biodegrade--they break down slowly into smaller and smaller toxic bits that are capable of contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food chain where animals can accidentally ingest them. A 2001 paper by Japanese researchers reported that plastic particles act like a sponge for toxic chemicals, soaking up substances like DDE, which is related to DDT, in greater concentrations than the surrounding seawater and can poison marine mammals when ingested accidentally. In another study featured recently in U.S. News and World Report, Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, reported finding six times more plastic bits than plankton in the Central Pacific "gyre"--a mass of water where fish, sea mammals and birds congregate to feed. Each year, it is estimated that more than 100,000 marine mammal deaths can be attributed to ingesting plastic bags mistaken for food.

In our own state, discouraging plastic bag use has already caught on. Approximately 30 rural villages have banned plastic bags from their communities. Internationally, this trend been picked up in countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand and Indian cities, including Bombay. Paris, Zanzibar and Rwanda are also moving to ban plastic bags and, most recently, the city of San Francisco has been considering the issue as well.

In parts of South Africa, Ireland and Taiwan, authorities either tax shoppers who use plastic bags or impose fees on companies that distribute them. In 2001, Ireland was the first country to institute a plastic bag tax, known as PlasTax. The tax reduced consumption by 90 percent and generated $9.6 million in the first year. Should SB118 pass the legislature, it is anticipated that the Alaska experience would be similar to that of Ireland's. If so, it is estimated that state collection could provide up to $1.825 million per year that could, in turn, be used to fund marine debris reduction and recycling projects.

We thank Senator Elton for shining a light on this important issue. ACV will be supporting this legislation.

More Information

SB118 Text

Reuseablebags.com

On the Move

HB28 Disclosure of Power Sources - Rep. Ramras (R-Fairbanks)
CS HB 28 passed out of the House Labor and Commerce this week. In the committee substitute for the bill, sections two and five of the original version of the bill were removed, which deleted provisions that would have exempted certain utilities from the requirement of having to disclose their electricity sources. The bill would require retail suppliers of electricity to annually disclose their sources of electricity (renewables, gas, diesel, coal, etc.) to potential end-use consumers. The bill also allows utilities to include the cost of making the disclosure as part of the cost of generating the electricity.

HB128 Oil and Gas Production Tax: Expenditures - Rep. Olson (R-Soldotna)
HB128 was heard and held in House Resources this week and has been scheduled for another hearing on Monday, March 26. Committee members at this week's hearing focused on what the standard should be if and/or when companies attempt to make deductions under the new Petroleum Production Tax for pipeline maintenance. The debate touched on the potential differences between deductions that could be made for "normal" versus negligent or improper maintenance. Rep. Seaton cited at the hearing that there was a need to provide clarity for oil companies on what the standard for maintenance related deductions should be. The bill would amend the state's new oil production tax to allow the Department of Revenue, in consultation with other state entities, to block oil companies from taking deductions and credits on costs associated with improper maintenance or lack of maintenance. With the millions of dollars in costs for repairing miles of corroded Prudhoe Bay pipeline, concerns have been raised over whether BP will try to pass the expenses back to the state through the deductions allowed by the new Petroleum Production Tax.

HB149 Pollutant Discharge Permits - Introduced by request of the Governor
CS HB149 (RES) was moved out of House Resources this week with Reps. Wilson, Roses, Johnson and Gatto voting "do pass," Rep. Seaton voting "do not pass," and Reps. Kawasaki, Guttenberg, Edgmon and Kohring voting "no recommendation." Rep. Seaton raised questions in the hearing over why the state would want to accept primacy and was concerned that if the state administered the program, there might be the same or fewer people to do more work. The bill was introduced by the request of Governor Palin to revise certain provisions of law governing the department's permitting and enforcement authority in order to align the state's permit requirements with the EPA's. The EPA is currently reviewing Alaska's application to obtain approval for a state permitting program and the changes in the bill would be necessary to bring the state's law into line with the more stringent federal law.

HB152 Establishing A Renewable Energy Fund - Rep. Harris (R-Cordova)
The House Community and Regional Affairs Committee moved HB152 out from the committee this week. The bill will head next to House Finance. HB152 would establish a renewable energy fund to be administered by the AEA. The bill would allow the Alaska Energy Authority, working in consultation with a stakeholder advisory committee, to provide loans and grants to fund viable renewable energy projects and feasibility and reconnaissance studies necessary to launch new renewable energy projects. HB152 has strong bi-partisan support and is a top priority for ACV this session. A special thanks goes to Reps. LeDoux (R-Kodiak) and Dahlstrom (R-Anchorage) who added their names this week to the growing list of co-sponsors, which also includes Reps. Thomas, Crawford, Gara, Salmon, Johnson, Guttenberg, Gardner, Nelson and Edgmon.

HB156 Mining Production & License Taxes / Royalties - Rep. Seaton (R-Seward)
HB156 was heard and held in House Labor and Commerce on Wednesday and Friday of this week. A CS was adopted for discussion purposes that made three basic changes to the original bill: 1) allowing deduction of state income tax for net income purposes under the mining license tax; (2) reducing the hard rock rental amounts to $1.65/acre for the first five years; and (3) increasing the income brackets for the mining license tax. Strong concerns have been cited by mining industry representatives over the negative impact the bill would have on mining in Alaska. Proponents of the bill see the measure as an opportunity to begin a dialogue on whether Alaska receives its fair share of mining revenues. According to the Legislative Research Agency, s tate and municipal revenues from mining amount to approximately 1.7% of the mined resource value . To put this into perspective commercial fishing's contribution to state and municipal treasuries is more than 5% of production value. The bill makes changes to the Mining License Tax, state royalties for minerals and coal, and the per acre rental fees for mining activity on state land. Proposed changes to the Mining License Tax would be the first changes to the tax rate structure since 1955. ACV testified in support of the review being generated by HB 156. Chair Hawker, who is taking the time necessary to thoroughly evaluate the issues and impacts, pledged to bring the bill back soon to continue the discussion. Committee members appear to have open minds on the subject and have been asking good questions. ACV appreciates the Chair's willingness to give both sides their day in court.

HB177 Natural Gas Pipeline Project - Released by request of the Governor
House Oil and Gas heard HB177 several times this last week and is scheduled for more hearings through the end of the month. We expect this important bill to become a major focus of the Legislature for the remainder of the regular session and possibly beyond. Major issues identified so far include proposed incentives (a 10 year tax freeze, etc.), whether evaluation criteria should be weighted in the bill, and the scope of the legislature's role in considering a proposed contract. Under AGIA, the Legislature would only have the power to nix a gas line agreement, which raised questions by a number of Legislators this week.   Public testimony was heard on HB177 and the senate counterpart, SB104, this week. For more information on the hearings, visit the News Miner's article . HB177 is the House version of Governor Palin's gas pipeline plan, the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA). AGIA defines the Governor's plan to encourage competition and "induce" potential pipeline builders and North Slope gas holders into building a natural gas pipeline that is in the best interest of Alaskans. For more information on the provisions of AGIA, visit Conservation Watch Issue 8 .

HJR14 Resolution Encouraging Federal Passage of SB552 for Exxon Valdez Plaintiffs - House Special Committee on Fisheries
CS HJR14 (FSH) was moved from House Fisheries on Monday. The committee substitute removed language so that the bill was only urging federal passage of SB552 (by removing references to Representative Young's H.R. 1334).   HJR14 would urge Congress to enact Senate Bill 552 so that individuals receiving a damage award from the Exxon Valdez oil spill can benefit from the income averaging and retirement contribution provisions contained within the bill. Commercial fishers make up 80 percent of the plaintiffs seeking to recover damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

SB104 Natural Gas Pipeline Project - Released by request of the Governor
Discussions of SB104 were yet again a hot topic in Senate Resources this last week and hearings are slated to continue. SB104 is the Senate counterpart of HB177 (Governor Palin's Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA)). See HB177 above for more information on the provisions of the Act and details of what happened on both bills this last week.

SB121 Cruise Ship Discharge - Sen. Elton (D-Juneau)
SB121, which was introduced in order to reinstate an alternate compliance program for a group of small cruise vessels built before 2004, passed with little controversy this week out of Senate Labor and Commerce. The compliance program, which employed "best management practices," was passed by the Legislature in 2004 as HB522 and was enacted as Chapter 153, SLA 04. The initiative that was approved by voters in August 2006 inadvertently repealed this section. The bill is intended to act as a corrective action and, according to Sen. Elton, is not opposed by the sponsors of the initiative.

SJR4 Natural Gas for State Residents - Sen. Wielechowski (D-Anchorage)
A Committee Substitute for SJR4 moved from Senate Labor and Commerce this week. SJR4 is a joint resolution that urges the Attorney General to determine whether to oppose an extension of the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas Plant export license in order to get that gas into local markets.   The attorney general, the producers of natural gas in the Cook Inlet region, and the Regulatory Commission of Alaska also are encouraged to work to secure long-term and affordable supplies of natural gas for the people and businesses of the state.

SB129 Appropriation for Alaska Gas Market System Project- Sen. Wagoner (R-Kenai)
Co sponsored by Senators Therriault, Dyson, Bunde and Wilken, this is an Act making a special appropriation for project evaluation for the Alaska gas market system and provides for an effective date. The bill would appropriate approximately 4.5 million to the Department of Revenue to focus on instate gas needs in the context of the gasline project.

Hearings this Week

Click on the date in the table below to get the most current schedule information for that day, or check the BASIS hearing schedule. Once a bill has been heard in a particular committee it may be brought up again without public notice or listing on the weekly committee schedule. You can click on a committee name to see a list of its members.