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 -

• That's a Wrap!
• Action Briefs
  • Passed
  • The Budget
  • Action Update
  • New in Town
• 'Till Next Time' Chart

That's a Wrap!

The First Session of the 25th Legislature is officially finished! This year's session was mostly about AGIA, education, revenue sharing, ethics, 90-day session rules, budgets, and assistance for children and seniors. While the recent indictments fouled the air, they didn’t stop the show. However, a fall special session to revisit a potentially tainted PPT is a very good bet. Education funding may also be on the fall agenda schedule.

The Bi-Partisan Majority Working Group, led by Senator Green, held up nicely against most odds. The general atmosphere in both bodies was friendlier and far more conducive to cooperative decision making than in the recent past, although partisan differences remain and some tensions between our new Governor and the Legislature emerged.

The conservation community made good progress this year and left our mark on AGIA (see below), but our priorities are still in the works—which is to be expected in a two-year legislative cycle where major bills often take two or more sessions to get to the goal line.

Nonetheless, our highest priority—development of renewable energy—is now a very popular theme in the Capitol and is likely to get even more attention in the future. We expect HB152, which sets up renewable energy loan and grant funding mechanisms, to pass next time around. The measure now sits in Senate Finance after making its way through three committees and the House Floor this session. Bills addressing our other priorities—a prohibition of mixing zones in salmon spawning areas and mining tax and royalty reform—continue to face uphill battles.

Passed

Below is a recap on the bills and resolutions ACV tracked that passed this Session. The updates provided underneath the chart are on actions that took place since the last Conservation Watch.

HB87 Citizen's Advisory Committee on Federal Areas - Rep. Kelly (R-Fairbanks)
This measure, which would re-establish a citizen’s advisory committee on Federal Areas (a pet project of former Senator Bettye Fahrenkamp) made it through the Senate Resources & Finance committees in the remaining days of the Session with no changes and passed in the Senate 18-2 on Tuesday, May 15.

HB177 / SB104 Natural Gas Pipeline Project - Released by request of the Governor
After a long, hard and effective effort by her gasline team, Governor Palin got her wishes with AGIA. This landmark legislation—opposed in its current from by the North Slope Producers—still includes the prohibition for the “over the top” route and the requirements for applicants to address carbon emissions as advocated by the conservation community. Concerns remain about whether this bill will actually get the job done and only time will tell. ACV applauds Governor Palin for her efforts to keep the gasline process open and competitive.

HB220 Ban Computer Assisted Remote Hunting - Rep. Buch (D-Anchorage)
After breezing through Senate Resources, HB220 passed unanimously in the Senate. The measure bans a terrible new business idea that hasn’t yet come to Alaska: computer assisted hunting, or Internet hunting, which allows a person via the Internet to control the aiming and firing of a rifle that is hooked up to a webcam. ACV supported this pro-active piece of legislation.

HB229 Kenai Gasification Project & Alaska Railroad Corporation - Rep. Chenault (R-Nikiski)
HB229 was given an additional referral to Senate Finance before it returned to the Senate floor last week. On the floor, one technical amendment was adopted. Another amendment by Sen. Wilken to require legislative approval of the financing plan before the project could expend any state funds failed 4-16. The measure passed 16-4, with Senators French, Therriault, Wielechowski and Wilken voting nay. It authorizes the Alaska Railroad Corporation to issue up to $2.9 billion in tax-free bonds to finance the Kenai coal gasification project and the Port MacKenzie rail link.

HJR17 Kensington Mine Appeal / 9th Circuit - Rep. Johnson (R-Anchorage)
At the House Judiciary hearing on May 9, the committee reinstated the original version of the bill, which contained language directed at the 9 th Circuit Court of Appeals that was considered “inflammatory” by many. On the House floor, after a heated debate and a 21-18 vote, the changes made by the Resources committee to remove the “inflammatory” language were reinstated and the bill passed the House 36-0. In the Senate, the measure was moved from Senate Resources and passed on the Senate floor 17-2, with Senators Ellis and French voting nay.

HJR21 Oppose UN Land Designations in Alaska - Rep. Thomas (R-Haines)
HJR21 passed 31-6 in the House last Friday, May 11. The measure was transferred to the Senate, where it moved unchanged from Senate Resources and passed on the floor 20-0. The resolution opposes the designation of any area in the state as a world heritage site, biosphere reserve, or any other type of international designation without the consent of the Alaska State Legislature and affected local governments.

SB111 Kodiak Narrow Cape Public Use Area - Sen. Stevens (D-Kodiak)
SB111, which would create the Kodiak Narrow Cape Public Use Area, passed the House 38-0 on reconsideration. No changes were made to the measure in the House.

SB121 Cruise Ship Discharge & Info - Sen. Elton (D-Juneau)
SB121 passed 34-2 in the House. The bill reinstates language already passed by the Legislature that was inadvertently repealed by last year’s cruise ship initiative and moved through the House in the remaining days of the Session with no changes.

SJR6 Oppose Wilderness Designation for ANWR - Senate Resources
SJR6 passed the Senate 19-0 and passed the House 34-4 after moving from House Resources. Nay votes in the House included Reps. Cissna, Doll, Kerttula and Salmon. The measure urges the U.S. Congress to defeat H.R. 39, which would preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska , as wilderness.

The Budget

Here are a few of the highlights from this year’s capital and operating budgets:

Fire Island Wind Farm: Appropriations were made from the Railbelt Energy Fund in the amounts of $15 million to Chugach Electric Association and $5 million to Anchorage Municipal Light and Power for transmission lines to connect the Fire Island wind farm to the grid in Anchorage or for new substations and transmission lines, generation site acquisition, infrastructure development, or any combination of the above. The Senate version appropriated the money for Fire Island only, but the House decided to give the utilities the final say.

Road funding & Mega Projects: No new funding was included for the Gravina Bridge in Ketchikan, the Knik Arm Bridge, or the Juneau Road/Ferry project. The capital budget does, however, include $5.7 million to replace the ferry that currently connects Ketchikan with Gravina Island and reduces the 2006 allocation for the Juneau Road from $45,000,000 down to $35,842,600.

• Shakwak / Ferry Funding: Language was included in the capital budget to clarify that it is the intent of the Legislature that ‘Shakwak’ funds, a special category of federal funds set aside for travel modes connecting Southeast Alaska to the rest of the state, can only be used for the Alaska Marine Highway System’s existing and planned transportation equipment and for reconstruction of the Alaska Highway as permitted by federal law (before, the federal law was changed to allow these funds to be used for bridges and connector roads; the Legislature's intent reflects the original language/purpose of Shakwak). These funds were previously looked at as potential funding sources for portions of the Juneau Road/Ferry project, but have historically been used for items such as new ferry purchases.
• 4 New Engineer Positions for the Juneau Road: While the House approved ADOT’s request in the operating budget for 4 new engineer positions for the Juneau Road/Ferry project, the Senate did not. These 4 positions were kept out of the operating budget by the bill’s conference committee.
• Stampede Road: $4.8 of the original $5 million allocated by the Murkowski administration in 2005 to build this road was removed. This controversial, alleged “northern Denali access road” was part of Murkowski’s “Roads to Resources” program.

Pac/West funding for ANWR: Changes were made to last year’s appropriation of $3 million to Pac/West Communications, which was intended to pay for education efforts to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration. The remaining funds are now to be used for “continued education efforts on Alaska energy issues.” In addition, the balance of funds previously appropriated to Arctic Power ($750,000) have been re-appropriated to the Governor’s Office for “state gas pipeline development and marketing of North Slope gas, Alaska energy issues, and Endangered Species Act issues.”

Action Update

HB28 Power Source Disclosure - Rep. Ramras (R-Fairbanks)
HB28, which would require large utilities to annually disclose their power sources (gas, coal, wind, geothermal, etc.) to consumers, originally passed the House 36-3. However, on reconsideration, the measure failed to pass with a 17-21 vote. Concerns were cited over the fact that most utilities do not have many sources and that simply listing the source (without any cost, emissions, or other information) would be a relatively hollow gesture.

HB56 Hydrogen Energy Partnership - Rep. Crawford (D-Anchorage)
HB56 moved with strong support (7 “do pass” recommendations and 1 “amend”) from House Resources last week. This visionary proposal would set up the Hydrogen Energy Partnership within the Alaska Energy Authority to work towards the development of a hydrogen fuel industry in Alaska. ACV supports this measure.

HB94 | SB57 Marine Parks Additions / Hunting Allowed - Reps. Kerttula (D-Juneau) & Cissna (D-Anchorage) | Sen. Elton (D-Juneau)
HB94 moved a committee substitute from House Resources that further clarified that designation of areas in Lynn Canal as part of the marine park should not infringe on fishing activities in the area. The measure is now resting in House resources for the interim. SB57 moved from Senate Resources with the same language addition as the House counterpart and now sits in Senate Finance.

HB128 | SB80 Oil & Gas Production Tax: Expenditures - Rep. Olson (R-Soldotna) | Sen. Wagoner (R-Kenai)
HB128 was moved from House Judiciary last week and now sits in House Finance. SB80, the likely vehicle for this measure, passed unanimously in the Senate and was transmitted to the House, where it received a Finance committee referral. Unfortunately, the bill did not move despite strong pressure from many sources as well as a bold, but failed, last-minute attempt by Representative Kawasaki to discharge it from the House Finance committee and move it directly to the House floor.

HB134 Protect Salmon Spawning Water - Rep. Edgmon (D-Dillingham) | SB67 Create Jay Hammond State Game Refuge - Sen. Stevens (R-Kodiak)
HB134 was brought up briefly and was held in House Fisheries. There was discussion about moving the bill to Resources to allow for committee “field trips” to the area during the interim. No changes were made to the measure. HB134 would impose restrictions on activities impacting the fresh waters of the Bristol Bay region to protect salmon and salmon habitat. The field trip is still planned. SB67, the Senate’s approach to the Pebble Mine issue, which would establish the Jay Hammond State Game Refuge, did not have a hearing this session, but is still on the table for next Session (see chart below).

HB164 Ocean Rangers & Reporting Vessel Location - House Transportation Committee
HB164 failed 13-24 on the House floor last week, ending a session-long battle. After a major roller coaster ride, the controversial effort to significantly dilute the Ocean Ranger portion of the Initiative went down in flames. And, while the funding for the program in this year’s operating budget was cut from $2.5 to $1.2 million at the request of the Department of Environmental Conservation. Governor Palin indicated that the administration will implement the Ocean Ranger program as directed by last year’s initiative despite the fact that it was under funded and indicated that she will request a supplemental appropriation next year.

HB175 Eminent Domain / Fishing Waterways - Rep. Johnson (R-Anchorage)
HB175 was waived from one of its three committees of referral in Senate—State Affairs—and then moved out of its second committee, Senate Judiciary. The measure is now in Senate Finance. This proposal expands eminent domain protections that now apply only to personal residences to prohibit “takings” of an individual’s “recreational structure” (i.e., a seasonal recreational dwelling) for the purpose of developing recreational facilities. The measure was also effectively merged with Rep. Gara’s HB40, which allows for voluntary land trades, purchases and leases with the aim to enhance and protect public access to fishing streams.

HB176 Create Fort Rousseau Causeway Park - Rep. Wilson (R-Wrangell)
HB176, which would create the Fort Rousseau Causeway Park in Sitka, was heard and held in Senate Resources last week.

HB238 Oil & Hazard Substance Response Account - Rep. Meyer (R-Anchorage)
HB238 was heard and held in Senate Finance last week. The measure creates a sub-account within the oil spill response account that will spin off earnings to better fund the spill prevention account.

HJR12 Endorsing ANWR Leasing - Rep. Johnson (R-Anchorage)
HJR12 passed 36-3 in the House, with Reps. Cissna, Kerttula and Salmon voting nay. The resolution was transmitted to the Senate, where it received a Resources committee referral. This resolution, which supports ANWR development, is different from SJR6, which opposes designating ANWR as wilderness and which passed this session (see above).

HJR13 | SJR4 Natural Gas for State Residents - Rep. Gardner (R-Anchorage) | Sen. Wielechowski (D-Anchorage)
SJR4 passed 19-1 in the Senate, was transmitted to the House and was given a House Resources referral. The measure has yet to be heard there. A committee substitute for the resolution’s House counterpart, HJR13, was moved from House Labor & Commerce and is now in House Rules. The resolutions urge the U.S. Department of Energy to consider the needs of the people of the state for natural gas when looking at whether or not to extend the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas Plant’s export license.

New In Town

HB256 | SB176 Active Game Management / Aerial Shooting - Rules Committee by request of the Governor
These measures, which were introduced at the request of Governor Palin, make changes to direct state regulators and biologists to actively manage game under the “maximum use, maximum benefit, common use, and sustained yield principles” for “abundant numbers and abundant harvest opportunities.” Amongst other things, the measure removes the requirement that the Board of Game adopt a predatory control program. SB176 received Resources, Judiciary and Finance committee referrals while HB256 only received Resources and Judiciary referrals.

HB257 | SB180 Transfer Aquatic Farming to DNR - Rep. Harris (R-Valdez) | Sen. McGuire (R-Anchorage)
This 13-page series of changes would transfer duties related to aquatic farming and hatchery operations from the Department of Fish and Game to the Department of Natural Resources and would eliminate certain permit requirements applicable to aquatic farming and hatchery operations. HB257 and SB180 also direct the Department of Natural Resources to administer and supervise promotional and marketing work for aquatic farm products.

HB261 | SB182 Clean Elections - Reps. LeDoux (R-Kodiak), Gardner (D-Anchorage), & Doll (D-Juneau) || Sen. Wielechowski (D-Anchorage), McGuire (R-Anchorage), & Ellis (D-Anchorage)
These measures, introduced with bi-partisan supporters in both bodies, would set up a clean elections system in Alaska. ‘Clean Elections,’ which are already used by a number of other states, are publicly-funded elections where candidates gather a required number of signatures and small donations in their district to qualify for public funding. Candidates also agree to strict spending limits. The intent of the laws is to “level the playing field” by blocking corporations and special interests from buying influence with large campaign contributions. According to a recent poll conducted by the Alaska Public Interest Research Group, approximately 70% of registered voters indicated that they were in support of Clean Elections. HB261 was referred to State Affairs, Judiciary and Finance and SB182 was referred to Community and Regional Affairs, State Affairs, Judiciary and Finance.

SB173 Stampede State Recreation Area - Sen. Thomas (D-Fairbanks)
This bill would establish the Stampede State Recreation Area to perpetuate and enhance general public recreation and public enjoyment of fish and wildlife, protect and maintain fish and wildlife habitat, and provide an area for the public to enjoy the full spectrum of public uses, including maintenance and enhancement of motorized and non-motorized recreational opportunities. The House counterpart, sponsored by Rep. Guttenberg, is HB241.

SB174 Oil & Gas Tax - Sen. Wagoner (R-Kenai)
SB174, co-sponsored by Senators Dyson and Therriault, is: “an Act relating to the oil and gas properties production tax; providing for a reduction in the amount of taxable production; providing for an increase in the tax rate when the average Alaska North Slope crude oil West Coast price per barrel exceeds $40; providing for tax credits based on expenditures for oil and gas exploration, gas only exploration, and development wells; and providing for an effective date.”

SB175 Oil & Gas Production Tax - Sen. French (D-Anchorage)
SB175, co-sponsored by Senators Wielechowski, Ellis and Elton, is: “an Act providing for the use of petroleum production and other facilities by additional entities; amending the powers of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission; relating to oil and gas properties production taxes and credits; providing for production tax adjustments to increase the amount of tax at high oil prices, reduce the amount of tax at low oil prices, and reduce the amount of tax on the production of heavy oil; relating to the determination of the gross value of oil and gas at the point of production; and providing for an effective date.”

Till Next Time

Alas, there is only so much time during the course of the Session to work through bills. Here is a breakdown of some of the bills that were introduced this Session and have been held over until next year. (Remember: This is only the 1st Session of the 2-year 25th Legislative Session. All bills from this year carry over to the 2nd Session next year.)