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.

"The [Bundy] report, which was originally budgeted for $25,000 with a due date of Dec. 31, is now budgeted for $125,000 and has a due date of Feb. 28.
What's next, $350,000, and Halloween?"

---Sen. Hollis French (D-Anchorage) laying out the case against attorney general Gregg Renkes during a 1/12/2005 speech on the Senate floor.

• New Legislature, Old Issues
• Renkes on the Ropes
• University Lands, Deja Vu

In Every Issue

• New Legislation
• Hearing Schedule

New Legislature, Old Issues

The major issues facing the first session of the 24 th Legislature sound very familiar to most Alaskans. Perennial favorites like education funding and transportation infrastructure join the Legislature’s potential review of a gasline contract at the top of most lawmakers’ lists. Conservationists are paying special attention to a pesticide public notice bill (HB 19) sponsored by Rep. Kevin Meyer (R-Achorage) and a forthcoming University Land bill from Governor Murkowski.

The biggest change from last session is the potential “budget surplus.” Estimating the amount and availability of the surplus is a political toss-up. The price of oil skyrocketed after the Legislature passed the current FY ’05 budget and “borrowed” millions from the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR). The status of the new “surplus” money will likely be a matter of heated political debate. The Governor is seeking to spend the money this year on “one-time” expenditures, while many lawmakers are advocating for repaying much of the surplus to the CBR.
The Alaska Budget: the next Yo-Yo diet.

Renkes on the Ropes

In a spirited show of prosecutorial prowess on the Senate floor Wednesday, Hollis French declared that "it is time for the members of this body to begin to think about ... and to debate" impeaching Attorney General Gregg Renkes. “[The Renkes case] would make a good working definition of conflict of interest for first-year law students," French said. Citing documents from a large stack of public records made available from his office, French cited solid evidence that Gregg Renkes used his position as the attorney general to push experimental KFx coal drying technology in his promotion of the sale of Alaskan coal to Taiwan. At the time, Renkes owned 12,000 shares in KFx, valued at over $100k. When conflict of interest allegations arose, Renkes quickly dumped his KFx shares on 10/6/2004.

“But here we are three months later,” French continued. “The company line out of the governor’s office is that we have to wait for the Bundy report.” The report, commissioned by the Governor for an original price tag of $25,000, was due at the end of 2004. Now it’s expected to cost $125,000 and Alaskans won’t see it until February. It’s clear to reasonable people, however, that Renkes’ conduct was unethical. After French finished his speech, Senators Gary Stevens and Seekins gave half-hearted defense to Renkes, saying French was jumping to conclusions too quickly.

Interestingly, on the same day that Renkes sold all of his KFx shares and donated the profits to charity (which charity is still a mystery), he also dumped all of his shares in Coeur D’Alene Mining, developer of the proposed Kensington Mine near Juneau. Renkes’ consulting firm received $40,000 from Coeur during the years prior to his appointment as attorney general, which begs the question- how far does this scandal go?

For Sale: one lightly used Attorney General. Needs close supervision.
Read excerpts from Sen. French’s speech here.

University Lands, Deja Vu

It appears that a University Lands bill will again be presented to the Legislature this session. The Murkowski Administration and University of Alaska have apparently reached an agreement to expedite the transfer of 260,000 acres of state land.

The agreement is rumored to convey a sizeable portion of the Tanana State Forest, oil and gas leased lands near Nenana, and a large number of smaller “recreational parcels” across the state. Announcement of the proposed legislation was originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 14 at UA in Anchorage, but on Thursday the announcement was cancelled due to “scheduling conflicts.” A new date has not been set, and the delay may have more to do with problems between the Administration, University, and DNR than scheduling problems.

Regardless of the delay, the privatization rather than education funding is the goal of the bill. The profit from the University’s current land holdings yielded less than 2% of the approximately $200 million appropriated to the University last year. Expect hunters, local communities, dog-mushers, and conservationists to recycle their testimony from the previous University Land bills (SB 7 in 2000, SB 250 in 1996, SB 217 1994).

New Legislation

HB 9 Hydrogen Energy Partnership- Rep. Harry Crawford (D-Anchorage)
This bill requires the Commerce Commissioner to seek public and private funding to create a Hydrogen Energy Partnership to kick-start a hydrogen fuel economy in Alaska . The proposed Partnership comprises government, University, industry, Alaska Native, and conservation interests. A similar measure passed the house last session.

HB 19 Pesticide Public Notice- Rep. Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage)
This bill requires a person applying a pesticide in or around a public place to post public notice 48 hours before and after application. It grants DEC authority to register each chemical used in Alaska for an annual $115 fee. Some exemptions to public notice requirement are provided, including homeowners spraying on their own property, and emergency applications.

HB 32Arctic Drilling Resolution-Rep. Vic Kohring (R-Wasilla)
Appropriates $1.3 million to non-profit Arctic Power to promote oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

HB 33 Regulations and Small Business- Rep. Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage)
Requires agencies to prepare an economic effect statement when proposing regulation that may have an adverse effect on small businesses, which are defined as independently owned and operated firms with annual gross sales <$6 million, employing <100 full-time employees. The economic effect statement is large in scope and would be costly to generate, possibly reducing new regulatory effort by state agencies.

HB 37 Fishing Access Right- Rep. Les Gara (D-Anchorage)
Directs the Fish and Game Commissioner to draw up annually a list of private lands along fishing streams that would be of high value for public fishing and recreation use. The DNR Commissioner must attempt to acquire land on the list through trade, purchase, or easement. Several areas are specified for the first year’s list, including some fishing streams in the Interior and Southcentral areas.

HB 46/SB 32 Water Grants- Rep. Harris/Sen. Elton (R-Valdez/D-Juneau)
Makes public utilities eligible for water quality enhancement, water supply, and wastewater grants currently available only to municipalities.

HB 57 Federal Land Purchase- Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch (R-Juneau)
Grants DNR Lands Director authority to purchase federal lands.

HB 71/SB 53 Peninsula Oil Incentives- Governor
Extends the deadline for Alaska Peninsula oil and gas exploration tax incentives from 2007 to 2010.

SB 16 No Transportation Cost – Benefit Considerations- Sen. Stevens (R-Kodiak)
The expressed intent of this bill is to overrule the Alaska Superior Court’s decision in Trout Unlimited v. State (3AN-02-09363) to restart the stalled road project connecting the villages of Nondalton and Iliamna. In order to overrule the court’s opinion, this bill seeks to water-down requirements that DOT consider costs and benefits in transportation planning.

SB 25 Labeling Genetically Modified Fish- Sen. Kim Elton (D-Juneau)
Requires that all genetically modified fish or fish products sold in Alaska be labeled as such.

SB 40 Kuskokwim Port Authority- Sen. Cowdery
Creates a Kuskokwim Port Authority.

SB 55 Sale of Agricultural Lands- Sen. Wagoner (R-Kenai)
Allows DNR to sell the remaining rights to some parcels of land that were leased to individuals for agricultural purposes as part of a community expansion program. The tract to be purchased has to be smaller than 15 acres, and the owner of the agricultural rights has to pay fair market value. Sunsets at the end of 2006.

HJR 4/SJR 2 Arctic Drilling- Rep. Hawker (R-Anchorage)/Senate Resources
Same old, same old. A resolution in favor of oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

SJR 3 Fish Origin Labeling- Sen. Kim Elton (D-Juneau)
A resolution in favor of all fish and fish products being labeled with the country of origin, and as farmed or wild.

Hearings this Week

When this newsletter was converted to HTML, ACV staff did not have time to redo the committee schedule.