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.

-----------------

Bill position papers, back issues of Conservation Watch, and legislative updates are available at the
ACV Legislation Page

-----------------

ACV Legislative Staff


Matt Davidson
Legislative Director
matt@akvoice.org

Gordon Sandy
Outreach Manager
gordon@akvoice.org

Britt Constantine
Legislative Staff
britt@akvoice.org

-----------------

ACV- Juneau
419 6 th Street, #321
Juneau , AK 99801
(907) 463-3366
(907) 463-3312 fax

-----------------

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

-----------------

Web Resources

Legislative BASIS
Current bill text, history & committee schedules

Legislature Homepage
Find Your Legislators, member and party links, committee lists

State Homepage
www.state.ak.us
Links to state agencies, Governor

 ACV Homepage
www.acvoters.org

Join Us!


-----------------

Announcements

If you think there's no such thing as a free lunch* in Juneau...

...come to the Alaska Conservation Alliance

Fly-In 2005!

April 10-12
Sunday - Tuesday
in Juneau

Don't miss this great opportunity to:

"It's like a bomb."
---Rep. Beth Kerttula (D-Juneau) describing Gov. Murkowski's letter threatening to drop the Alaska Coastal Management Program. (2/24/2005, Press Availability)

"I don't think we're being excessive. I don't think we're being unfair."
---Rep. Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage) responding to questions about his pesticide public notice bill HB 19 at the House Resources Committee on 2/23/2005.

• Murkowski Blames ACMP Problems on Feds
• Robin Taylor Finds a New Way to Sink Ferries
• Public Speaks Out Pesticide Right-To-Know

In Every Issue

• Bills on the Move
• New Legislation
• Hearing Schedule

Murkowski Blames ACMP Problems on Feds

Facing legislative inquiries, complaints from local governments, and a strong reprimand from the federal government, Governor Murkowski is playing chicken to weaken the Alaska Coastal Management Program (ACMP). The conflict stems from Murkowski’s controversial "streamlining" of the program under 2003's HB 191. Losing ACMP would cost the state and local communities millions of federal dollars, repeal a program designed to safeguard coastal resources, and destabilize development of coastal resources.

For months local governments have objected to the state’s vague guidelines, variable standards, and unreasonable timelines for the mandated review of their coastal protection plans. A February 23rd House State Affairs oversight hearing highlighted community concerns. Tom Loman from Barrow testified, “It is pretty clear the [state] timelines were unreasonable from the get-go.” Karol Kolehmainen from the western Aleutians coastal district stated bluntly, “we harbor serious doubts that our remaining enforceable standards will survive the state review.”

A January 28th letter from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to Murkowski concurred with community concerns. The letter advised the state of ACMP revisions needed to meet federal certification. NOAA noted that the Murkowski Administration’s habitat protection standards “do not address impacts to the biological and other functions of habitat….lacks clarity, definition, and consistency with accepted scientific terminology and concepts.”

Murkowski's response to NOAA, timed to undercut the scheduled State Affairs hearing, blames the feds for ACMP's problems, and demands the agency “abandon the new requirements and broken promises” or the state will withdraw from the program entirely.

The Governor’s threat to federal regulators aside, lawmakers are moving to ease concerns about the looming deadline. HB 146, sponsored by Rep. Beth Kerttula (D-Juneau), would extend the deadline for communities to revise their plans to 18 months after federal approval of the state’s plan. SB 102, sponsored by Senator Gary Stevens, simply extends the deadline one year to July 1, 2006.

Murkowski’s brinksmanship raises serious questions about his authority to drop the program, loss of federal funding, and impact on resource industries. Rep. Kerttula commented Thursday, “if you dump the [Alaska] Coastal Management Program, you are going to set back developers in Alaska decades.” Neither HB 146 nor SB 102 has been scheduled for a hearing.

Robin Taylor Finds a New Way to Sink Ferries

As if he's asking for another Alaska Marine Highway (AMHS) ferry to run aground, Governor Frank Murkowski has appointed a long-time ferry critic to oversee AMHS operations at the Department of Transportation (DOTPF). Robin Taylor, a former Southeast lawmaker, tried several times during his tenure in the Legislature to dismantle the public ferry system as Alaskans know it. Taylor's appointment has many citizens crying foul.

These concerns are not unfounded. An examination of Taylor's record on the marine highway reveals that he championed an amendment to cut $20.1 million in capital budget funding for a Prince William Sound fast ferry in 2002. Earlier that session, Taylor referred to AMHS in committee as an "abject failure."

Taylor also introduced legislation to privatize the marine highway system in 1991, 1997 (SB 21) and 2001 (SB 130). Privatization was largely opposed by DOTPF and AMHS officials, as well as the general public.

Senator Kim Elton (D-Juneau) in the January 24 issue of his weekly publication Off the Record eerily predicted Taylor's appointment to the ferry post, asking, "Is former state senator Robin Taylor lurking in the shadows, as some suggest, waiting to add ferries to his mysterious portfolio in DOTPF?"

The ferry system already struggles to tread water after the poorly planned relocation of its central headquarters, the LeConte running aground on well-marked Kozian Reef, and DOT pulling the fast ferry Fairweather out of service to pressure union negotiators.

Governor Murkowski also co-opted the Kennicott to transport only 26 passengers across the Gulf last fall, costing AMHS $108,000. Many Southeast residents still fume over Murkowski's commissioning of the Taku to shuttle 200 wealthy guests to Icy Strait Point, a cruise ship destination built by Point Sophia Development that locals have never been allowed to visit. (The Juneau Empire reported on 9/20/2004 that among the passenger list was a Taiwanese trade delegation.)

It doesn't take a marine engineer to recognize the connection between Taylor's appointment and Murkowski's scheme to weaken the ferries by building roads to nowhere.

Alaskans spoke out for right-to-know about pesticide use in public places at a House Resources Committee hearing this week. HB 19 was positively received by the committee and most Alaskans testifying at the hearing.

"[You] should have the right-to-know what has been sprayed into the area you are entering into,” testified Rep. Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage), HB 19's sponsor. Other testimony echoed Meyer's assertion.

“Right-to-know programs are an essential means to protect individuals and communities from the harm due to the release of hazardous chemicals, including the use of many common herbicides and pesticides,” concluded Marie Lavigne, Executive Director of the Alaska Public Health Association.

Certified applicators of pesticides expressed concerns about potential impacts on the availability of chemicals once the state starts charging a registration fee to pesticide manufacturers. Alaska is the only state in the country that doesn’t charge a registration fee. The Department of Environmental Conservation testified that the fee schedule set out in HB 19 has enough built-in flexibility to ensure product availability.

HB 19 is scheduled for the Resources Committee again Monday February 28th for consideration of potential amendments., but the committee will not be taking any public testimony. After Resources, HB 19 will move to the Finance Committee.

See CW-6 for a description of HB 19.

Bills on the Move

SB 25, which would mandate labeling of genetically modified fish sold in Alaska, unanimously passed the Senate Resources Committee on Thursday. The Committee also moved HJR 6, a resolution which would support stricter fish and shellfish labeling in the United States to differentiate wild/farmed and country of origin. HJR 6's provisions would also apply to processed seafood. Both bills now sit in the Senate Rules Committee awaiting a floor vote.

HB 46, which would allow privately owned water and sewer utilities to dip into the state's grant pot, failed to pass the House Thursday on a reconsideration vote prompted by Rep. Peggy Wilson (R-Wrangell). The City of Fairbanks has persistently pushed for this change since privatizing its utilities in 1997. HB 46's opponents, including cities with public utilities, worry that their share of the grant pie would be diminished if private companies have access to the grants.

The House Committee on Community and Regional Affairs passed out HB 121, which would make it substantially easier for local governments in 2nd class boroughs to consolidate service areas. HB 121 and a similar bill, SB 114, would allow assemblies, instead of voters, to abolish or consolidate service areas for financial, legal, or other reasons. HB 121 will next be heard in State Affairs.

New Legislation

HCR 3 Renewable Energy - Rep. Jay Ramras (R-Fairbanks)
The resolution would urge the Governor to pursue renewable energy projects.

SB 112 REAA Resident Tax - Sen. Con Bunde (R-Anchorage)
This bill would levy a tax on residents of regional educational attendance areas (REAAs) to offset school costs. REAAs are rural areas not contained in a borough, and therefore they currently do not contribute to school funding. The tax amount would equal the contribution boroughs are required to make (AS 14.17.410) divided by the number of REAA residents over the age of 21.

SB 113 Allocating Gulf of Alaska Groundfish - Sen. Ben Stevens (R-Anchorage)
This bill creates a dedicated access privilege program to allocate limited groundfish resources in the Gulf of Alaska.

SB 115 No APOC Disclosure for Volunteer Board Members - Sen. Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak)
Currently, the four public board members of the Alaska Medical Facility Authority and all five directors of the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank Authority are required to report their financial interests to the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC). SB 115 would remove this requirement for both boards.

Hearings this Week

Check the BASIS hearing schedule for the most current information. 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.