News from the Senate Majority

Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540

For Immediate Release: March 19, 1997 Contact: Senator Loren Leman 907/465-2095

Senate Votes To Promote Compliance With Environmental Laws

Juneau -- In an effort to improve compliance with environmental laws and regulations, the Senate passed legislation Wednesday by a vote of 16 to 3 that establishes incentives for businesses to conduct voluntary audits of their internal operations.

"The goal of this bill is to encourage businesses to identify areas of violation and take measures to correct them," said Senator Loren Leman, sponsor of Senate Bill 41. "A company that discovers an area of noncompliance should be able to report the violation promptly, take corrective action, and work with state regulators to ensure the problem never occurs again."

The Republican-led majority made a "Commitment to Alaska" to enhance the business climate through effective and environmentally sound policies.

"SB 41 encourages a positive business climate by moving from a less efficient approach enforced through fear of government retaliation, to a proactive approach that sets user-friendly guidelines and incentives," said Leman.

The first incentive in SB 41 establishes limited immunity to protect businesses from penalties for violations -- as long as certain conditions are met.

• Noncompliance must be reported immediately.
• The entity must take action to correct the problem and prevent its future recurrence.
• Immunity is not available for violations causing substantial off-site damage or serious on-site injury.
• Immunity is not available for violations that are knowingly committed or that result from recklessness
• Immunity can be denied to regulated entities with a history of similar violations or a pattern of disregard for environmental laws.

The second incentive establishes qualified privilege. This makes certain portions of the self-audit reports non-admissible as evidence or subject to discovery.

• Privilege encourages auditing. Rather than promoting secrecy, it allows companies to conduct candid interviews with personnel.
• Privilege is not available if asserted fraudulently, or if corrective actions have not been made.

"Budgets of regulatory agencies have been reduced at both the federal and state level. With less money, it make sense to encourage business to self-police," Leman said. "This would allow us to focus resources on the "bad actors", rather than on the large majority of businesses who would prefer to play by the rules."

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