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Contact Information:
Toll Free:(800) 665-2689
In the Homer Area:(907) 235-2921
Via Mail or in Person: 345 W. Sterling Hwy., Suite 102B
Homer, Alaska 99603
Fax:(907) 235-4008
Website:
Email:
NEWSLETTER DELAY AND SPECIAL SESSION NOTE
Please excuse the delayed release of this newsletter. Normally those of you who are signed up for the email newsletter are the first to receive it and I
apologize for the delay. There were technical difficulties getting the email newsletter survey (see link at bottom of newsletter) posted on my legislative
website. The webmasters just got it up and running, so please take a few moments to complete the survey. Much of the information in this newsletter is
time sensitive and some things have changed since it was written. Most notable, the governor has stated that he is interested in calling the legislature into a
special session, though at the time this email is being sent, no official anncounement has been made.
WRAP-UP OF THE 23rd ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
One week after the end of a grueling session I can better assess the 23rd Legislature. The last week of session included 1am and 3am early morning finishes
of the previous day’s calendar, and left everyone feeling like we did at the end of an old fashioned halibut opening. The Legislature managed to find enough
compromise to pass the Operating Budget, the reverse sweep and the Capitol Budget. Both the House and Senate managed to get the needed three quarter
vote to authorize a draw on the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) to pay for all appropriations. The primary job of the Legislature is to pass and fund a
budget. Thanks to high oil prices this was possible without tapping the CBR for 2005 above the $400 million-benchmark set by the Governor. In fact, the
high oil price has meant that the current 2004 budget will only draw about $50 million from the CBR instead of the projected $400 million. Although we
accomplished our priority task, I was not pleased that we failed to institute any measures to close the general fund revenue vs. general fund spending gap.
The House passed proposed constitutional amendments for both a spending cap and POMV management of the Permanent Fund. We combined this with
legislation for a split of the POMV revenue at the current 50% of earnings for PFDs, 45% for education, and 5% for community revenue sharing. However,
the Senate could not agree with our plan or any other plan. The House had constructed two bond packages, one for education and the other for roads and
harbors. Without a recurrent repayment source (POMV or significant taxes) the bonds could not go forward. The Governor had talked about calling a
special session but after we adjourned, he backed off and requested that we call ourselves back to finish some of his priorities. However, all these topics he
is referring to received a full debate during the regular legislative session, so I doubt there would be any significant shift in positions during a special session,
especially if it were to occur before the elections. I do not think there is concurrence in either body to spend extra money for a special session, and both
House and Senate would have to agree to reconvene. We have just been notified by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that we need to justify
each addition we made to the budget. OMB needs this information prior to the Governor’s veto review. This means that we will not know the final fate of
funding for local projects until Governor Murkowski signs the budget bills. I do not believe the Legislature would go into a special session to override the
Governor’s veto of projects unless he were to cut the funding increases for education.
FISHERIES COMMITTEE
The fishing industry is the largest employer in Alaska. As Chairman of House Special Committee on Fisheries, I tried to emphasize this economic
importance by highlighting fisheries issues in the Legislature. Much of our work at the beginning of the session was focused on educating the Committee on
fisheries issues. We held many detailed overview hearings with the Department of Fish and Game and other agencies. When reviewing legislation, the focus
of the Committee was to preserve and enhance Alaska’s fisheries resources for fishermen and the communities they live in. One controversial proposal this
last session would have given groundfish moratorium fishing privileges to vessel owners instead of vessel operators. This policy would have allowed for the
absentee ownership of Alaska’s fisheries resources and is a departure from the state’s current policy of fostering owner-operator fisheries. On this issue, the
Committee acted to protect the interests of fishermen and did not move the bill forward.
JOINT LEGISLATIVE SALMON INDUSTRY TASK FORCE
It was a pleasure to serve on the Joint Legislative Salmon Industry Task Force the past two years. The efforts of the Task Force to focus the Legislature’s
attention on the downturn in the salmon industry were successful. The Task Force sponsored over twenty pieces of legislation and got 13 bills passed into
law that will go a long way toward revitalizing the industry.
PERSONAL LEGISLATION PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE
Four bills that I sponsored during the 23rd Legislature were passed into law: HB 51 aims to protect seniors from overdosing on pharmaceuticals by requiring
pharmacists to include generic drug information on containers in which brand-name prescription drug orders are dispensed. The Food and Drug
Administration recommends that generic labeling of prescription drugs is one of the 15 best ways to prevent overdosing on prescription medications. This
bill idea came to me through conversations with Homer’s senior citizens. HB 118 allows commercial fishermen to hire their own tender or pool their
resources on one boat to transport fish to market. HB 118 requires the person transporting the fish to have a transporter permit in addition to the currently
required fish ticket. This arrangement allows a fisherman to retain ownership of the fish while authorizing an associate or another vessel to transport and sell
the fish for them. I sponsored this bill to give fishermen more options for getting their fish to markets. HB 232 allows the Homer Chapter of the Kenai
Peninsula Boys and Girls Club to operate and implement the "Homer Mercury Classic." Classics are not permitted under a gaming permit without legislation
allowing a specific group or area to conduct one. The "Homer Mercury Classic" will be held bi-annually, with winnings awarded in the spring to the person
who most accurately guesses when the temperature reaches 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The proceeds from the classic will be divided evenly between the Boys
and Girls Club of Homer and the classic winner. HB 260 attempts to increase volunteerism from health care providers by exempting health care
professionals from liability for donated medical services provided for free to informed patients. Services must be provided at a medical facility owned or
operated by a government entity or non-profit organization. It does not in any other way alter the medical malpractice law, and health care providers would
still be liable for actions resulting from gross negligence, reckless behavior or intentional misconduct. It is hoped that volunteer and retired nurses, doctors
and others who are licensed will be better able to contribute to solving local health care inadequacies under this new law.
OTHER PASSED BILLS IMPORTANT TO HOUSE DIS. 35
Shallow Natural Gas Leases: The Shallow Natural Gas Leases in the Homer and Mat-Su areas and the program under which they were administered
received a lot of scrutiny this past session. Thanks to the vocal citizen action throughout the year, House Bill 531 became the vehicle for the Shallow
Natural Gas Program reforms. This bill, sponsored by the House Resources Committee, completely repeals the Shallow Natural Gas Program and replaces
it with a combination of gas-only exploration licensing and gas-only leases. This approach to encouraging gas development includes a best interest finding
process with standard local public notice and comment periods, and competitive bidding. The bill was amended to include increased regulations for
environmental health and quality-of-life concerns related to any development on the current leases. I also inserted an amendment that will constrain the
Homer leases to their original three-year term if they are not producing paying quantities of gas by the end of that term. There have been no exploration or
development applications filed for on the Homer Shallow Natural Gas Leases to date. I think this is a very good indication that we will not see these leases
come into commercial production. SB 65 authorizes the expansion of regional prisons, including a 144-bed expansion for the Spring Creek facility in
Seward. I pushed for this provision to be included and believe it will give Seward the opportunity to expand their economic base. Although this bill does
provide for the possibility of a private facility in Whittier, it also requires a comparative cost study by which a third-party operator must demonstrate that
using the same wage and training requirements, the private facility would be less expensive than a state facility. The bill also requires a competitive bid
process, adherence to the state procurement procedures, and approval of the facility design by the Commissioner of Corrections prior to entering into an
agreement. Further, the bill requires that all correctional officers, probation officers and parole officers be certified by the Alaska Police Standards Council.
BILLS OF INTEREST THAT DID NOT PASS THE LEGISLATURE
An interesting facet of the legislative process in Juneau is the importance of reviewing and scrutinizing proposed legislation with constituent interests in mind.
Often, a piece of legislation benefits one singular interest group and must be balanced with restrictions so other interests are not disregarded. When a bill
swings the pendulum too far and a compromise cannot be reached, the bill generally hits a roadblock and dies. Restriction of liberties, increase of
regulations, reduction of protections for workers, and court rule changes were some of the proposed policy changes that did not make it through the 23rd
Legislature. A couple of examples: SB 311 would have repealed the administrative hearing process before the Human Rights Commission. The sponsor of
the bill argued that this hearing process had become inconsistent and cumbersome, however the proposed restriction would have lowered citizen protection.
SB 297 addressed purported bear over-population problems in some places in Alaska generally called Intensive Management Areas. It would have allowed
any 21-year-old resident who had killed one big game animal and had a hunting license for the past two years to act as a bear guide for nonresidents.
Although the program may have put more hunters into the field, it could have been the legal basis for overturning the entire guiding industry requirement for
nonresidents.
ISSUES TO ADDRESS IN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION
There are several issues that I worked on in this Legislature that were not resolved. I hope that the following issues will be addressed in the next Legislature.
Early funding of education: with the historic House action delineating education funding as a top priority early in the session, the Alaskan education
community now realizes that early funding is an achievable goal with far reaching benefits. We should restructure the education appropriation process to
require the Governor to submit a separate education budget early in the session, as proposed in HB 19.
Raw fish tax legislation is needed to allocate a percentage of the fisheries processing tax from directly exported unprocessed fish back to the port of landing
to support local infrastructure maintenance. Homer and Seward are loosing a significant amount of revenue under the current structure.
Local initiative and referendum special elections: this year’s HB 322/SB 227 would have helped reduce cost of special elections for local initiatives and
referendums. There was great support for these bills, but Senator Ben Stevens added a provision overriding the will of Anchorage voters, so the bill died.
Trucker fees need to be equivalent for U.S. trucks operating in Canada. Currently the fees for an Alaskan trucker hauling fish (for example) to or through
Canada are about three times the fees for a Canadian trucker picking up those same fish and hauling them to the same destination.
Cruise Ship Passenger Tax: we need a Cruise Ship Head Tax. I proposed an amendment to SB 194 but it was withdrawn because of legal problems and a
complication that a similar bill was held in a Committee. Those legal problems have now been solved and hopefully the waterborne visitor industry will get
on board with a reasonable tax.
NEWSLETTER SURVEY
Please take a moment to visit my legislative website at www.RepPaulSeaton.com or click on this link
to fill out the brief survey relating to your use of this weekly newsletter. I have attempted to use these newsletters over the last two legislative sessions to
keep in touch with you while I am in Juneau. I hope the information I have passed on has been helpful to you. Your comments and feedback on this
survey will help me design future publications. The results of the survey will help me to improve its usefulness to you, the reader. Thank you in advance
for your feedback.
BILL ACCESS SYSTEM
All bills can be found on the State’s BASIS system. You can
see what committee a bill is in, when it will be heard, how
committee members voted, and much more. You can access the
system from the website below:
LIVE ON THE WEB
Remember that you can hear most committee hearings or tune into just about any legislative session, present or past, by going to Gavel to Gavel, which transmits TV and public radio broadcasts of the state legislature as they occur. Gavel to Gavel also has an online archive of past meetings. Click on the link below to connect to Gavel to Gavel:
If you need to contact the staff please click on one of the links below:
Lauren Radcliffe,
Cameron Yourkowski,
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