Senate Republican Caucus Concerned with Massive Overspending on Capital Budget; Questions Propriety of Ignoring 90-day Session Limit

Juneau – Noting that the Senate majority leadership may have overstepped its bounds by violating the 90-day session limit when it continued to conduct business beyond midnight of April 18, Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage, today questioned whether legislation passed after the deadline might be found illegal by a court.

“It’s an odd phenomenon, that we encourage the average Alaskan to do his or her civic duty and get involved with their government, yet, when they do that, and pass an initiative that limits our sessions to 90 days, the majority has no qualms about ignoring that limit,” Bunde said. “This is simply the predictable result of poor management of the first 89 days of the session.”

“I note that several of the majority’s top priority bills, such as the bloated capital budget and the bill to de-couple gas taxes from oil taxes, passed after the deadline. The leadership of the 26th Legislature may not have broken the law, but has certainly broken new ground by ignoring the limit set by the initiative. Does this signal that the Legislature will extend itself as a matter of course in future years?”

Bunde repeated his concern about the size of the capital budget, which spends a total of more than $3 billion. “We have spent far too much now, and will rue the day when realize we have spent our future security to satisfy our current wants, well beyond our needs,” Bunde said.

Sen. Tom Wagoner said he was disappointed that the capital bill included $75 million for a new crime lab in Anchorage, a project he has been fighting all session. “Two former directors of the crime lab have made it clear that this project is way bigger and much more costly than the State of Alaska needs,” Wagoner said.

Sen. Fred Dyson said he supported the process in the capital budget when it left the Senate. “The House added 28 pages and we had four minutes to look at it,” said Dyson. “I cannot approve that amount of spending without some time for analysis.”

Bill Includes “Cook Inlet Stampede” Tax Credits to Incentivize Jack-Up Drill Rig Exploration of Cook Inlet

Juneau – Sen. Tom Wagoner, R-Kenai, today said the inclusion in SB 309 of incentives for deep level exploration of the Cook Inlet basin will trigger a stampede to bring a jack-up drill rig into the area. Amendments made in the Senate Finance committee incorporate the incentives from Wagoner’s SB 290. Wagoner worked with Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, to put the language in SB 309, and with House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, who introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

“The only way we are ever going to offset the declining oil and gas production in Cook Inlet is to get down to the Jurassic zone and start producing the hydrocarbons in those reservoirs,” Wagoner said. “Cook Inlet is an underexplored basin, and there has not been a jack-up drill rig operating there since the early 1990s. I believe the way these credits are structured will cause a stampede by independents to the Inlet.”

“At a time when natural gas production and supply in the Cook Inlet is declining and demand continues to grow, this legislation will strongly encourage companies to invest additional capital in exploring for new gas reserves,” said Senator McGuire. “This will be another step that will help provide energy for South Central Alaska.”

The tax credits will apply to the first three unaffiliated explorers to drill down to the pre-Tertiary, or into the Jurassic zone, and are structured as follows:

• First explorer is credited 100 percent of costs, or up to $25 million;
• Second explorer is credited 90 percent, or up to $22.5 million;
• Third explorer is credited 80 percent, or up to $20 million.

If the exploration results in sustained oil and/or gas production from a reservoir discovered by the drilling, then 50 percent of the credits awarded would be repaid to the state.

A jack-up drill rig is a mobile drilling platform that uses extendable legs that reach the ocean floor for support and stability.

SB 309 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 37-2 and passed the Senate unanimously last week.

Legislature Passes House Bill 101 to Better Protect Annuities and Life Insurance from Garnishment – Sen. Coghill in Unusual Position of Voting for his Bill in Both House and Senate

Juneau – HB 101 increases to $500,000 the $10,000 cap on annuities and life insurance, allowing Alaskan families to plan for their retirement without the threat of garnishment.

While public retirement programs have exemption without limitation, non-government workers and small business owners rely on life insurance and annuity contracts to supplement their retirements. This bill ensures that life insurance and annuities have limited liability to satisfy debt created after the effective date of the legislation.

“With the uncertain fiscal situation we as a country find ourselves in, most of us are not planning on social security as our only form of retirement or to leave to our survivors,” Coghill said. “This bill allows Alaskans to better plan for their retirement, and for the provision of their loved ones, by adding protection to life insurance and annuities.”

When HB 101 was calendared for a vote in the Senate on April 6th of this year, Senator Coghill found himself in an unusual position of being able to vote in both the House and Senate to pass HB 101, a bill he introduced last year to provide a higher level of protection against garnishment for life insurance and annuities. The bill passed the House unanimously on April 3, 2009.

Today the House concurred in amendments made to the bill in the Senate, and it now awaits transmittal to the Governor for his signature.

Coghill Bill to Incentivize Hospitals, Medical Centers to Become Certified Trauma Centers Passes Legislature

Juneau – Legislation that would provide state dollars to incentivize medical facilities to become certified to better respond to trauma emergencies has unanimously passed the State Senate. It previously passed the House of Representatives, also unanimously. The bill, HB 168, was introduced by Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, when he was a member of the House last year. In the House, the bill has been championed by Bethel Rep. Bob Herron, co-chair of the House Health and Social Services committee.

“A good trauma system is an organized, multidisciplinary response to treatment of severely injured people,” Coghill said. “It spans the full spectrum from prevention to emergency care and recovery. A trauma system should increase the chances of survival by having designated and qualified first responders, and hospitals and doctors that are well-coordinated throughout our state.”

Coghill noted that the nearest level 1 trauma care center is Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The highest level maintained in Alaska is the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, a level 2 facility.

“We were looking for a way to encourage hospitals and other medical facilities to get certified at a certain level to respond to trauma incidents, so HB 168 provides that incentive,” Coghill said. “The bill would establish a fund that could be accessed by hospitals if they get the highest level of trauma designation possible. The fund could help in defraying the cost of emergency room staffing and doctor agreements that are critical to a higher level trauma designation.”

Legislature Unanimously Agrees to Name Elmendorf AFB Fish Hatchery in Honor of WWII POW Bill Hernandez

Juneau – The Alaska Legislature has unanimously passed, and transmitted to Governor Sean Parnell for his signature, a bill naming the state’s new sport fish hatchery on Elmendorf AFB to honor long-time fish hatchery and fish-rearing pioneer William Jack (Bill) Hernandez. Hernandez, who was held by the Japanese for three years during WWII as a civilian POW, worked in fish hatchery, rearing and habitat projects at Ft. Richardson and Elmendorf AFB for 28 years. Hernandez passed away in 2003 at age 83. Originally sponsored by Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River, SB 274 puts Hernandez’s name on a new fish hatchery that is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in May 2011.

“After his confinement during the war, Bill Hernandez came to Alaska and, over several decades, was more responsible than any other single person for the development of the hatchery programs on Elmendorf and Ft. Richardson,” Dyson said. “I am deeply gratified that all members of the Legislature have agreed to recognize Mr. Hernandez for his contributions to the fisheries of the Upper Cook Inlet.”

Hernandez was a WWII civilian POW, having been captured by the Japanese at the fall of Wake Island in December 1941, where he was building fortifications for the USMC. He was held for the next three years at various POW camps in China. In 1947, Hernandez enlisted in the US Army, and in 1956 he was posted at Ft. Richardson, where he served as a fish and wildlife conservation NCO. Over the next 28 years, he worked with various federal and state agencies to develop and build hatchery programs, stocking local streams with Rainbow Trout, and Chinook and Coho Salmon.

CSSB 274 (RES) passed the Senate unanimously on March 12, and was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives on March 31. The bill was transmitted to the Governor on April 5.