 May 29, 2002
SB 308 - Coastal Zone Management Program - Amends the Alaska Coastal Management Program to allow the state to make consistency determinations in separate phases for a North Slope natural gas pipeline project that parallels the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and the Alaska Highway or a route that runs to Alaska tidewater. This change is necessary because of the unprecedented scale of such a project, and the inappropriateness of reviewing every aspect of it all at once. HB 439 - Coastal Management Petition Reviews - Streamlines the coastal zone consistency review process by eliminating ineffective project-specific petitions to the Coastal Policy Council. The council would no longer hear petitions on specific projects. Instead, the council would focus on whether a pattern of problems or abuse exists, and take necessary action to ensure proper future decisions. HB 298 - Railroad Leases - Increases the length of time the Alaska Railroad Corporation may lease land without legislative approval from the current 35 years to 55 years. The intent is to allow commercial and residential developers to secure more flexible, longer term financing for their investments and, in doing so, to cultivate economic development in communities along the railbelt. HB 444 - Alaska Public Building Fund - Expands the program that allows the Department of Administration to charge rent for use of public buildings to pay for operation and maintenance costs and annual depreciation to all publicly owned buildings. The current program covers just eight buildings - six in Juneau and one each in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Rent is deposited into the general fund's Alaska public building fund. HB 438 - Disabled Veteran
License Plates - Amends
the program that provides free license plates for disabled veterans
to include all veterans with a 50 percent or more disability
who are not mobility impaired instead of the current requirement
of a 70 percent disability. The bill also requires that disabled
veterans' registration plates be red, white, and blue.
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