A bill proposed by Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, to expand abilities of municipalities to levy taxes and expand service areas now awaits the governor’s approval after passing the House and Senate this week.
Egan said Senate Bill 100, which he proposed in March, was a simple bill at first, but he grew concerned whether it would pass as lawmakers nearing the end of session began tacking on their own amendments to it.
“All of a sudden, it became a Christmas tree,” Egan said. “All kinds of additions were put on it. We were very concerned the whole tree was going to fall over, but people finally quit putting it through other amendments, and it passed through Tuesday.”
SB 100’s path to passage is a familiar one for legislation in the final days of each year’s Alaska Legislature. Lawmakers whose bills have stalled in the legislative process will attempt to attach their ideas to bills that appear bound to pass.
Earlier this session, for example, the same thing happened to bills related to nail technicians and the testing of rape kits. A bill pertaining to law enforcement training on domestic violence and sexual assault was combined with elements of HB 31, addressing the backlog of completed rape kits, to create SB 55, which includes both subjects. The same process also happened when elements of HB 222, discussing the proper licensure of manicurists and nail technicians, were folded into SB 51.
Egan’s bill, entitled “Municipal Liens: Authority & Priority,” includes language from several bills, Rep. Jason Grenn, I–Anchorage, said. Grenn was one of several co-sponsors of the bill.
The purpose of the original bill was to allow cities to have more control of liens, or property held by a municipality as debt collateral, giving them to same rights to liens for unpaid utility bills or abatement costs as the private sector, Egan said.
“This is really an amalgamation of three pieces of legislation,” Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, another of the bill’s co-sponsors, said. “Each of these bills dealt with local government and municipal governments so it made sense to marry all three together.”
HB 148 discussed emergency services in “second-class,” defined as more rural, boroughs allowing them to provide ambulances along sections of state highways where nobody lives.
Legislation was also included from HB 156, which deals with regulation on tax exemptions provided by municipal governments. This bill would allow municipalities broader powers to use property tax breaks to encourage economic development, Egan said.
The bill would remove time limits mandated on how long municipalities can provide tax exemptions to properties zoned for development. Grenn expects this to be beneficial for further economic growth, he said.
“This was kind of the turducken of bills with everything combined together,” Grenn said. “But we’re hoping this will spur development, especially for the Anchorage area.”
The final combination bill was voted through the House 36-3 on Tuesday. Wednesday morning brought unanimous support from the Senate, pushing the bill through to Gov. Walker’s desk.
Lawmakers involved saw the bill as a rare moment of bipartisan work.
“This was a very bipartisan effort to come together to make one very good and important bill,” Tilton said. “It could be one of the only pieces of legislation where we see that effort from both sides.”
• Erin Granger is an intern for the Juneau Empire.
