The Alaska House of Representatives has given its OK to a bill protecting free travel on Alaska’s frozen rivers during winter.
House Bill 216 confirms that 60-year-old legislation allowing free passage on navigable waterways also applies during winter.
“For my constituents, these are highways and byways,” said Rep. Dave Talerico, R-Healy.
Passage can be stopped by a permitted or regulated obstruction, like a dam.
While the message of the bill is a simple one, it’s being colored by the state’s ongoing dispute with the federal government over who has authority on Alaska’s waters. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in favor of an Interior moose hunter who was cited for using a hovercraft on a river within a national preserve. Federal regulations restrict hovercraft use in refuges; Alaska regulations do not.
“In my opinion, there has been evidence of federal overreach throughout Alaska,” Rep. Talerico said, adding there is “a war going on” between state and federal authority.
“Alaska should never lose its sovereign power over any of its land or any of its water,” he said.
HB 216 passed the House 38-0, with Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, and Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, absent from the vote.
In other business, the House also approved House Bill 273, which allows Alaskans to transfer authority over a vehicle to another person if they die.
“It simply allows a vehicle owner to go to the DMV and transfer the vehicle to another person on their death,” said Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage.
The measure was one of the last approved by Rep. Max Gruenberg, D-Anchorage, before his death.
Lynn said the bill is designed to help people avoid probate court and disputes over wills. It was approved 39-0.
The House also sent two bills to the desk of Gov. Bill Walker with 39-0 concurrence votes on House Bill 12 and House Bill 93. Each bill was previously passed by the House, but changes were made in the Senate, and the House required another vote.
HB 12 exempts the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation from the state’s licensure requirements for mortgage lenders and brokers. It also changes those requirements so brokers and lenders are held to equal standards.
HB 93 instructs parole officers to allow parolees to travel for work or training.
After the votes, Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins withdrew House Bill 62, a measure he had introduced to create a special driver’s license for off-highway residents.
In the Senate, lawmakers voted 13-7 in favor of Senate Bill 125, which places two legislators in nonvoting seats on the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, which is leading the development of the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
The bill, if approved by the House and signed by the governor, would mean the board includes five public members, two state department heads, and two lawmakers.
Among the ‘no’ votes were Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, and Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka.
After the votes, in separate action, Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, withdrew SB 178, which would have allowed a person to continue driving after a drunken-driving conviction if they used an alcohol-sensing breath-alcohol interlock in their vehicle.
The House and Senate are expected to meet Friday morning for their next regular floor sessions.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or 419-7732.
