The personal bills I introduced during the 28th Legislature which have passed are: Senate Bill 159 regarding the AirCare Membership Program; Senate Bill 201 regarding criminal trespass; and Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 urging the acquisition of Tongass National Forest Land.
Senate Bill 159 is a bill that will allow Airlift Northwest to continue offering the AirCare membership program for medevac services. It passed in both the Senate and the House of Representatives unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Parnell on April 23rd in Juneau.
Since January 2009, Airlift Northwest, the provider of lifesaving air medical transport services, has offered the popular AirCare membership program to residents of Southeast Alaska. Over 3,000 Southeast residents are enrolled in the program which covers the cost of any out-of-pocket expenses related to Airlift Northwest’s medevac services. Air medical transportation is expensive and insurance may not cover all the costs. The AirCare program directly helps fund Airlift Northwest so they can transport critically ill or injured patients to hospitals with levels of care not locally available.
Since its inception, the AirCare program was offered to Alaskans under a regulatory exemption it received from the Alaska Division of Insurance. However, after an organizational restructuring, the Division of Insurance deemed the program no longer exempt and ordered Airlift Northwest to cease enrolling new members. Airlift Northwest was told they could honor their existing memberships but were not allowed to renew expired memberships or accept new members. Senate Bill 159 will exempt air ambulance services from the state’s insurance code, thereby allowing Airlift Northwest to continue offering the AirCare program to Alaskans.
Senate Bill 201 passed the Legislature on April 18th and is waiting to be transmitted to the Governor for his signature. Current state law gives a person who enters or remains on unimproved or apparently unused land the privilege to do so unless notice against trespass is given. There are two ways notice against trespass can be given: 1) if the landowner or an authorized representative personally communicates to the person that trespass is prohibited; or 2) if “no trespass” signs are posted. Alaska Statute 11.46.350(c) specifies the requirements for posting “no trespass” signs which are:
- It must be printed in English
- It must be at least 144 square inches in size;
- It must contain the name and address of the landlord or an authorized representative;
- It must be posted at every roadway or access point to the property;
- In the case of an island, it must be posted on the perimeter of each cardinal point of the island;
- Furthermore, the sign must state what specific activities are prohibited such as “no hunting”, “no fishing”, or “no digging.”
Reducing the burden and expense to the private property owner of signage requirements and closing a loophole to trespassers are among the reasons I introduced this bill. Now that the bill has passed, Alaska Statute 11.46.350(c) will be repealed, thereby removing the excessive requirements for posting numerous no trespassing signs in order to protect access to private property. Without this repeal, intentional trespassers will continue to use this section of statute as a legal defense to enter and remain on private land. All they have to do is find an access point that isn’t posted.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 also passed the Legislature on April 18th and is waiting to be transmitted to the Governor. This resolution urges the United States Congress to act on a request of the governor to acquire additional state land in the Tongass National Forest from the United States government by purchase or negotiation or by seeking amendment to the Alaska Statehood Act. The idea behind this proposal is for the state to acquire forested land in the Tongass National Forest by whatever means necessary.
Approximately 5,500,000 acres of land entitlement granted to the State of Alaska at statehood have not yet been conveyed. The people in Southeast Alaska should have the ability to expand their communities and be self-sustaining and we can’t do that unless we have access to land in the Tongass. The closure of two pulp mills affected roughly 30 percent of the economic base south of Juneau and it is my desire to see the state resume control over more of our available resources.
Senator Stedman Speaking on the Senate Floor
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