ANCHORAGE (January 22, 9:45 a.m. AST) - A state senator from Anchorage is pushing to add two legislators to the body that makes roads and trails decision for the city.
Sen. Ben Stevens, R-Anchorage, has filed a bill, one in a string of attempts by legislators to win seats on the committee. If successful, Stevens' bill would shift the balance of control over Anchorage transportation projects from local government to state officials.
The committee this year will make decisions on how $41 million in federal and state money will be spent.
The AMATS committee consists of five people: the Anchorage mayor, two Anchorage Assembly members, and the state commissioners of transportation and environmental conservation, or their designees. Adding two legislators would give the state four seats to the city's three.
Stevens said he wants legislators on AMATS because the state contributes 10 percent of the funding for Anchorage transportation projects, to match the federal government's 90 percent share.
"You have locally elected officials making policy to spend state money," Stevens said.
But the Federal Highway Administration says under federal law, the Legislature can't substantially change the makeup of AMATS on its own. It would require both the governor and three-fourths of the local elected body, which is the Assembly, to agree, said David Miller, FHWA's division administrator.
"And that's not going to happen," said Assembly Chairman Dick Traini.
Mayor Mark Begich and Traini say they think Stevens' plan to add legislators to AMATS is both illegal and bad policy.
"They bring in partisan politics," said Begich. "It sounds like they (legislators) are making a grab at the dollars because they don't have enough."
At a recent meeting on legislative matters, Assembly members grumbled about the issue coming up again, Traini said.
"It's just a bad idea. It's just an attempt to take over and hijack the AMATS process in Anchorage," Traini said.
Stevens' proposed law this year would only apply to cities over 200,000, so the Fairbanks transportation committee, FMATS, could continue under local control.
In fact, FMATS is even more heavily weighted than AMATS toward local officials, who are five of the seven members. FMATS formed last year after the borough, including the cities of North Pole and Fairbanks, was deemed big enough to qualify under federal rules.
Even without a seat on the Anchorage committee, Stevens has been trying to influence its decisions. Last year, he won approval of a law that limits spending on transportation "enhancements," such as trails and landscaping, to 10 percent of AMATS money.
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