[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6253443,"mediaKeyId","3181367-f2281a5064550d2a12ef7cf9dbab164f","parentId",3181367,"title","DOT warns of programming risks as MPO boundary updates, operating‑agreement dispute play out","audioSeconds",1098,"startMs",2540000,"endMs",3638000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3181367-f2281a5064550d2a12ef7cf9dbab164f&start=2540&end=3638","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3181367-f2281a5064550d2a12ef7cf9dbab164f/thumbnail_2540000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6253443/Alaska/DOT-warns-of-programming-risks-as-MPO-boundary-updates-operatingagreement-dispute-play-out","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6253443-1fa3399f3756289e4902a8c0e529a1fe/orig.mp4?Expires=1775441381&Signature=XY0NGOQMwZCe8HgDC3gr4dvHTg7nr-xaG~Ol-RE4Pk5~jhCQJ83ZEy46ouPmFwA97x7U51fxI1cxSR4bKosSM4uqRdR3UWFvCqU2wF6Kj7yJymwFr~4oLE7fa8gAN-NFj~7KKrixv9NJI4-EMCbORNFewLvTN6x6~xKQwjHugXX9~ByCPKQ~9yVP0cTLOZtNXrkE0X0DXb4yPOtdOT3yUo5GBEoholReEjnsrD3z-wmDLSnS87L4axFmWZ~MrZupCj09H5cv-iFT5Q-xdcDDnY6yMGwqX-q~PN7ooU0J8KfFpg0Ea4l8cayNawbFSvLzPL1TJJcoehUyXm3QcwurAA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Alaska Legislature","date","2025-05-01T00:00:00Z","article","Department of Transportation and Public Facilities officials told the House Transportation Committee on Thursday that unresolved metropolitan planning area boundary updates and operating‑agreement negotiations with Anchorage (AMATS), Fairbanks (FAST) and Mat‑Su (MVP) MPOs could jeopardize the ability to program projects into the MPO Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs) and the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and could trigger federally required air‑quality and conformity reviews.

Andy Mills, legislative liaison and special assistant at DOT, and Lauren Little, chief engineer at DOT, briefed the committee on the federally required boundary‑update process following the 2020 census and said the deadline to complete and obtain governor approval of new MPO boundaries is Dec. 31, 2026. Little warned that without an approved boundary that complies with federal regulations, “projects may not be able to be programmed within those boundaries until [a] compliant boundary is approved by the governor.”

FAST planning board representative Scott Crass testified by invitation and said the dispute has escalated after DOT advanced National Highway System (NHS) projects that FAST said were not coordinated with the MPO and therefore were not in FAST’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) or TIP. “Federal regulations are clear that all projects proposed for federal highway and transit funding for the transportation network including the NHS must be included in the MPO's MTP and TIP to be eligible for funding,” Crass said. He told the committee he believes DOT has linked boundary approval to acceptance of DOT’s proposed operating‑agreement edits, which FAST members view as stripping local decision‑making authority.

DOT officials said the department has concerns about several MPO submittals. For AMATS, DOT identified boundary extensions into areas such as Chugach State Park and long stretches of the Seward and Glenn Highway corridors where the department said there is limited potential for urbanization and unclear coordination with affected landowners and agencies. For FAST, DOT noted questions about legal defensibility of mapped boundaries around projects such as Chena River flood control bridges and a Farmers Loop “donut hole” omission. Little said those examples and others generated public comments that DOT and the MPOs must resolve.

DOT staff urged renewed coordination and updating of intergovernmental operating agreements that define the “3‑C” (continuing, comprehensive and cooperative) planning processes, project coordination and responsibilities for the National Highway System. Little described situations in which MPO policy boards have voted to remove or rescope projects — actions that, if not handled consistent with federal rules, could cause federal funding to be ineligible or require payback. As an example she cited a FAST decision related to a flood‑control project where a policy‑board vote left the project outside the planning boundary and required further review to confirm federal eligibility.

Jackson Fox of FAST Planning, and Kim Solian with MVP, said MPOs regularly consult with Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration staff and stressed that operating agreements and the 3‑C process are intended to define expectations and avoid future disputes. Fox said renegotiating operating agreements is resource‑intensive — the last FAST agreement required multiple municipal and state attorneys and more than a year to complete — and some FAST policy‑board members opposed DOT’s proposed edits as diminishing local planning authority.

Committee members questioned both DOT and the MPO representatives about where the communication breakdowns occurred and whether the parties could reach agreement before the Dec. 31, 2026 deadline. DOT said it would continue to work with MPOs and federal partners to resolve disputed boundary elements and operating‑agreement language.

No committee action was taken on the MPO materials; the presentation was received for the record and committee members asked for follow‑up clarification on specific boundary comments and timelines.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","05/01/2025 01:00 PM House TRANSPORTATION","oneSentenceSummary","Department of Transportation and Public Facilities staff told the House Transportation Committee on May 1 that unresolved MPO boundary updates and operating‑agreement negotiations risk preventing projects from being programmed into TIP/STIP and could affect federal funding and air‑quality conformity.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Alaska, Alaska","taxId",78559,"location","Alaska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6253448,"House Transportation panel advances HB186 after split votes on apprentice rules and Davis‑Bacon change",999,544000,1543000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3181367-f2281a5064550d2a12ef7cf9dbab164f&start=544&end=1543","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3181367-f2281a5064550d2a12ef7cf9dbab164f/thumbnail_544000.jpg","/articles/6253448/Alaska/House-Transportation-panel-advances-HB186-after-split-votes-on-apprentice-rules-and-DavisBacon-change","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6253448-28a8cf4c3e10a26bf3354a315321e40c/orig.mp4?Expires=1775441381&Signature=WpQABIZJV5Grt3zTUjw3YOSziMC76pc6POtemE-YMWedv2Hs4ZS3yz7gCaTwtC~Mr0EQTnSTk7OIxSRMe45Ws~hmyasCX6y4maWYuAH4q3wCTx4tLO3-AVQ2sr32VWU4QNuQrlRYbvxAfEDWAK76NqM92h~ko1H~bdzKDzoI2l10akCtH-o-kWyvu5rM4hBH5vn0kXQ-3LdqC5pgNLTvBgLuZZlj2LXabdTDfnIiNn9bHaseM-oXjG1QEOB~tzEVRWA6jzQOSGo4J3E7SbjohTGUMOA3ADPRTCGZUGUh~UnLV2sQMFOUMEi83Bw1s~m-oCvtxt3RimYrTmiQcIRCeA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Transportation Committee on Thursday moved House Bill 186, “Apprentice Labor in Public Projects,” out of committee with a 4‑3 vote after adopting an amendment that raises the project threshold for the bill’s apprenticeship goal from $2,500,000 to $5,000,000.

House Bill 186, introduced to require “insofar as is practicable” a target of 15% apprentice labor hours on qualifying public projects and to gather data on apprenticeship utilization in Alaska, drew debate over how broadly the state should apply apprenticeship goals and whether separate prevailing‑wage rules should be changed.

Co‑chair Kerrick, introducing the bill for the record, said the measure is “twofold” and briefly described its aims: “it has a requirement that insofar as is practicable ... apprentice labor will be utilized for a percentage of public labor projects over a threshold currently of 2,500,000. The second purpose ... is data gathering on apprenticeship utilization in Alaska.”

Representative McCabe offered Amendment 1 to raise Alaska’s Little Davis‑Bacon Act (the prevailing‑wage threshold under AS Title 36) from $25,000 to $150,000, arguing the current $25,000 threshold — last updated in 2011 — no longer reflects construction‑cost inflation and imposes administrative burdens that discourage local contractors. “Raising the LDBA threshold to 150,000 modernizes the statute without undermining its core purpose while strengthening HB186’s goal of building a skilled workforce,” McCabe said.

Co‑chair Kerrick opposed Amendment 1 as outside the scope of HB186 and said he would prefer the prevailing‑wage threshold be addressed in separate legislation: “The legislation before you is about apprenticeship utilization in public projects and Little Davis Bacon wages are not the subject of this bill.” After debate, the committee voted 3 ayes and 4 nays on Amendment 1; the amendment failed.

Representative Stutes offered Amendment 2 to increase the HB186 contract threshold that triggers the apprenticeship goal from $2,500,000 to $5,000,000. Kerrick described the change as a response to concerns about administrative burden on contractors and on DOT to document and report apprenticeship utilization. “By increasing the threshold to $5,000,000, we’re excluding some of the smaller projects that are out there,” he said. Representative McCabe expressed frustration that raising the threshold would reduce the number of projects subject to apprenticeship goals, while others said the statute remains aspirational because the bill uses the phrase “insofar as is practicable.”

Amendment 2 passed on a 4‑3 roll call and was incorporated into the bill. The committee then voted 4‑3 to move HB186, Work Order 34 LS0816A (as amended), from committee with individual recommendations and fiscal notes. Representative Stutes made the motion to report the bill; Representative McCabe recorded the objection in committee debate prior to the final vote.

Discussion vs. decision: committee members repeatedly distinguished the bill’s aspirational language — “insofar as is practicable” — from a strict mandate. Several members raised concerns about the term’s legal vagueness and how it could be interpreted in practice. Members also discussed rural contractor capacity, apprenticeship pipelines, and administrative burdens on small projects.

Next steps: HB186 will proceed from committee with the adopted $5,000,000 threshold amendment and the committee’s recommendation and fiscal notes, per the roll call results.","The House Transportation Committee on May 1 advanced House Bill 186, which sets a goal for apprentice labor hours on large public projects and requires reporting, after adopting an amendment raising the project threshold to $5 million. A separate amendment to raise the Little Davis‑Bacon Act threshold from $25,000 to $150,000 failed.","actionData","errors"]

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DOT warns of programming risks as MPO boundary updates, operating‑agreement dispute play out

House Transportation panel advances HB186 after split votes on apprentice rules and Davis‑Bacon change