JUNEAU - A state lawmaker has asked state transportation officials to investigate whether air carriers and freight companies should, or could, help support the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Rep. Anna Fairclough, R-Eagle River, on Thursday requested an analysis from the state Department of Transportation. The research would focus on the option of levying money from airlines and freight companies for the center, which is run in part by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

“If it’s a direct benefit to the (Anchorage) airport, then it could be a cost that could, maybe, be transferred or shared,” Fairclough told Transportation Commissioner Leo von Scheben at a House Finance Committee meeting.

Congress in recent years has provided annual earmarks through the Federal Aviation Administration for the observatory, which is cited as a key contributor to aviation safety in Alaska. But those earmarks have dried up, and total funding for the observatory has fallen from $8 million per year to $5 million, prompting the state Department of Natural Resources to propose a $300,000 contribution this year to help.

The committee is reviewing the state’s annual spending plan. Von Scheben said he would research Fairclough’s question and submit a response to the full committee.

Animal cruelty

Advocates Friday backed a bill aimed at strengthening penalties for acts of cruelty to animals.

Ronnie Rosenberg, a Fairbanks animal control commissioner, recently told the Senate Judiciary Committee that studies indicate people who abuse people and those prone to abusing animals are too often the same. She urged the group to advance the bill, which sponsor Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said would make the “most heinous acts” of animal cruelty a class C felony on the first offense.

“We’ve seen from time to time egregious animal abuse that misdemeanors do not do justice to,” Rosenberg said.

The Senate committee also is considering a separate animal cruelty bill, HB6, that would outlaw bestiality in Alaska. Wielechowski’s bill is SB214.

Geothermal

Industry specialists said Wednesday that tax credits could spur investment in geothermal energy projects in Alaska.

Two bills in the Senate would reduce tax rates for exploration and development of geothermal energy technology, which converts heat from the Earth to power.

Paul Thomsen, a development director for Ormat Technologies, said it’s common for communities or states to encourage geothermal production through tax incentives. He said the plan in the Senate would let his firm’s proposed project at Mount Spurr, north of Cook Inlet, produce electricity cheap enough to sell to Railbelt utilities.

“We think that looking at the corporate income tax as a way to jump start those projects is a great way to do it,” Thomsen told the Senate Resources Committee, which is weighing the plan.

Representatives from Naknek Electric Association, which is proposing a geothermal project in Southwest, and the Alaska Power Association also backed the bills, proposed by Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage. The bills are SB 242 and 243.