HJR 24 AM: Relating to the shortage of adequate housing for military personnel and their dependents, directing the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and certain municipalities to develop a joint program for improving the inventory of housing for those personnel, and urging the governor, the commissioner of natural resources and local officials to identify public land that might be made available for that housing.
00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24 am 01 Relating to the shortage of adequate housing for military personnel and their 02 dependents, directing the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and certain 03 municipalities to develop a joint program for improving the inventory of housing 04 for those personnel, and urging the governor, the commissioner of natural 05 resources and local officials to identify public land that might be made available 06 for that housing. 07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 WHEREAS the military forces and facilities in Alaska are an important component 09 of national security interests in the Pacific region; and 10 WHEREAS there are 25,556 Alaskans currently on active duty in the military forces 11 and 8,417 Alaskans are employed by the military; and 12 WHEREAS military personnel and their families are important contributors to the 13 communities adjacent to the military bases and posts at which they are stationed and play a 14 vital role in the state's economy; and
01 WHEREAS the President of the United States appointed a base realignment and 02 closure commission to reduce the number of military facilities nationwide; and 03 WHEREAS the commission has specified that "the ability of both the existing and 04 potential receiving communities' infrastructures to support military personnel" is an important 05 element of the criteria by which the commission determines which facilities to retain and 06 which to close; and 07 WHEREAS housing is a critical component of infrastructure; and 08 WHEREAS there is a shortage of housing on or within proximity to the principal 09 military bases and posts in the state that is suitable for military personnel and their families 10 and that meets current United States Department of Defense housing standards and 11 requirements; and 12 WHEREAS estimates of the number of units of housing suitable for military personnel 13 and their dependents project a greater shortage in the future; and 14 WHEREAS reductions in military spending have diminished or eliminated options 15 such as those authorized by the sec. 801, Military Family Housing Leasing Program, 10 16 U.S.C. 2828, and the sec. 802, Military Housing Rental Guarantee Program, 10 U.S.C. 2821, 17 that would otherwise be available to assist in addressing the shortfall in military housing; and 18 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature, being committed to continuing the strong 19 partnership that has historically existed between the state and the military, understands that 20 there is a need to reduce or eliminate the shortage in the number of units of housing in this 21 state that are suitable for military personnel; and 22 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature is interested in working to reduce or 23 eliminate that housing shortage. 24 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 25 Governor to direct the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, in cooperation with officials of 26 the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska Susitna Borough, and the Fairbanks North Star 27 Borough, to develop or recommend self-sustaining housing programs that will provide to 28 military personnel and their dependents housing that meets the standards and requirements set 29 by the United States Department of Defense and that conforms to the maximum allowable 30 housing cost off-base housing allowance for military personnel; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, the commissioner of natural resources and
01 officials of the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska Susitna Borough and the Fairbanks 02 North Star Borough identify public land that might be made available for improvement of the 03 inventory of that housing; and be it 04 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, the commissioner of natural resources, 05 and the board of directors of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation submit a report of their 06 efforts in response to this resolution to the legislature not later than the 10th day of the Second 07 Session of the Eighteenth Alaska State Legislature. 08 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Les Aspin, Secretary of 09 Defense; to the Honorable Major General Hugh L. Cox III, Adjutant General Commissoner 10 of Military and Veterans Affairs; to the Honorable Glenn A. Olds, Commissioner of Natural 11 Resources; to Barry L. Hulin, Executive Director of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; 12 to the Honorable Tom Fink, Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage; to the Honorable Ernie 13 Brannon, Mayor of the Matanuska Susitna Borough; to the Honorable Jim Sampson, Mayor 14 of the Fairbanks North Star Borough; and the Honorable Jim Hayes, Mayor of the City of 15 Fairbanks.