00SENATE CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24(STA) am S                                                                   
01 Relating to adequate housing for military personnel and their dependents, directing                                     
02 the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and certain municipalities to develop a                                          
03 joint program for improving the inventory of housing for those personnel, and                                           
04 urging the governor, the commissioner of natural resources, and local officials to                                      
05 identify public land that might be made available for that housing.                                                     
06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
07  WHEREAS the military forces and facilities in Alaska are an important component                                        
08 of national security interests in the Pacific region; and                                                               
09  WHEREAS there are 25,556 Alaskans currently on active duty in the military forces                                      
10 and 8,417 Alaskans are employed by the military; and                                                                    
11  WHEREAS military personnel and their families are important contributors to the                                        
12 communities adjacent to the military bases and posts at which they are stationed and play a                             
13 vital role in the state's economy; and                                                                                  
14  WHEREAS the President of the United States appointed a base realignment and                                            

01 closure commission to reduce the number of military facilities nationwide; and                                          
02  WHEREAS the commission has specified that "the ability of both the existing and                                        
03 potential receiving communities' infrastructures to support military personnel" is an important                         
04 element of the criteria by which the commission determines which facilities to retain and                               
05 which to close; and                                                                                                     
06  WHEREAS housing is a critical component of infrastructure; and                                                         
07  WHEREAS it is important to the economy of Alaska to ensure that there is housing                                       
08 on or within proximity to the principal military bases and posts in the state that is suitable for                      
09 military personnel and their families and that meets current United States Department of                                
10 Defense housing standards and requirements; and                                                                         
11  WHEREAS reductions in military spending have diminished or eliminated options                                          
12 such as those authorized by the sec. 801, Military Family Housing Leasing Program, 10                                   
13 U.S.C. 2828, and the sec. 802, Military Housing Rental Guarantee Program, 10 U.S.C. 2821,                               
14 that would otherwise be available to assist in addressing the shortfall in military housing; and                        
15  WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature, being committed to continuing the strong                                         
16 partnership that has historically existed between the state and the military, understands that                          
17 there is a need to reduce or eliminate any shortage in the number of units of housing in this                           
18 state that are suitable for military personnel; and                                                                     
19  WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature is interested in working to reduce or                                             
20 eliminate that housing shortage.                                                                                        
21  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                             
22 Governor to direct the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, in cooperation with officials of                             
23 the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska Susitna Borough, and the Fairbanks North Star                              
24 Borough, to develop or recommend self-sustaining housing programs that will provide to                                  
25 military personnel and their dependents housing, including upgrades to existing available                               
26 housing, that meets the standards and requirements set by the United States Department of                               
27 Defense and that conforms to the maximum allowable housing cost off-base housing                                        
28 allowance for military personnel; and be it                                                                             
29  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, the commissioner of natural resources and                                          
30 officials of the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska Susitna Borough and the Fairbanks                             
31 North Star Borough identify public land that might be made available for improvement of the                             

01 inventory of that housing; and be it                                                                                    
02  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, the commissioner of natural resources,                                             
03 and the board of directors of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation submit a report of their                           
04 efforts in response to this resolution to the legislature not later than the 10th day of the Second                     
05 Session of the Eighteenth Alaska State Legislature.                                                                     
06  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Les Aspin, Secretary of                                       
07 Defense; to Major General Hugh L. Cox III, Adjutant General, and Commissioner of Military                               
08 and Veterans Affairs; to the Honorable Glenn A. Olds, Commissioner of Natural Resources;                                
09 to Barry L. Hulin, Executive Director of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; to the                                 
10 Honorable Tom Fink, Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage; to the Honorable Ernie                                      
11 Brannon, Mayor of the Matanuska Susitna Borough; to the Honorable Jim Sampson, Mayor                                    
12 of the Fairbanks North Star Borough; to the Honorable Jim Hayes, Mayor of the City of                                   
13 Fairbanks; and to the Honorable Lute Cunningham, Mayor of the City of North Pole.