HR 5: Establishing a House Constitutional Revision Task Force to consider and recommend alternative methods by which the state constitution may be revised.
00HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 5 01 Establishing a House Constitutional Revision Task Force to consider and 02 recommend alternative methods by which the state constitution may be revised. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 04 WHEREAS the constitution of a state is of vital importance in expressing the 05 collective agreement of a society as to how the state will conduct its affairs; and 06 WHEREAS Alaska's Constitution was adopted 37 years ago and, developed as it was 07 following an examination and analysis of the other state constitutions as they then read, the 08 document was acknowledged at the time as a model state constitution; and 09 WHEREAS Alaska is a young state, with rapidly changing economic, social, 10 communication, and political factors; and 11 WHEREAS the state's population has at least doubled since the 1955 - 1956 12 Constitutional Convention; and 13 WHEREAS the state constitution provides for two means of amendment, a decennial 14 vote on convening another constitutional convention and use of resolutions approved by the
01 legislature placing specific amendments on the ballot; and 02 WHEREAS neither method of revising the state constitution lends itself to adequate 03 citizen involvement in any contemplated changes to the state constitution; and 04 WHEREAS rapid changes in the state's population, vastly improved statewide 05 communications, and an interest and desire on the part of many of the state's citizens to have 06 a meaningful role in controlling their own destinies have led to calls for finding other ways 07 of preparing, presenting, and ratifying changes to the constitution that would allow greater 08 public participation in the process; and 09 WHEREAS an exploration of possible alternatives to the two existing methods of 10 amending the state constitution would be beneficial to the legislature and to the people of the 11 state. 12 BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives establishes a five-member 13 House Constitutional Revision Task Force to consider and recommend alternative methods by 14 which the Alaska Constitution may be revised; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall 16 appoint three members of the House of Representatives and two public members to the House 17 Constitutional Revision Task Force, and shall designate one of the members appointed to chair 18 the task force; the members shall be chosen in an effort to give the task force a membership 19 that has the broadest backgrounds, experience, and perspectives possible; and be it 20 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Constitutional Revision Task Force shall 21 study alternative methods by which the state constitution may be revised, receive comments 22 from the public about proposed alternative methods, and prepare and present to the House of 23 Representatives its recommendations for alternative methods for revising the state constitution; 24 and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the expenses of the House Constitutional Revision Task 26 Force be paid from money otherwise appropriated for the work of the Alaska State 27 Legislature; and be it 28 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Constitutional Revision Task Force is 29 authorized to meet between and during the sessions of the Eighteenth Alaska State Legislature, 30 and may hold public hearings and obtain information; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Constitutional Revision Task Force shall
01 prepare and submit to the House of Representatives of the Eighteenth Alaska State Legislature 02 a preliminary report of its recommendations no later than February 1, 1994, and shall prepare 03 and submit a final report of its recommendations no later than April 1, 1994; and be it 04 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House Constitutional Revision Task Force is 05 terminated on the date of convening of the First Session of the Nineteenth Alaska State 06 Legislature.