00               CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 44(L&C)                                                               
01 Relating to preparation of a joint state-federal research and development plan.                                         
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS research and development activities in the public, private, and academic                                
04 sectors of Alaska are a driver in the economy worth several hundred million dollars each year,                          
05 and employ thousands of Alaskans; and                                                                                   
06       WHEREAS successful research and development activities serve to further impel                                   
07 Alaska's economy, health, and environment through the application of knowledge toward                                   
08 efficient resource extraction, resource protection, provision of human health, and the export of                        
09 intellectual property; and                                                                                              
10       WHEREAS the State of Alaska supports robust research and development through                                    
11 funding of science and engineering in its state agencies, the Alaska Science and Technology                             
12 Foundation, the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, the University of Alaska, the                                 
13 WAMI medical program, and scholarship support for college and graduate students; and                                    
14       WHEREAS the federal government is a major provider of support for facilities and                                
15 activities in Arctic research, marine research, health and environmental research in Alaska,                            

01 and, through the Department of Defense, has installed and maintains a Cold Regions Testing                              
02 Center at Fort Greely, a supercomputer at the University of Alaska, and the research vessel                             
03 Alpha Helix at Seward, in addition to other facilities; and                                                             
04       WHEREAS state officials and appointees of the Governor, together with federal                                   
05 officials and appointees of the President, direct the expenditure of income from hundreds of                            
06 millions of dollars of endowment funds in the North Pacific Research Board, the Exxon                                   
07 Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, and the Prince                              
08 William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute; and                                                                         
09       WHEREAS much of this joint spending occurs with neither legislative oversight nor                               
10 direction from the Alaska State Legislature on basic priorities, missions, or measures of                               
11 effectiveness; and                                                                                                      
12       WHEREAS common efforts to diversify Alaska's economy and safely extract its                                     
13 resources are likely to place a greater reliance on government supported research and                                   
14 development in years to come;                                                                                           
15       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the Alaska Science and                                
16 Technology Foundation and the University of Alaska, on behalf of state agencies, to work                                
17 with the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and the Interagency Arctic Research Policy                                     
18 Committee, on behalf of federal agencies, to develop a joint research and development plan to                           
19 help expand and diversify Alaska's economy, strengthen and maintain the health of state                                 
20 research institutions, and protect the health of Alaskans and the environment of Alaska; and                            
21 be it                                                                                                                   
22       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the                                       
23 President of the Senate, respectively, shall appoint two members of each body to participate                            
24 with this effort and to ensure that support is provided from legislative staff and that                                 
25 recommendations for legislative guidance and oversight are appropriately considered; and be                             
26 it                                                                                                                      
27       FURTHER RESOLVED that the parties drafting the joint research and development                                   
28 plan identify ways to ensure that the federal and state governments work together to identify                           
29 and assess areas of high economic potential from resource development and tourism on                                    
30 federal and state lands, waters, and airspace of Alaska; and be it                                                      
31       FURTHER RESOLVED that the joint research and development plan be presented                                      

01 to the Alaska State Legislature during the First Regular Session of the Twenty-Third Alaska                             
02 State Legislature as well as to the Congress and the President through the U.S. Arctic                                  
03 Research Commission, which is so empowered by federal law; and be it                                                    
04       FURTHER RESOLVED that state agencies and state-appointed members of joint                                       
05 state-federal boards are asked to assist in every way possible in this effort.                                          
06       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to Dr. John H. Marburger, III, Science                                  
07 Advisor to the President of the United States; George B. Newton, Chair, U.S. Arctic Research                            
08 Commission; Dr. Rita R. Colwell, Director, National Science Foundation; the Honorable                                   
09 Mark R. Hamilton, President, University of Alaska; Ronald A. Duncan, Chair, Alaska Science                              
10 and Technology Foundation; Deborah R. Marshall, Director, Alaska InvestNet; Helvi                                       
11 Sandvik, Chair, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and                                  
12 the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                         
13 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.