03/19/2013 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

                     HB 130-JAY HAMMOND DAY                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:04:27 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN announced  that the first order of  business was HOUSE                                                               
BILL  NO. 130,  "An Act  establishing July  21 each  year as  Jay                                                               
Hammond Day."                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:04:44 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   PAUL  SEATON,   Alaska  State   Legislature,  as                                                               
sponsor, presented HB 130.  He began as follows:                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Jay Hammond  had an  adventurous life  and career  as a                                                                    
     United  States Marine  Corps  [fighter]  pilot, a  bush                                                                    
     pilot, homesteader, predator  control agent, fisherman,                                                                    
     state legislature, borough  mayor, borough manager, and                                                                    
     [serving] two terms as Alaska's  governor in what could                                                                    
     be described as the ... era that formed modern Alaska.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     From  his  conception  of a  Bristol  Bay  Incorporated                                                                    
     fund, as a  way to share Bristol  Bay Fisheries revenue                                                                    
     with  local residents,  to his  leadership in  creating                                                                    
     the Alaska Permanent Fund  and Permanent Fund Dividend,                                                                    
     Jay  Hammond had  at [the]  heart of  his politics  the                                                                    
     idea  that Alaskans  should  embrace  the ownership  of                                                                    
     their   lands,   ...   that  they   should   hold   the                                                                    
     conservation of  their common resources in  the highest                                                                    
     regard,  and  that  they should  take  the  long  view,                                                                    
     looking generations ahead in their decision-making.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:06:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON stated that  Governor Hammond presided over                                                               
the  state during  a  time of  tremendous  growth, including  the                                                               
construction  of the  Trans-Alaska  Pipeline  System (TAPS),  the                                                               
first development of Alaska's North  Slope Oil resources, and the                                                               
creation  of  the   Alaska  Permanent  Fund;  he   worked  for  a                                                               
diversified Alaskan  economy by  promoting healthy  fisheries and                                                               
conservation of  land and  agriculture.   Following his  terms in                                                               
office,    Governor    Hammond   consistently    advocated    for                                                               
conservation,  protection of  the Alaska  Permanent Fund  and its                                                               
dividend.    Following  his career  in  public  office,  Governor                                                               
Hammond    continued   his    involvement   in    the   following                                                               
organizations:   the Alaska Humanities  Forum, the  North Pacific                                                               
Fisheries  Convention Advisory  Committee,  the  Alaska Land  Use                                                               
Council,  the Alaska  Airmen's Association,  Veterans of  Foreign                                                               
Wars, and the  National Rifle Association.   Governor Hammond was                                                               
named Alaskan of the Year in  1994, was awarded the University of                                                               
Alaska metal,  and HB  130 would  name July 21,  the date  of his                                                               
birth,  Jay   Hammond  Day,  in   honor  of   Governor  Hammond's                                                               
contributions and legacy to the state.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SEATON  reminded  the  committee  that  in  2012,                                                               
Governor Sean  Parnell name July 21  of that year as  Jay Hammond                                                               
Day;  however, the  governor is  limited  to naming  a day  after                                                               
someone for one  year only.  The proposed  legislation would make                                                               
the distinction an annual event.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
8:08:31 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SEATON  presented  a  slide  show  depicting  Jay                                                               
Hammond, courtesy of  the Alaska State Library.  [A  hard copy of                                                               
the  images from  the slide  show  is included  in the  committee                                                               
packet.]                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:11:49 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN  shared that the  first time he met  Governor Hammond,                                                               
he and Governor  Hickel were giving a  presentation in Anchorage,                                                               
and he  said he  felt like  he was watching  living history.   He                                                               
related  a  time  at  a   grocery  store  when  Governor  Hammond                                                               
initiated a 20-minute conversation related  to the affairs of the                                                               
state, and another  time when he conversed  with Governor Hammond                                                               
in  a shopping  mall.   He  characterized Governor  Hammond as  a                                                               
"very friendly  fellow," said it  was an  honor to talk  with him                                                               
those couple  instances, and expressed  happiness that HB  130 is                                                               
being introduced.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
8:13:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES  asked the  bill sponsor what  prompted him                                                               
to bring the bill forward.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
8:13:45 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON  answered that  Jim Reardon,  a constituent                                                               
in Homer who worked with  Governor Hammond, thought that Governor                                                               
Hammond's  hand in  molding  the state  and  his connection  with                                                               
issues  still  being  addressed was  important.    Representative                                                               
Seaton said  he thinks most  people agree that the  conversion of                                                               
the  permanent  fund  into  a   permanent  structure  for  future                                                               
generations was a good idea.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:16:52 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ARLIS STURGULEWSKI testified  that it was her  privilege to serve                                                               
[as state Senator] in 1979,  during Governor Hammond's last term,                                                               
which was the  time TAPS was being completed and  much wealth was                                                               
coming to the  state.  She relayed that she  met Governor Hammond                                                               
through  her friend,  Lee McInerney  (ph), who  was appointed  by                                                               
Governor  Hammond  as the  head  of  the [former]  Department  of                                                               
Community and Regional Affairs.   She said both Ms. MacInerny and                                                               
Governor Hammond had been mayors  in Alaska communities and loved                                                               
rural and coastal  Alaska.  She said the influx  of wealth in the                                                               
state  took  "a  great  deal  of wisdom  and  humor"  to  set  up                                                               
structures  that made  sense.   She  mentioned  Hugh Malone,  who                                                               
helped work on  the Alaska Permanent Fund.   Senator Sturgulewski                                                               
said  Governor  Hammond had  common  sense  and charm,  and  some                                                               
people accused him  of using "a maximum of doggerel."   She said,                                                               
"He could cut to  the heart of an issue with a  quip and was able                                                               
to forge  alliances with people  of quite different views."   She                                                               
emphasized her support of [HB 130].                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
8:20:38 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BILL  HUDSON relayed  that he  served as  director of  the Alaska                                                               
Marine  Highway System  under Governor  Hammond in  1974, and  as                                                               
governor-appointed    commissioner   of    the   Department    of                                                               
Administration  during  Governor  Hammond's   second  term.    He                                                               
indicated that  during his seven  terms as Representative  in the                                                               
Alaska State Legislature House, he  got to know Governor Hammond.                                                               
He talked about  the support that Governor  Hammond received from                                                               
his wife,  Bella, and described  the pair  as "a couple  of great                                                               
magnitude in the state of Alaska."                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR.  HUDSON stated  his belief  that singling  out someone  to be                                                               
honored  on a  particular  day  in Alaska  "has  to be  something                                                               
special."  He  suggested that Governor Hammond was  unique in any                                                               
state of the  Union, in that he was a  frontiersman and a "simple                                                               
man with genius  mind."  Mr. Hudson recalled  events during which                                                               
he   heard  Governor   Hammond  tell   stories.     He  described                                                               
photographs of  Governor Hammond:  one  in which he seemed  to be                                                               
hanging from his heels in  an upside-down airplane; another where                                                               
Governor Hammond was  exiting one side of the cockpit  of a plane                                                               
and a bear cub was exiting out the other side.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
8:23:47 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. HUDSON  said Governor  Hammond loved Alaska  so much  that he                                                               
would  never allow  it  to be  harmed.   He  described  him as  a                                                               
conservationist,  who believed  that  the natural  assets of  the                                                               
state could be used, provided they  were paid for, cared for, and                                                               
left in as good or better condition  as at the start.  Mr. Hudson                                                               
said he heard lively discussions  regarding how to distribute the                                                               
assets that  would be  gained after  building the  pipeline, with                                                               
suggestions ranging from giving  Alaskans free air transportation                                                               
to free college education, and  he offered his understanding that                                                               
it was  Governor Hammond  who suggested  letting the  people have                                                               
their share of the money and  decide for themselves how they want                                                               
to use it.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR.  HUDSON stated  that  Governor Hammond  loved  the people  of                                                               
Alaska.   He  said  Governor  Hammond often  relayed  a story  of                                                               
landing  his plane  at the  Wasilla airport,  and the  person who                                                               
came out to  set the chocks looked at him  and asked, "Didn't you                                                               
used to  be somebody?"   He  said, "Jay  always thought  that ...                                                               
maybe was the height of  his recognition because somebody thought                                                               
he  'used to  be somebody.'"   Mr.  Hudson said  Governor Hammond                                                               
loved all of the "far-flung" places  in Alaska and to break bread                                                               
with people in the villages.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:26:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HUDSON encouraged  committee  members to  support                                                               
the proposed  legislation.  He  stated that the highlight  of his                                                               
over  30 years  in government  was his  experience with  Governor                                                               
Hammond, because he was such a unique individual.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
8:27:32 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN said  his impression of Governor  Hammond, after short                                                               
exposure  to  him,  was  that  he  was  a  unique  and  memorable                                                               
individual.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:27:49 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ISAACSON recollected  a time  he called  Governor                                                               
Hammond, who  spoke with him,  even though  he did not  know him.                                                               
He suggested  that the Permanent  Fund Dividend program  may have                                                               
disconnected  Alaskans  from  "inventiveness."   He  said  he  is                                                               
curious  if Governor  Hammond would  want to  be memorialized  in                                                               
this  manner.    He   further  questioned  whether  memorializing                                                               
Governor  Hammond might  prevent  anyone from  talking about  the                                                               
pros and cons of his policies.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
8:30:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HUDSON  surmised  that if  Governor  Hammond  was                                                               
alive and someone  approached him with the  idea of memorializing                                                               
him, he  would laugh, because he  was a humble man.   However, he                                                               
stated  his  belief  that Governor  Hammond's  greatness  was  so                                                               
exceptional that  it is perfect  to set  up a special  day where,                                                               
hopefully, families can  get together and eat lots  of ice cream,                                                               
like Governor Hammond  liked to do.  He said  this special day is                                                               
being  set up  for the  people of  Alaska, just  like the  day to                                                               
honor Ted Stevens was established.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:32:16 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER  thanked Mr.  Hudson for his  past service,                                                               
including a program he initiated called, "Kids Don't Float."                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:32:45 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN,  after ascertaining  that there was  no one  else who                                                               
wished to testify, closed public testimony.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:33:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER  moved to  report HB  130 out  of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.  There being no objection,  HB 130 was reported out of the                                                               
House State Affairs Standing Committee.