03/07/1997 01:30 PM Senate CRA

                                                                               
        SB 9 CAP PROJ MATCHING GRANT FOR INDIAN RESERV                       
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  stated he sponsored the same legislation last year,         
 and it passed the House but failed to come up for a vote in the               
 Senate during the final days of the session.                                  
                                                                               
 Chairman Mackie explained that when the capital matching program              
 was put into place, it had vague language about the Metlakatla                
 Indian Community.  The community participated in the program for a            
 number of years, but two years ago when Senator Halford was                   
 chairing the Finance Committee, he discovered that the statute                
 definition was not written specific enough to include the                     
 Metlakatla Indian Community, so he suggested that it be fixed.  SB
 rectifies the problem by specifically removing Metlakatla from              
 the Unincorporated Capital Matching Grant Program and specifically            
 includes Metlakatla in the statute provisions for the Municipal               
 Capital Matching Grant Program.                                               
                                                                               
 Chairman Mackie pointed out that language in Section 1 provides               
 that Metlakatla is the only entity in the state that now, or in the           
 future, could qualify under the statute definition.                           
                                                                               
 Number 275                                                                    
                                                                               
  SENATOR PHILLIPS  asked if the people of the Metlakatla community            
 have to vote on how the grant money is   expended.   CHAIRMAN MACKIE          
 confirmed that they do.  The money goes to the Metlakatla Indian              
 Community Council and they determine how the money will be spent.             
                                                                               
 There being no further testimony on SB 9,  CHAIRMAN MACKIE  asked for         
 the pleasure of the committee.                                                
                                                                               
  SENATOR WILKEN  moved that SB 9 and the accompanying fiscal notes be         
 passed out of committee with individual recommendations.  Hearing             
 no objection, it was so ordered.