03/05/1994 01:00 PM House ECO

  HCR 9 - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FISHING QUOTAS                                 
                                                                               
  MS. SUTTON then discussed Senate CS for CS for HCR 9,                        
  Relating to state management of the Western Alaska Community                 
  Development Quota Program and state fisheries development                    
  policy, stating that Representative Moses would probably be                  
  happy to introduce the resolution.                                           
                                                                               
  Number 270                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIR MACLEAN stated this was a very harmless resolution and                 
  she encouraged the Task Force to add this to their priority                  
  legislation list.  The members agreed, and REPRESENTATIVE                    
  MOSES said he would introduce it.                                            
                                                                               
  CHAIR MACLEAN then discussed her priorities in the Rural                     
  Development subcommittee, and stated she would like to                       
  include the importance of subsistence to rural economy in                    
  the report, but would not like to take any action.                           
                                                                               
  Number 335                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIR MACLEAN referred to a letter in the members' packets                   
  from Lee Gorsuch of the University of Alaska, Institute of                   
  Social and Economic Research, which she would like to                        
  include as an appendix to the final report.  She stated                      
  Alaska needed a policy to deal with rural issues.                            
                                                                               
  Number 380                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE JAMES mentioned the letter headed                   
  "Best Practices in Canadian and US Rural Business                            
  Development," and asked that it be included in the same                      
  appendix.                                                                    
                                                                               
  CHAIR MACLEAN stated her belief that there needed to be one                  
  single agency in the state to deal with all rural                            
  development programs, and added there seemed to be agreement                 
  that currently there were too many agencies with grants,                     
  loans, and programs.  She suggested working during the                       
  interim to find out which agency would be the best one to                    
  address all rural development programs.  She also suggested                  
  establishing a 1-800 phone number with information on all                    
  loans, grants, and technical assistance programs in                          
  existence, and stated she would like to include this                         
  recommendation to the administration.                                        
                                                                               
  Number 430                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIR MACLEAN referred to a simplified loan form from                        
  National Bank of Alaska in the members' packets, and said                    
  this was the type of loan form that should be used instead                   
  of complicated loan applications.  She added that input was                  
  needed from the banking industry.                                            
                                                                               
  Number 460                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIR MACLEAN next mentioned the final report should include                 
  the need in rural communities for a very basic                               
  infrastructure and for accurate unemployment statistics.                     
  She recommended that an alternative mechanism be developed                   
  for expressing joblessness in rural Alaska.  She asked the                   
  staff to get together one last time to compile the report.                   
                                                                               
  Number 530                                                                   
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE BILL WILLIAMS said he did not understand the                  
  difficulty of reporting unemployment.                                        
                                                                               
  CHAIR MACLEAN said the federal statistics were not realistic                 
  for rural Alaska, and this impacted the whole state of                       
  Alaska's aid packages for disadvantaged areas.                               
                                                                               
  PAUL FUHS, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC                 
  DEVELOPMENT,  said an accurate survey was needed, and the                    
  Department of Commerce would work with the Task Force in                     
  developing this.                                                             
                                                                               
  CHAIR MACLEAN stated that welfare figures from HESS would                    
  also be valuable in counting the joblessness.  The Task                      
  Force members did not object to her including this                           
  recommendation in the report.                                                
                                                                               
  Number 585