04/26/2005 03:00 PM House HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES

HCR 11 - PARENTS' DAY                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WILSON announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION NO.  11, Proclaiming July  24, 2005,                                                               
as Parents' Day.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:53:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA,  speaking as  the sponsor,  explained that                                                               
HCR 11  proclaims July 24,  2005, to be  Parents' Day.   She then                                                               
spoke of  the importance  of parents, of  the fact  that Parents'                                                               
Day  would be  a public  celebration within  Alaskan communities,                                                               
and  of  the existence  of  a  group  in  Alaska that  seeks  out                                                               
nominations for Parent of the Year.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:56:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
EUGENE  HARNETT, Staff  to  Representative  Tom Anderson,  Alaska                                                               
State  Legislature,   relayed  that  he  serves   [and  would  be                                                               
speaking]  as chairman  of the  "Alaska Parents'  Day Committee."                                                               
He went on to say:                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     This is  our 11th year.   [The] Parents'  Day Committee                                                                    
     has been  sponsoring public  celebration of  parents in                                                                    
     Anchorage,  and we  have a  big  outdoor barbeque;  the                                                                    
     mayor  comes, [the]  governor  comes, public  officials                                                                    
     come,    members    of    the    legislature    [come].                                                                    
     Representative   Cissna  ...   has  supported   it  and                                                                    
     participated  in it  for the  last  several years.  ...                                                                    
     Each year  our committee chooses Alaska  Parents of the                                                                    
     Year,  and we  also choose  awardees for  excellence in                                                                    
     parenting,  and of  course we  honor all  those parents                                                                    
     that  are  nominated.   We  give  them a  congressional                                                                    
     certificate signed by ... Congressman Don Young. ...                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     It's  becoming bigger  and bigger,  as a  public event,                                                                    
     each  year  which  is  one  reason  why  I  think  this                                                                    
     resolution is  so pertinent.   First of all, I  want to                                                                    
     especially thank Representative  Cissna for introducing                                                                    
     this resolution,  and also ...  Representative Anderson                                                                    
     for letting  me work on  it, and those who  have signed                                                                    
     it as co-sponsors  - thank you very much.   This really                                                                    
     tells  that the  legislature of  Alaska ...  recognizes                                                                    
     the  role  parents  play  in  the  public  life.    And                                                                    
     ultimately,  in  developing  public policy,  I  believe                                                                    
     parents  play a  big  role because  they inculcate  the                                                                    
     values that we as adults live by.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     And parents  operate behind the scenes,  unnoticed, ...                                                                    
     and this  is an opportunity  to say ...,  "We recognize                                                                    
     parents   all  the   time,   fundamentally,  and   it's                                                                    
     important to note  that."  This is a  holiday much like                                                                    
     Mother's  Day and  Father's  Day, but  it  is more,  as                                                                    
     Representative Cissna  alluded to; Parents' Day  is not                                                                    
     just a time to celebrate,  but also to make a statement                                                                    
     that  underscores the  vital role  parents play  in the                                                                    
     lives of our  children, and really in  the stability of                                                                    
     our  society.    So  this holiday,  Parents'  Day,  was                                                                    
     originally  established  by  Congress in  1994  as  [a]                                                                    
     reoccurring  holiday.   I remember  when  it was  first                                                                    
     discussed;  I walked  into Don  Young's office  here in                                                                    
     Anchorage,  and  his  secretary   ...  said,  "Oh,  no,                                                                    
     they're not making any more new holidays."                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. HARNETT continued:                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Well  this  holiday  did   get  passed  unanimously  by                                                                    
     Congress  and  signed  by the  President,  and  it  was                                                                    
     bipartisan.  I think that's  one of the things that has                                                                    
     struck me over the years,  that honoring parents is not                                                                    
     a political  issue -  this is  really refreshing.   And                                                                    
     I'm  so glad  that the  state of  Alaska [is],  at this                                                                    
     time,  officially recognizing  this with  a resolution.                                                                    
     We've had  proclamations from the governor  every year,                                                                    
     but this is really better,  from the legislature, and I                                                                    
     understand  it's only  for  this year.    Maybe in  the                                                                    
     future,  ...  we [would]  certainly  like  to see  this                                                                    
     established  as  a  permanent holiday,  but  thank  you                                                                    
     again for doing  this to honor Parents'  Day in Alaska.                                                                    
     I think it's a well-placed effort.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER sought confirmation  that the sponsor only                                                               
intended to have the resolution apply to this year.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA confirmed that that is her intention.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON  surmised that  a statutory  change would                                                               
be  required   in  order  to  have   Parents'  Day  automatically                                                               
recognized yearly.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER  moved to report  HCR 11 out  of committee                                                               
[with  individual  recommendations  and the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
note].  There being no objection,  HCR 11 was reported out of the                                                               
House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee.