00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24 01 Relating to the shortage of adequate housing for military personnel and their 02 dependents, directing the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and certain 03 municipalities to develop a joint program for improving the inventory of housing 04 for those personnel, and urging the governor and the commissioner of natural 05 resources to identify state land that might be made available for that housing. 06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 WHEREAS the military forces and facilities in Alaska are an important component 08 of national security interests in the Pacific region; and 09 WHEREAS there are 25,556 Alaskans currently on active duty in the military forces 10 and 8,417 Alaskans are employed by the military; and 11 WHEREAS military personnel and their families are important contributors to the 12 communities adjacent to the military bases and posts at which they are stationed and play a 13 vital role in the state's economy; and 14 WHEREAS the President of the United States appointed a base realignment and 01 closure commission to reduce the number of military facilities nationwide; and 02 WHEREAS the commission has specified that "the ability of both the existing and 03 potential receiving communities' infrastructures to support military personnel" is an important 04 element of the criteria by which the commission determines which facilities to retain and 05 which to close; and 06 WHEREAS housing is a critical component of infrastructure; and 07 WHEREAS there is a shortage of decent housing on or within proximity to the 08 principal military bases and posts in the state that is suitable for military personnel and their 09 families and that meets current United States Department of Defense housing standards and 10 requirements; and 11 WHEREAS estimates of the number of units of housing suitable for military personnel 12 and their dependents project a greater shortage in the future; and 13 WHEREAS reductions in military spending have diminished or eliminated options 14 such as those authorized by the sec. 801, Military Family Housing Leasing Program, 10 15 U.S.C. 2828, and the sec. 802, Military Housing Rental Guarantee Program, 10 U.S.C. 2821, 16 that would otherwise be available to assist in addressing the shortfall in military housing; and 17 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature, being committed to continuing the strong 18 partnership that has historically existed between the state and the military, understands that 19 there is a need to reduce or eliminate the shortage in the number of units of housing in this 20 state that are suitable for military personnel; and 21 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature is desirous of contributing and committing 22 state resources to reduce or eliminate that housing shortage. 23 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 24 Governor to direct the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, in cooperation with officials of 25 the Municipality of Anchorage and the Fairbanks North Star Borough, to develop and to 26 implement or recommend self-sustaining housing programs that will provide to military 27 personnel and their dependents housing that meets the standards and requirements set by the 28 United States Department of Defense and that conforms to the maximum allowable housing 29 cost off-base housing allowance for military personnel; and be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor and the commissioner of natural resources 31 identify state land that might be made available for improvement of the inventory of that 01 housing; and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, the commissioner of natural resources, 03 and the board of directors of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation submit a report of their 04 efforts in response to this resolution to the legislature not later than the 10th day of the Second 05 Session of the Eighteenth Alaska State Legislature. 06 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Les Aspin, Secretary of 07 Defense; to the Honorable Glenn A. Olds, Commissioner of Natural Resources; to Barry L. 08 Hulin, Executive Director of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; to the Honorable Tom 09 Fink, Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage; and to the Honorable Jim Sampson, Mayor 10 of the Fairbanks North Star Borough.