00                       CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 120(STA)                                                                   
01 "An Act establishing the Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response Commission;                                           
02 and relating to the powers and duties of the Alaska Climate Change Emergency                                            
03 Response Commission."                                                                                                   
04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
05    * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section                          
06 to read:                                                                                                                
07       FINDINGS. The legislature finds that a state of emergency exists because of the threat                            
08 climate change poses on communities in the state, the state economy, traditional ways of life,                          
09 fish and game populations, and natural ecosystems.                                                                      
10    * Sec. 2. AS 44.19 is amended by adding new sections to read:                                                      
11         Article 6. Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response Commission.                                               
12            Sec. 44.19.651. Commission established. The Alaska Climate Change                                          
13       Emergency Response Commission is established in the Office of the Governor.                                       
14            Sec. 44.19.653. Composition of commission. (a) The commission consists of                                  
01       16 members, six of whom are departmental representatives who serve by virtue of                                   
02       office, and 10 of whom are municipal representatives.                                                             
03            (b)  The following departmental representatives shall serve by virtue of office:                             
04                 (1)  the commissioner of fish and game;                                                                 
05                 (2)  the commissioner of environmental conservation;                                                    
06                 (3)  the commissioner of natural resources;                                                             
07                 (4)  the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic                                              
08       development;                                                                                                      
09                 (5)  the commissioner of transportation and public facilities;                                          
10 (6)  the director of the division in the Department of Commerce,                                                        
11 Community, and Economic Development responsible for community and regional                                              
12       affairs.                                                                                                          
13 (c)  The governor shall appoint 10 municipal representatives to the                                                     
14 commission. Each municipal representative must be a mayor or member of an                                               
15 assembly or council of a municipality. The governor shall appoint one municipal                                         
16       representative from each of the following general regions:                                                        
17 (1)  Northwest Alaska, including, generally, the area of the North Slope                                                
18       Borough and the Northwest Arctic Borough;                                                                         
19 (2)  Bering Strait area, including, generally, the area of the Bering Strait                                            
20       regional educational attendance area;                                                                             
21 (3)  Southwest Alaska, including, generally, the area within the Lower                                                  
22 Yukon, Lower Kuskokwim, and Southwest regional educational attendance areas and                                         
23       the Lake and Peninsula and Bristol Bay Boroughs;                                                                  
24 (4)  Kodiak-Aleutians area, including the area of the Kodiak Island and                                                 
25 Aleutians East Boroughs and the Aleutian, Adak, and Pribilof regional educational                                       
26       attendance areas;                                                                                                 
27 (5)  Interior Alaska, including the Fairbanks North Star Borough and                                                    
28       the Denali Borough;                                                                                               
29 (6)  Upper Cook Inlet area, including the Municipality of Anchorage                                                     
30       and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough;                                                                                
31 (7)  Lower Cook Inlet area, including, generally, the area within the                                                   
01       Kenai Peninsula Borough;                                                                                          
02                 (8)  Prince William Sound area, including, generally, the area east of                                  
03       the Kenai Peninsula Borough to 141 West longitude;                                                                
04                 (9)  northern Southeast Alaska, including the area southeast of 141                                     
05       degrees West longitude and north of 57 degrees North latitude and the entirety of the                             
06       City and Borough of Sitka; and                                                                                    
07                 (10)  southern Southeast Alaska, including the portion of Southeast                                     
08       Alaska not contained in the area described in (9) of this subsection.                                             
09            (d)  Municipal representatives serve at the pleasure of the governor. Municipal                              
10 representatives serve staggered terms of three years, until reappointed or replaced. A                                  
11 municipal representative may be reappointed. If a municipal representative ceases to                                    
12 be a mayor, assembly member, or council member in the municipality the governor                                         
13 appointed the representative to represent, that representative's seat becomes vacant. If                                
14 a municipal representative's seat becomes vacant for any reason before the expiration                                   
15 of that representative's term, the governor shall, within 30 days after the occurrence of                               
16 the vacancy, appoint a municipal representative from the same region to serve the                                       
17       unexpired portion of the term.                                                                                    
18 (e)  The commission shall, by majority vote, elect co-chairs. One co-chair shall                                        
19 be a departmental representative member, and one co-chair shall be a municipal                                          
20       representative member.                                                                                            
21 Sec. 44.19.655. Compensation. Members of the commission serve without                                                 
22 compensation but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards                                     
23       and commissions under AS 39.20.180.                                                                             
24 Sec. 44.19.657. Meetings. Three departmental representative members                                                   
25 designated under AS 44.19.653(b) and five municipal representative members                                              
26 appointed under AS 44.19.653(c) constitute a quorum for conducting business and                                         
27 exercising the powers of the commission. The commission shall meet at least                                             
28 quarterly, at the call of a co-chair, at the request of the majority of the members, or at a                            
29 regularly scheduled time as determined by a majority of the members. The                                                
30 commission shall keep a record of its proceedings and make the record available for                                     
31       public inspection.                                                                                                
01 Sec. 44.19.659. Alternate members. (a) Each member of the commission                                                  
02       shall have a permanent alternate to serve at meetings of the commission as follows:                               
03 (1)  for a municipal representative member appointed under                                                              
04 AS 44.19.653(c), the governor shall appoint a permanent alternate who, at the time of                                   
05 appointment and throughout the period of service as a permanent alternate, is the                                       
06 mayor or a member of the assembly or council of a municipality within the region                                        
07 from which the permanent member was appointed; in appointing a permanent alternate                                      
08 under this paragraph, the governor shall consider the recommendations of the                                            
09       permanent member;                                                                                                 
10 (2)  for a departmental representative member designated under                                                          
11 AS 44.19.653(b)(1) - (5), a deputy commissioner of the relevant department or the                                       
12       director of a division of the department; and                                                                     
13 (3)  for a departmental representative member designated under                                                          
14       AS 44.19.653(b)(6), the member's designee within that office.                                                     
15 (b)  A member of the commission who is unable to attend a meeting shall                                                 
16 advise the permanent alternate, who may attend the meeting and act in the place of the                                  
17       member.                                                                                                           
18 Sec. 44.19.661. Executive director. The commission may employ an                                                      
19 executive director who serves at the pleasure of the commission. The executive                                          
20 director may not be a member of the commission. The executive director may contract                                     
21 with or employ personnel or consultants that the executive director considers                                           
22 necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the commission. The executive                                           
23       director is in the exempt service under AS 39.25 (State Personnel Act).                                           
24            Sec. 44.19.663. Powers of the commission. The commission may                                               
25 (1)  apply for and accept grants, contributions, and appropriations,                                                    
26 including application for and acceptance of federal, international, or private funds that                               
27 may become available for financing infrastructure adaptation, renewable energy                                          
28 technology, community relocation, food and transportation security, education and                                       
29       research, or other needs related to climate change;                                                               
30                 (2)  contract for necessary services;                                                                   
31                 (3)  consult and cooperate with                                                                         
01                      (A)  public or private persons, organizations, and groups                                          
02            interested in, affected by, or concerned with climate change effects and                                     
03            response;                                                                                                    
04                      (B)  climate scientists holding doctorate degrees who are                                          
05            affiliated with an academic or nonprofit institution; and                                                    
06                      (C)  agents and officials in the different regions of the state and                                
07            federal and state agencies concerned with or having jurisdiction over climate                                
08            change effects and response;                                                                                 
09                 (4)  establish the duties of the executive director of the commission;                                  
10                 (5)  assess fees for grant writing and other assistance; and                                            
11 (6)  take any reasonable action necessary to carry out the provisions of                                                
12       AS 44.19.651 - 44.19.672.                                                                                         
13            Sec. 44.19.665. Duties of the commission. The commission shall                                             
14 (1)  prepare a strategic response plan to address climate change threats                                                
15       that includes                                                                                                     
16 (A)  identification of areas in the state and sectors of the state                                                      
17            economy that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change;                                   
18 (B)  options for assisting communities and sectors of the                                                               
19 economy identified as being particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate                                           
20            change; and                                                                                                  
21 (C)  identification of specific threats posed by climate change                                                         
22 on areas in the state and sectors of the state economy and a course of action to                                        
23            address the identified threats;                                                                              
24 (2)  provide grant writing and general assistance to governmental and                                                   
25 nongovernmental entities in the state on climate change response issues, prioritizing                                   
26 assistance to rural governments, nonprofits serving rural areas, and tribal                                             
27       organizations;                                                                                                    
28 (3)  develop a program for the distribution of funds to assist local                                                    
29       governments to respond to climate change effects;                                                                 
30 (4)  establish continuing coordination among state agencies to facilitate                                               
31       the development and implementation of the climate change response strategy;                                       
01                 (5)  coordinate with the University of Alaska in efforts to seek out                                    
02       grants or other aid for climate change education and research;                                                    
03                 (6)  inform the public of available assistance for responding to climate                                
04       change effects, including an outreach program to rural governments, nonprofits                                    
05       serving rural areas, and tribal organizations;                                                                    
06                 (7)  advance the implementation of technology that provides for                                         
07       renewable energy, local food systems, and adaptive infrastructure in the state by                                 
08       recommending legislation and policies to incentivize its development;                                             
09                 (8)  monitor and report on the effects of climate change on existing                                    
10       infrastructure, ecosystems, geophysical features, and communities in the state;                                   
11 (9)  identify opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from in-                                                 
12 state sources, including the expanded use of alternative fuels, energy conservation,                                    
13 energy efficiency, renewable energy, land use management, and transportation                                            
14       planning; and                                                                                                     
15 (10)  recommend legislative and administrative action to implement the                                                  
16       climate change response strategy.                                                                                 
17 Sec. 44.19.667. Fees. The commission shall adopt regulations under AS 44.62                                           
18 (Administrative Procedure Act) to establish fees for grant writing or other assistance                                  
19 provided to a client by the commission. The fees must be based on a sliding scale                                       
20 formula that takes into account the client's need. A client that is a governmental or                                   
21       tribal entity may not be charged a fee.                                                                           
22 Sec. 44.19.669. Annual report and recommendations. The commission shall                                               
23 submit to the governor and the legislature an annual report of the activities of the                                    
24 commission for the previous calendar year that includes a list of threats identified by                                 
25 the commission, an assessment of progress in addressing the threats, an assessment of                                   
26 compliance with the strategic response plan, and any recommendations for legislative                                    
27 and administrative action. The commission shall submit a report under this section not                                  
28 later than February 1 of each year and shall deliver the report to the senate secretary                                 
29 and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the                                 
30       report is available.                                                                                              
31 Sec. 44.19.672. Definition. In AS 44.19.651 - 44.19.672, "commission" means                                           
01       the Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response Commission.                                                          
02    * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                          
03 read:                                                                                                                   
04 TERMS OF INITIAL MEMBERS OF THE ALASKA CLIMATE CHANGE                                                                   
05 EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMISSION. Notwithstanding AS 39.05.055, the governor                                               
06 shall appoint the initial members of the Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response                                       
07 Commission under AS 44.19.653(c) to staggered terms as follows:                                                         
08            (1)  three members shall be appointed to serve three years;                                                  
09            (2)  four members shall be appointed to serve two years; and                                                 
10            (3)  three members shall be appointed to serve one year.                                                     
11    * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                          
12 read:                                                                                                                   
13 TRANSITION: WRITTEN INFORMATION FROM CLIMATE CHANGE SUB-                                                                
14 CABINET. The governor shall provide all written reports, recommendations, and research                                  
15 developed by the Climate Change Sub-Cabinet established under Administrative Order No.                                  
16 238 to the Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response Commission established under                                        
17 AS 44.19.651 within 30 days after the effective date of this Act.