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