00Enrolled SR 1                                                                                                           
01 Establishing a Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs.                                                              
02                                       _______________                                                                   
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:                                                                                         
04      WHEREAS the Arctic is critical to the state for economic, strategic, and                                           
05 environmental reasons; and                                                                                              
06      WHEREAS there are converging global interests in the Arctic, focusing on, among                                    
07 other interests, minerals, fish stocks, oil and gas reserves, military dominance, rare earth                            
08 minerals, and shipping routes; and                                                                                      
09      WHEREAS approximately 18 percent of the state's population is made up of                                           
10 Indigenous peoples, many of whom rely on subsistence hunting and fishing and could be                                   
11 significantly affected by shifting and increasing activity in the Arctic; and                                           
12      WHEREAS, in supporting the vital interests of the United States in the Arctic, the                                 
13 legislature should take an active role in exploring opportunities to highlight the state's                              
14 strategic importance and identify advancements necessary to maintain the state's critical                               
15 global position;                                                                                                        
16      BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate that a Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs                                     
17 is established to study issues relating to the Arctic; and be it                                                        

01      FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the Senate shall appoint five senators                                      
02 to be members of the Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs and designate two members                               
03 to serve as co-chairs; and be it                                                                                        
04      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs may                                           
05 meet during and between sessions of the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature and is                                   
06 terminated on the convening of the First Regular Session of the Thirty-Fifth Alaska State                               
07 Legislature.