Legislature(2015 - 2016)BUTROVICH 205
03/24/2016 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB175 | |
| SB154 | |
| SB171 | |
| SCR16 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 154 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SCR 16 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 175 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 171 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 175-ESTABLISH MILITARY FAMILY DAY
9:03:55 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced the consideration of HB 175.
9:04:01 AM
ESTER MIELKE, Staff, Representative Bob Lynn, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, read the sponsor statement for HB
175 as follows:
Military families are the folks back home who help
keep our warriors at peak effectiveness, be it
stateside duty or combat duty. Worrying about your
kid's homework, getting the bills paid on time, or
worrying about anything at all back home is not
something that is safe to do when the enemy is
attempting to kill you.
The military family is major source of morale and the
foundation of what's good about our military. The day
someone joins the military is the day that the family
virtually joins the military too. When we support the
military family, we support the military member.
Many service members transfer from one place to
another about every two years, this means the family
also moves to somewhere else. The kids change schools,
maybe in their senior year; churches are changed; the
spouse may have to give up their job; and of course
the curtains don't fit the new place. The spouse, some
say, has the toughest job in our military.
The military deserves having a day set aside to honor
their military families and to recognize a major
source of their morale and strength. HB 175
establishes "Military Family Day" to honor and support
families of our service men and women in Alaska every
year on November 1st. Nationally, November is
designated as National Military Family Month. The
President of the United States typically makes an
annual announcement to inform the public about this
month. We thought it was fitting to have our Alaskan
Military Family Day to coincide with the beginning of
the nationally designated month.
9:06:33 AM
SENATOR COGHILL noted that November 1 was "All Saints' Day" and
asked if there was any correlation.
MS. MIELKE answered no.
SENATOR COGHILL remarked that military families quite often
could be nominated for sainthood.
CHAIR STOLTZE commented that the committee members represent
communities that support veterans and their families. He noted
that two committee members were veterans and guessed that the
bill would have a lot of receptivity.
SENATOR HUGGINS commented that his wife asked to thank
Representative Lynn for his thought and consideration put into
the bill. He noted that his wife was the mother of three
children that were in the military.
9:09:26 AM
COMMISSIONER LAURIE HUMMEL, Department of Military & Veterans'
Affairs (DMVA), Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of HB
175. She stated that while she was always prepared to publically
acknowledge the patriotism, dedication, and skill of Alaska's
military men and women, she was especially pleased to focus on
the enormous contributions made by the military families that
the public rarely sees. She revealed that she understood the
importance of service members' families because her father was
in the military for 24 years and noted that she, as well as her
spouse, have been deployed soldiers as well. She remarked that
the spouse left behind has the harder job with twice the work,
all the worry, more time to think about it, and none of the
credit.
He said there were a lot of families whose service members'
deployments resulted in life-altering injuries and the family
members' lives were just as effected as those of the service
members. She added that when a member of the military loses his
or her life in service, the "Gold Star" families left behind
find a way to move forward; but really, they never fully heal.
She disclosed that 74,000 veterans call Alaska home and the
state has the highest veterans per capita in the country. She
said Alaska was lucky to keep the experience of its veterans and
fortunate that their families follow suit. She set forth that
Alaska's veterans and their families deserve the state's
unwavering support. She asserted that Alaska's veteran success
was not sustained by what they had already done, but what more
they would provide. She set forth that HB 175 shows the state's
appreciation, especially to the military families, the backbone
of the military. She said she agreed with Senator Coghill that
recognizing military families on All Saints' Day was
appropriate.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked Mr. Bowen if he had attended all of the
Alaska Veterans Advisory Council (AVAC) meetings.
9:14:15 AM
VERDIE BOWEN, Director, Office of Veterans' Affairs, Alaska
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Anchorage, Alaska,
answered yes.
CHAIR STOLTZE asked if AVAC had any discussions regarding HB
175.
MR. BOWEN answered no.
9:16:16 AM
At ease.
9:17:05 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE called the committee back to order. He asked
Senator Huggins, the senior veteran committee member, to make a
motion on HB 175.
9:17:34 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS moved to report HB 175, [29-LS0814\A], from
committee with individual recommendations and attached zero
fiscal note.
9:17:45 AM
CHAIR STOLTZE announced that hearing no objection, HB 175 moves
from committee.