02/01/2011 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

                 HJR 13-HONORING RONALD REAGAN                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN  announced that the first  order of business  was HOUSE                                                              
JOINT RESOLUTION  NO. 13, Honoring  President Reagan on  the 100th                                                              
anniversary of his birth.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:09:25 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BILL  STOLTZE, Alaska State  Legislature, presented                                                              
HJR  13  as  sponsor.    He said  HJR  13  is  a  resolution  that                                                              
recognizes  the  one-hundredth  anniversary  of  President  Ronald                                                              
Reagan's  birth.   He  referred to  information  in the  committee                                                              
packet   that   highlights   some  of   the   former   president's                                                              
accomplishments  [from   the  second  paragraph  of   the  sponsor                                                              
statement,   which   read   as   follows,   original   punctuation                                                              
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     In  addition  to  his  successful   acting  career,  his                                                                   
     leadership   as  the   head  of  a   labor  union,   his                                                                   
     accomplishments   as  an  elected   official,  both   as                                                                   
     Governor  of  California  and President  of  the  United                                                                   
     States, Reagan  was involved in several  Alaska-specific                                                                   
     initiatives   and   events,    which   this   resolution                                                                   
     recognizes.   These  include   advocating  for   limited                                                                   
     federal control  of Alaska's land; signing into  law the                                                                   
     transfer  of  the  Alaska   Railroad  from  the  federal                                                                   
     government  to the State  of Alaska;  meeting with  Pope                                                                   
     John Paul  II in Fairbanks;  and signing legislation  to                                                                   
     authorize  reparation payments  to Aleuts  who had  been                                                                   
     relocated during the Second World War.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STOLTZE said  the  resolution would  not cost  the                                                              
state anything.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:11:47 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SEATON  said  the   information  provided  by  the                                                              
sponsor was  educational and well  compiled, and he  observed that                                                              
there  were a  number of  things  President Reagan  did that  were                                                              
beneficial to  Alaska.   He indicated that  he had not  previously                                                              
been aware of some of this information.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   STOLTZE  credited   his  staff  member,   Darrell                                                              
Breese, for doing that research.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
8:12:30 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  P.  WILSON  expressed   her  appreciation  of  the                                                              
resolution, and  said she remembers  when President  Reagan served                                                              
in office  people said one  day he would  be remembered as  one of                                                              
the  nation's   best  Presidents.     She  echoed   Representative                                                              
Seaton's  comment about having  learned new  information,  and she                                                              
opined that President Reagan did a lot for the country.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:13:20 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  LYNN  stated   his  support  of  the  resolution   and  his                                                              
appreciation of President Reagan.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
8:14:41 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  JOHANSEN expressed  appreciation for  the work  of                                                              
President Reagan,  not only as President,  but as a  candidate for                                                              
Governor of  California during  a contentious  time in  the 1960s.                                                              
He applauded the introduction of the legislation.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
8:15:30 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRUENBERG  stated  that sometimes  it  takes  some                                                              
time for great presidents to be recognized.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:15:47 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN closed [public testimony].                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:15:55 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE P.  WILSON, with the permission of  the chair, read                                                              
onto  the  record [language  from  page  2,  lines 14-28,  of  the                                                              
proposed resolution],  which credits  President Reagan  for having                                                              
done  the following  for  Alaska:   advocating  the limitation  of                                                              
federal  control  over Alaska's  land  and natural  resources;  in                                                              
1983,   signing   into   law   the   Alaska   Railroad   Transfer;                                                              
transferring  ownership of the  Alaska Railroad  to the  state; in                                                              
1984,  meeting with  Pope John  Paul  II in  Fairbanks to  discuss                                                              
pressing  world issues;  signing legislation  that authorized  the                                                              
payment of reparations  to the Aleuts who had  been displaced from                                                              
their  homes and sent  to internment  camps during  World  War II;                                                              
supporting the Village  Built Clinic Program, which  funded Indian                                                              
Health Service  clinics in Alaska  Native villages  throughout the                                                              
state;  bringing   basic  health   care  to  many   Alaskans;  and                                                              
authorizing  the  establishment  of the  federal  government  8(a)                                                              
Business Development  Program, which brought  economic development                                                              
and benefits to Alaska Native Corporations.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:17:24 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STOLTZE  remarked  upon Ted  Stevens'  involvement                                                              
during this time period.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:17:51 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLER moved  to report  HJR 13  out of  committee                                                              
with  individual  recommendations   and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                              
notes.  There being  no objection, HJR 13 was reported  out of the                                                              
House State Affairs Standing Committee.