02/27/2014 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

                     HJR 24-ARCTIC COUNCIL                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:47:24 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN announced  the last order of business  was HOUSE JOINT                                                               
RESOLUTION NO. 24,  Urging the United States  Department of State                                                               
to  consider the  priorities  of  the state  while  it holds  the                                                               
position  of chair  of the  Arctic Council;  requesting that  the                                                               
United States Department of State  work in partnership with state                                                               
officials  to  appoint  a  chair   of  the  Arctic  Council;  and                                                               
supporting  the  strategic  recommendations of  the  January  30,                                                               
2014, preliminary report of the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:48:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  BOB  HERRON,  Alaska State  Legislature,  Juneau,                                                               
Alaska, as sponsor,  presented HJR 24.  He  said in approximately                                                               
14 months, the United States will  assume the chair of the Arctic                                                               
Council.   He  stated, "As  Alaskans,  we all  believe that  it's                                                               
better  for the  United States  to work  with us  to outline  our                                                               
priorities, because  we are  the reason the  United States  is an                                                               
Arctic  state  -  an  Arctic  nation."   He  indicated  that  the                                                               
proposed house  joint resolution stops  short of stating  that an                                                               
Alaskan  should be  appointed  as chair  of  the Arctic  Council,                                                               
because he said  he thinks that would "set the  bar way to high,"                                                               
and  in  many  ways  may  limit  Alaska's  participation  in  the                                                               
discussion  of who  that chair  should  be.   The proposed  joint                                                               
resolution asks that  Alaska be included in  that discussion and,                                                               
because there  are Alaskans who  have all the abilities  the U.S.                                                               
needs in  a council chair, it  may be an Alaskan  who becomes the                                                               
chair.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
9:49:48 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLER moved  to adopt  Amendment 1,  labeled 28-                                                               
LS1325\A.1, Nauman, 2/26/14, which read as follows:                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 4:                                                                                                            
          Delete "recommendations"                                                                                            
          Insert "recommendation"                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Page 3, line 3:                                                                                                            
          Delete "recommendations"                                                                                              
          Insert "recommendation"                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Page 3, line 4:                                                                                                            
          Delete ", including continuing to ""                                                                                  
          Insert "to "continue to"                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
There being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
9:50:59 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN, after  ascertaining that there was no  one who wished                                                               
to testify, closed public testimony on HJR 24.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:51:05 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER offered  his understanding that Legislative                                                               
Legal and  Research Services  had made a  mistake in  Amendment 1                                                               
and, thus, it should be submitted as a conceptual amendment.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
9:51:27 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES queried as follows:                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     I'm looking  in the bill  title.  We're  supporting the                                                                    
     strategic recommendation  ....   Did the  Alaska Arctic                                                                    
     Policy   Commission  have   more  than   one  strategic                                                                    
     recommendation; do we need to specify what it is?                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HUGHES ventured  that  the  commission does  have                                                               
more than one recommendation.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON responded as follows:                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     The advice was that we should  not ... expand it to all                                                                    
     recommendations.   This one is  specific to  the effort                                                                    
     that  we're respectfully  asking the  United States  to                                                                    
     included  Alaskans  into  the dialog  of  choosing  the                                                                    
     chair, and so, we didn't want  it to be, "Make sure you                                                                    
     look at all these others, as well."                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HUGHES indicated  that  she just  wanted to  know                                                               
that  the  prime sponsor  is  comfortable  that the  language  is                                                               
clear.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON  responded, "I'm just taking  the advice of                                                               
others that we should not have recommendations in plural."                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:53:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER  commended the  prime sponsor  for bringing                                                               
forward HJR  24, because  he opined that  the appointment  of the                                                               
chair is incredibly important.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:53:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report  HJR 24, as amended, out of                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations and  the accompanying                                                               
fiscal  notes.   There  being  no  objection, CSHJR  24(STA)  was                                                               
reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.