01/30/2018 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

          HJR 29-REAUTHORIZE SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS ACT                                                                       
                                                                                                                              
3:49:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS  announced that  the final order  of business                                                              
would be HOUSE  JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 29, Urging  the United States                                                              
Congress to reauthorize  the Secure Rural Schools  and Communities                                                              
Self-Determination Act of 2000.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:49:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   GEORGE   RAUSCHER,  Alaska   State   Legislature,                                                              
relayed that  HJR 29 encourages  the U.S. Congress  to reauthorize                                                              
the Secure  Rural Schools  (SRS) and Community  Self-Determination                                                              
Act of  2000.   He stated  that the  SRS Program  expired and  has                                                              
created budgetary  shortfalls for school districts  around Alaska,                                                              
which  will  continue,  if  Congress  fails  to  reauthorize  this                                                              
longstanding  federal obligation  to local  governments.   He said                                                              
that   the  SRS   Program  compensates   more   than  700   forest                                                              
communities  nationwide and  33 communities  in Alaska for  timber                                                              
harvesting  revenue   lost  due  to  changes  in   federal  forest                                                              
management policy.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   RAUSCHER   stated   that   historically,   school                                                              
districts in Alaska  have relied on a share of  receipts from this                                                              
federal  program   to  supplement  local  funding   for  education                                                              
services and for roads.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:51:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KNOPP   asked  to  know  when   the  authorization                                                              
expired  and  whether  Alaska is  receiving  any  timber  receipts                                                              
currently for distribution.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:51:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DARRELL  BREESE,  Staff, Representative  George  Rauscher,  Alaska                                                              
State  Legislature, responded  that the  authorization expired  in                                                              
2015; the  last money  authorized was in  the [state]  fiscal year                                                              
2018  (SFY  18) budget;  and  it  was a  very  small amount.    He                                                              
referred  the   committee  to  the   documents  included   in  the                                                              
committee  packet, entitled  "FFY16  SRS/NFR  Payments Final  (SFY                                                              
17)" and  "FFY17 SRS/NFR  Payments (SFY18),"  which indicate  that                                                              
Anchorage received  $62,762.77 in  SFY 17,  but only $3,581.13  in                                                              
SFY 18  due to  the expiration  of the  authorization.   He stated                                                              
that this year [SFY 19] there will be no receipts.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. BREESE  referred to  proposed federal  legislation, H.R.  2340                                                              
and S.  1027, included in the  committee packet, which  have broad                                                              
bipartisan  support   and  support  from  29  states   across  the                                                              
country.   He mentioned many of  the states whose  congressmen are                                                              
cosponsoring the  legislation and referred to the  lists of states                                                              
included in  the committee packet.   He said that  the communities                                                              
that would lose  money are listed in the two  previously mentioned                                                              
documents showing  payments; these  are the communities  that live                                                              
adjacent  to  the  Tongass  National  Forest  (TNF)  in  Southeast                                                              
Alaska  and the  Chugach National  Forest  (CNF) [in  Southcentral                                                              
Alaska],   in  which   forestry   occurred;  and   they  are   the                                                              
communities for which money was provided [under the program].                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:53:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL  asked whether only communities  adjacent to a                                                              
national forest received the funds.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. BREESE replied, that is correct.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL   asked  for  clarification   of  "management                                                              
activities" mentioned  in the sponsor  statement, included  in the                                                              
committee packet.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. BREESE  explained that  the primary source  of revenue  to the                                                              
communities  was  timber sales;  other  sources of  revenues  were                                                              
leases  and other activities  in  the national  forest.  When  the                                                              
Act was  enacted in  2000, the  intent was  to compensate  for the                                                              
loss of  timber sale revenue to  the neighboring communities.   He                                                              
said that the  communities of Southeast Alaska  were impacted more                                                              
than many  other communities,  because the  timber industry  there                                                              
was much larger than in other parts of the state.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   WOOL  expressed   surprise  that  Anchorage   was                                                              
compensated and said,  "You wouldn't think of Anchorage  as a real                                                              
timber town."                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. BREESE  suggested that the  compensation to Anchorage  was due                                                              
to its proximity to the Chugach National Forest.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:55:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KNOPP commented  that  he advocated  for this  for                                                              
many  years  during his  tenure  on  the Alaska  Municipal  League                                                              
(AML) Board of Directors.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  RAUSCHER  relayed that  there  are many  community                                                              
school districts  that have submitted  letters of support  for the                                                              
proposed legislation.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that HJR 29 would be held over.