Legislature(2017 - 2018)BUTROVICH 205
04/16/2018 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB197 | |
| HJR29 | |
| HB354 | |
| HCR23 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HCR 23 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HJR 29 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 197 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 354 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
CSHJR 29(FIN)-REAUTHORIZE SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS ACT
3:43:48 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL announced consideration of HJR 29. [CSHJR 29(FIN)
was before the committee.]
3:44:35 PM
DARRELL BREESE, staff to Representative Rauscher, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, introduced HJR 29 for the sponsor.
He said this resolution simply calls for the U.S. Congress and
the Administration to enact a permanent resolution and
authorization for the Secure Rural Schools and Self-
Determination Act of 2000.
He explained that the Secure Rural Schools Act was started in
the early 1900s and provided a portion of the timber receipts
from national forests to communities neighboring, adjacent to,
or inside the national forests throughout the country.
Nationwide, this bill affects over 700 communities; in Alaska it
provides funding for 33 communities and 33 school districts. The
funding expired in 2017, but the recently passed federal omnibus
spending package extended this program for two-years. This
resolution simply calls for a permanent extension to this
program, which helps schools throughout the State of Alaska.
SENATOR STEDMAN said this resolution is a good idea and asked if
the committee should have a conversation about this form of
revenue sharing off of federal land and the need for more
economic development in those areas like an increased timber
supply. What is the use of asking for revenue when some folks
want to shut down all the commercial access, which generates the
revenue, he exclaimed.
MR. BREESE replied the sponsor thought of proposing that but
thought the first step should be reauthorization of the funding
first. Once that is established, having something for
development of forest resources could happen at a later date.
Forestry is an important part of development and economic growth
in several communities and it's a shame that it doesn't exist
like it used to.
SENATOR STEDMAN said they might get a little different list of
interested parties if on one hand you can have no development
and get a check and on the other hand, you have to have
development to get some revenue sharing. These western lands in
the United States should be producing more revenue, particularly
in the Tongass.
CHAIR GIESSEL listed the letters of support from schools in
Sitka, Yakutat, and Angoon.
3:49:25 PM
ALAN SORUM, Clerk, Valdez School Board, Valdez, Alaska,
supported HJR 29. He is also on the Board of the Forested
Counties and Schools Coalition and has been working with the
sponsors of this resolution for a while. The Secure Rural
Schools Program (SRS) within the Tongass and Chugach forests is
a real important program and they have often spoken of
timber/forest reorganization. The fear is that this is an
ongoing effort and the schools will suffer in the eight or nine
years it will take to do any kind of forest reform.
He explained that the timber receipts program operated on auto
pilot for many years, because they came in every year and were
distributed to the schools. The SRS program came out of the
federal government's decision to pull back from resource
development. So, whatever resource development effort takes
place, it will take a lot longer than the schools have. He has
talked personally with the federal delegation and they are all
co-sponsors of legislation to reauthorize and fund this program.
The omnibus bill passed a little while ago, but that is only a
stop gap; it doesn't address the long-term viability of the
program. He thanked them for support of this resolution.
3:52:34 PM
RUTHIE KNIGHT, Mayor, City of Valdez, Valdez, Alaska, supported
HJR 29. She said in the 29 years she has lived in Alaska, she
has lived in both the Tongass and the Chugach National Forests.
She was on the Wrangell City Council and is now the sitting
mayor of Valdez. When you see the funds come through the "timber
receipts" funding into the city budgets, it really does help
them figure out ways to fund the schools with what they need.
Every little bit helps, she said.
CHAIR GIESSEL thanked Ms. Knight for her testimony and remarked
that hopefully the kids are aware that some school revenue comes
from timber development. She commented that the state needs to
keep "gardening" and "harvesting" the forest, because it is a
renewable resource. Finding no further comments, she closed
public testimony on CSHJR 29(FIN).
3:55:15 PM
SENATOR STEDMAN commented that 20-some years ago when the state
was facing the termination of the two 50-year timber contracts
for the pulp mill, there was a lot of debate, and support was
pretty clear in different regions. Obviously, the politics of
the time dictated the results.
He observed that most of the communities on the list are sitting
in his district, and assured them that the Ketchikan Gateway
Borough supports jobs in the timber industry and supports
extension of this program. Tourism jobs pale in comparison. He
pointed out that you need an industry to create the economy to
write the checks.
SENATOR BISHOP emphasized that key word is "renewable" resource.
3:59:36 PM
SENATOR COGHILL moved to report CSHJR 29(FIN) from committee
with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s).
There were no objections and it was so ordered.