Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120
04/15/2021 01:00 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB144 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 144 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
April 15, 2021
1:02 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Chris Tuck, Chair
Representative Andi Story
Representative Matt Claman
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Laddie Shaw
Representative David Nelson
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Geran Tarr
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 144
"An Act establishing the Alaska Military Affairs Commission; and
relating to the duties and powers of the Alaska Military Affairs
Commission."
- MOVED CSHB 144(MLV) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 144
SHORT TITLE: ESTABLISH AK MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMISSION
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) HOPKINS
03/20/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/20/21 (H) MLV, FIN
04/13/21 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/13/21 (H) Heard & Held
04/13/21 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
04/15/21 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
MATT BORRON, Executive Director
Association of Defense Communities
Washington, D.C.
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 144.
REPRESENTATIVE GRIER HOPKINS
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, answered questions and
provided information on HB 144.
JOMO STEWART, Energy and Military Project Manager
Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 144.
MIKE COONS
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 144.
CAROLINE SCHULTZ, Policy Analyst
Office of Management & Budget
Office of the Governor
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information and answered questions
on HB 144.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:02:13 PM
CHAIR CHRIS TUCK called the House Special Committee on Military
and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:02 p.m.
Representatives Rauscher, Nelson, Story, Shaw, and Tuck were
present at the call to order. Representative Claman arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
HB 144-ESTABLISH AK MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMISSION
1:02:57 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 144 "An Act establishing the Alaska Military
Affairs Commission; and relating to the duties and powers of the
Alaska Military Affairs Commission."
1:03:09 PM
CHAIR TUCK opened invited testimony on HB 144.
1:03:38 PM
MATT BORRON, Executive Director, Association of Defense
Communities, testified in favor of HB 144. He began his
testimony by speaking about the Association of Defense
Communities (ADC), to give the committee members background
about why he found HB 144 important. He shared that ADC is a
50-year-old organization, and a non-profit based in Washington,
D.C. He explained that the Department of Defense (DoD) could
close military bases without having to go to Congress to ask for
a base realignment and closure (BRAC); DoD could just padlock
the gate, throw the community the keys and say, "Good Luck," he
explained. This happened quite a bit, he continued, and as a
result many communities across the country where this had
happened got together and asked what to do about the [large loss
of jobs and community infrastructure]. He said that is how ADC
got its start, as cities and counties were looking at
redevelopment redevelop issues such as land transfers,
environmental clean-up, and economic redevelopment.
MR. BORRON said fast-forwarding to today, ADC's communities are
almost exclusively those that host active military bases. He
said the association has members on most bases in the United
States, including cities, counties, a chamber of commerce, or an
organization like the Tiger Team out of Fairbanks, Alaska. He
explained that in communities it became apparent that [military]
bases couldn't be taken for granted, and that advocacy and
partnership work had to be done full time. He argued that [a
military] installation had to be treated like [an Amazon
headquarters] or a Ford Motor Company plant; it had to be looked
at through the lens of economic development.
1:06:07 PM
MR. BORRON said ADC's members have become sophisticated. He
cited the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) and the community
organizations, and the work being done there to support the
[military] installations. He offered that he had visited
Fairbanks twice and could attest to the great work being done
there. He shared that communities across the country are
investing increasing amounts of resources and dollars into the
defense sector. He clarified that this doesn't necessarily mean
looking at the base, but looking at infrastructure needs,
schools, spouse employment opportunities, roads, workforce
development, university partnerships, possible research
contracts, and other types of missions an area could attract.
He said that at the end of the day, it is about economic
development; it is not about playing defense and waiting for a
BRAC to throw something together ad hoc. Rather, this is about
attracting new missions, which Alaska is right now in a position
to do, he stated, because of the state's strategic location. He
argued that there is an opportunity to build upon that.
MR. BORRON said this requires coordination not just at the local
level, but at the state level. All of the defense industry and
defense missions must be coordinated, along with issues like
housing and schools, he said, and DoD is only going to do so
much.
1:07:44 PM
MR. BORRON said that as communities across the country started
looking at these issues, more and more they created state level
offices responsible for this coordination. He stated that the
committee members have a report ADC did a few years ago that
found that 35 states have an entity like [the one proposed under
HB 144]. He said he believed there were more today, probably in
the forties. He noted that some are more advanced than others,
but it is absolutely critical. He said someone must be the
point person when talking with DoD and the defense contractors,
and someone must be the person who can be turned to when DoD has
an issue. This person would be the mover and shaker at the
state level to make sure all the communities that host the
installations in Alaska are on the same page, especially when it
comes to state legislative issues, he said, such as spouse
licensure and other key economic development and workforce
related issues. Mr. Borron said usually it starts with a
commission, a legislative body created by the state to do this
on a volunteer basis, to work with the adjutant general (TAG) or
other offices. The evolution, he continued, and the point he
encouraged the committee members to get to, is the creation of a
full-time position, whose day job is looking at how to increase
and improve the defense sector of Alaska.
1:09:30 PM
MR. BORRON said it is a big growth opportunity [for Alaska]. He
stated that DoD is looking at a lot that is not strategic right
now, such as quality of life, housing, [and] child education.
He advised that it doesn't take too many issues for a community
or a state to get a bad reputation about not being able to
provide those things. He clarified that he wasn't saying Alaska
had those issues, and members in the service still like to go to
Alaska. He reiterated that if Alaska doesn't have that person
who can quickly turn and address issues that DoD raises, it can
become a challenge. He cautioned that narratives can be built
quickly and can have a detrimental impact on future growth. He
spoke about the economic impact reports and added that it is
billions of dollars worth of investment in the state each year
that DoD brings. He reiterated that at the end of the day, the
state would need a point person to coordinate that, especially
in such a large geographical state.
1:11:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER inquired whether there were other teams
available in the state like the Tiger Team in Fairbanks.
CHAIR TUCK responded that he believed the Tiger Team was unique
to Fairbanks and invited the bill sponsor to comment.
REPRESENTATIVE GRIER HOPKINS, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor of HB 144, confirmed Chair Tuck's answer and said the
Tiger Team is Fairbanks specific and has stakeholders at the
local municipal level. He shared that it was brought on by a
mayor about 10 years ago. He said he didn't know off the top of
his head [if there were other similar teams], but he didn't
believe so. He said the Tiger Team is advocating for the
Fairbanks area and borough specifically. This [legislation]
would extend that model state-wide to bring stake holders
together and make certain there is the economic development
voice, he concluded.
1:13:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if most of these associations have
paid staff, and how many is typical.
MR. BORRON responded that just over half of the states have a
paid person, usually no more than two or three, he answered.
Based on a state with a similar military footprint to [Alaska],
he suggested it would be one person within a system. In response
to a follow up question, he said that without a [state-
appointed] person in charge, communities are left to their own
devices and end up hiring their own consultants, their own
lobbyists, and talking about their own missions, and "that can
come at a cross purpose with other communities in a single
state." Issues like COVID-19 and climate change must be looked
at as state regional issues, he said.
1:14:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW asked if there was any reason that [the
legislature] couldn't blend some of the [existing] commissions
together. Considering the overlap between what the Alaska
Civilian Armed Services Team (ACAST) does, the Alaska Military
Affairs Commission (AMAC) [as proposed by HB 144], and the Joint
Armed Services Committee do state-wide. He said he understood
that value of this commission tends to relate more to the
economic benefit and social benefit, which he argued crosses all
these commissions. He asked if there would be a benefit if
somewhere along the way [the legislature] could see a blending
of all of these into one, and that way [the legislature] could
cut back on the overhead and still accomplish the same goal.
MR. BORRON answered stating, "Absolutely." He suggested looking
at Alaska's defense sector as a whole. That doesn't just mean
the industry and DoD, he clarified, but someone who can look at
the veterans, the families, and the guard holistically. He
argued that there needs to be a single body or office that can
do that.
1:16:24 PM
JOMO STEWART, Energy and Military Project Manager, Fairbanks
Economic Development Corporation (FEDC), stated that FEDC
supports HB 144 and the establishment of a Military Affairs
Commission on behalf of Alaska. He shared that FEDC did an
economic analysis many years ago that indicated that [Alaska's]
own military installations were a sizable component of the
economy, up to about one third. He added that anecdotally,
research showed that statewide, military installations accounted
for about one-tenth of the economy. He shared that that
historical and anecdotal research was backed up recently by
Nolan Klouda, who previously testified before the committee and
had come up with similar numbers to the economic impact of the
military across the state.
1:18:07 PM
MR. STEWART said that for a long time FEDC has worked to secure
its military assets, recognizing their importance to the local
economy, while also trying to figure out how it can build upon
the [military] industry for the greater benefit of the state.
He stated that the Tiger Team has come up several times as a
potential model for a military affairs commission. Prior to its
existence, an Alaska governor accepted an offer from some high-
ranking military serve as an advisory council, which became the
Alaska Military Force Advocacy and Structure Team (AMFAST). He
described AMFAST as having been comprised of individuals with
insight into Alaska's economy, the workings of the military all
the way up to and through the Pentagon, and the interactions
between the military leadership and the civilian leadership of
the military. He said AMFAST offered advice on how to protect
the military assets in Alaska, but also to build upon them as
Alaska sought more missions, and the expansion of missions and
bases.
1:19:44 PM
MR. STEWART suggested that what the committee members were
talking about was to go back to that model, recognizing the
importance that the military plays in the state, and recognizing
the opportunities it offers the state. He argued that there is
a distinction between ACAST, "the old AMFAST," and what the
committee is talking about with AMAC, in terms of long-term
planning, closer coordination with communities, recognizing the
commercial potential relative to the military, and giving good
advice to the legislature and the governor's office on how all
those things can interplay as a benefit or to avoid risk
regarding those assets.
1:20:30 PM
MR. STEWART, regarding the proposed legislation, expressed that
his two relatively minor concerns were how the legislature would
constitute the commission and how the good advice would be used.
He said there are some good people across the state, so the
human resources were available to well constitute a military
affairs commission. He then emphasized that his major concern
upon hearing the committee consider not staffing or providing
resources to this group, was whether resources would be made
available to the commission.
MR. STEWART commented that he wasn't certain there was a
specific allotment to support the Tiger Team, but he did know
that the mayor's staff does attend [the meetings], so there is a
tangential resourcing. He related that he attends [the Tiger
Team meetings]. The borough is a major funder for FEDC, he
explained, and his boss is part of the team. He emphasized that
[military] is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has brought
multi-billions into the state of Alaska. He argued that the
committee members don't need to be "sheepish or shy about
resourcing a commission that is both looking to safeguard those
billions of dollars that are currently being brought in to and
generated across the state of Alaska, and then chasing billions
of dollars more."
1:23:15 PM
CHAIR TUCK asked Mr. Stewart whether he had a suggestion that he
would like to see [in the proposed legislation].
MR. STEWART replied that he didn't have a direct suggestion. He
commented on the Tiger Team's members having had former military
experience. He said he read the roster of ACAST and noted it
was a different constitution, which is not necessarily a bad
thing. He argued that part of the purpose for this kind of
grouping is to be able to take that solid knowledge base and put
it to the best use possible for economic development purposes
within the state of Alaska. He summarized his remarks saying it
was important to put the best people forward for the enterprise.
1:24:57 PM
MR. STEWART, in response to being asked to address the question
about overlap, which had been asked by Representative Shaw of a
previous speaker, told Representative Shaw he agreed with the
bill sponsor that there are some distinct differences between
the different groups. He agreed that there was some overlap, as
well, but he stressed that there are some real differences. He
said he would leave it to the committee members to get the
maximum value from each of the organizations. He encouraged the
legislature and the governor's office to properly resource the
commission.
1:27:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS agreed with Mr. Stewart about the
importance of staffing these positions in the commissions,
because of the scope, the sheer size of the state, and the
different information that comes in regarding military
developments within Alaska. He opined that the conversation
during this and the previous committee hearing on HB 144 was not
whether the commission should be staffed, but rather: "Should
we create another fulltime position to specifically staff this
commission?" He said the fiscal note describes a fulltime
employee. He stated his belief that the Office of the Governor
has the capacity to dedicate a staff to this commission as it
stands now, either by sourcing from the economic development
team within the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic
Development (DCCED) or charging specific staff member within the
Office of the Governor, either fulltime or as part of his/her
duties. He clarified that creating another position in the
governor's office would be of concern when attempting to keep
the fiscal impact of new positions in the state down during the
current fiscal climate.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS touched on what Mr. Stewart and Mr.
Borron said regarding coordination of municipal and university
economic development seats. He explained "Having that
coordination outside of what the initial scope is, is what's
critical for the HB 144 commission being created."
Additionally, he stated, this would be in statute. He argued
that ACAST does very good work, but only by administrative
order, and it restarts itself with each new governor. He
advised that the commission created under HB 144 would provide
for more long-term, cohesive planning.
1:30:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked whether the other previously
discussed military entities could be absorbed into the
commission that would be created under HB 144.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS explained that the way the bill is
structured now, it would not eliminate the Joint Armed Services
Committee, which exists under statute, and the administrative
order creating ACAST is under the Office of the Governor. He
stated that those charges could work together in collaboration
where if one is not needed it could be addressed further into
the future. He said Representative Shaw had put it clearly at
the end of the last meeting that AMAC would have an economic
development goal with coordination with municipalities, local
entities, and state government, and that goal made AMAC stand
apart from the goals of the Joint Armed Services Committee and
ACAST.
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked it followed there were statistics
or data that would give the committee members assurance that
[military councils] produce what they are intended to do.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS responded that he would be happy to work
with Mr. Borron and ADC to see if there is information following
the committee meeting.
1:34:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY posed a clarifying question about whether
Representative Hopkins believed the Office of the Governor had
the current capacity to take someone from its EDC to be tasked
with this [position].
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS responded yes. To Representative
Rauscher's previous question about past successes, he listed
many of the Tiger Team's successes, including: bringing the
entities together in Fairbanks to push back on warm storage,
putting together the effort to get the F-35 squadron to
Fairbanks; continuing the mission to make sure that the housing
of veterans and their families would be effective and ready and
that the community had the efforts it needed; and bringing in
the Grey Eagle drone force, as well as the Apache Wing that has
come to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, the KC-43's, and the new
refueler that is stationed up at Eielson Air Force Base. He
said he would provide some anecdotal examples.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if the fiscal note on the bill would
be changed.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS commented that he believed someone from
the administration should be on the line to talk about the
issue.
1:36:47 PM
CHAIR TUCK opened public testimony on HB 144.
1:37:04 PM
MIKE COONS questioned if the legislation was needed, cost
effective, and/or duplicative of what is already being done with
the Tiger Team, and what all the bases are doing from an
economic standpoint. He offered his understanding that HB 144
would create another state employee at the cost of over $100
thousand a year. He commented that the U.S. congressional
delegation was aware of these issues already. He stated that
all base posts have housing officers that work with locals and
the troops as to [procure housing]. As a United States Air
Force noncommissioned officer(NCO) of 20 years stationed at
Elmendorf and many other bases and having delt with available
housing and seeing the economies of those cities related to
military, he stated that he cannot support adding a new
commission at the cost and time that will be spent for
duplication of efforts already being done.
1:39:21 PM
CHAIR TUCK, after ascertaining that there was no one else who
wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 144.
1:39:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS in response to Representative Story,
suggested someone may be available from the Office of the
Governor to answer questions about the fiscal note.
1:40:26 PM
CAROLINE SCHULTZ, Policy Analyst, Office of Management & Budget,
Office of the Governor, stated that the Office of the Governor
and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, in order to fully
support the intent of the legislation and the commission as
proposed, identified the need for an additional dedicated staff,
not only to provide administrative services, but also to provide
policy support, and the ongoing, targeted, policy-related
direction at the statewide level. She said, "I think the
position is required in order for this group, which only is
required to meet four times per year, to have a year-round
functioning policy directive."
1:41:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY discussed the idea that a position could be
moved from the Division of Economic Development to include work
on this commission. She asked if Ms. Schultz had any thoughts
to add to the possibility of that working out.
MS. SCHULTZ answered that the division's team was already
working more than full time. She said if the legislature
chooses not to appropriate funding for an additional position to
support this commission, then that would have to be considered.
However, she argued that having this work compete with other
priorities with the Office of the Governor would ultimately
result in a less effective organization and the intent of the
legislation being executed less thoroughly.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY commented her understanding that there is
desire for all the military commissions to be working together
as efficiently as possible. She said she would appreciate
hearing back from the Office of the Governor regarding any
concerns about the sources of staffing the commission.
1:43:27 PM
CHAIR TUCK noted that there was a draft amendment for
consideration.
1:43:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON moved to adopt Amendment 1, labeled 32-
LS0486\I.1, Fisher, 4/14/21, which read as follows:
Page 2, line 28:
Delete ",quorum, and administrative support"
Insert "and quorum"
Page 3, lines 4-5
Delete all material.
1:43:50 PM
CHAIR TUCK objected for purposes of discussion. He stated if the
Office of the Governor isn't already doing this, it should have
been doing it with its economic team. He argued that this is
just formalizing it, and so he sees this as a part of that
economic team's function already, not something additional. He
said this can't be overlooked as an economic opportunity. He
clarified that he didn't feel it was needed to add additional
personnel, especially when the bill sponsor didn't ask for that,
when the state has an economic team that has been put together
to look at these kinds of issues already.
1:44:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked for clarification regarding
Amendment 1.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON said Amendment 1 would reflect what Chair
Tuck said already, that an economic team should be focused on
moving this. He said he didn't believe there needed to be a
full-time person for this, as there already should be one
focused on "putting military construction and the military
economy up here in the state."
1:46:06 PM
CHAIR TUCK removed his objection. There being no further
objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
1:46:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY moved to report HB 144 out of committee, as
amended, with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 144(MLV) was
reported out of the House Special Committee on Military and
Veterans' Affairs.
1:47:49 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 1:48 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 144 Testimony Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation 4.14.2021.pdf |
HMLV 4/15/2021 1:00:00 PM |
HB 144 |
| HB 144 Amendment I.1 Rep Nelson.pdf |
HMLV 4/15/2021 1:00:00 PM |
HB 144 |