HJR 11-STATE'S CONTROL OF NATIONAL GUARD 8:03:50 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that the first order of business was HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 11, Relating to the increased authority granted to the President of the United States to federalize the National Guard of the individual states without the consent of the governors; and urging the United States Congress to take action to restore the sovereignty of the individual states to regulate and command the National Guard of the states. 8:04:23 AM REPRESENTATIVE ROSES, as prime sponsor of HJR 11, said the proposed legislation is designed to emphasize to the U.S. Congress the importance of state sovereignty in terms of controlling the Alaska National Guard. He turned over presentation of the resolution to his staff. 8:05:10 AM JOSH APPLEBEE, Staff to Representative Bob Roses, Alaska State Legislature, presented HJR 11 on behalf of Representative Roses, prime sponsor. He stated that the 2007 Defense Authorization Bill signed in to law by the President in October 2006 changed the 200-year-old Insurrection Act. The change empowers the President in future stateside emergencies, by allowing him/her to deploy U.S. armed forces and federalize state Guard troops, without consulting the governors within each state, in the event of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack, or incident. Mr. Applebee indicated that the governors of all states and U.S. territories have opposed the change. The proposed resolution asks that the President consult with "the governors and the states before taking over the National Guards." 8:06:16 AM REPRESENTATIVE ROSES indicated that there is a consensus that the relationship between the armed forces and the National Guard in Alaska is "a model to be used for every other state." If the National Guard is busy, the Armed Forces will step in, and vice versa. He stated there is no reason to change the practice of complete cooperation that already exists, and he said he feels strongly about HJR 11 and encourages everyone to support it. 8:07:32 AM REPRESENTATIVE ROSES, in response to a question from Chair Lynn, said prior to [the 2007 Defense Authorization Bill], all that was necessary in the case of an emergency or national disaster was for the President simply to call the governor "and the governor activates." He said he thinks [the 2007 Defense Authorization Bill] was "a knee-jerk reaction" to the situation surrounding Hurricane Katrina, and he said he doesn't think it solves the problem. 8:09:37 AM REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL expressed his appreciation for the resolution. 8:10:24 AM MR. APPLEBEE, in response to a question from Representative Coghill, said the language in the resolution was patterned after several letters sent from the National Governors' Association (NGA) to U.S. Congress and the President of the United States. 8:10:52 AM REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL expressed interest in strengthening the language of the resolution. He directed attention to language in the "FURTHER RESOLVED" portion of HJR 11, on page 2, lines 10-13, which read as follows: FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges federal action to restore the sovereignty of the individual states to regulate and command National Guard troops during emergencies and disasters, and to take whatever additional actions are necessary to correct the encroachment of constitutional authority to protect the citizens of each state. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL said states already have sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment. 8:12:17 AM REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL moved Amendment 1 as follows: On page 2, line 11: Delete "restore" Insert "honor" On page 2, line 12: Between "whatever" and "actions" Delete "additional" CHAIR LYNN asked if there was any objection to Amendment 1. There being none, it was so ordered. 8:12:53 AM REPRESENTATIVE DOLL asked if the President, as Commander in Chief, has the power to override governors at any point. MR. APPLEBEE responded that the President does not have that power "at any point." He said the Insurrection Act of 1807 outlines the situations in which the President does have the power to override the governors, in terms of federalizing the National Guard. The 2007 Defense Authorization Bill gives the President "additional powers within those confines." REPRESENTATIVE DOLL asked, "Because it was domestic?" MR. APPLEBEE answered that's correct. 8:13:44 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG directed attention to page 1, lines [13-14], which read, "to recognize the militia's state role," and he suggested that that should be changed to "honor the militia's state role". REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL said he thinks "recognize" is the right word to use. He explained that he had proposed the change in Amendment 1 because he didn't want to diminish the effect of the language by leaving in the word "restore" on page 2, line 11. 8:14:34 AM REPRESENTATIVE DOLL moved to report HJR 11, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations [and the accompanying fiscal notes]. There being no objection, CSHJR 11(STA) was reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.