SJR 17-HONORING THE ENERGY COUNCIL  2:22:18 PM CO-CHAIR BURKE announced that the next order of business would be SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 17, Recognizing and honoring the 50th anniversary of The Energy Council. 2:22:45 PM SENATOR BERT STEDMAN, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor, introduced Senate Joint Resolution 17 and provided background information regarding the Energy Council. He explained that Alaska has belonged to the council for many years. The resolution recognized five decades of contributions in advancing energy policy. The council was established in 1975 as a non-partisan platform and includes state legislators from 14 states and representatives from several Canadian provinces. The focus emphasizes energy stability, affordability, and reliability and educates legislators on emerging energy trends including renewables. He explained that the energy council tries to be aware of trends and keep a couple of years ahead, so they can advise legislatures regarding what changes may be taking place in the marketplace. The council also works with the national labs and keeps up-to-date regarding how to respond to oil spills, including using enzymes that eat oil. He addressed energy-specific issues in the artic and invited the legislators to the Energy Council meeting in Anchorage in September 2025. 2:33:23 PM REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER expanded on a number of points brought up by Senator Stedman regarding the work of the Energy Council. 2:35:05 PM SENATOR STEDMAN responded to several questions from Representative Coulombe, explaining that each state has four non-partisan positions on the executive committee, two from the senate and two from the house. The council meets three times a year. The regular meetings have been open to all members of the legislature and also include representatives from universities, the scientistic community, and industry sponsors. He described the process used to create policy statements which included the input of scientists and university representatives. He emphasized that energy policy is created at the state level not the national level. He said the council has tried to stay non- partisan, though there has been a bias toward production because the council is made of energy-producing states and provinces rather than consuming states, so the focus has been on production and distribution. He touched on the technology of batteries and micronuclear energy. 2:41:26 PM CO-CHAIR BURKE opened public testimony on SJR 17. 2:41:36 PM CO-CHAIR BURKE, after ascertaining there was no one who wished to testify, closed public testimony. 2:41:48 PM CO-CHAIR DIBERT moved re report SJR 17 work order 34-LS0748\A from committee with attached fiscal note and individual recommendations. 2:42:06 PM There being no objection, SJR 17 was reported out of the House Resources Standing Committee.