HCR 9 - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FISHING QUOTAS MS. SUTTON then discussed Senate CS for CS for HCR 9, Relating to state management of the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program and state fisheries development policy, stating that Representative Moses would probably be happy to introduce the resolution. Number 270 CHAIR MACLEAN stated this was a very harmless resolution and she encouraged the Task Force to add this to their priority legislation list. The members agreed, and REPRESENTATIVE MOSES said he would introduce it. CHAIR MACLEAN then discussed her priorities in the Rural Development subcommittee, and stated she would like to include the importance of subsistence to rural economy in the report, but would not like to take any action. Number 335 CHAIR MACLEAN referred to a letter in the members' packets from Lee Gorsuch of the University of Alaska, Institute of Social and Economic Research, which she would like to include as an appendix to the final report. She stated Alaska needed a policy to deal with rural issues. Number 380 REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE JAMES mentioned the letter headed "Best Practices in Canadian and US Rural Business Development," and asked that it be included in the same appendix. CHAIR MACLEAN stated her belief that there needed to be one single agency in the state to deal with all rural development programs, and added there seemed to be agreement that currently there were too many agencies with grants, loans, and programs. She suggested working during the interim to find out which agency would be the best one to address all rural development programs. She also suggested establishing a 1-800 phone number with information on all loans, grants, and technical assistance programs in existence, and stated she would like to include this recommendation to the administration. Number 430 CHAIR MACLEAN referred to a simplified loan form from National Bank of Alaska in the members' packets, and said this was the type of loan form that should be used instead of complicated loan applications. She added that input was needed from the banking industry. Number 460 CHAIR MACLEAN next mentioned the final report should include the need in rural communities for a very basic infrastructure and for accurate unemployment statistics. She recommended that an alternative mechanism be developed for expressing joblessness in rural Alaska. She asked the staff to get together one last time to compile the report. Number 530 REPRESENTATIVE BILL WILLIAMS said he did not understand the difficulty of reporting unemployment. CHAIR MACLEAN said the federal statistics were not realistic for rural Alaska, and this impacted the whole state of Alaska's aid packages for disadvantaged areas. PAUL FUHS, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, said an accurate survey was needed, and the Department of Commerce would work with the Task Force in developing this. CHAIR MACLEAN stated that welfare figures from HESS would also be valuable in counting the joblessness. The Task Force members did not object to her including this recommendation in the report. Number 585