HOUSE BILL NO. 26                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     "An   Act   renaming   the   Alaska   Native   Language                                                                    
     Preservation and Advisory Council as the Council for                                                                       
     Alaska Native Languages; and relating to the Council                                                                       
     for Alaska Native Languages."                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:43:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ANDI STORY,  SPONSOR, introduced  HB 26  and                                                                    
explained that  she brought  forward the  bill on  behalf of                                                                    
the  Alaska   Native  Language  Preservation   and  Advisory                                                                    
Council  (ANLPAC). The  changes  proposed by  the bill  were                                                                    
simple  but  would  be   significant  improvements  for  the                                                                    
council.  The  first  proposed  change  was  a  name  change                                                                    
simplifying  the council's  name to  the Council  for Alaska                                                                    
Native Languages.  The bill would also  expand the council's                                                                    
membership from five voting members  to seven voting members                                                                    
and would update the co-official  languages of Alaska, which                                                                    
unintentionally excluded some indigenous languages.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster  asked if  there  were  questions from  the                                                                    
committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Stapp  asked if  there  could  be any  other                                                                    
Alaska   Native  languages   that  were   potentially  being                                                                    
overlooked.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Story responded  that  there  was an  Alaska                                                                    
Native  language  summit  sponsored  by  the  Department  of                                                                    
Education  and   Early  Development  (DEED)   that  occurred                                                                    
earlier in the  day and many of the council  members were at                                                                    
the  summit.  It  was  her understanding  that  all  of  the                                                                    
languages would be recognized if the bill were to pass.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:46:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster  OPENED  public  testimony for  HB  26.  He                                                                    
commented  that he  had heard  significant  support for  the                                                                    
bill. Although there were not  many testifiers online, there                                                                    
was  not a  lack of  support.  The lack  of testifiers  only                                                                    
indicated that it was a simple and straightforward bill.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster  CLOSED  public testimony.  He  noted  that                                                                    
interested  individuals could  submit written  testimony and                                                                    
offered instructions on how to do so.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative Tomaszewski  explained Fiscal Note (FN)  1 by                                                                    
the   Department  of   Commerce,   Community  and   Economic                                                                    
Development  (DCCED)  [control   code  gBxUP].  The  $10,000                                                                    
allocation was  for the Division  of Community  and Regional                                                                    
Affairs (DCRA).                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster relayed that he  would entertain a motion to                                                                    
move the bill if it were the desire of the committee.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:48:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Tomaszewski MOVED  to  REPORT HB  26 out  of                                                                    
committee   with   individual    recommendations   and   the                                                                    
accompanying fiscal note.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
HB  26  was REPORTED  out  of  committee  with a  "do  pass"                                                                    
recommendation  and  with  one previously  published  fiscal                                                                    
impact note: FN1 (CED).