HCR 23-ALASKA ARCTIC POLICY COMMISSION  1:04:23 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 23, Establishing and relating to the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission. 1:04:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE REGGIE JOULE, Alaska State Legislature, speaking on behalf of the House Finance Committee, sponsor by request of the Alaska Northern Waters Task Force, explained that HCR 23 proposes establishing an Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, which was one of the recommendations from the Alaska Northern Waters Task Force (ANWTF). The ANWTF was established in 2010 in response to the discussions being held in Washington, D.C., the Canadian North, and the Circumpolar North regarding the Arctic and Alaska's Arctic waters. One of the goals of ANWTF was to get the legislature engaged in these conversations as opposed to waiting for budgetary items to come forward. In the process of engaging the legislature, the task force would also engage the communities and seek areas of expertise to provide information. The task force held a series of meetings around the state. He characterized the process as a very interesting journey. 1:06:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOULE directed the committee's attention to the information in the committee packet from the National Security Presidential Directive and Homeland Security Presidential Directive. These directives were created in January 2009 under the George W. Bush Administration. He told the committee that the committee packet should include information regarding Canada's strategy with the Arctic, but he would provide the committee with information regarding Denmark's strategy with the Arctic. The aforementioned illustrates that other countries have been developing policies related to the north. He then informed the committee that the Arctic Council is currently chaired by Sweden. In 2013 Canada will assume the chair of the Arctic Council for two years, which will be followed by the U.S. chairing the council, he highlighted. Therefore, for a four- year period the Arctic Council will be chaired by North America. By working with Canada and by chairing the council, there's the ability to have some impact on the policies and decisions of the Arctic Council. The aforementioned is, in part, why this resolution is before the committee. Collectively, the ANWTF believed that the next step should be taken because although there is a national policy regarding the Arctic, there is no strategy in terms of implementation of that policy. In conclusion, Representative Joule opined that establishing the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission would help Alaska stay engaged in the conversation regarding the Arctic. 1:10:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER recalled testimony from Canadian visitors who relayed that Canada already views itself as an Arctic nation. However, the U.S., save Alaska, is largely unaware of the Arctic issues. She, therefore, asked if the Canadian territories and provinces that border the Arctic have a separate policy or commission separate from the national policy or commission. She then questioned in what ways Alaska's Arctic policy would be different than that of the U.S. national policy. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE confirmed that Canada does have an Arctic policy and three of Canada's Arctic provinces/territories have put forth their own Arctic visions. Therefore, he recommended that Alaska should do much the same. 1:12:02 PM CHRISTINE HESS, Staff, Representative Reggie Joule, Alaska State Legislature, related that the Nunavut and Northwest Territories' Arctic policies are new and Canada's [national] policy was established in 2009. Canada's Arctic policy is geared toward military and national sovereignty and resource development, whereas the Arctic policies of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Greenland are more about regional cooperation and economically sustainable communities and resource development. Therefore, the policy of the territories and provinces are more regionally based. 1:13:03 PM REPRESENTATIVE DICK expressed concern from his constituents that this proposal might result in the U.S. sacrificing a bit of its national sovereignty and joining a global [effort]. He requested assurance that is not the case. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE remarked, "I guess one of the options is to do nothing; where would that take us?" Because of Alaska's location, the U.S. sits on the Arctic Council as one of the Arctic nations. With regard to whether it's appropriate to allow the federal government to make the decision and follow its lead, he opined that Alaska has a bit of independence and would like to be able to influence some of the decisions being made at the federal level as well as at the international level. He suggested, "If anything, it would be asserting our sovereignty." 1:14:53 PM REPRESENTATIVE HERRON, referring to the membership of the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, asked if the intent is for the members to be Alaska residents. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE answered that for the most part the members of the commission should be Alaska residents. 1:15:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE HERRON then inquired as to the reasoning behind requiring the final report one year after the preliminary report is due. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE responded that the preliminary report provides an update to the legislature, basically a progress report. 1:16:51 PM REPRESENTATIVE HERRON inquired as to what state should stand up for its interests in the Arctic. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE answered Alaska. REPRESENTATIVE HERRON then questioned who should respond when actions are taken by others that impact Alaska's national interest and undermine relationships the state has built or lack sensitivity to Alaska's interests and perspectives. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE again answered Alaska. 1:17:49 PM REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER commended Representative Joule for his work on this. He pointed out that the task force focused on ensuring that the benefits would be shared amongst those who are most effected. He then asked if the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) would be an example of an international Arctic organization from which one of the members of the commission would represent. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE replied yes. 1:19:01 PM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON inquired as to whether these will be permanent positions since there is no mention of rotating the membership. She related her belief that it's advisable to have the rotation go through a governor's terms in order to provide some continuity between administrations. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE clarified that once appointed the individuals would serve on the commission; there would be no rotation. The membership is a little larger than the membership of the ANWTF because it was realized that there were some individuals that would have been helpful to have involved with ANWTF. For instance, the oil and gas industry, the University of Alaska and its research capabilities, and tribal members weren't members of ANWTF. The membership of the proposed Alaska Arctic Policy Commission would bring more of the stakeholders together to shape this policy. He them emphasized that one of the important pieces of ANWTF was the dialogue with communities and continuing that effort is very important. 1:22:00 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON recalled from Representative Joule's earlier remarks that the majority of the membership of the proposed Alaska Arctic Policy Commission should be Alaskans. Therefore, he surmised that there should be a qualification for the language on page 3, lines 8-17, to specify the members are to be Alaskans. MS. HESS pointed out that the member representing an international Arctic organization may or may not be an Alaskan. Therefore, the Alaskan qualification would refer to the membership on page 3, lines 8-16. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE interjected that he wanted to leave that option open, but added that ICC would likely be the international Arctic organization from which the membership would come. 1:23:19 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON directed attention to the language on page 3, lines 26-29, as follows: FURTHER RESOLVED that the public members and, if the member representing the federal government does not receive reimbursement for expenses from the federal government, the federal government member of the commission may receive per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180; CO-CHAIR SEATON questioned whether the intent is to cover the expenses of the individual or is the desire for [the member of the international Arctic organization] to be an Alaskan. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE said that he would consider an amendment to require all the members of the commission be Alaskans as a friendly amendment. MS. HESS, drawing from the experience with ANWTF, related that although ANWTF provided for international fees, about $100,000 was left over because not everyone could attend every meeting. Therefore, that $100,000 could be re-appropriated to help cover the expenses of this proposed Alaska Arctic Policy Commission. She suggested that if there was an international member on the proposed commission, the cost of that member could be absorbed into the budget. 1:25:10 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON clarified that he is trying to understand how the sponsor would like to structure this. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE stated that he would like for the membership of commission [specified on page 3, lines 8-17] to be composed of Alaska residents, particularly since it would be an Alaska strategy and policy. CO-CHAIR SEATON commented that was his thinking that as well. 1:25:40 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON recalled discussions of other legislation involving Norway and the Arctic Council that revealed they were about nation-to-nation interactions. This proposal would provide the state with a structure to influence and participate in the Arctic Council. He asked if that is part of the intention of this resolution. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE acknowledged that the State of Alaska is already engaged in some of the discussions regarding the Arctic. The difference, in part, with this proposal is that this is an opportunity for the state, including the legislature, to remain active and engaged in discussions and the process of the Arctic vision. A result of the "Findings & Recommendations of the Alaska Northern Waters Task Force" report is that he and Commissioner Hartig will travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with the U.S. Arctic Council senior advisor. He noted that the Department of Interior and the U.S. Coast Guard are very interested [in ANWTF's findings and recommendations as well]. 1:29:33 PM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON agreed that this is an extremely important issue that should be moved forward. She questioned whether Arctic policy is an important enough issue that someone from the House Finance Committee should be on the proposed commission. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE pointed out that the resolution specifies there are to be three representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and three senators appointed by the President of the Senate. The members who are appointed would be left to the discretion of the Speaker and the President. He then highlighted that both co-chairs of the Senate Finance Committee and himself, a member of the House Finance Committee, were members of ANWTF as well as alternates Representative Edgmon, member of the House Finance Committee, and Senator Olson, member of the Senate Finance Committee. 1:30:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER said she was struck by the language used regarding the membership of the proposed commission, which include "appointed", "representing", and "from". She opined that the language is problematic. For example, it is difficult to represent the federal government unless he/she is an ambassador. Therefore, she questioned how an Alaskan employed by the federal government, perhaps through the Department of Interior or the Bureau of Land Management, would have the authority from their employer to represent the federal government. She suggested that the language needs to be wordsmithed a bit. MS. HESS informed the committee that the language is the same as that used for the resolution [that created ANWTF], which didn't seem to cause any problem. She explained that [with ANWTF] the member representing the federal government became a liaison because the President of the U.S. would have to approve for the individual to actually represent the federal government. The ANWTF included two rear admirals as members and they were very active contributing members. In further response to Representative Gardner, she confirmed that the members representing the federal government on ANWTF were in effect delegated to represent the federal government. 1:32:34 PM REPRESENTATIVE HERRON related his understanding that the U.S. Arctic policy essentially says that the U.S. is an Arctic nation and that it is the policy of the U.S. that it will involve Alaskan communities in the decisions impacting them. Therefore, he encouraged the sponsor to include a "Whereas" clause that speaks directly to the involvement of Alaskans. In response to Co-Chair Seaton, Representative Herron specified that the language he is referencing can be found in the National Security Presidential Directives (NPDS) - 66 on page 2 in the Background section where it says, in part, "The United States is an Arctic nation, ..." and on page 2 in the Policy section where it says, in part, "5. Involve the Arctic's indigenous communities in decisions that affect them;". 1:34:22 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON invited public testimony. 1:34:59 PM REPRESENTATIVE BRYCE EDGMON, Alaska State Legislature, informed the committee that he was an alternate member of the ANWTF and was able to participate in all the meetings. He then related his strong support for HCR 23 as there are a host of reasons to discuss the importance of Alaska being fully engaged in the opening of the Arctic. Moreover, he expressed the importance of Alaska being engaged with the U.S. in terms of Alaska being strategically aligned in the opening of the Arctic as a foreign policy matter for the U.S. He stated that there are many details from ANWTF that need to be shared. He then highlighted the importance of keeping the commission going in order to keep the awareness level current in Alaska. 1:37:07 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON, after ascertaining no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony. 1:37:16 PM CO-CHAIR SEATON moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1, as follows: Page 3, line 6, following "follows"; Insert "of which (B) through (I) will be Alaska residents" 1:37:43 PM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON objected for discussion purposes and questioned whether Conceptual Amendment 1 should include subparagraph (A) on page 3, line 7. CO-CHAIR SEATON explained that subparagraph (A) refers to the federal government. 1:38:25 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE also questioned why not include subparagraph (A). CO-CHAIR SEATON pointed out that there are a number of entities for which individuals may work and who may be in the appropriate status to represent the agency. He said he wasn't sure where it would structurally make sense for the federal agencies, and therefore he didn't include subparagraph (A). 1:39:27 PM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON removed her objection to Conceptual Amendment 1. There being no further objection, Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted. 1:39:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE HERRON moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 2, which would insert language in HCR 23 relating that "the United States calls itself an Arctic nation and it does have a policy that does involve the Arctic's indigenous communities and decisions that affect them." The aforementioned essentially says that Alaskans do as well. CO-CHAIR SEATON surmised then that Conceptual Amendment 2 would say that "The policy of the United States for the Arctic region is that the United States will involve Arctic indigenous communities in decisions that affect them." He related his understanding that Conceptual Amendment 2 would essentially be an additional "WHEREAS" clause. REPRESENTATIVE HERRON replied yes. There being no objection, Conceptual Amendment 2 was adopted. 1:41:43 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE moved to report HCR 23, as amended, with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHCR 23(RES) was reported from the House Resources Standing Committee.