HJR 24-ARCTIC COUNCIL  9:47:24 AM CHAIR LYNN announced the last order of business was HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24, Urging the United States Department of State to consider the priorities of the state while it holds the position of chair of the Arctic Council; requesting that the United States Department of State work in partnership with state officials to appoint a chair of the Arctic Council; and supporting the strategic recommendations of the January 30, 2014, preliminary report of the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission. 9:48:00 AM REPRESENTATIVE BOB HERRON, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, as sponsor, presented HJR 24. He said in approximately 14 months, the United States will assume the chair of the Arctic Council. He stated, "As Alaskans, we all believe that it's better for the United States to work with us to outline our priorities, because we are the reason the United States is an Arctic state - an Arctic nation." He indicated that the proposed house joint resolution stops short of stating that an Alaskan should be appointed as chair of the Arctic Council, because he said he thinks that would "set the bar way to high," and in many ways may limit Alaska's participation in the discussion of who that chair should be. The proposed joint resolution asks that Alaska be included in that discussion and, because there are Alaskans who have all the abilities the U.S. needs in a council chair, it may be an Alaskan who becomes the chair. 9:49:48 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to adopt Amendment 1, labeled 28- LS1325\A.1, Nauman, 2/26/14, which read as follows: Page 1, line 4: Delete "recommendations" Insert "recommendation" Page 3, line 3: Delete "recommendations" Insert "recommendation" Page 3, line 4: Delete ", including continuing to "" Insert "to "continue to" There being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted. 9:50:59 AM CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, closed public testimony on HJR 24. 9:51:05 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER offered his understanding that Legislative Legal and Research Services had made a mistake in Amendment 1 and, thus, it should be submitted as a conceptual amendment. 9:51:27 AM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES queried as follows: I'm looking in the bill title. We're supporting the strategic recommendation .... Did the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission have more than one strategic recommendation; do we need to specify what it is? REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES ventured that the commission does have more than one recommendation. REPRESENTATIVE HERRON responded as follows: The advice was that we should not ... expand it to all recommendations. This one is specific to the effort that we're respectfully asking the United States to included Alaskans into the dialog of choosing the chair, and so, we didn't want it to be, "Make sure you look at all these others, as well." REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES indicated that she just wanted to know that the prime sponsor is comfortable that the language is clear. REPRESENTATIVE HERRON responded, "I'm just taking the advice of others that we should not have recommendations in plural." 9:53:12 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER commended the prime sponsor for bringing forward HJR 24, because he opined that the appointment of the chair is incredibly important. 9:53:21 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report HJR 24, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHJR 24(STA) was reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.