SB 152-SEPTEMBER 11: PATRIOT DAY  4:04:32 PM CHAIR MEYER called the committee back to order. He announced the consideration of Senate Bill 152 (SB 152) and noted that he is the sponsor of the bill. 4:05:00 PM EDRA MORLEDGE, Staff, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, explained that SB 152 designates September 11 of each year as Patriot Day in the State of Alaska. She pointed out that the definition of "patriot" from Merriam-Webster dictionary states, "One who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests," and a second definition from Dictionary.com states, "A person who loves, supports and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion." MS. MORLEDGE provided background information as follows: On September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked, three of which were deliberately flown into buildings in Washington D.C., which was the Pentagon, and in New York at the World Trade Center Towers, the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people died in these attacks making it the biggest act of terrorism ever on the United States' soil; after this time, the nation was inspired by the heroic sacrifices of the firefighters, rescue and law enforcement personnel, military service members, and other citizens that responded to the terror attacks, in many cases giving the ultimate sacrifice to save innocent victims. On October 25, 2001, a bipartisan resolution to make September 11 a "national day of mourning" was introduced in the House by Representative Vito Fossella, Republican from New York; there were 22 co- sponsors: 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats. The legislation designated September 11 as Patriot Day and passed both the House and Senate unanimously, it was signed into law by President Bush on December 18, 2001, and the first Patriot Day was observed on September 11, 2002 and it was known by that name through 2008. The following year in 2009 the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act was passed and signed into law by President Obama which changed the name to "Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance," and that particular act that changed the name had a large focus on expanding the programs of AmeriCorps and five other new volunteer programs in the United States; throughout this time however, it didn't change the observance of the day which is the flag of the United States is flown at half-staff at the White House and all U.S. government buildings and establishments throughout the country and the world. Flags are also encouraged to be displayed on individual American homes and a moment of silence is observed to correspond with the attacks beginning at 8:46 a.m. which was the time the first plane struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. Last year in addition to recognizing September 11 as "Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance," President Trump designated September 8 through September 10 as "national days of prayer and remembrance." What this bill is intended to do is to recognize September 11 of each year's Patriot Day in the State of Alaska, bringing the focus back to honoring and remembering those individuals that were killed, injured or that courageously provided aid on September 11 during the terror attacks, but also pays tribute to our military patriots in Alaska, nearly 2,100 of whom were just deployed last fall from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to Afghanistan to continue fighting terrorism on behalf of all Americans. MS. MORLEDGE disclosed that the resolution has a zero fiscal note. 4:09:01 PM CHAIR MEYER noted that Ms. Morledge found in her research that states are "all over the place" on how they recognize September 11, but most seem to still call the day, "Patriot Day." He noted that on the federal level the day was called "Patriot Day" until 2009. MS. MORLEDGE answered correct. CHAIR MEYER said that SB 152 would specifically recognize Patriot Day in Alaska on September 11 for those based on the definitions Ms. Morledge previously noted, "Who loves, supports and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion." He asserted that the firefighters, policemen and all the first responders who gave up their lives to rescue the people in the World Trade Center were certainly patriots. He pointed out that some states recognize September 11 as "Patriot Day" while others note the day as "Patriot and Nation Day of Service." MS. MORLEDGE revealed that she sampled 11 states where 7 out of 11 recognize September 11 as "Patriot Day." 4:11:20 PM CHAIR MEYER opened and closed public testimony. 4:11:44 PM SENATOR GIESSEL moved to report SB 152, version 30-LS1014\A from committee with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. 4:11:56 PM CHAIR MEYER said that being no objection, the motion carried.