HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE March 23, 1999 8:15 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Andrew Halcro, Co-Chairman Representative John Harris, Co-Chairman Representative Carl Morgan Representative Fred Dyson Representative Reggie Joule Representative Albert Kookesh MEMBERS ABSENT Representative Lisa Murkowski COMMITTEE CALENDAR Presentation by Rural Governance Commission WITNESS REGISTER BYRON MALLOTT, Co-Chairman Rural Governance Commission Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation PO Box 25500 M/S 0401 Juneau, Alaska 99802-5500 TAPE 99-18, SIDE A Number 0000 CO-CHAIRMAN HALCRO called the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee to order at 8:15 a.m. Members present at the call to order were Representatives Halcro, Harris, Morgan, Dyson, Joule and Kookesh. Representative Murkowski was absent. Number 0050 BYRON MALLOTT, Co-Chairman of the Rural Governance Commission, discussed the genesis of the commission. It grew out of an ambiguity over the role of tribes in Alaska and the effect of the Venetie decision last year. The purpose of the commission is to help the state form its policy toward the more than 200 federally-recognized tribes in Alaska. The commission also has looked at the dissolution of local governments and complaints from rural areas about delivery of state services. The 22-member, all-Alaskan commission began its work in March of last year and held hearings in most of the regional centers and smaller communities that are representative of specific issues. In addition, they have met with state, federal and local officials in the major population centers. Number 0940 MR. MALLOTT said the commission had reviewed all the previous related studies. The group will meet on March 24 to begin drafting its final report, which it hopes to deliver to Governor Knowles by the end of the fiscal year. He said the commission had taken the decision to deliver a very focused set of recommendations, and will not make a recommendation in the report unless it can show how the recommendation can be carried out. REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked about the problem of the state recognizing a local entity that is racially-based, and cited the Quinhagak model as an example. MR. MALLOTT confirmed that the heart of the matter is the use of the word "rural," which is an obfuscation of the place of Alaska Natives in Alaska's future. He said the agency staff who are supposed to implement the programs are frustrated by lack of policy direction. He said the same range of issues operates in the subsistence problem and the idea of applying rules to one group but not to another has to be solved at the local level. REPRESENTATIVE DYSON restated his question, stating that the problem is really imposed by the words on paper. MR. MALLOTT discussed the reality of the word "tribe" and the political definitions attached to it. Some state constitutions do recognize tribes, although they are not treated at all in the Alaska Constitution. The way to deal with many of these problems, he said, is to put the tools in the hands of locals and allow them to work out the solutions. As an example, he cited the relationship between Ketchikan, a predominantly white community, and Saxman, a predominantly Native community just a few miles south of Ketchikan. Over the years, there has been a distinct separation between the two, but recently a bicycle path was constructed alongside South Tongass highway. The new interaction of walkers, joggers and bikers between the two communities has opened up a whole new world of understanding and communication that is very healthy. CO-CHAIRMAN HALCRO asked a question regarding resource management. MR. MALLOTT responded that traditionally in Alaska resource management has been a command system, but people are not going to stand for it any longer. Local people want to take more control and be a bigger part of the process. He gave as an example the often repeated phenomenon of the state putting new facilities into communities with no connection to local acceptance, responsibility or ownership. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE, in response to Mr. Mallott's statement, commented on local hire for local projects, welfare to work and dollars from the state. NUMBER 2550 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked a question regarding local participation in funding. MR. MALLOTT responded that local people are the first to be able to identify local resources that can fit local needs. He discussed the now defunct rural development grants that had a maximum cap of $50,000 and had to be matched by local contribution. He said one of the great benefits of that program and others like it is the locals take pride in something they accomplish themselves. CO-CHAIRMAN HALCRO referenced HB 40 which combines DCED and DCRA and asked Mr. Mallott his views of a rural Alaska advocate in the Governor's cabinet. MR. MALLOTT discussed the concept in broad terms, the need for an advocate or an ombudsman to look out for rural needs. He said the impact of the passage of SB 36 last year was perceived to be an assault on rural Alaska, as is a current bill to redefine how disasters are declared. Mr. Mallott also briefly discussed the recently-appointed federal Denali Commission and its charge to facilitate infrastructure development in rural Alaska. TAPE 99-18, SIDE B Number 2900 MR. MALLOTT continued in his response to Co-Chairman Halcro that there is a pervasive feeling out in rural Alaska that the people are fed up and are not going to take it any more. They have a sense of understanding and ownership with DCRA and if it disappears and no other thread of trust emerges, the changes will be received very badly out there. CO-CHAIRMAN HALCRO asked a question regarding the time line of the commission. MR. MALLOTT reiterated that the commission has set a target to deliver its final report to the governor by the end of the fiscal year and he felt confident they should be able to stick to that time line. Number 2790 REPRESENTATIVE JOULE enumerated a number of issues Venetie, SB 36, subsistence, consolidation, the definition of disasters, reapportionment that just suggest rural Alaska should form its own state. He asked Mr. Mallott if he had heard any such suggestions out there. MR. MALLOTT acknowledged that the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) had passed a resolution supporting secession and that the Northwest Arctic Borough was considering how to deal with issues that are not being responded to. He said he has heard in rural Alaska a profound, pervasive, powerful sense that the relationship with the State of Alaska is just not working. He also noted that such a mild-mannered person as Bob Loescher of Sealaska Corporation had recently brought up the issue of using nonviolent disobedience as a tactic. Number 2535 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ discussed the disconnection between urban and rural Alaska and asked about efforts by the Rural Governance Commission to bridge that gap. MR. MALLOTT said the hope is that the commission will not just go away after its report is delivered, but will work to maintain a dialogue between the legislature and other stakeholders in some form. He also discussed Governor Knowles's expressed interest in holding a convention on the future of Alaska. REPRESENTATIVE KOOKESH commented that he appreciated that new members of the House are making a real effort to understand rural Alaska. However, he feared the rural advocacy position was going to be killed by a very vocal minority with money, the same as the subsistence vote. He said people are denying the urban/rural split. Alaska Natives just want to fit into the process, he said. The report cannot just sit on a shelf, but we would have to work hard to implement its recommendations. If there is a hole on one side of the boat, he said, we all have to be bailing. REPRESENTATIVE DYSON commented that we should not scan for the negative. He quoted Mr. Mitchell, who said the white folks in the urban areas have brought this on themselves. He said rural areas were disenfranchised by the one-man, one-vote decision of the U.S. Supreme Court and by the historic population shift to urban areas. He suggested part of the solution is to be able to reapportion the state Senate based on region, as it was originally in the state constitution, not by population. MR. MALLOTT acknowledged that in the next round of redistricting the situation will only get worse, but said he didn't know if anything could be done about it. Many Natives live in urban areas for many reasons, but still maintain connections to rural home villages. He said if we cannot articulate problems and solutions, Alaska is the one place in the nation where Balkanization can take place. What makes Alaska great, he said, is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Alaska is at a critical point in determining its future. Number 1650 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked why the Rural Governance Commission did not include a dialogue with legislative committees in its work to date. MR. MALLOTT responded that it was determined early on that the commission would be self-determining, rather than take a charge from the governor as to what it should be doing. He said he spent time with former Representative Ivan Ivan, the immediate past chair of the CRA committee, discussed the issues and obtained the work of the committee for the commission's consideration. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE referenced the Denali Commission and asked how we in state government can help it do its job. MR. MALLOTT said he had recently had lunch with the federal co-chair of the Denali Commission, who holds the levers of that body. He reported that he is very desirous of working with the Rural Governance Commission and recognizes that change has to happen, especially in how projects are delivered and maintained. The first appropriation by Congress of $20 million has been made for the Denali Commission's mission. Mr. Mallott said he wants to work with the Denali Commission, not in what they do, but how they do it. The over-riding need in rural Alaska is economic development so that the generations can continue, so that the children will have a reason to come home, that reason tied to jobs. He said the goal of building a steady economy in rural Alaska, tied to urban Alaska, is good for all of us. Number 1045 CO-CHAIRMAN HALCRO said he wants to extend the hand of the committee to work with the Rural Governance Commission during the interim to get ahead of the curve for next January. REPRESENTATIVE DYSON briefly discussed the urban Native population and asked if they feel disenfranchised or ignored as rural Natives do. MR. MALLOTT responded that changes in the corporations often emanate from the urban into the rural areas, and that discontent will be exhibited in urban areas before it will be in the villages. He invited committee staff to participate in the commission's meetings. Number 590 REPRESENTATIVE DYSON commented that his Native friends within the Municipality of Anchorage do not feel left out of power. On the other hand, the Eklutnas, who settled at their fish camp on the north side of the Anchorage bowl, were cut out of subsistence use at their own fish camp of 1000 years. This doesn't make sense. He wondered if urban Natives could vote in rural areas if they wanted to. MR. MALLOTT responded that although he has lived in Juneau since 1980, he voted in Yakutat until 1994, when he filed to run for Mayor of Juneau. He noted that while he is an urban Native and by all outward appearance content with his situation, underneath he is always reminded of who he is and his place in society. But he would not display any discontent, because that is who they are, and it would not be polite to do so. REPRESENTATIVE DYSON discussed his troubled youth and said he could relate to how Natives feel like outsiders. He struggles not to be outraged. TAPE 99-19, SIDE A Number 0100 MR. MALLOTT, responding to Representative Dyson's comments, told of a member of the commission, Lee Steffen, who started out the commission meetings in such a rage that Arliss Sturgulewski, another commission member, wondered what she was doing in such a situation. However, in the intervening year, in working with the commission, they have become good friends and are productive, contributing members. CO-CHAIRMAN HALCRO thanked Mr. Mallott for his report and adjourned the committee meeting at 9:53 a.m.