ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE  May 1, 2018 9:03 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Justin Parish, Co-Chair Representative Tiffany Zulkosky, Co-Chair Representative John Lincoln Representative David Talerico Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (alternate) MEMBERS ABSENT  Representative Harriet Drummond Representative George Rauscher Representative Dan Saddler Representative DeLena Johnson (alternate) COMMITTEE CALENDAR  HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 8 Requesting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to locate its Alaska- focused employees, programs, and assets in the state. - MOVED HR 8 OUT OF COMMITTEE PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  BILL: HR 8 SHORT TITLE: LOCATE NOAA'S ALASKA ASSETS IN THE STATE SPONSOR(s): COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS 04/30/18 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 04/30/18 (H) CRA 05/01/18 (H) CRA AT 9:00 AM BARNES 124 WITNESS REGISTER No witnesses to record ACTION NARRATIVE 9:03:04 AM CO-CHAIR TIFFANY ZULKOSKY called the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 9:03 a.m. Representatives Talerico, Lincoln, Kreiss-Tomkins (alternate), Parish, and Zulkosky were present at the call to order. HR 8-LOCATE NOAA'S ALASKA ASSETS IN THE STATE  9:03:43 AM CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the only order of business would be HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 8, Requesting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to locate its Alaska- focused employees, programs, and assets in the state. 9:04:03 AM REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS presented HR 8, which is sponsored by the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee. He paraphrased the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: House Resolution 8 requests the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) headquarter in Alaska as many Alaska-focused assets in Alaska as possible. NOAA has a two-fold mission in Alaska: management and scientific research. To fulfill NOAA's mission, the Alaska Regional Office is responsible for regional management and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) is responsible for regional scientific research. While the Alaska Regional Office is headquartered in Juneau, the AFSC is headquartered in Seattle. The Auke Bay Laboratories, housed in the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute, are a division of AFSC, and house approximately 60 full-time employees as well as 20 additional full-time contractors. Currently, the AFSC director is based in Juneau, Alaska. The resolution specifically requests NOAA fully staff the Auke Bay Laboratories. The Auke Bay Laboratories could hold 20 to 30 additional staff or contractors, contingent on federal funding. Additionally, the resolution asks that the Alaska Fisheries Science Center Director remain based in Juneau. 9:05:58 AM CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY opened public testimony on HR 8. After ascertaining there was no one who wished to testify, she closed public testimony. 9:06:17 AM REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO expressed appreciation for HR 8. He noted that the fourth "whereas" clause states that the Alaska Fisheries Science Center is located in Seattle, and he remarked that there would be "a wild and crazy outcry" if there was a Washington Fisheries Science Center located in Portland, Oregon, because "that just makes absolutely no sense at all." He described the proposed resolution as appropriate and said he thinks it would help. He expressed hope that Alaska's congressional delegation would have "incredible success with this." 9:07:12 AM CO-CHAIR PARISH stated that he was glad to see HR 8 come forward, and he expressed appreciation of the congressional delegation for bringing the issue to the attention of the Alaska State Legislature in an effort to get Alaska fisheries research in Alaska. 9:07:43 AM CO-CHAIR PARISH moved to report HR 8 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. 9:08:04 AM The committee took a brief at-ease at 9:08 a.m. 9:08:21 AM CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that there being no objection, HR 8 was reported out of the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee. 9:08:37 AM ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business before the committee, the House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:09 a.m.