HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON WORLD TRADE AND STATE/FEDERAL RELATIONS October 19, 1999 1:00 p.m. COMMITTEE CALENDAR Presentation by Northern Forum TAPE(S) 99-17, SIDES A & B CALL TO ORDER REPRESENTATIVE RAMONA BARNES, Chair, convened the House Special Committee on World Trade and State/Federal Relations at 1:14 p.m. PRESENT Committee members present included Representatives Barnes, Cowdery, Berkowitz and Joule. Representative Phillips joined the meeting via telephone at approximately 1:30 p.m. SUMMARY OF INFORMATION JOHN DOYLE, Executive Director, Northern Forum, and Priscilla Wohl, Deputy Director/Secretary, Northern Forum, presented information about the Northern Forum. They discussed the Northern Forum's relation and importance to Alaska, including information about several issues and upcoming meetings in which the organization's members are interested. They invited the committee members to participate more fully with the organization and to keep a line of communication open between memberships. There was a question and answer period. MASAHIRO TAKEUCHI, a Registered Representative of the Hokaido Prefecture in Japan, works out of the Northern Forum offices in Anchorage. Mr. Takeuchi made a very brief statement of support. CHUCK BECKER, U.S. Commerce Department, arrived as the meeting was being adjourned. There was discussion of Chair Barnes' official invitation to the President of Azerbaijan. The invitation to visit Alaska was to be delivered by Mr. Becker. CHAIR BARNES offered, upon Speaker Porter's approval, the opportunity for Representative Phillips to join Representatives Cowdery, Berkowitz and Joule at a meeting on the Northern Sea Route issue to be held at St. Petersburg, Russia in November. Mr. Doyle emphasized that the meeting would be attended "by all the players" involved with the issue. CHAIR BARNES and committee members agreed upon the need to work on the difficulties presented by customs laws involving the Russian Far East. A letter is to be sent to the Russian Consul General in Seattle to arrange a meeting to discuss the issue, with involvement of the Alaska congressional delegation. COMMITTEE ACTION The committee took no action. ADJOURNMENT CHAIR BARNES adjourned the meeting at 2:41 p.m. NOTE: The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes taken. A copy of the tapes and log notes may be obtained by contacting the House Records Office at 130 Seward Street, Suite 211, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182, (907) 465-2214, and after adjournment of the second session of the Twenty-First Alaska State Legislature, in the Legislative Reference Library.