News from the Senate Resources Committee

Alaska State Legislature

State Capitol, Room 121
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182
Phone: (907( 465-4958
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Senate Resources Committee Continues Subsistence Hearings

Panel Finds Little Support for Governor's Proposal

For Immediate Release: September 29, 1997 Contact: Senator Rick Halford at (907) 694-4958

Eagle River -- Winding down the "railbelt series" of Senate Resources Committee hearings on the Governor's subsistence proposal, Senator Rick Halford (R-Chugiak) announced an October 17th meeting in Galena to be among a series of hearings conducted in rural Alaska.

Hearings held last week in Fairbanks, Wasilla, Soldotna and Anchorage were well attended, but turned out scant support for the Governor's proposal. The Resources Committee heard oral testimony from 145 individuals during the hearings. Of those, 5 spoke in support of the plan as presented and another 20 favored the plan with modificiation. In addition to the oral testimony received by the committee, written testimony was also presented for the record. Of the 57 opinions tallied, 49 were opposed to the proposal.

"From all that we have heard over the past week of public testimony, it looks like the opposiing interests are moving further apart based on responses to the Governor's proposal," commented Resources Chairman Halford. "AFN's position, point by point, is directly contrary to almost all of the testimony we heard in the railbelt. The only exception was the belief that subsistence is an important individual right, which appears to be universally agreed to. How to discriminate in the application of that right, however, raises the ire of everyone."

The Resources Committee is currently scheduling additional hearings in the rural areas. A press advisory will follow with additional information as soon as it becomes available.

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