Alaska
State Legislature
News from the Joint Committee on Military Bases
| Rep. Pete Kelly, Co-Chair Rep. Eldon Mulder Rep. Richard Foster Rep. REggie Joule |
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Sen. Tim
Kelly, Co-Chair |
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Public Members 716 W Fourth Ave., Suite
400 · Anchorage, AK 99501 · Phone (907) 258-8180 · Fax
(907) 258-4524 |
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Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press
Secretary, (907) 258-8184
Jerry Ritter, House Majority Press Secretary, (907) 258-8164
716 W Fourth Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99801
Actuality line: 1-800-478-6540
web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org
Joint Committee on Military Bases Meets
Effort to Protect Alaska Military Installations Begins
For Immediate Release: July 10, 1998 Contact: Sen. Tim Kelly at (907) 258-8180 or Rep. Pete Kelly at (907) 456-8161.
Anchorage -- Representative Pete Kelly (R-Fairbanks) and Senator Tim Kelly (R-Anchorage) will co-chair the Legislature's new Joint Committee on Military Bases in Alaska. The committee held its organizational meeting at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office Friday. The committee will hold its second meeting in Fairbanks in November.
"We're getting an early start in the fight to protect Alaska's military bases, and the people who work there, from any attempts to close them," Rep. Pete Kelly said. "We will be aggressively looking for new missions and new opportunities to expand their role in the defense of our nation."
Senator Tim Kelly noted that Alaska lost two bases in 1995, when the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) decided to close the Naval Air Facility on Adak and to realign the Army's functions at Fort Greely in Delta Junction. "The Defense Department is pushing hard for two more rounds of bases closures in the years 2001 and 2005," said Senator Kelly. "Alaska's bases provide unprecedented military value to our nation and our state and must be protected from short-sighted budget cuts."
Other members of the committee are: Senators Al Adams (D-Kotzebue); Randy Phillips (R-Eagle River); and Gary Wilken (R-Fairbanks), and Representatives Richard Foster (D-Nome); Reggie Joule (D-Kotzebue); and Eldon Mulder (R-Anchorage). Non-legislative members are: Judge Sigurd Murphy representing the Adjutant General; Fairbanks businessman Ralph Seekins; and George Vakalis, Operations Manager for the Municipality of Anchorage.
"Our committee's first decision was to form a Citizens' Advisory Board to give Alaskans the chance to get involved in this important effort," Rep. Pete Kelly said. "Strong public support from across the state will be the key to winning this battle."
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Broadcasters note: Comments
are available on the Majority Actuality Line 1-800-478-6540
= Tim Kelly, 14 K
By the House Finance Committee
Amended: 4/21/98
Amended: 4/14/98
Sponsor(s): REPRESENTATIVES MULDER, Dyson, Foster, Croft, Ivan,
Kott, Hudson SENATORS Duncan, Kelly, Phillips, Lincoln, Leman,
Sharp, Pearce, Taylor, Wilken, Mackie, Donley, Torgerson, Ward,
Parnell
"An Act establishing the Joint Committee on Military Bases in Alaska; and providing for an effective date."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE STATE OF ALASKA:
* Section 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that
(1) the Secretary of Defense, in both the Quadrennial Defense Review and the Defense Reform Initiative, has called for the reestablishment of a Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) to conduct two new rounds of military base closures;
(2) all military bases in Alaska are scheduled for review and evaluation for potential placement on the closure list;
(3) the strategic location of the state's military bases, their unparalleled training and maneuver areas, and their modern facilities represent an asset of unmatched military value to the nation;
(4) the total economic value the military adds to the state exceeds $1,700,000,000 annually;
(5) any new base closure or realignment actions in the state would create serious economic and socioeconomic effects for the communities where they are located; and
(6) the closure of Adak Naval Air Facility and realignment of army activities at Fort Greely by the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission continues to create challenges for communities committed to their productive reuse and integration into the state's economy.
* Sec. 2. JOINT COMMITTEE ON MILITARY BASES IN ALASKA. (a) The Joint Committee on Military Bases in Alaska is established as a permanent interim committee of the legislature.
(b) The committee is composed of
(1) four members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature; three of these members shall be members of the majority, and one shall be a member of the minority;
(2) four members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature; three of these members shall be members of the majority, and one shall be a member of the minority;
(3) an individual who is a state resident other than a member of the state legislature and who is appointed jointly by the president of the senate of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature and the speaker of the house of representatives of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature after considering the recommendation of the mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage;
(4) an individual who is a state resident other than a member of the state legislature and who is appointed jointly by the president of the senate of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature and the speaker of the house of representatives of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature after considering the recommendation of the mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough; and
(5) an individual who is a state resident other than a member of the state legislature and who is appointed jointly by the president of the senate of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature and the speaker of the house of representatives of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature after considering the recommendation of the adjutant general of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs.
(c) Members serve until the committee terminates, except that a person appointed under (b)(1) or (2) of this section ceases being a committee member when the person ceases being a member of the legislature.
(d) When a vacancy occurs in the membership of the committee, the presiding officer of the house incurring the vacancy shall fill the vacancy within 30 days. If the office of the presiding officer becomes vacant and a vacancy occurs among the members of the committee, the remaining committee members from the house incurring the vacancy shall appoint a new member.
(e) The committee shall
(1) monitor the military base realignment and closure activities of the federal government for bases in the state;
(2) work on specific realignments and closures proposed by the federal government for bases in the state;
(3) work with the state's congressional delegation regarding federal military base realignments and closings in the state;
(4) attend meetings and hearings related to federal realignments and closures of military bases in the state and provide testimony as necessary; and
(5) review the effect on the state and its communities of federal realignments and closures of military bases in the state.
(f) Six members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee to do business. The committee members select the chair of the committee.
(g) The committee may meet during sessions of the legislature and during intervals between sessions at the times and places as the chair of the committee may determine and may hold public hearings as necessary. Whenever possible, meetings shall be teleconferenced to reduce travel cost.
(h) Members of the committee receive the same travel and per diem allowances provided by law for members of the legislature.
(i) The committee shall prepare and submit a report of its activities to the legislature on or before the first day of November of the year prior to the convening of the First Session of the Twenty-Second Alaska State Legislature.
(j) The committee terminates on the day the Twenty-Second Alaska State Legislature convenes.
(k) In this section, "committee" means the Joint Committee on Military Bases in Alaska.
* Sec. 3. This Act is repealed on the day the Twenty-Second Alaska State Legislature convenes.
* Sec. 4. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).