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Commission would recommend Arctic policy House Resources considers resolution to form Alaska Arctic Policy Commission to guide state approach to changing Arctic world Alan Bailey Petroleum News
Following a recommendation in the recently completed report of the Alaska Northern Waters Task Force, the Alaska Legislature is considering a resolution to establish an Alaska Arctic Policy Commission. The purpose of the commission, an entity within the legislative branch of state government, would be to formulate recommendations for an Alaska Arctic policy, with preliminary recommendations due by Jan. 30, 2014, and a final report required by Jan. 30, 2015.
Following referral of the resolution to the House Finances and Resources committees, House Resources reviewed the resolution on Feb. 20, moving the resolution out of committee with a couple of amendments.
16 members The resolution proposes that the commission would have 16 members. Three members would be state senators, including one from the minority party. Three members would be state representatives, again with one from the minority party. One member would be appointed by the governor to represent the executive branch of state government. And the other nine members would be drawn from various stakeholders in the Alaska Arctic: a tribal entity; a coastal community; the oil and gas industry; the mining industry; the fisheries; the University of Alaska; local government; the federal government; and an international Arctic organization.
The commission would be charged with holding meetings around the state to take public testimony and then developing a strategy to implement a state Arctic policy.
Proponents of the proposed commission say that, despite the opportunities and challenges of a changing Arctic, as the climate warms and sea ice recedes, Alaska does not have an official, written Arctic policy for addressing the changing situation. And, although the United States has a written national policy for the Arctic, Alaska needs its own policy if the state is to take a leadership role in the ongoing, international Arctic dialogue.
National policies Rep. Reggie Joule, sponsor of the resolution and erstwhile chair of the Alaska Northern Waters Task Force, told House Resources that Canada and Denmark have already published their Arctic policies. In 2013 Canada will take over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the inter-governmental forum of the eight Arctic nations. And with the United States becoming chair of the council two years later, North American countries will chair the council continuously for four years. As a result, Alaska will enjoy a heightened opportunity to influence international strategies and decisions for the Arctic, Joule said.
“That, in part, is why this resolution is here,” he said, adding that there is no strategy for implementing the U.S. national Arctic policy.
In Canada, the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut have developed a regional Arctic vision that could provide a model for the type of regional policy that Alaska could develop, Joule said.
Sovereignty Responding to a question from Rep. Alan Dick about Alaska constituents’ concerns about possible erosion of national sovereignty through international agreements, Joule said that, by doing nothing, Alaska would cede decision making to the national government.
“I think that our state has a little bit of independence and I believe that our state also would like to be able to influence some of the decisions that are being made at the federal level, but also potentially at the international level,” Joule said. “If anything, it would be asserting our sovereignty.”
And in response to a question from Rep. Paul Seaton about the purpose of the commission, Joule said that, although Alaska has already been involved in discussions around some of the current Arctic issues, an Alaska Arctic policy would ensure the continued engagement of the state in what is happening at the national and international level.
The resolution was passed out of the committee with two amendments: one specifying a requirement for Alaska residency for non-legislative members of the board other than the representative of the federal government, and the other stating that part of the purpose of adopting an Alaska Arctic policy would be a need to involve Arctic indigenous communities in policy decisions that affect them.
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