00                         SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1                                                                        
01 Establishing a Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs.                                                              
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:                                                                                           
03       WHEREAS the Arctic is critical to the state for economic, strategic, and                                        
04 environmental reasons; and                                                                                              
05       WHEREAS there are converging global interests in the Arctic, focusing on, among                                 
06 other interests, minerals, fish stocks, oil and gas reserves, military dominance, rare earth                            
07 minerals, and shipping routes; and                                                                                      
08       WHEREAS approximately 18 percent of the state's population is made up of                                        
09 Indigenous peoples, many of whom rely on subsistence hunting and fishing and could be                                   
10 significantly affected by shifting and increasing activity in the Arctic; and                                           
11 WHEREAS, in supporting the vital interests of the United States in the Arctic, the                                    
12 legislature should take an active role in exploring opportunities to highlight the state's                              
13 strategic importance and identify advancements necessary to maintain the state's critical                               
14 global position;                                                                                                        
15       BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate that a Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs                                  
16 is established to study issues relating to the Arctic; and be it                                                        

01       FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the Senate shall appoint five senators                                   
02 to be members of the Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs and designate two members                               
03 to serve as co-chairs; and be it                                                                                        
04 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs may                                              
05 meet during and between sessions of the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature and is                                   
06 terminated on the convening of the First Regular Session of the Thirty-Fifth Alaska State                               
07 Legislature.