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SENATE BILL NO. 120
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON
Introduced: 3/5/25
Referred: State Affairs, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act establishing the Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response Commission; 1
and relating to the powers and duties of the Alaska Climate Change Emergency 2
Response Commission." 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
* Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 5
to read: 6
FINDINGS. The legislature finds that a state of emergency exists because of the threat 7
climate change poses on communities in the state, the state economy, traditional ways of life, 8
fish and game populations, and natural ecosystems. 9
* Sec. 2. AS 44.19 is amended by adding new sections to read: 10
Article 6. Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response Commission. 11
Sec. 44.19.651. Commission established. The Alaska Climate Change 12
Emergency Response Commission is established in the Office of the Governor. 13
Sec. 44.19.653. Composition of commission. (a) The commission consists of 14 34-LS0073\A
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15 members, six of whom are departmental representatives who serve by virtue of 1
office, and nine of whom are municipal representatives. 2
(b) The following departmental representatives shall serve by virtue of office: 3
(1) the commissioner of fish and game; 4
(2) the commissioner of environmental conservation; 5
(3) the commissioner of natural resources; 6
(4) the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic 7
development; 8
(5) the commissioner of transportation and public facilities; 9
(6) the director of the division in the Department of Commerce, 10
Community, and Economic Development responsible for community and regional 11
affairs. 12
(c) The governor shall appoint nine municipal representatives to the 13
commission. Each municipal representative must be a mayor or member of an 14
assembly or council of a municipality. The governor shall appoint one municipal 15
representative from each of the following general regions: 16
(1) Northwest Alaska, including, generally, the area of the North Slope 17
Borough and the Northwest Arctic Borough; 18
(2) Bering Strait area, including, generally, the area of the Bering Strait 19
regional educational attendance area; 20
(3) Southwest Alaska, including, generally, the area within the Lower 21
Yukon, Lower Kuskokwim, and Southwest regional educational attendance areas and 22
the Lake and Peninsula and Bristol Bay Boroughs; 23
(4) Kodiak-Aleutians area, including the area of the Kodiak Island and 24
Aleutians East Boroughs and the Aleutian, Adak, and Pribilof regional educational 25
attendance areas; 26
(5) Upper Cook Inlet area, including the Municipality of Anchorage 27
and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; 28
(6) Lower Cook Inlet area, including, generally, the area within the 29
Kenai Peninsula Borough; 30
(7) Prince William Sound area, including, generally, the area east of 31 34-LS0073\A
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the Kenai Peninsula Borough to 141 West longitude; 1
(8) northern Southeast Alaska, including the area southeast of 141 2
degrees West longitude and north of 57 degrees North latitude and the entirety of the 3
City and Borough of Sitka; and 4
(9) southern Southeast Alaska, including the portion of Southeast 5
Alaska not contained in the area described in (8) of this subsection. 6
(d) Municipal representatives serve at the pleasure of the governor. Municipal 7
representatives serve staggered terms of three years, until reappointed or replaced. A 8
municipal representative may be reappointed. If a municipal representative ceases to 9
be a mayor, assembly member, or council member in the municipality the governor 10
appointed the representative to represent, that representative's seat becomes vacant. If 11
a municipal representative's seat becomes vacant for any reason before the expiration 12
of that representative's term, the governor shall, within 30 days after the occurrence of 13
the vacancy, appoint a municipal representative from the same region to serve the 14
unexpired portion of the term. 15
(e) The commission shall, by majority vote, elect co-chairs. One co-chair shall 16
be a departmental representative member, and one co-chair shall be a municipal 17
representative member. 18
Sec. 44.19.655. Compensation. Members of the commission serve without 19
compensation but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses authorized for boards 20
and commissions under AS 39.20.180. 21
Sec. 44.19.657. Meetings. Three departmental representative members 22
designated under AS 44.19.653(b) and four municipal representative members 23
appointed under AS 44.19.653(c) constitute a quorum for conducting business and 24
exercising the powers of the commission. The commission shall meet at least 25
quarterly, at the call of a co-chair, at the request of the majority of the members, or at a 26
regularly scheduled time as determined by a majority of the members. The 27
commission shall keep a record of its proceedings and make the record available for 28
public inspection. 29
Sec. 44.19.659. Alternate members. (a) Each member of the commission 30
shall have a permanent alternate to serve at meetings of the commission as follows: 31 34-LS0073\A
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(1) for a municipal representative member appointed under 1
AS 44.19.653(c), the governor shall appoint a permanent alternate who, at the time of 2
appointment and throughout the period of service as a permanent alternate, is the 3
mayor or a member of the assembly or council of a municipality within the region 4
from which the permanent member was appointed; in appointing a permanent alternate 5
under this paragraph, the governor shall consider the recommendations of the 6
permanent member; 7
(2) for a departmental representative member designated under 8
AS 44.19.653(b)(1) - (5), a deputy commissioner of the relevant department or the 9
director of a division of the department; and 10
(3) for a departmental representative member designated under 11
AS 44.19.653(b)(6), the member's designee within that office. 12
(b) A member of the commission who is unable to attend a meeting shall 13
advise the permanent alternate, who may attend the meeting and act in the place of the 14
member. 15
Sec. 44.19.661. Executive director. The commission may employ an 16
executive director who serves at the pleasure of the commission. The executive 17
director may not be a member of the commission. The executive director may contract 18
with or employ personnel or consultants that the executive director considers 19
necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the commission. The executive 20
director is in the exempt service under AS 39.25 (State Personnel Act). 21
Sec. 44.19.663. Powers of the commission. The commission may 22
(1) apply for and accept grants, contributions, and appropriations, 23
including application for and acceptance of federal, international, or private funds that 24
may become available for financing infrastructure adaptation, renewable energy 25
technology, community relocation, food and transportation security, education and 26
research, or other needs related to climate change; 27
(2) contract for necessary services; 28
(3) consult and cooperate with 29
(A) public or private persons, organizations, and groups 30
interested in, affected by, or concerned with climate change effects and 31 34-LS0073\A
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response; 1
(B) climate scientists holding doctorate degrees who are 2
affiliated with an academic or nonprofit institution; and 3
(C) agents and officials in the different regions of the state and 4
federal and state agencies concerned with or having jurisdiction over climate 5
change effects and response; 6
(4) establish the duties of the executive director of the commission; 7
(5) assess fees for grant writing and other assistance; and 8
(6) take any reasonable action necessary to carry out the provisions of 9
AS 44.19.651 - 44.19.672. 10
Sec. 44.19.665. Duties of the commission. The commission shall 11
(1) prepare a strategic response plan to address climate change threats 12
that includes 13
(A) identification of areas in the state and sectors of the state 14
economy that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change; 15
(B) options for assisting communities and sectors of the 16
economy identified as being particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate 17
change; and 18
(C) identification of specific threats posed by climate change 19
on areas in the state and sectors of the state economy and a course of action to 20
address the identified threats; 21
(2) provide grant writing and general assistance to governmental and 22
nongovernmental entities in the state on climate change response issues, prioritizing 23
assistance to rural governments, nonprofits serving rural areas, and tribal 24
organizations; 25
(3) develop a program for the distribution of funds to assist local 26
governments to respond to climate change effects; 27
(4) establish continuing coordination among state agencies to facilitate 28
the development and implementation of the climate change response strategy; 29
(5) coordinate with the University of Alaska in efforts to seek out 30
grants or other aid for climate change education and research; 31 34-LS0073\A
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(6) inform the public of available assistance for responding to climate 1
change effects, including an outreach program to rural governments, nonprofits 2
serving rural areas, and tribal organizations; 3
(7) advance the implementation of technology that provides for 4
renewable energy, local food systems, and adaptive infrastructure in the state by 5
recommending legislation and policies to incentivize its development; 6
(8) monitor and report on the effects of climate change on existing 7
infrastructure, ecosystems, geophysical features, and communities in the state; 8
(9) identify opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from in-9
state sources, including the expanded use of alternative fuels, energy conservation, 10
energy efficiency, renewable energy, land use management, and transportation 11
planning; and 12
(10) recommend legislative and administrative action to implement the 13
climate change response strategy. 14
Sec. 44.19.667. Fees. The commission shall adopt regulations under AS 44.62 15
(Administrative Procedure Act) to establish fees for grant writing or other assistance 16
provided to a client by the commission. The fees must be based on a sliding scale 17
formula that takes into account the client's need. A client that is a governmental or 18
tribal entity may not be charged a fee. 19
Sec. 44.19.669. Annual report and recommendations. The commission shall 20
submit to the governor and the legislature an annual report of the activities of the 21
commission for the previous calendar year that includes a list of threats identified by 22
the commission, an assessment of progress in addressing the threats, an assessment of 23
compliance with the strategic response plan, and any recommendations for legislative 24
and administrative action. The commission shall submit a report under this section not 25
later than February 1 of each year and shall deliver the report to the senate secretary 26
and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the 27
report is available. 28
Sec. 44.19.672. Definition. In AS 44.19.651 - 44.19.672, "commission" means 29
the Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response Commission. 30
* Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 31 34-LS0073\A
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read: 1
TERMS OF INITIAL MEMBERS OF THE ALASKA CLIMATE CHANGE 2
EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMISSION. Notwithstanding AS 39.05.055, the governor 3
shall appoint the initial members of the Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response 4
Commission under AS 44.19.653(c) to staggered terms as follows: 5
(1) three members shall be appointed to serve three years; 6
(2) three members shall be appointed to serve two years; and 7
(3) three members shall be appointed to serve one year. 8
* Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 9
read: 10
TRANSITION: WRITTEN INFORMATION FROM CLIMATE CHANGE SUB-11
CABINET. The governor shall provide all written reports, recommendations, and research 12
developed by the Climate Change Sub-Cabinet established under Administrative Order No. 13
238 to the Alaska Climate Change Emergency Response Commission established under 14
AS 44.19.651 within 30 days after the effective date of this Act. 15