SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 14
INTRODUCED BY TROPILA, ROUSH
A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA REQUESTING AN INTERIM STUDY REGARDING THE MISSIONS AND OPERATION OF THE MONTANA NATIONAL GUARD FOR THE PURPOSES OF STATE ACTIVE DUTY PERFORMED TO MEET STATE EMERGENCIES.
WHEREAS, members of the Montana National Guard, like members of other states' National Guard organizations, serve in either a federal or a state status; and
WHEREAS, the alert system, mobilization and demobilization, deployment and redeployment, pay and benefits, retirement qualification and benefits, life and health insurance provisions, and death benefits for members of the National Guard serving in a federal active duty status are mostly established by federal law and regulation and are reviewed and studied from time to time by the Department of Defense and the United States Congress; and
WHEREAS, the same subjects for members of the Montana National Guard while serving in a state status on State Active Duty (SAD) are governed by state law and regulations of the Montana Department of Military Affairs; and
WHEREAS, SAD is used for many different kinds of state emergencies, including such emergencies as wildfire suppression and strikes at state institutions, and those types of emergencies are difficult to predict, requiring availability of forces, through a mobilization and deployment system, virtually 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year long; and
WHEREAS, there may be a need for more Montana National Guard members to serve more state duty in a SAD status in the future, for the purposes of reaction to weapons of mass destruction threats and for antiterrorist missions, because not every response by the National Guard to unidentified causes of emergencies can or will be paid for by the United States; and
WHEREAS, the necessity for SAD, the process by which National Guard members are called to SAD, the conditions under which members serve on SAD, the deployment and redeployment system, the benefits available to them on and after SAD, the laws under which they serve on SAD, and other practical and legal implications of SAD service have not ever been studied by the Legislature; and
WHEREAS, the service of members of the Montana National Guard on SAD is extremely important to the residents of Montana and to state and local governments in Montana because the state needs an organized, trained, and equipped force ready to respond to state emergencies at the call of the Governor; and
WHEREAS, it is therefore fitting and proper that the Legislature review all aspects of SAD in order to become informed regarding mechanisms and missions of SAD and to determine whether the laws governing the National Guard need to be updated or otherwise changed to enhance the execution of SAD missions and to reflect national and state priorities for the use of the Montana National Guard while on SAD.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
That the Legislative Council be requested to designate an appropriate committee, pursuant to section 5-5-217, MCA, or direct sufficient staff resources to work in collaboration with the Department of Military Affairs and other appropriate groups to:
(1) receive information from the Department of Military Affairs and other federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as persons from the private sector, to determine what aspects of SAD function well and those aspects that need further attention by the Legislature;
(2) examine the method by which state emergencies are declared and ended and the system by which the Montana National Guard is alerted, mobilized, deployed, and redeployed and serves on SAD;
(3) study the preparation, training, mission, and tasks of the Montana National Guard as they relate to the type of emergency for which the Guard is placed on SAD;
(4) study the pay, benefits, and support furnished members of the National Guard while being called to, serving on, and completing SAD;
(5) study the types of emergencies for which the National Guard has been called to SAD and the types of emergencies for which it may be called to SAD in the future and determine how well current practices and statutes relate to those missions; and
(6) examine the laws under which the National Guard is called to duty and executes its SAD missions, to determine whether to ascertain the appropriateness of those laws, given the National Guard's past, present, and future missions while on SAD.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that, if the study is assigned to staff, any findings or conclusions be presented to and reviewed by an appropriate committee designated by the Legislative Council.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that all aspects of the study, including presentation and review requirements, be concluded prior to September 15, 2006.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the final results of the study, including any findings, conclusions, comments, or recommendations of the appropriate committee, be reported to the 60th Legislature.
- END -
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