Governor Mike Dunleavy recently signed into law the Ellie Mae Act to provide support to statewide volunteer search and rescue organizations at no cost to the state. Senate Bill 95 allows volunteer search and rescue organizations to exercise the right of first refusal on items related to search and rescue before the property is sold, leased, licensed, or disposed of.
Bill sponsor, Sen. David Wilson, told the senate floor last year:
“This bill provides a small assistance to help those groups at no cost to the state. It allows organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups in the state to exercise the right of first refusal; surplus property related to search and rescue activities in the state before it is sent to state auction or otherwise disposed of. Currently, the way the system works now is before a state property goes to auction, it is given to other state departments or programs to see if it could be used before it is disposed of.”
Sen. Wilson added:
“This bill, Senate Bill 95, allows these volunteer search and rescue groups and organizations to exercise that right of first refusal before it goes to the general public, before it is disposed of or before it goes to general auction. Those properties, the state of Alaska Department of Administration can help set those fair market value rates for that, so those search and rescue groups will be able to bid on before it goes to the general public for reutilization.”
Search and Rescue organizations are dispatched by the Alaska State Troopers across the state and this legislation allows those groups to exercise the right of first refusal on items that may be used for search and rescue before they are put up for auction to the public. This would come at no additional cost to the state of Alaska. According to report, while groups may be reimbursed for expenses incurred during specific operations, search and rescue services are provided at a minimal cost to the State of Alaska. There are nearly 1,100 search and rescue volunteers statewide.
The Ellie Mae Act was named in honor of a service dog as they are critical in search and rescue operations statewide.
Transcribed audio courtesy of KTOO 360TV.
