Arizona § 26-261 - Military affairs commission; confidential discussions and information; definition

§ 26-261. Military affairs commission; confidential discussions and information; definition

A. The military affairs commission is established.  The commission membership consists of:

1. Sixteen members who are appointed by the governor and who include the following:

(a) Twelve members who reside in a community in which a military installation is located. Of this group, six members shall have expertise in military affairs and six members shall be local elected officials.

(b) Four members who represent private property interests in the territory in the vicinity as defined in section 28-8461 or in a community in which a military installation is located.

2. One member who represents private property interests in the territory in the vicinity as defined in section 28-8461 or in a community in which a military installation is located and who is appointed by the president of the senate.

3. One member who represents private property interests in the territory in the vicinity as defined in section 28-8461 or in a community in which a military installation is located and who is appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

4. Four nonvoting advisory members who are not counted for the purpose of determining a quorum consisting of:

(a) The adjutant general or a designee of the adjutant general.

(b) A representative of a military installation commander who is appointed by the governor.

(c) A representative from a federal agency involved in land use issues who is appointed by the governor.

(d) The state land commissioner or a designee of the commissioner.

B. The military affairs commission shall have geographic diversity in its membership. The governor shall designate two of the governor's appointees as cochairpersons of the commission.  Members or designees of the commission shall not send alternates to represent them at commission meetings. The voting members shall serve six-year terms.

C. The department of emergency and military affairs shall staff the commission.

D. The commission shall:

1. Meet at least annually.

2. Meet on a regular basis with the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, either individually or collectively, to provide recommendations on military issues and report on the progress of the military affairs commission.

3. Annually meet with the appropriate legislative committees that have jurisdiction over military installations.

4. Advise the governor and the legislature on matters affecting the operational viability of Arizona military facilities, including military installations, military training routes, military restricted airspace, military ranges or areas under the jurisdiction of an active unit of the uniformed armed services of the United States or any reserve or national guard component of the uniformed armed services of the United States.

5. Develop criteria, including accountability requirements, for awarding monies from the military installation fund established by section 26-262.

6. Review applications for monies to be awarded from the military installation fund.

7. Annually recommend to the department of emergency and military affairs a priority listing of monies with available resources.

8. Recommend to the department of emergency and military affairs how the monies in the military installation fund should be awarded.

9. Proactively assist with coordination among the United States military operating in Arizona, the congressional delegation, the governor, the state legislature and state and local leaders.

10. Recommend executive, legislative and federal actions necessary to sustain military operations and enhance the state's preparedness to respond to potential new missions and prevent military facilities from closure or downsizing.

11. Study issues relating to veterans, active duty, national guard and reserve members of the United States armed forces and other military quality of life issues.

E. Discussions that are related to the federal government's process to determine the closure, realignment, relocation, expansion or forced structure reduction of military installations and to proprietary alternatives to this state's military base closure or realignment strategies are not subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1.

F. Information that is developed or obtained by the commission that pertains to proprietary strategies of the commission or that is related to the relocation of military units is confidential and is not subject to title 39, chapter 1, including documents related to the federal government's process to determine the closure, realignment, relocation, expansion or forced structure reduction of military installations until the federal government has issued a final, unappealable decision in that process or, in the event of litigation, a court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final, unappealable order regarding the closure, realignment, relocation, expansion or forced structure reduction of the military installations. If the commission enters into a confidentiality agreement with a third party, the commission may disclose information that is deemed confidential pursuant to this subsection to that third party.

G. For the purposes of this section, "military installation" means a military airport or ancillary military facility as defined in section 28-8461 or any real property that services, supports or is used by the military.