SCR 18: Requesting the governor to offer the United States Congress $10,000,000,000 in cash, or other terms that may be negotiated between the state and the federal government, to purchase all federal land, water, or land and water, including any surface or subsurface interests, in Alaska other than military reservations and federal offices, to have the federal government relinquish all dominion, control, and regulatory authority over all land, water, or land and water, including surface or subsurface interests, in Alaska other than military reservations and federal offices, and providing a bonus if certain federal agencies are removed from the state within six months of the federal sale to the state and relinquishment of control.
00SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 18 01 Requesting the governor to offer the United States Congress $10,000,000,000 in 02 cash, or other terms that may be negotiated between the state and the federal 03 government, to purchase all federal land, water, or land and water, including any 04 surface or subsurface interests, in Alaska other than military reservations and 05 federal offices, to have the federal government relinquish all dominion, control, 06 and regulatory authority over all land, water, or land and water, including 07 surface or subsurface interests, in Alaska other than military reservations and 08 federal offices, and providing a bonus if certain federal agencies are removed 09 from the state within six months of the federal sale to the state and 10 relinquishment of control. 11 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 12 WHEREAS, when the Territory of Alaska became a state, its citizens ratified a 13 compact with the federal government known as the Alaska Statehood Compact, which is 14 embodied in the Alaska Statehood Act that was passed by the Congress; and
01 WHEREAS compacts such as the Alaska Statehood Act are properly viewed as 02 contracts between sovereigns that may not be unilaterally altered by either party; and 03 WHEREAS the principle that the controlling terms of statehood acts may not be 04 altered unilaterally has been consistently upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 05 Cooper v. Roberts, 59 U.S. (18 How.) 173 (1855); Beecher v. Wetherby, 95 U.S. (5 Otto) 517 06 (1877); and Stearns v. Minnesota ex. rel. Marr, 179 U.S. 223 (1900); and 07 WHEREAS there are sufficient grounds for believing that the federal government has 08 violated this principle by unilaterally altering or attempting to alter important terms of the 09 Alaska Statehood Act and the Alaska Statehood Compact; and 10 WHEREAS a fair and proper resolution of this dispute may be for the state to 11 purchase or otherwise buy out the United States' interest in land, water, or land and water, 12 including all surface or subsurface interests, in Alaska; 13 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the governor to offer 14 the United States Congress $10,000,000,000, in cash or other terms that may be negotiated 15 between the state and the federal government, to (1) purchase all federal land, water, or land 16 and water, including all surface or subsurface interests, in Alaska other than military 17 reservations and federal offices; and (2) have the federal government relinquish all dominion, 18 control, and federal regulatory authority over all land, water, or land and water, including all 19 surface or subsurface interests, in Alaska other than military reservations and federal offices; 20 and be it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature will pay to the federal 22 government $500,000,000 if the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of 23 the Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and 24 all of their personnel, are removed from the state within six months of the (1) closing of the 25 sale of all federal land, water, or land and water, including all surface and subsurface interests, 26 and (2) relinquishment of all dominion, control, and regulatory authority over all land, water, 27 or land and water, including all surface or subsurface interests, in Alaska, as provided in this 28 resolution.