00HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18(O&G) am H                                                          
01 Requesting Exxon Mobil Corporation to pay claimants for court-ordered damages                                           
02 resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.                                                                              
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
04  WHEREAS, on March 24, 1989, at 12:04 a.m., the oil tanker Exxon Valdez grounded                                      
05 on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound resulting in a spill of 11,000,000 gallons of North                               
06 Slope crude oil along Alaska's shoreline; and                                                                           
07  WHEREAS, immediately following the spill, executives of Exxon Corporation                                            
08 promised the residents of the state that they would make Alaska whole again; and                                        
09  WHEREAS the oil spill killed or affected seabirds, sea otters, harbor seals, bald                                    
10 eagles, killer whales, salmon and herring eggs, and many tidal plants and animals, and has                              
11 caused long-term damage to the environment of Prince William Sound; and                                                 
12  WHEREAS the oil spill affected many communities; commercial, subsistence, and                                        
13 sport fishermen; tourism operators; subsistence gatherers; large and small businesses; and                              
14 others in the area; and                                                                                                 

01  WHEREAS, on September 16, 1994, an Alaska jury in the federal district court                                         
02 returned verdicts against Exxon Corporation to help compensate those affected by the spill;                             
03 the verdicts provided for payment of damages in the amount of nearly $5,300,000,000, of                                 
04 which $5,000,000,000 represents an award of punitive damages; and                                                       
05  WHEREAS, between 1994 and 1996, the federal district court judge denied numerous                                     
06 motions by Exxon Corporation to overturn or adjust the verdicts, and the corporation continues                          
07 to file motions that delay settlement of the case; and                                                                  
08  WHEREAS, between 1996 and today, Exxon Corporation filed two motions for new                                         
09 trials that were denied by the federal court; and                                                                       
10  WHEREAS oral arguments were held on May 3, 1999, on Exxon Corporation's appeal                                       
11 of the denial for its second motion for a new trial and, pending the outcome of this appeal,                            
12 the company may file a petition for further review to the United States Supreme Court; and                              
13  WHEREAS Exxon Corporation has prospered financially in the 11 years since the oil                                    
14 spill and has merged with Mobil Corporation to create the largest corporation in the world;                             
15 and                                                                                                                     
16  WHEREAS, 11 years after the oil spill and five years after the damage judgment,                                      
17 40,000 claimants are still waiting for payment of compensatory and punitive damages; 500                                
18 claimants have died since 1989; and                                                                                     
19  WHEREAS the majority of the claimants who are owed compensatory and punitive                                         
20 damages are working men and women with families, homes, mortgages, and financial                                        
21 obligations; and                                                                                                        
22  WHEREAS the petroleum industry plays a vital role in providing revenue,                                              
23 employment, and economic stability for the state; and                                                                   
24  WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature has encouraged development of the petroleum                                     
25 industry through incentives and partnerships; and                                                                       
26  WHEREAS, in order to foster partnerships between Exxon Mobil Corporation and the                                     
27 people of Alaska, Exxon Mobil Corporation must make good on its promise to make Alaska                                  
28 whole again, and pay its debt to the people of Alaska as prescribed by the court.                                       
29  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Exxon Mobil                                               
30 Corporation to immediately pay the compensatory damages awarded in the court-ordered                                    
31 judgment, and to pay the punitive damages, if affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,                           

01 without further delay or appeal.                                                                                        
02  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                              
03 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President                            
04 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States; the                                
05 Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable                                
06 Trent Lott, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; Robert Pitofsky, Chairman of the Federal                                
07 Trade Commission; Richard G. Parker, Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade                                     
08 Commission; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators,                                 
09 the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in                                       
10 Congress; and Lee R. Raymond, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Exxon                                 
11 Mobil Corporation.