00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 14                                                                     
01 Urging the United States Congress to enact Senate Bill 552 so that individuals receiving                                
02 a damage award from the Exxon Valdez oil spill can benefit from the income averaging                                    
03 and retirement contribution provisions of the bill.                                                                     
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS it is well documented that the Exxon Valdez oil spill has adversely                                     
06 affected the coastal region of the state and affected the economic status of communities in this                        
07 region for many years; and                                                                                              
08       WHEREAS the state's commercial fishermen, who make up 80 percent of the                                         
09 plaintiffs seeking to recover damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, suffered economically                            
10 as a result of the oil spill, and as a result lost the opportunity to establish retirement plans or                     
11 were limited in their ability to save for retirement; and                                                               
12       WHEREAS these Alaskans would benefit from the contributions to retirement                                       
13 accounts they could make by using money received from the award of damages; and                                         
14       WHEREAS Senate Bill 552 would benefit these commercial fishermen by                                             
15 authorizing increases in the deductions and income caps applicable to traditional individual                            

01 retirement accounts, Roth IRAs, and other qualified retirement plans to the extent of the                               
02 amount of the damage award; and                                                                                         
03       WHEREAS the bill would authorize individual plaintiffs to average income from the                               
04 award for tax purposes over the period January 1, 1994, through the end of the year in which                            
05 the award is made;                                                                                                      
06       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                        
07 Congress to enact Senate Bill 552 as introduced by Senator Murkowski and Senator Stevens                                
08 to provide relief to those individuals who suffered economic damages as a result of the Exxon                           
09 Valdez oil spill.                                                                                                       
10       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent by electronic transmission and by mail to the                           
11 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable                                
12 Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and to all                                
13 members of the 110th United States Congress by electronic transmission.