00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 30                                                                     
01 Disapproving the Local Boundary Commission recommendation regarding the                                                 
02 annexation of territory to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.                                                               
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS under art. X, sec. 12, Constitution of the State of Alaska, the Local                                   
05 Boundary Commission has presented to the legislature its recommendation regarding the                                   
06 annexation of territory to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough; and                                                           
07       WHEREAS a recommendation of the Local Boundary Commission presented to the                                      
08 legislature becomes effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, whichever                        
09 is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by the majority of the members of                           
10 each house; and                                                                                                         
11       WHEREAS the legislature recognizes the constitutional authority of the Local                                    
12 Boundary Commission as a disinterested party assigned the task of objectively reviewing                                 
13 local boundary changes; and                                                                                             
14       WHEREAS the Ketchikan Gateway Borough submitted an application to the Local                                     
15 Boundary Commission to annex lands outside of the current borough boundaries in 1999 and,                               
16 most recently, in 2007; and                                                                                             

01       WHEREAS the applications for annexation in 1999 and in 2007 were substantially                                  
02 similar; and                                                                                                            
03       WHEREAS the Local Boundary Commission refused to approve the application in                                     
04 1999; and                                                                                                               
05       WHEREAS the Local Boundary Commission approved the application in 2007                                          
06 despite the grounds for approval being completely contrary to the 1999 decision; and                                    
07       WHEREAS the Local Boundary Commission in approving the application also                                         
08 directed the Ketchikan Gateway Borough to file a petition to annex Hyder within five years,                             
09 but failed to include that directive in its Order in the Statement of Decision; and                                     
10       WHEREAS approval of the annexation would result in the loss of approximately                                    
11 $1,200,000 of federal funding each year to the school districts in the unorganized borough                              
12 because this money would be transferred to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, despite the fact                              
13 that the Ketchikan Gateway Borough will not provide any educational services in the area                                
14 recommended for annexation; and                                                                                         
15       WHEREAS the effect of the annexation on the surrounding unorganized borough was                                 
16 not properly taken into consideration by the Local Boundary Commission;                                                 
17       BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the recommendation of the                                   
18 Local Boundary Commission received by the legislature in January 2008 regarding the                                     
19 annexation of the territory to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough is disapproved.