00Enrolled SJR 17                                                                                                         
01 Urging the United States Congress to provide a means for consistently sharing, on an ongoing                            
02 basis, revenue generated from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf with all                           
03 coastal energy-producing states to ensure that those states develop, support, and maintain                              
04 necessary infrastructure and preserve environmental integrity.                                                          
05                                         _______________                                                                 
06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
07      WHEREAS, under the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920, the federal government                                     
08 shares with the states 50 percent of revenue from mineral production on federal land within                             
09 each state's boundaries; and                                                                                            
10      WHEREAS the shared mineral production revenue is distributed to the states                                       
11 automatically, outside of the budget process, and is not subject to appropriation; and                                  
12      WHEREAS there is not a similar authority for the federal government to share federal                             
13 oil and gas revenue generated on the outer continental shelf with adjacent coastal states,                              
14 despite the vital contribution made by those states to our nation's energy, economic, and                               
15 national security needs in support of production from the outer continental shelf; and                                  
16      WHEREAS the states that sustain this critical energy production and development                                  

01 deserve a share of the revenue generated because they provide infrastructure to support                                 
02 offshore operations and because of the environmental effects and other risks associated with                            
03 oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf; and                                                             
04      WHEREAS, under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, the federal                                     
05 government recognized the contributions made by Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and                                    
06 Texas to national security and agreed to give them 37.5 percent of revenue from oil and gas                             
07 development in newly leased federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico; and                                                   
08      WHEREAS other coastal states, including Alaska and California, also support and                                  
09 should receive, on a regular and ongoing basis, a fair share of revenue generated through                               
10 development on the outer continental shelf as compensation and reward for their contributions                           
11 to the nation's energy supply, security, and economy; and                                                               
12      WHEREAS there are presently 263 active oil and gas leases off Alaska's coast,                                    
13 covering more than 550,000 hectares; and                                                                                
14      WHEREAS, since statehood, oil and gas production from the outer continental shelf                              
15 off Alaska's coast has generated millions of dollars in revenue for the federal government; and                         
16      WHEREAS the February 2008 lease sale in the Chukchi Sea generated an additional                                  
17 $2,600,000,000 in revenue for the federal government;                                                                   
18      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                         
19 Congress to provide a means for consistently sharing, on an ongoing basis, revenue generated                            
20 from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf with all coastal energy-producing                           
21 states to ensure that those states develop, support, and maintain necessary infrastructure and                          
22 preserve environmental integrity.                                                                                       
23      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                               
24 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States                              
25 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, United States Secretary of                             
26 the Interior; the Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable                               
27 Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker                                
28 of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable John Boehner, Minority Leader of the                                
29 U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Jeff Bingaman, Chair of the U.S. Senate                                    
30 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable                                  
31 Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative,                                        

01 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 110th United                                 
02 States Congress.