HCR 3: Establishing the Joint Committee on Federal Overreach.
00 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 3 01 Establishing the Joint Committee on Federal Overreach. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 WHEREAS, in recognition of the powers reserved to the states and people under the 04 Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the State of Alaska has a right to 05 review and voice concerns to federal authorities about actions taken by the federal 06 government that encroach on state affairs to a deeper and greater extent than permitted by 07 law; and 08 WHEREAS the legislature has cause for concern when federal officials and 09 departments overreach their constitutional and lawful mandate and compromise the capacity 10 of state government, through measures such as 11 (1) abrogating the "No More Clause" of the Alaska National Interest Lands 12 Conservation Act; 13 (2) the use by the United States Environmental Protection Agency of 14 administrative decisions to involve itself in the permitting process of development projects 15 occurring exclusively on state land; 16 (3) the implementation of the National Ocean Policy with regard to arctic
01 shores and the reach of the mandate traversing coasts into inland waterways of the state; and 02 (4) the use on state lands and waterways by federal officials of the Endangered 03 Species Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act, adversely affecting the state's right 04 to determine how to harvest its own resources according to its constitutional mandate; and 05 WHEREAS the federal government refuses to recognize its responsibility for 06 allowing an environmental disaster in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska by its own 07 actions of creating and failing to reclaim the more than 110 remaining "legacy wells," while 08 denying to the state the ability to actualize state resources under the claim of responsible 09 stewardship; 10 BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that a Joint Committee on 11 Federal Overreach is established to 12 (1) review federal statutes, regulations, presidential executive orders, and 13 secretarial orders that create compulsory federal legislation that directs certain state action or 14 requires the state to pass legislation to be in compliance; 15 (2) review federal statutes, regulations, presidential executive orders, and 16 secretarial orders that, in reliance on art. I, sec. 8, Constitution of the United States, or any 17 other legal authority, overreach and that unfairly burden the lives of Alaskans or adversely 18 affect the development of the land, economy, infrastructure, and resources of the state; 19 (3) consider matters of federal overreach referred to the committee by a 20 legislator, a committee, the governor, a department, or a concerned member of the public, to 21 ensure that matters regarding federal overreach that adversely affect the people of the state or 22 the State of Alaska's constitutional obligation to maximize its resources for the maximum 23 benefit of all Alaskans are identified and investigated; 24 (4) meet during legislative sessions and between sessions and hold public 25 hearings if the committee considers hearings desirable; 26 (5) hire consultants and experts; and be it 27 FURTHER RESOLVED that the membership of the Joint Committee on Federal 28 Overreach shall be composed of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or the speaker's 29 designee, and three members of the house appointed by the speaker, one of whom shall be a 30 member of the minority caucus of the house, and the President of the Senate, or the president's 31 designee, and three members of the senate appointed by the president, one of whom shall be a
01 member of the minority caucus of the senate; and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Joint Committee on Federal Overreach shall submit 03 reports to the legislature and the governor by January 15, 2014, and January 15, 2015, 04 containing recommendations concerning how to contain federal overreach and identifying 05 legislation that the committee determines is appropriate to respond to federal overreach; and 06 be it 07 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Joint Committee on Federal Overreach shall 08 terminate on January 15, 2015, unless extended.