00                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 8                                                                     
01 Urging the federal government to empower the state to protect the state's access to                                     
02 affordable and reliable electrical generation.                                                                          
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the overreach by the United States Environmental Protection Agency                                      
05 continues to erode state rights; and                                                                                    
06       WHEREAS especially egregious is the Clean Power Plan for existing power plants,                                 
07 which places unprecedented regulations on the nation's energy producers and threatens access                            
08 to affordable and reliable energy solutions for this and other states; and                                              
09       WHEREAS the Regulatory Commission of Alaska should be empowered to make                                         
10 decisions with methodology based on the lowest production costs for electrical generation;                              
11 and                                                                                                                     
12       WHEREAS the state would benefit from a one and one-half percent cap on electricity                              
13 rate increases; and                                                                                                     
14       WHEREAS utilities, communities, residents, and commercial entities should be                                    
15 protected from any attempts to close a coal-fired power plant in the state; and                                         
16       WHEREAS the state needs coal-fired power plants to ensure the reliability of the                                

01 electrical energy grid; and                                                                                             
02       WHEREAS the loss of other traditional electrical generation methods may cause                                   
03 natural gas plants to be overused or used in ways that exceed their engineered design; and                              
04       WHEREAS fostering the development and preservation of reliable, affordable, and                                 
05 environmentally safe electricity for communities, homes, and businesses in the state is an                              
06 essential state activity; and                                                                                           
07       WHEREAS the state is better able to deal with the issues described in this resolution                           
08 than the federal government;                                                                                            
09       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the federal government to                                
10 empower the state government, which is accountable to the people of the state, to regulate its                          
11 own energy production and use in order to protect access to affordable and reliable electrical                          
12 generation for residents of the state.                                                                                
13       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
14 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
15 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
16 Representatives; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                                 
17 Honorable Orrin Hatch, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lisa                                     
18 Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young,                                   
19 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of                             
20 the 114th United States Congress.