00                CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 8(ENE)                                                                
01 Urging the federal government to exempt the state from the Clean Power Plan and                                         
02 empower the state to protect the state's access to affordable and reliable electrical                                   
03 generation.                                                                                                             
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS the overreach by the United States Environmental Protection Agency                                      
06 continues to erode state rights; and                                                                                    
07       WHEREAS the United States Environment Protection Agency has proposed rules                                      
08 establishing carbon emissions goals for existing electrical power generators; and                                       
09       WHEREAS especially egregious is the Clean Power Plan for existing power plants,                                 
10 which places unprecedented regulations on the nation's energy producers and threatens access                            
11 to affordable and reliable energy solutions for this and other states; and                                              
12       WHEREAS the state has joined with other states in asserting that the Clean Power                                
13 Plan is unlawful and, in comprehensive comments, has asked to be exempt; and                                            
14       WHEREAS states must outline measures for meeting Clean Power Plan goals in state                                
15 plans that will be federally enforceable by the Environmental Protection Agency and through                             

01 citizen suits; and                                                                                                      
02       WHEREAS the application of the goals of the Clean Power Plan to the state is                                    
03 fundamentally flawed because the goals rely on interconnection with the North American                                  
04 grid, to which the state is not connected; and                                                                          
05       WHEREAS the Regulatory Commission of Alaska should be empowered to make                                         
06 decisions with methodology based on the lowest production costs for electrical generation;                              
07 and                                                                                                                     
08       WHEREAS electric rate payers in the state are harmed by rate increases brought on                               
09 by universal federal regulations that are inappropriate for the state; and                                              
10       WHEREAS the state would benefit from minimal electrical rate increases; and                                     
11       WHEREAS utilities, communities, residents, and commercial entities should be                                    
12 protected from any attempts to close a coal-fired power plant in the state; and                                         
13       WHEREAS the state needs coal-fired power plants to ensure the reliability of the                                
14 electrical energy grid; and                                                                                             
15       WHEREAS the loss of other traditional electrical generation methods may cause                                   
16 natural gas plants to be overused or used in ways that exceed their engineered design; and                              
17       WHEREAS renewable energy and energy efficiency measures have been                                               
18 implemented at significant cost to the state, but will not be credited to the carbon goal of the                        
19 state; and                                                                                                              
20       WHEREAS the Clean Power Plan will require the premature retirement of the Healy                                 
21 Unit 1 coal plant, underutilization or premature retirement of the Healy Unit 2 coal plant, and                         
22 significant new investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency; and                                               
23       WHEREAS fostering the development and preservation of reliable, affordable, and                                 
24 environmentally safe electricity for communities, homes, and businesses in the state is an                              
25 essential state activity; and                                                                                           
26       WHEREAS the state is better able to deal with the issues described in this resolution                           
27 than the federal government;                                                                                            
28       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the federal government to                                
29 exempt the state from the Clean Power Plan and empower the state government, which is                                   
30 accountable to the people of the state, to regulate its own energy production and use in order                          
31 to protect access to affordable and reliable electrical generation for residents of the state.                        

01       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
02 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
03 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
04 Representatives; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                                 
05 Honorable Orrin Hatch, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Gina                                     
06 McCarthy, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the Honorable Janet                                
07 McCabe, acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, U.S.                                        
08 Environmental Protection Agency; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan                                     
09 Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the                               
10 Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 114th United States Congress.