00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 25                                                                     
01 Supporting the leases issued by the United States Department of the Interior to Royal                                   
02 Dutch Shell in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; urging the Governor of the State of                                       
03 Washington, the Seattle City Council, and other public officials in the State of                                        
04 Washington to refrain from destructive attacks on the economy, jobs, and lives of the                                   
05 people of this state and the State of Washington and first consider closing the Boeing                                  
06 production facilities to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from commercial activity;                                   
07 and inviting Royal Dutch Shell to use a port in this state as the homeport of its Arctic                                
08 drilling fleet if the lease with the Port of Seattle is terminated.                                                     
09 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
10       WHEREAS this state pursued statehood in order to control its own economic destiny                               
11 and not to be subject to the special interests of the State of Washington or any entity that                            
12 would treat this state like a mere colony; and                                                                          
13       WHEREAS this state is fortunate to have, on the outer continental shelf offshore of                             
14 the state, large oil and gas deposits, including deposits in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas that                         

01 are estimated to include up to 12,000,000,000 barrels of oil and 54,000,000,000,000 cubic feet                          
02 of natural gas; and                                                                                                     
03       WHEREAS Royal Dutch Shell has paid the United States Department of the Interior                                 
04 $2,100,000,000 for gas leases and has invested approximately $3,000,000,000 to develop                                  
05 those leases; and                                                                                                       
06       WHEREAS, in February 2015, the Port of Seattle entered into a two-year lease with                               
07 Foss Maritime on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell for a 50-acre parcel of the Seattle waterfront to                          
08 serve as the homeport of the Arctic drilling fleet; and                                                                 
09       WHEREAS the lease would continue to enhance the economic ties between the states                                
10 of Alaska and Washington and would provide between 500 and 700 good paying jobs for                                     
11 people in the State of Washington; and                                                                                  
12       WHEREAS environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to nullify the lease and the                                  
13 Seattle City Council, Seattle Mayor Edward B. Murray, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee                                
14 have publicly opposed the lease on the basis that Arctic drilling is harmful to the global                              
15 environment; and                                                                                                        
16       WHEREAS all nine members of the Seattle City Council and Washington Governor                                    
17 Jay Inslee have sent formal letters to Sally Jewell, United States Secretary of the Interior,                           
18 urging the revocation of the leases held by Royal Dutch Shell in the Arctic on the basis that                           
19 oil and gas drilling and development in the Arctic will contribute to global climate change;                            
20 and                                                                                                                     
21       WHEREAS the State of Washington is home to the Boeing Company, the largest                                      
22 producer of aircraft and one of the largest contributors of carbon dioxide emissions in the                             
23 world; and                                                                                                              
24       WHEREAS the closure of the Boeing production facilities would represent a                                       
25 reduction of 650 aircraft a year that otherwise would discharge more than 500,000 tons of                               
26 carbon dioxide during the lifetimes of those aircraft and would provide a significant reduction                         
27 in the release of pollutants into the atmosphere; and                                                                   
28       WHEREAS development of the Arctic outer continental shelf waters is critical to the                             
29 economic security of the state, the continued viability of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System,                            
30 and the energy security of the United States; and                                                                       
31       WHEREAS the State of Washington and the City of Seattle are urging and taking                                   

01 action that would harm the economic development of this state and its citizens, while, at the                           
02 same time, the State of Washington and the City of Seattle benefit from the development of                              
03 this state's resources, which accounted for approximately 113,000 jobs for Washington                                   
04 residents in 2013, a value of Puget Sound exports to this state of more than $5,400,000,000 in                          
05 2013, and cargo bound for this state that made up 80 percent of the domestic cargo passing                              
06 through the ports of Seattle and Tacoma between 2009 and 2013; and                                                      
07       WHEREAS this state stands ready to assist Royal Dutch Shell in the development of                               
08 its leases in the Arctic and has available potential homeports at Dutch Harbor and Seward; a                            
09 homeport in this state could benefit from the jobs that the City of Seattle and the State of                            
10 Washington consider to be unworthy for their residents;                                                                 
11       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature affirms its support of the leases                              
12 issued by the United States Department of the Interior to Royal Dutch Shell in the Chukchi                              
13 and Beaufort Seas; and be it                                                                                            
14       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor of the                                    
15 State of Washington, the Seattle City Council, and other public officials in the State of                               
16 Washington to refrain from destructive attacks on the economy, jobs, and lives of the people                            
17 of this state and the State of Washington; and be it                                                                    
18       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor of the                                    
19 State of Washington, the Seattle City Council, and other public officials in the State of                               
20 Washington to first consider closing the Boeing production facilities in the State of                                   
21 Washington if they are truly concerned about the effects of emissions of carbon dioxide from                            
22 commercial activity; and be it                                                                                          
23       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature invites Royal Dutch Shell                                    
24 to use a port in this state as the homeport of its Arctic drilling fleet if the lease with the Port of                  
25 Seattle is terminated.                                                                                                  
26       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Sally Jewell, United States                            
27 Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Patty Murray, U.S. Senator; the Honorable Maria                                
28 Cantwell, U.S. Senator; the Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers, U.S. Representative; the                                  
29 Honorable David G. Reichert, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Jaime Herrera Beutler,                                  
30 U.S. Representative; the Honorable Dan Newhouse, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Jim                                 
31 McDermott, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Adam Smith, U.S. Representative; the                                      

01 Honorable Rick Larsen, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Suzan DelBene, U.S.                                           
02 Representative; the Honorable Derek Kilmer, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Denny                                    
03 Heck, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Jay Inslee, Governor of the State of Washington;                               
04 the Honorable Edward B. Murray, Mayor of the City of Seattle; Tim Burgess, President,                                   
05 Seattle City Council; Sally Bagshaw, Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Sally J. Clark,                               
06 Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Jean Godden, Councilmember, Seattle City Council;                                  
07 Bruce A. Harrell, Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Nick Licata, Councilmember, Seattle                              
08 City Council; Mike O'Brien, Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Tom Rasmussen,                                         
09 Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Kshama Sawant, Councilmember, Seattle City                                         
10 Council; Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell; and the Honorable                                 
11 Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don                                     
12 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.