00                      SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18                                                                    
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 to look first at closing the Boeing                                
06 production facilities to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from commercial activity;                                   
07 inviting Royal Dutch Shell to use a port in this state as the homeport of its Arctic drilling                           
08 fleet if the lease with the Port of Seattle is terminated; and requesting that the Alaska                               
09 Congressional delegation support restricting the Export-Import Bank of the United                                       
10 States to lending only to small businesses.                                                                             
11 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
12       WHEREAS this state pursued statehood in order to control its own economic destiny                               
13 and not to be subject to the special interests of the State of Washington or any entity that                            

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

01 aircraft manufactured for export in the State of Washington by the Boeing Company, thus                                 
02 enabling the construction of more carbon dioxide-producing aircraft; and                                                
03       WHEREAS development of the Arctic outer continental shelf waters is critical to the                             
04 economic security of the state, the continued viability of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System,                            
05 and the energy security of the United States; and                                                                       
06       WHEREAS the State of Washington and the City of Seattle are urging and taking                                   
07 action that would harm the economic development of the state and its citizens, while at the                             
08 same time the State of Washington and the City of Seattle benefit from the development of                               
09 the state's resources through 113,000 jobs for Washington residents, annual business sales to                           
10 the state of $5,000,000,000, and cargo bound for the state that comprises 80 percent of the                             
11 domestic cargo passing through State of Washington ports; and                                                           
12       WHEREAS this state stands ready to assist Royal Dutch Shell in the development of                               
13 its leases in the Arctic and has available potential homeports at Dutch Harbor and Seward; a                            
14 homeport in this state could benefit from the jobs that the City of Seattle and the State of                            
15 Washington consider to be unworthy for their residents;                                                                 
16       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature affirms its support of the leases                              
17 issued by the United States Department of the Interior to Royal Dutch Shell in the Chukchi                              
18 and Beaufort Seas; and be it                                                                                            
19       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor of the                                    
20 State of Washington, the Seattle City Council, and other public officials in the State of                               
21 Washington to refrain from destructive attacks on the economy, jobs, and lives of the people                            
22 of this state and the State of Washington; and be it                                                                    
23       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor of the                                    
24 State of Washington, the Seattle City Council, and other public officials in the State of                               
25 Washington first to consider closing the Boeing production facilities in the State of                                   
26 Washington if they are truly concerned about the effects of emissions of carbon dioxide from                            
27 commercial activity; and be it                                                                                          
28       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature hereby requests that the                                     
29 congressional delegation of the state support restricting the Export-Import Bank of the United                          
30 States to lending only to small businesses; and be it                                                                   
31       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature invites Royal Dutch Shell                                    

01 to use a port in this state as the homeport of its Arctic drilling fleet if the lease with the Port of                  
02 Seattle is terminated.                                                                                                  
03       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Sally Jewell, United States                            
04 Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable Patty Murray, U.S. Senator; the Honorable Maria                                
05 Cantwell, U.S. Senator; the Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers, U.S. Representative; the                                  
06 Honorable David G. Reichert, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Jaime Herrera Beutler,                                  
07 U.S. Representative; the Honorable Dan Newhouse, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Jim                                 
08 McDermott, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Adam Smith, U.S. Representative; the                                      
09 Honorable Rick Larsen, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Suzan DelBene, U.S.                                           
10 Representative; the Honorable Derek Kilmer, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Denny                                    
11 Heck, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Jay Inslee, Governor of the State of Washington;                               
12 the Honorable Edward B. Murray, Mayor of the City of Seattle; Tim Burgess, President,                                   
13 Seattle City Council; Sally Bagshaw, Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Sally J. Clark,                               
14 Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Jean Godden, Councilmember, Seattle City Council;                                  
15 Bruce A. Harrell, Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Nick Licata, Councilmember, Seattle                              
16 City Council; Mike O'Brien, Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Tom Rasmussen,                                         
17 Councilmember, Seattle City Council; Kshama Sawant, Councilmember, Seattle City                                         
18 Council; Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell; and the Honorable                                 
19 Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don                                     
20 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.