00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16                                                                     
01 Urging the Alaska delegation in Congress to pursue a waiver to the Jones Act for the                                    
02 transportation of oil and gas drilling rigs to the state.                                                               
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the state is grappling with a consequential natural gas shortage, impairing                             
05 the well-being and economic stability of its residents and businesses; and                                              
06       WHEREAS the natural gas shortage poses a substantial threat to energy security and                              
07 reliability in the state; and                                                                                           
08       WHEREAS the current deficit in local natural gas production capability is, in part, the                         
09 result of a shortage of jack-up drilling rigs, which are pivotal for increasing in-state natural                        
10 gas extraction in the Cook Inlet sedimentary basin; and                                                                 
11 WHEREAS 46 U.S.C. 55102 (sec. 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920),                                               
12 commonly known as the Jones Act, mandates that goods transported between United States                                  
13 ports be carried on ships that are built, owned, and registered in the United States and crewed                         
14 by United States citizens, which complicates the transportation of drilling rigs to the state; and                      
15 WHEREAS the complexity of oil and gas drilling rigs creates substantial barriers to                                   
16 procuring and constructing rigs within the confines of the state; and                                                   

01       WHEREAS acquiring a waiver to the Jones Act would facilitate the transportation of                              
02 essential drilling rigs from other states and territories of the United States and foreign                              
03 countries, thereby helping to mitigate the state's energy crisis; and                                                   
04       WHEREAS alleviating the natural gas shortage will not only bolster the state's energy                           
05 security but will also safeguard the health and safety of the state's residents; and                                    
06       WHEREAS the sustainable development of the state's rich energy resources will, in                               
07 the longer term, contribute to domestic energy security and economic prosperity, both in the                            
08 state and throughout the United States;                                                                                 
09       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the Alaska                                  
10 delegation in Congress to pursue a waiver to the Jones Act to facilitate the urgent                                     
11 transportation of oil and gas drilling rigs to the state, recognizing the imminent and acute                            
12 necessity to stabilize the state's energy supply.                                                                       
13 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President                                   
14 of the United States; the Honorable Pete Buttigieg, United States Secretary of Transportation;                          
15 and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the                                 
16 Honorable Mary Peltola, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.