00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 35                                                                                           
01 Endorsing approval by the United States Congress of S 254 or comparable                                                 
02 legislation imposing a fee on imported oil.                                                                             
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04  WHEREAS the federal government requires additional revenue to reduce the federal                                       
05 budget deficit; and                                                                                                     
06  WHEREAS, without additional revenues, Americans face the prospect of significant                                       
07 budget reductions for federal programs that are vital to their health and welfare and to the                            
08 educational and economic opportunities available to them; and                                                           
09  WHEREAS S 254 calls for the imposition of a fee on imported oil; and                                                   
10  WHEREAS the imposition of an oil import fee would raise revenue for the federal                                        
11 government and moderate the severity of anticipated federal program reductions; and                                     
12  WHEREAS imposition of an oil import fee would increase the effective market price                                      
13 of all oil, accruing an estimated additional $761,000,000 to the state general fund and                                 
14 permanent fund by 2000; and                                                                                             
01  WHEREAS imposition of an oil import fee would provide incentives for further                                           
02 domestic exploration and production, reducing dependence on foreign oil supplies; and                                   
03  WHEREAS the imposition of a fee on imported oil should have the effect of                                              
04 increasing the market price on domestically produced oil to the benefit of domestic producers                           
05 and jurisdictions in which oil production occurs.                                                                       
06  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature endorses Congressional passage                                        
07 of S 254 or comparable legislation imposing a fee on imported oil.                                                      
08  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                                
09 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President                            
10 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate;                             
11 the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable                              
12 J. Bennett Johnston, chair of the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources                                     
13 Committee and principal sponsor of S 254; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the                                      
14 Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                             
15 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.