00 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 5                                                                                      
01 Commending the Governor for pledging to continue the lawsuit known as the                                               
02 "compact case" and urging the Governor to continue all other lawsuits against                                           
03 the United States government that seek enforcement of any of the provisions of                                          
04 the Alaska Statehood Compact.                                                                                           
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06  WHEREAS, when the Territory of Alaska became a state, its citizens ratified a                                          
07 compact with the federal government known as the Alaska Statehood Compact, which is                                     
08 embodied in the Alaska Statehood Act that was passed by the Congress; and                                               
09  WHEREAS compacts such as the Alaska Statehood Act are properly viewed as                                               
10 contracts between sovereigns that may not be unilaterally altered by either party; and                                  
11  WHEREAS the principle that the controlling terms of statehood acts may not be                                          
12 altered unilaterally has been consistently upheld by the United States Supreme Court in                                 
13 Cooper v. Roberts, 59 U.S. (18 How.) 173 (1855); Beecher v. Wetherby, 95 U.S. (5 Otto) 517                              
14 (1877); and Stearns v. Minnesota ex. rel. Marr, 179 U.S. 223 (1900); and                                                
01  WHEREAS there are sufficient grounds for believing that the federal government has                                     
02 violated this principle by unilaterally altering or attempting to alter important terms of the                          
03 Alaska Statehood Act;                                                                                                   
04  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature commends the Governor for                                             
05 pledging to continue the lawsuit known as the "compact case"; and be it                                                 
06  FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature strongly urges the Governor to continue                                          
07 all lawsuits against the United States government that seek enforcement of any of the                                   
08 provisions of the Alaska Statehood Compact by resolving outstanding issues involving the                                
09 ownership of, management of, use of, benefits from, and access to land and water in Alaska,                             
10 including the renewable and nonrenewable resources on or in the land and water of Alaska.