00 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 26                                                                                   
01 Relating to the policy on use of a state right-of-way for fiber-optic cables.                                           
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
03  WHEREAS art. VIII, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska, provides that                                       
04 regulations governing the use or disposal of natural resources shall apply equally to all persons                       
05 similarly situated; and                                                                                                 
06  WHEREAS sec. 253(c) of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides that                                      
07 state government may require fair and reasonable compensation from telecommunications                                   
08 providers on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis; and                                                   
09  WHEREAS the Alaska Railroad, consistent with its mandate to obtain value for its                                     
10 resources, has obtained right-of-way lease terms from fiber-optic cable providers based on                              
11 market value; and                                                                                                       
12  WHEREAS the Department of Natural Resources appears to support a fiber-optic                                         
13 cable right-of-way pricing policy that fails to seek lease terms based on market value;                                 
14  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature declares that it is its wish that                                   
01 the state provide a stable and appropriate regulatory environment to give fiber-optic cable                             
02 projects the best opportunity to compete with one another on a neutral and nondiscriminatory                            
03 basis; and be it                                                                                                        
04  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports efforts to provide                                       
05 such a regulatory environment; and be it                                                                                
06  FURTHER RESOLVED that it is the wish of the Alaska State Legislature that the                                        
07 state obtain value for its right-of-way resources; and be it                                                            
08  FURTHER RESOLVED that Governor Tony Knowles is respectfully requested to                                             
09 consider and to report to the legislature efforts to ensure that use of a state right-of-way for                        
10 fiber-optic cable is priced based on market value and that the state policy on this subject does                        
11 not give undue advantage to one fiber-optic cable provider over another.