00                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 28                                                                     
01 Affirming the right of the state to exercise its fundamental police powers in relation to                               
02 the practice of dentistry and to condemn any effort by the government of the United                                     
03 States to usurp the state's rights.                                                                                     
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS the state has demonstrated the intent and will to provide for the welfare                               
06 of its people through the careful exercise of its police powers by legislating in the area of                           
07 professional regulation and health care in general, and the practice of dentistry in particular;                        
08 and                                                                                                                     
09       WHEREAS the United States government has attempted to circumvent state licensing                                
10 laws governing the practice of professions, including dentistry, by enacting 25 U.S.C. 1616l, a                         
11 law that has been recently interpreted to allow the unlicensed practice of dentistry in the state;                      
12 and                                                                                                                     
13       WHEREAS the United States government is promoting substandard dental care, with                                 
14 the greatest effect on the rural residents of the state, by purporting to allow the unlicensed                          
15 practice of dentistry by persons who lack sufficient training under the laws of the state;                              
01       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature condemns any effort to impose                                  
02 substandard care on a segment of the population of the state and further condemns federal                               
03 usurpation of the state's police powers and, specifically, the state's powers to regulate the                           
04 practice of dentistry; and be it                                                                                        
05       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature calls on the courts and the                                  
06 executive branch of this state to vindicate, uphold, and preserve state's rights that were                              
07 reserved to the state under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and in the                            
08 Constitution of the State of Alaska and to invalidate any attempt by the United States                                  
09 government to usurp state regulatory powers governing the licensing and practice of                                     
10 professionals or any other licensed occupation; and be it                                                               
11       FURTHER RESOLVED that the residents of Alaska are, under the law of this state,                                 
12 all one people, irrespective of heritage, race, religion, or culture, and that all people in the                        
13 state shall be entitled to equal application of the law, that none shall be singled out for                             
14 substandard medical or dental care or for special privileges or treatment, and that all people                          
15 are subject equally to the police powers of the state.                                                                  
16       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                              
17 of the United States; the Honorable Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States;                            
18 Charles Grim, Director, Indian Health Service, United States Department of Health and                                   
19 Human Services; the Honorable Frank Murkowski, Governor of Alaska; the Honorable Larry                                  
20 R. Weeks, Presiding Judge, First Judicial District of Alaska; the Honorable Michael I. Jeffery,                         
21 Presiding Judge, Second Judicial District of Alaska; the Honorable Dan A. Hensley, Presiding                            
22 Judge, Third Judicial District of Alaska; the Honorable Niesje J. Steinkruger, Presiding Judge,                         
23 Fourth Judicial District of Alaska; the Honorable Karleen Jackson, Commissioner of the                                  
24 Alaska Department of Health and Social Services; J. Edward Hill, M.D., President of the                                 
25 American Medical Association; James B. Bramson, DDS, Executive Director, Board of                                       
26 Trustees of the American Dental Association; David Head, M.D., President of the Alaska                                  
27 State Board of Medical Examiners; Robert Warren, DDS, President of the Alaska State Board                               
28 of Dental Examiners; Cindy Bueler, Pharm. D., President of the Alaska State Board of                                    
29 Pharmacy; David Eichler, DDS, President of the Alaska Dental Society; Kevin Tomera, MD,                                 
30 President of the Alaska State Medical Association; and the Honorable Ted Stevens and the                                
31 Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                              
01 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.