00                CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16(RES) am                                                             
01 Relating to the National Ocean Council, the development of a national ocean policy, and                                 
02 coastal and marine spatial planning.                                                                                    
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS Executive Order 13547, signed by President Barack Obama on July 19,                                     
05 2010, establishes a National Ocean Council and directs the council to develop a national                                
06 ocean policy; and                                                                                                       
07       WHEREAS Executive Order 13547 circumvents federal congressional authority by                                    
08 giving federal agencies broad authority to zone and regulate oceans, coasts, and the Great                              
09 Lakes; and                                                                                                              
10       WHEREAS the national ocean policy calls for a coastal and marine spatial planning                               
11 process to zone and regulate activities in oceans, coasts, and other water bodies, including                            
12 water owned and managed by the state, and to "build upon and improve existing Federal,                                  
13 State, tribal, local, and regional decision making planning processes"; and                                             
14       WHEREAS the parameters of the coastal and marine spatial planning process are                                 
15 undefined and could potentially apply to inland wetlands and waterways and affect activities                            
16 remote from marine and coastal areas of the state; and                                                                  
01       WHEREAS zoning of commercial, recreational, and conservation activities in the                                  
02 oceans and waterways of the state could significantly affect resource-based activities in the                           
03 state, including oil and gas exploration and development; renewable energy; commercial,                                 
04 recreational, and subsistence fishing and hunting; travel and tourism; transportation and                               
05 shipping; boating and recreation; hard rock mining and sand and gravel use; timber harvest;                             
06 agriculture; and manufacturing; and                                                                                     
07       WHEREAS the need for a national ocean policy and coastal and marine spatial                                     
08 planning for the Alaska region has not been empirically demonstrated; and                                               
09       WHEREAS the membership of the National Ocean Council consists solely of                                         
10 representatives of federal agencies and organizations and fails to adequately recognize the                             
11 interests of states, local governments, Alaska Natives, and other stakeholders; and                                     
12       WHEREAS the regional planning bodies created in the National Ocean Council will                                 
13 not include representatives from industry or other affected stakeholder groups;                                         
14       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the National Ocean                                       
15 Council, in the development and implementation of a National Ocean Policy Final                                         
16 Implementation Plan and the coastal and marine spatial planning process, to consider an                                 
17 Alaska region exemption or to allow voluntary state participation; and be it                                            
18       FURTHER RESOLVED that, if the National Ocean Council fails to include an                                        
19 Alaska region exemption or to allow voluntary state participation in the development and                                
20 implementation of a National Ocean Policy Final Implementation Plan and the coastal and                                 
21 marine spatial planning process, the Alaska State Legislature opposes and declines to                                   
22 recognize, participate in, or enforce the National Ocean Policy Final Implementation Plan and                           
23 the coastal and marine spatial planning process as it applies to the Alaska and Arctic regions.                         
24       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
25 the United States; the Honorable Rebecca Blank, acting United States Secretary of                                       
26 Commerce; Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and                                       
27 Atmosphere and acting National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator,                                    
28 United States Department of Commerce; Eric Olson, Chair, North Pacific Fishery                                          
29 Management Council, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States                                      
30 Department of Commerce; Chris W. Oliver, Executive Director, North Pacific Fishery                                      
31 Management Council, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States                                      
01 Department of Commerce; each officer of the National Ocean Council; the governors and                                   
02 legislatures of all the coastal states and coastal territories of the nation; and the Honorable                         
03 Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don                                      
04 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.