00CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 24(JUD) am                                                                       
01 Supporting the governor's decision to authorize a suit against the United States                                        
02 government for violating the Alaska Statehood Act and the Alaska Statehood                                              
03 Compact.                                                                                                                
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05  WHEREAS, when the Territory of Alaska became a state, its citizens ratified a                                          
06 compact with the federal government known as the Alaska Statehood Compact, which is                                     
07 embodied in the Alaska Statehood Act that was passed by the Congress; and                                               
08  WHEREAS compacts such as the Alaska Statehood Act are properly viewed as                                               
09 contracts between sovereigns that may not be unilaterally altered by either party; and                                  
10  WHEREAS the principle that the controlling terms of statehood acts may not be                                          
11 altered unilaterally has been consistently upheld by the United States Supreme Court in                                 
12 Cooper v. Roberts, 59 U.S. (18 How.) 173 (1855); Beecher v. Wetherby, 95 U.S. (5 Otto) 517                              
13 (1877); and Stearns v. Minnesota ex. rel. Marr, 179 U.S. 223 (1900); and                                                
14  WHEREAS there are sufficient grounds for believing that the federal government has                                     

01 violated this principle by unilaterally altering or attempting to alter important terms of the                          
02 Alaska Statehood Act and the Alaska Statehood Compact;                                                                  
03  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly supports the governor                                        
04 in his efforts to protect against federal violations of the Alaska Statehood Act and the Alaska                         
05 Statehood Compact and towards that end strongly supports his decision to file suit against the                          
06 federal government in Alaska v. United States, United States Court of Federal Claims                                    
07 (Bruggnik), 90-454-L Civ., State v. Brown, United States District Court (Sedwick), A92-364                              
08 Civ. and State v. United States, United States Court of Federal Claims.