00SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18                                                                                        
01 Requesting Exxon Corporation to pay claimants for court-ordered damages resulting                                       
02 from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.                                                                                        
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
04  WHEREAS, on March 24, 1989, at 12:04 a.m., the oil tanker Exxon Valdez grounded                                      
05 on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound resulting in a spill of 11,000,000 gallons of North                               
06 Slope crude oil along Alaska's shoreline; and                                                                           
07  WHEREAS, immediately following the spill, executives of Exxon Corporation                                            
08 promised the residents of the state that they would make Alaska whole again; and                                        
09  WHEREAS the oil spill killed or affected seabirds, sea otters, harbor seals, bald                                    
10 eagles, killer whales, salmon and herring eggs, and many tidal plants and animals, and has                              
11 caused long-term damage to the environment of Prince William Sound; and                                                 
12  WHEREAS the oil spill affected many communities; commercial, subsistence, and                                        
13 sport fishermen; tourism operators; subsistence gatherers; large and small businesses; and                              
14 others in the area; and                                                                                                 

01  WHEREAS, on September 16, 1994, an Alaska jury in the federal district court                                         
02 returned a $5,000,000,000 punitive damage verdict against Exxon Corporation to help                                     
03 compensate those affected by the spill; and                                                                             
04  WHEREAS, between 1994 and 1996, the federal district court judge denied numerous                                     
05 motions by Exxon Corporation to overturn or adjust the verdict, and the corporation continues                           
06 to file motions that delay settlement of the case; and                                                                  
07  WHEREAS, between 1996 and today, Exxon Corporation filed two motions for new                                         
08 trials that were denied by the federal court; and                                                                       
09  WHEREAS oral arguments begin this year on Exxon Corporation's appeal of the                                          
10 denial for its second motion for a new trial and, pending the outcome of this appeal, the                               
11 company may file a petition for further review to the United States Supreme Court; and                                  
12  WHEREAS Exxon Corporation has prospered financially in the 10 years since the oil                                    
13 spill and is preparing to merge with Mobil Corporation to create the largest corporation in the                         
14 world; and                                                                                                              
15  WHEREAS, a decade after the oil spill and five years after the punitive damage                                       
16 judgment, 40,000 claimants are still waiting for payment of punitive damages; 500 claimants                             
17 have died since 1989; and                                                                                               
18  WHEREAS the majority of the claimants who are owed punitive damages are working                                      
19 men and women with families, homes, mortgages, and financial obligations; and                                           
20  WHEREAS the petroleum industry plays a vital role in providing revenue,                                              
21 employment, and economic stability for the state; and                                                                   
22  WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature has encouraged development of the petroleum                                     
23 industry through incentives and partnerships; and                                                                       
24  WHEREAS, in order to foster partnerships between Exxon Corporation and the people                                    
25 of Alaska, Exxon Corporation must make good on its promise to make Alaska whole again,                                  
26 and pay its debt to the people of Alaska as prescribed by the court.                                                    
27  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Exxon Corporation to                                      
28 cease its ongoing efforts to avoid or delay payment of the court-ordered judgment and to pay                            
29 all claimants owed punitive damages as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.                                     
30  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                              
31 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President                            

01 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States; the                                
02 Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable                                
03 Trent Lott, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; Robert Pitofsky, Chairman of the Federal                                
04 Trade Commission; William J. Baer, Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade                                       
05 Commission; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators,                                 
06 the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in                                       
07 Congress; and Lee R. Raymond, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Exxon Corporation.