00                CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 14(EDU)                                                               
01 Urging the United States Congress to pass legislation to convey land to the University of                               
02 Alaska.                                                                                                                 
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the University of Alaska is a land grant institution offering higher                                    
05 education to Alaskans; and                                                                                              
06       WHEREAS an academically strong and financially secure state university system is a                              
07 cornerstone to the long-term development of a stable population and to a healthy, diverse                               
08 economy; and                                                                                                            
09       WHEREAS the University of Alaska is the successor to and the beneficiary of all                                 
10 federal grants and conveyances to or for the Alaska Agricultural College and School of                                  
11 Mines; and                                                                                                              
12       WHEREAS, under the Acts of March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 1214), and January 21, 1929                                  
13 (45 Stat. 1091), the United States granted to the Territory of Alaska certain federal land for                          
14 the University of Alaska; and                                                                                           
15       WHEREAS the Territory of Alaska did not receive most of the land intended to be                                 
16 conveyed by the Act of March 4, 1915, before repeal of that Act by sec. 6(k) of the Alaska                              

01 Statehood Act (P. L. 85-508, 72 Stat. 339); and                                                                         
02       WHEREAS only one other state land grant college in the United States has obtained a                             
03 smaller land grant from the federal government than has the University of Alaska, and all land                          
04 grant colleges in the western states of the United States have obtained substantially larger land                       
05 grants than has the University of Alaska; and                                                                           
06       WHEREAS Alaska is the largest state in the United States; and                                                   
07       WHEREAS the federal government is the largest landowner in the state;                                           
08       BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the United States Congress                                  
09 is urged to pass S. 293 to facilitate the continuation of higher education in Alaska through the                        
10 conveyance of certain public land in the state to the University of Alaska; and be it                                   
11       FURTHER RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the United States                                         
12 Congress is urged to include a provision in S. 293 to provide that the land grants do not                               
13 interfere with public access to or along fishing streams or the continued use of established                            
14 hunting, dog mushing, motorized vehicle, mining, and recreational trails or roads; and be it                            
15       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the conveyance                                      
16 of federal land in Alaska that was identified for conveyance under the Acts of March 4, 1915                            
17 (38 Stat. 1214), and January 21, 1929 (45 Stat. 1091), but was not conveyed before Alaska                               
18 achieved statehood.                                                                                                     
19       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                              
20 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States                              
21 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Bill Frist, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate;                         
22 the Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable J. Dennis                                   
23 Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Roy Blunt, Majority                                
24 Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of                             
25 the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Gale Norton, United States Secretary of the                            
26 Interior; the Honorable Pete V. Domenici, Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources                                     
27 Committee of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa                                          
28 Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of                                  
29 the Alaska delegation in Congress; and, by electronic transmission, to all other members of                             
30 the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives serving in the 109th United States                                    
31 Congress.