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Enrolled HJR 24: Urging the United States Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self-Determination Act of 2000.

00Enrolled HJR 24 01 Urging the United States Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Communities 02 Self-Determination Act of 2000. 03 _______________ 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS, in 1908, the United States Congress enacted 16 U.S.C. 500 (National 06 Forest Receipts Program), which required 25 percent of annual income earned from activities 07 on national forest land to be shared with states for distribution to cities and boroughs in which 08 the land is located for the benefit of education and roads; and 09 WHEREAS, in 1986, changes in the approach to managing our national forests 10 seriously curtailed the ability of forest communities to harvest forest products and resulted in 11 steep declines in forest revenue paid to affected communities; and 12 WHEREAS, in the early 1990s, the United States Congress recognized that the 13 decision to secure and retain land in federal ownership would deprive the communities in 14 which the land is located of revenue otherwise received if the land were in private ownership; 15 and 16 WHEREAS the enactment of P.L. 106-393, 16 U.S.C. 500 note (Secure Rural 17 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000), temporarily stabilized national

01 forest revenue payments to forest communities and replaced much needed financial support 02 for education and roads; and 03 WHEREAS many of the state's rural communities are nestled in the Tongass National 04 Forest and the Chugach National Forest; and 05 WHEREAS there continues to be little privately owned land in those forest 06 communities on which to pursue economic development activities, and the communities 07 therefore remain largely dependent on revenue generated from national forests; and 08 WHEREAS P.L. 106-393 (Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 09 Act of 2000) expires in 2011; and 10 WHEREAS education is one of the critical services supported by P.L. 106-393; and 11 WHEREAS failure to reauthorize and extend P.L. 106-393 will have a devastating 12 effect on many forest communities across America, especially communities in this state, and 13 will severely affect the public education of students living in those forest communities; 14 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that the 15 United States Congress and the President sign into law a long-term authorization of the 16 Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. 17 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 18 the United States; the Honorable Arne Duncan, United States Secretary of Education; the 19 Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the 20 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; 21 and all other members of the 112th United States Congress.