Enrolled HJR 26: Urging the United States Congress to provide a means for consistently and equitably sharing with all oil and gas producing states adjacent to federal outer continental shelf areas a portion of revenue generated from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf to ensure that those states develop necessary infrastructure to support outer continental shelf development and preserve environmental integrity.
00Enrolled HJR 26 01 Urging the United States Congress to provide a means for consistently and equitably sharing 02 with all oil and gas producing states adjacent to federal outer continental shelf areas a portion 03 of revenue generated from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf to ensure 04 that those states develop necessary infrastructure to support outer continental shelf 05 development and preserve environmental integrity. 06 _______________ 07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 WHEREAS oil and gas development in federal areas, both onshore and offshore, 09 requires additional investment in state infrastructure and increases demand on state and local 10 government resources; and 11 WHEREAS, under the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920, the federal government 12 recognizes the effects of oil and gas development in federal onshore areas by sharing with the 13 states 50 percent of revenue from mineral production on federal land within each state's 14 boundaries; and 15 WHEREAS, under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the federal government 16 recognizes the effect oil and gas development in federal near-shore areas has on states by
01 sharing with those states 27 percent of revenue collected from federal oil and gas leases 02 within three miles of the states' coastlines; and 03 WHEREAS, under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, the federal 04 government recognizes the effect that oil and gas development in federal offshore areas has 05 on the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and recognizes the contributions 06 to national energy, security, and economic interests made by sharing with those states 37.5 07 percent of revenue from federal oil and gas leases in outer continental shelf areas adjacent to 08 each state; and 09 WHEREAS the federal government fails to recognize the same effects on and 10 contributions made by other oil and gas producing states adjacent to federal outer continental 11 shelf areas, including this state and California; and 12 WHEREAS the Alaska outer continental shelf region encompasses the Beaufort, 13 Chukchi, and Bering seas, Cook Inlet, and the Gulf of Alaska, includes over 1,000,000,000 14 acres, and contains more than 6,000 miles of coastline, which is more coastline than the rest 15 of the United States combined; and 16 WHEREAS there are presently 607 active oil and gas leases and more than 3,300,000 17 acres of leased land in the Alaska outer shelf continental region; and 18 WHEREAS federal government grants do not adequately address the need for 19 additional investment in state infrastructure or the increased demands on state and local 20 government resources resulting from outer continental shelf development, especially in this 21 state, which has more coastline, more rural communities, and less infrastructure than any 22 other state; and 23 WHEREAS outer continental shelf revenue sharing would allow states to build 24 infrastructure such as marine ports, airports, utilities, and housing, and increase state services, 25 such as oil spill and emergency response and environmental monitoring and mitigation, which 26 would likely lead to expanded, safer exploration and development activity and increase 27 overall revenue to the federal government; and 28 WHEREAS additional state infrastructure and increased availability of state and local 29 government resources would likely increase interest in and bids during future federal outer 30 continental shelf oil and gas lease sales, which have generated over $2,750,000,000 in 31 revenue for the federal government in the Alaska outer continental shelf region alone since
01 2005; and 02 WHEREAS outer continental shelf revenue sharing could provide a stable funding 03 source for and help fulfill the mission of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a national 04 fund created to safeguard natural areas, water resources, and cultural heritage and to provide 05 recreation opportunities; 06 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 07 Congress to provide a means for consistently and equitably sharing with all oil and gas 08 producing states adjacent to federal outer continental shelf areas a portion of revenue 09 generated from outer continental shelf oil and gas production to ensure the states develop 10 necessary infrastructure to support outer continental shelf development and preserve 11 environmental integrity. 12 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 13 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 14 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Sally Jewell, United States Secretary of the 15 Interior; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 16 Honorable Eric Cantor, Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable 17 Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Harry 18 Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader 19 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mary Landrieu, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on 20 Energy and Natural Resources; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark 21 Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the 22 Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 113th United States Congress.