00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 10                                                                     
01 Urging the United States Congress to pass the Improved National Monument                                                
02 Designation Process Act.                                                                                                
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04 WHEREAS the President of the United States may "declare by public proclamation                                        
05 historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or                               
06 scientific interest" as national monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906 (16 U.S.C. 431 -                           
07 433), and the United States Congress may establish national monuments through legislation;                              
08 and                                                                                                                     
09       WHEREAS the Antiquities Act requires the President of the United States to reserve                              
10 "the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be                                  
11 protected" within the boundaries of the national monument; and                                                          
12       WHEREAS 157 national monuments have been created, ranging in size from less                                     
13 than an acre to nearly 583,000 square miles spread out across the land and water of the United                          
14 States; and                                                                                                             
15       WHEREAS the previous federal Administration unilaterally expanded the scope and                                 
16 boundaries of national monuments; and                                                                                   

01       WHEREAS the previous federal Administration established 29 new national                                         
02 monuments between 2009 and 2017; and                                                                                    
03       WHEREAS the previous federal Administration was responsible for the largest                                     
04 expansion of an existing national monument when it added, by proclamation, approximately                                
05 440,000 square miles to the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in 2016; and                                     
06 WHEREAS the establishment or expansion of national monuments without                                                  
07 consideration of the possible detrimental effects on natural resource development, commercial                           
08 fishing, tourism, agriculture, and other industries may create considerable hardship on                                 
09 regional, state, and local economies; and                                                                               
10 WHEREAS, in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the federal                                          
11 government promised the state and people of Alaska that it would maintain in the lands it                               
12 manages a balance between environmental protection and the economic and social needs of                                 
13 Alaskans and that no more land in the state would be set aside; and                                                     
14 WHEREAS the president's exercise of power under the Antiquities Act is limited in                                     
15 Alaska by the "no more" clause of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act; and                              
16 WHEREAS, in January 2017, United States Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan                                               
17 Sullivan jointly introduced S. 33, the Improved National Monument Designation Process Act,                              
18 establishing new requirements and limitations on the authority of the President of the United                           
19 States to establish or expand national monuments under the Antiquities Act; and                                         
20 WHEREAS, under S. 33, the Improved National Monument Designation Process Act,                                         
21 the President of the United States may not establish a national monument unless it is approved                          
22 by the United States Congress, it is certified to comply with the National Environmental                                
23 Policy Act of 1969, and the governor of each state in which the proposed national monument                              
24 will be located provides notice that the state's legislature has enacted legislation approving the                      
25 designation of the proposed national monument; and                                                                      
26 WHEREAS, under S. 33, the Improved National Monuments Designation Process                                             
27 Act, the governor of each affected state or territory within 100 miles of a proposed marine                             
28 national monument must be notified; and                                                                                 
29 WHEREAS the purposes of the "no more" clause of the Alaska National Interest                                          
30 Lands Conservation Act would be strengthened by the limitations placed on the authority of                              
31 the President by S. 33, the Improved National Monument Designation Process Act;                                         

01 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the direct involvement                                      
02 of the United States Congress and the states in the establishment and expansion of national                             
03 monuments; and be it                                                                                                    
04 FURTHER RESOLVED the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                                 
05 Congress to pass S. 33, the Improved National Monument Designation Process Act, so that                                 
06 the use of Alaska's renewable and nonrenewable resources is protected and environmentally                               
07 responsible resource extraction and development activities may take place.                                              
08 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President                                   
09 of the United States; the Honorable Michael R. Pence, Vice President of the United States and                           
10 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
11 Representatives; the Honorable Kevin McCarthy, Majority Leader of the U.S. House of                                     
12 Representatives; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of                                       
13 Representatives; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                                 
14 Honorable Charles E. Schumer, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lisa                                  
15 Murkowski, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the                                      
16 Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative,                                 
17 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 115th United                                 
18 States Congress.