HJR 16: Urging federal executive departments and agencies to recognize the powers reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and urging federal executive departments and agencies to reduce existing and future regulatory burdens on the states.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16 01 Urging federal executive departments and agencies to recognize the powers reserved to 02 the states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and 03 urging federal executive departments and agencies to reduce existing and future 04 regulatory burdens on the states. 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS the structure of government established by the Constitution of the United 07 States is premised on a system of checks and balances; and 08 WHEREAS the Constitution of the United States created a federal government of 09 supreme, but limited and enumerated, powers; the sovereign powers not granted to the federal 10 government are reserved to the people or to the states, unless prohibited to the states by the 11 Constitution of the United States; the constitutional relationship among sovereign 12 governments, state and federal, is memorialized in the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution 13 of the United States; under that constitutional framework, the states also confer governmental 14 powers to municipalities; and 15 WHEREAS the system of government established by the Constitution of the United
01 States encourages a healthy diversity in the public policies adopted by the people of the 02 several states according to their conditions, needs, and desires; and 03 WHEREAS effective public policy is achieved when there is competition among the 04 several states in the fashioning of different approaches to public policy issues; the search for 05 enlightened public policy is advanced when individual states and municipalities are free to 06 experiment with a variety of approaches to public policy issues; a one-size-fits-all national 07 approach to public policy issues inhibits the creation of effective solutions to those problems; 08 and 09 WHEREAS, in the absence of clear constitutional or statutory authority, the 10 presumption of sovereignty should rest with the individual states; uncertainties regarding the 11 legitimate authority of the federal government should generally be resolved in favor of state 12 and municipal authority and regulation; and 13 WHEREAS, to the extent permitted by law, federal executive departments and 14 agencies should not construe, in regulations or otherwise, a federal statute to preempt state or 15 municipal authority unless the statute contains an express preemption provision or there is 16 some other firm and palpable evidence compelling the conclusion that the United States 17 Congress intended to preempt state or municipal authority, or unless the exercise of state or 18 municipal authority directly conflicts with the exercise of federal authority under the relevant 19 federal statute or the Constitution of the United States; and 20 WHEREAS, when a federal executive department or agency proposes to act through 21 adjudication or regulatory action to preempt state or municipal authority, the department or 22 agency is required to provide notice to the affected states and municipalities and an 23 opportunity for appropriate participation in the proceedings; and 24 WHEREAS, with respect to federal statutes and regulations administered by states 25 and municipal governments, the federal government should grant states and municipalities the 26 maximum administrative discretion possible; federal oversight of state and municipal 27 administration should not unnecessarily intrude on state and municipal discretion or create 28 undue burdens on state and municipal resources; and 29 WHEREAS actions having federalism implications include federal regulations, 30 proposed federal legislation, policies, rules, guidances, directives, programs, reviews, budget 31 proposals, budget processes, and strategic planning efforts that have substantial, direct effects
01 on the states and municipalities, on the relationship of the states and municipalities to the 02 federal government, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the federal 03 government and the states and municipalities; 04 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges each federal executive 05 department and agency to establish a clear, consistent, and accountable process to provide 06 states and municipalities with early, meaningful, and substantive input in the development of 07 regulatory actions that have federalism implications; and be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that independent regulatory agencies should be required to 09 comply with the same federalism-related requirements as other federal executive departments 10 and agencies; and be it 11 FURTHER RESOLVED that the head of each federal executive department and 12 agency should be required to designate an official who is responsible for ensuring that the 13 federalism consultation process is executed appropriately and completely; the designated 14 official should certify in a federalism assessment that the regulatory action has been assessed 15 in light of federalism principles, criteria, and requirements; and be it 16 FURTHER RESOLVED a regulatory action with federalism implications should 17 trigger preparation of a federalism assessment, which should be considered when adopting 18 and implementing the regulatory action; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that the federalism assessment should accompany any 20 submission concerning the regulatory action that is made to the Office of Management and 21 Budget under Executive Order No. 12291; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that a federalism assessment should identify any provision 23 or element of the regulatory action that is inconsistent with federalism principles, criteria, and 24 requirements; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that a federalism assessment should specifically identify 26 the extent to which the regulatory action imposes additional costs or burdens on states or 27 municipalities, including the likely source of funding for the states and municipalities and the 28 ability of the states and municipalities to fulfill the purposes of the regulatory action; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that a federalism assessment should specifically identify 30 the extent to which the regulatory action would affect the ability of states and municipalities 31 to discharge traditional state and municipal governmental functions or other aspects of state
01 sovereignty and municipal authority; and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that a federal executive department or agency should not 03 adopt a regulation that is not authorized by federal statute; and be it 04 FURTHER RESOLVED that, if a regulation is appropriate, authorized, and 05 constitutional but has federalism implications or imposes substantial, direct effects on the 06 states or municipalities, the federal executive department or agency should ensure that the 07 federal government provide new funds sufficient to pay the direct costs incurred by the states 08 or municipalities in complying with the regulation during the time the regulation is in effect; 09 and be it 10 FURTHER RESOLVED that, before the formal adoption of a regulation, in a 11 separately identified portion of the preamble to the regulation as it is to be issued in the 12 Federal Register, the federal executive department or agency should provide to the Director of 13 the Office of Management and Budget a description of the extent to which the executive 14 department or agency consulted with representatives of affected states and municipalities, a 15 summary of the concerns of the states and municipalities, and the federal executive 16 department's or agency's position supporting the need to adopt the regulation; and be it 17 FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal executive department or agency should 18 make available to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget any written 19 communications submitted to the department or agency by the states or municipalities; and be 20 it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges federal executive 22 departments and agencies to review the process under which states and municipalities apply 23 for waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements and take appropriate steps to streamline 24 that process; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that each federal executive department or agency should, to 26 the extent practicable and permitted by law, favorably consider an application by a state or 27 municipality for a waiver of statutory or regulatory requirements; if a waiver is consistent 28 with federal policy objectives and is otherwise appropriate, a federal department or agency 29 should operate with a view toward increasing opportunities for using flexible policy 30 approaches at the state or municipal level; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that each federal executive department or agency should, to
01 the extent practicable and permitted by law, render a decision on a complete application for a 02 waiver of statutory or regulatory requirements within 120 days after receiving the application; 03 if the application is not granted, the department or agency should provide the applicant with 04 timely written notice of the decision and the reasons for the denial; this process would apply 05 only to waivers of statutory or regulatory requirements that are discretionary and subject to 06 waiver by the department or agency. 07 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President 08 of the United States; the Honorable Michael R. Pence, Vice President of the United States and 09 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of 10 Representatives; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the 11 Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; and the 12 Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the 13 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.