Legislature(2015 - 2016)
2015-04-17 Senate Journal
Full Journal pdf2015-04-17 Senate Journal Page 1075 HJR 24 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24 Urging the federal government to honor its commitments to transfer land to the state; and urging the United States Secretary of the Interior and the United States Congress to adhere to the recommendations of the United States Department of the Interior in its 2006 report under the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act, including lifting withdrawals, was read the second time. 2015-04-17 Senate Journal Page 1076 Senator Gardner offered Amendment No. 1 : Page 1, line 2: Delete the first occurrence of "and" Page 1, line 5, following "withdrawals": Insert "; and urging the United States Secretary of the Interior to review the transfer of designated school trust land to the state" Page 2, line 28, following "act;": Insert "and WHEREAS,in 1915, the United States Congress granted to the Territory of Alaska sections 16 and 36 of all surveyed townships in trust for the support of public elementary and secondary education; and WHEREAS a township is a division of territory six miles square, containing 36 sections; and WHEREAS receipts from those funds were put into a school lands trust fund for education and then distributed to schools; and WHEREAS, following statehood, Alaska patented to state ownership about 101,000 acres of school trust land reserved during the territorial period, but the Alaska State Legislature then designated the land as general grant land; and WHEREAS there are a potential 23,000,000 acres of school trust land if the trust were reconstituted as mandated in the federally established program; and WHEREAS the school lands trust would provide a new and reliable source of income for the schools; and WHEREAS, when Alaska was founded, it was the founders' intention that the school lands trust would support public schools statewide; BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States Secretary of the Interior to review the transfer of designated school trust land to the state under the 1915 federal land grant; and be it" Page 2, line 29: Delete "BE IT" Insert "FURTHER" 2015-04-17 Senate Journal Page 1077 Senator Gardner moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 1. Senator Coghill objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 1 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: HJR 24 Second Reading Amendment No. 1 YEAS: 7 NAYS: 13 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bishop, Dunleavy, Egan, Ellis, Gardner, Stoltze, Wielechowski Nays: Coghill, Costello, Giessel, Hoffman, Huggins, Kelly, MacKinnon, McGuire, Meyer, Micciche, Olson, Stedman, Stevens and so, Amendment No. 1 failed. Senator Coghill moved and asked unanimous consent that the resolution be advanced to third reading and placed on final passage. Without objection, it was so ordered. HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24 was read the third time. The question being: "Shall HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24 Urging the federal government to honor its commitments to transfer land to the state; and urging the United States Secretary of the Interior and the United States Congress to adhere to the recommendations of the United States Department of the Interior in its 2006 report under the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act, including lifting withdrawals, pass the Senate?" The roll was taken with the following result: HJR 24 Third Reading - Final Passage YEAS: 20 NAYS: 0 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bishop, Coghill, Costello, Dunleavy, Egan, Ellis, Gardner, Giessel, Hoffman, Huggins, Kelly, MacKinnon, McGuire, Meyer, Micciche, Olson, Stedman, Stevens, Stoltze, Wielechowski and so, HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24 passed the Senate, was signed by the President and Secretary and returned to the House.