02/25/2025 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS

                SJR  6-WASHINGTON D.C. STATEHOOD                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:48:16 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI announced the consideration of SENATE JOINT                                                                      
RESOLUTION NO. 6 Supporting the admittance of Washington, D.C.,                                                                 
into the Union as a state of the United States of America.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:48:57 PM                                                                                                                    
MAGGIE GRENIER, Staff, Senator Loki Tobin, Alaska State                                                                         
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, co-introduced SJR 6 on behalf of                                                                   
the sponsor as follows:                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
[Original punctuation provided.]                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Senate  Joint  Resolution 6  seeks  to  put the  Alaska                                                                    
     State  Legislature   on  record   supporting  admitting                                                                    
     Washington, D.C. as a new state.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
        • Specifically, SJR 6 calls on the President and                                                                        
          Congress to enact legislation granting statehood                                                                      
          to the people of Washington, D.C.                                                                                     
        • The goal is for that legislation to shrink the                                                                        
          size of the current federal District of Columbia                                                                      
          to only include federal lands and buildings.                                                                          
        • That would include the main symbols of our shared                                                                     
          democracy, including the White House, the Capital                                                                     
          Building, the Supreme Court, and the National                                                                         
          Mall.                                                                                                                 
        • The new state that is envisioned by SJR 6 would                                                                       
          include the residential areas of Washington, D.C.                                                                     
         that includes a population of around 712,000.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     The current  situation by the residents  of Washington,                                                                    
     D.C. is  similar to the  situation faced by  the people                                                                    
     of Alaska prior to statehood.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
        • To highlight this similarity, I would like to                                                                         
          read a quote from a letter of support in your                                                                         
          packet from the League of Women Voters of Alaska.                                                                     
        • From 1884 to 1912 Alaska was organized as the                                                                         
          District of Alaska.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     "Because  Alaska's   own  campaign  for   statehood  is                                                                    
     relatively  recent,  and  we still  have  citizens  who                                                                    
     remember our  territorial status  before 1959,  when we                                                                    
     had  federal  rule  and  no  voting  representation  in                                                                    
     Congress, it  seems appropriate  that Alaskans  and the                                                                    
     Alaska State Legislature should  speak up in support of                                                                    
     statehood  for   the  citizens   of  the   District  of                                                                    
     Columbia,  who pay  federal income  taxes and  serve in                                                                    
     the   US  military   without  full   representation  in                                                                    
     Congress."   Excerpt from a  letter of support from the                                                                    
     League of Women Voters Alaska                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:51:02 PM                                                                                                                    
MIKE MASON, Staff, Senator Loki  Tobin, Alaska State Legislature,                                                               
Juneau, Alaska, co-introduced  SJR 6 on behalf of  the sponsor as                                                               
follows:                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
[Original punctuation provided.]                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     The  District  of  Columbia   Elections  Act  that  was                                                                    
     approved by Congress in 1970  gave the Washington, D.C.                                                                    
     area   to   send   a   delegate   to   the   House   of                                                                    
     Representatives.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
        • The delegate can participate in debates but                                                                           
          cannot vote.                                                                                                          
        • Additionally, the Washington, D.C. area is not                                                                        
          represented in the U.S. Senate.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  MASON stated  that  the District  of  Columbia is  currently                                                               
represented by  an elected 13-member  council and  elected mayor,                                                               
with limited powers  of local self-government granted  in 1973 to                                                               
ease the burden  on Congress. He said Congress  and the President                                                               
have  frequently   interfered  with  D.C.'s   self-government  by                                                               
disapproving, amending,  or repealing actions taken  by the local                                                               
council  and  mayor. He  stated  that  on multiple  occasions,  a                                                               
majority  of Washington  D.C. voters  have expressed  support for                                                               
statehood through initiatives and referrals.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     The U.S. Government  is facing a lot  of challenges and                                                                    
     there is  little attention  paid to  the needs  and the                                                                    
     rights of the residents of Washington, D. C.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
        • Statehood would give those residents the right of                                                                     
          self-determination that is currently lacking                                                                          
          under exclusive federal control.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:54:54 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI [opened public testimony on SJR 6.]                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:55:07 PM                                                                                                                    
SUE  SHERIF, Board  Member,  League of  Women  Voters of  Alaska,                                                               
Fairbanks, Alaska,  testified in  support of  SJR 6.  She offered                                                               
the following testimony:                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
[Original punctuation provided.]                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Although  Washington,  DC is  a  large  city by  Alaska                                                                    
     standards,  the population  of the  District itself  is                                                                    
     only 689.5 thousand  people, which would place  it as a                                                                    
     state  between  Alaska  and Vermont  amongst  the  five                                                                    
     smallest  states.  It  would join  the  seven  states--                                                                    
     Alaska, Wyoming,  Montana, North Dakota,  South Dakota,                                                                    
     Vermont, and  Delaware  that have only  one delegate in                                                                    
     the House of Representatives.   (The district currently                                                                    
     has a  non-voting representative  in the House  who can                                                                    
     draft legislation but cannot vote.)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     The  League  is nonpartisan  and  does  not support  or                                                                    
     oppose  candidates   or  parties,  but  it   does  take                                                                    
     positions on  issues after  reaching a  consensus based                                                                    
     on  careful  study.  The  League  of  Women  Voters  US                                                                    
     position  states: "The  League of  Women Voters  of the                                                                    
     United States  believes that  citizens of  the District                                                                    
     of  Columbia  should be  afforded  the  same rights  of                                                                    
     self-government  and  full   voting  representation  in                                                                    
     Congress  as  are  all other  citizens  of  the  United                                                                    
     States."                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:58:33 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI stated that the  District of Columbia would be the                                                               
smallest  state  geographically and  asked  how  the state  would                                                               
generate revenue to function.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:58:48 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  MASON answered  that the  residents of  Washington D.C.  pay                                                               
more in  federal taxes per capita  than any other state.  He said                                                               
Washington D.C has  a strong tax base. He  stated that Washington                                                               
D.C.  is a  major metropolitan  area with  a large  population of                                                               
visitors,  which supports  the  idea that  Washington D.C.  would                                                               
generate enough revenue to sustain itself as a state.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:59:27 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI asked  if Washington D.C. were to  become the 51st                                                               
state would there  be concerns about the imbalance  in the United                                                               
States Senate.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:59:45 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  MASON responded  that  expanding the  number  of members  in                                                               
Congress  and the  Senate is  a significant  policy decision.  He                                                               
stated there are a lot  of good arguments how more representation                                                               
is  beneficial, especially  for underrepresented  populations. He                                                               
stated  that Washington  D.C. currently  has a  larger population                                                               
than Wyoming and Vermont.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:00:28 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked how many  states have sent resolutions                                                               
supporting Washington D.C.'s statehood.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:00:43 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  MASON answered  that over  the  past few  years, around  100                                                               
resolutions  have  been  filed,   with  approximately  35  states                                                               
involved.  He  emphasized  that no  other  democracy  denies  the                                                               
people of its national capital the  right to vote in its national                                                               
legislature. He stated that 700,000  residents of Washington D.C.                                                               
currently lack  a vote in  Congress, which is unique  among major                                                               
democracies.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:01:36 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  YUNDT  asked   whether  the  country  has   a  plan  for                                                               
establishing a  new seat of  government if Washington,  D.C. were                                                               
to become its own state.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:01:51 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. MASON answered  that the seat of government  would stay where                                                               
it is, the District of Columbia  would be reduced to include only                                                               
federal infrastructure,  while the new state  would encompass the                                                               
residential areas currently part of Washington D.C.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  YUNDT  stated  his  concern that  it  would  defeat  the                                                               
purpose of why Washington D.C. was set up in the first place.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR.  MASON stated  that there  have  been concerns  to enact  the                                                               
statehood for  Washington D.C., the  United States would  have to                                                               
have a  constitutional amendment  because of the  23rd Amendment.                                                               
He  said legal  experts  suggest that  while  a federal  district                                                               
can't be  enlarged, it  can be  shrunk. He  said the  District of                                                               
Columbia  has  been reduced  before,  so  the district  would  be                                                               
resized  to include  only federal  infrastructure, while  the new                                                               
state would  cover the  residential areas,  giving representation                                                               
to those currently unrepresented.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:03:56 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI held SJR 6 in committee.