SJR 17-OFFSHORE OIL & GAS REVENUE  3:37:22 PM CHAIR HUGGINS announced SJR 17 to be up for consideration. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI, sponsor of SJR 17, said this measure calls on Congress to provide Alaska and other coastal states with a fair share of revenue from oil and gas leases and development in the outer continental shelf (OCS). He explained under the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920, the federal government shares 50 percent of the revenues generated from mineral production on federal lands within each state's boundaries with the state. The shared mineral revenue is distributed automatically outside of the budget process and is not subject to appropriation. Unfortunately there is no comparable authority for the federal government to automatically share revenue from oil and gas activity occurring six miles or more offshore with adjacent coastal states despite the contribution made by those states to the nation's energy supplies. For years, coastal states have argued that they deserve a share of OCS revenues because they provide the infrastructure that supports offshore operations and bear the environmental risks of offshore development. Several times Congress has recognized this federal contribution and created revenue sharing programs most of which have been temporary or were extended to only a handful of states. The most recent one of these programs was included in the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. Under that act, the federal government agreed to give Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas 37.5 percent of revenue from oil and gas leasing and development in newly opened federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. This act is expected to distribute more than $60 billion to those four states over the next 25 years. Alaska was excluded from this program despite the efforts of our congressional delegation. This resolution supports the position that all coastal states with adjacent OCS development should receive on a regular and ongoing basis a fair share of revenue from OCS activities as compensation and reward for their contribution to the nation's energy security. Since statehood, oil and gas activities from Alaska's OCS have generated billions of dollars for the federal government. A spreadsheet in their packets showed that almost $6 billion has been collected from leasing and development in Alaska's OCS since 1982, not including the $2.6 billion that the federal government is likely to earn from the recent Chukchi Sea Sale known as lease sale 193, a record breaking event with 667 bids offered for 488 blocks. If the revenue sharing program had been in existence similar to the one in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska would have stood to gain $975 million from that sale alone. He said more leasing and development is likely to occur in the future and while Alaska is still considered a frontier area for OCS development, two-thirds of the nation's OCS is off Alaska's coast. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimates there could be as much as 55 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil and 280 Tcf of technically recoverable gas off of Alaska's coast. Alaska already has 263 active oil and gas leases off of its coast covering more than 1.4 million acres. 3:40:47 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said the Chukchi Sea sale could result in the leasing of an additional 2.7 million acres and that his office has been in touch with aides in Senator Ted Stevens's office regarding this resolution and has been assured it will be useful in the Senator's effort to secure revenue sharing for Alaska. Senator Ted Stevens's chief aide for energy and the environment says he is confident legislation will be introduced in 2008 to create a multi-state revenue sharing program. 3:41:28 PM MICHELLE SYDEMAN, staff to Senator Wielechowski, added that Senator Ted Stevens thought it would be good to act before the November elections for a number of reasons. One is that several members of Congress who support OCS revenue sharing will be retiring this year. CHAIR HUGGINS countered that three Alaska legislators were at the Energy Council and New Mexico Senator Bingaman didn't support the revenue sharing concept and while he lives in a landlocked state, he's the Senate Resources Committee chair. SENATOR WAGONER added that Senator Bingaman didn't come out strongly opposed to their pursuing it. SENATOR STEVENS moved to report SJR 17 from committee. There were no objections and it was so ordered.