SJR 19-ANWR & NAT'L PETRO RESERVE: STATE SHARE                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:35:52 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  GIESSEL  announced  the   consideration  of  SENATE  JOINT                                                               
RESOLUTION NO. 19 Urging the  United States Congress to honor the                                                               
terms of  the Mineral  Leasing Act and  the Alaska  Statehood Act                                                               
and provide  the state with  a 90  percent share of  all bonuses,                                                               
royalties, and  rentals received  by the federal  government from                                                               
the Arctic  National Wildlife Refuge  and the  National Petroleum                                                               
Reserve in Alaska.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:36:26 PM                                                                                                                    
LAURA  ACHEE,   Staff,  Senator  Jesse  Bjorkman,   Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, said  that Congress debated Alaska's                                                               
statehood  with the  awareness that  the  federal government  had                                                               
previously  claimed  a large  portion  of  valuable land  in  the                                                               
region.  In   addition,  Congress   was  aware  that   the  small                                                               
population,  remote location,  and  large  geographic size  meant                                                               
that  the  state  would not  have  sufficient  population  and/or                                                               
industry  to  support itself  from  taxes  alone. Therefore,  the                                                               
Alaska  Statehood Act  addressed this  by granting  the State  of                                                               
Alaska  a  90  percent  revenue  share  from  the  production  of                                                               
minerals (including oil  and gas) on federal lands.  SJR 19 urges                                                               
Congress to  hold to that  promise. She noted that,  according to                                                               
the  statehood  agreement,  the  State of  Alaska  is  due  those                                                               
revenues. She  also pointed  out that  the state  is experiencing                                                               
fiscal challenges.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:37:30 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  GIESSEL   asked  for  confirmation  that   currently,  the                                                               
revenues are evenly split, with 50  percent going to the State of                                                               
Alaska.  She  shared her  understanding  that  Alaska's share  is                                                               
received as a  pass-through, which goes directly  to the impacted                                                               
communities on federal land.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:37:46 PM                                                                                                                    
MS.  ACHEE   shared  her  understanding   that  this   is  region                                                               
dependent. She  said that the  revenues from the  Arctic National                                                               
Wildlife Refuge  (ANWR) (which was  a part of the  Statehood Act,                                                               
and which fell under the Mineral  Leasing Act), was changed to an                                                               
even  50-50 split.  She  added  that SJR  19  also addresses  the                                                               
National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPR-A),  which was not part of                                                               
the  Statehood Act  and did  not come  under the  Mineral Leasing                                                               
Act. Revenues from  NPR-A are also an even 50-50  split. She said                                                               
that Alaska faces the same  issues with regard to supporting NRR-                                                               
A (e.g.  write-offs that result  against revenues  for production                                                               
on those lands); therefore, NPR-A is included in SJR 19.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:38:51 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR GIESSEL  opened public testimony  on SJR 19;  finding none,                                                               
she closed public testimony.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:39:13 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR GIESSEL held SJR 19 in committee.