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S.J.R. 13 Enrolled

             1     

JOINT RESOLUTION URGING GOVERNOR AND UTAH'S

             2     
CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO SECURE UTAH STATE

             3     
LAND

             4     
2013 GENERAL SESSION

             5     
STATE OF UTAH

             6     
Chief Sponsor: Aaron Osmond

             7     
House Sponsor: Keven J. Stratton

             8     
             9      LONG TITLE
             10      General Description:
             11          This joint resolution of the Legislature strongly urges the federal government to transfer
             12      title to the public lands within the boundaries of the state of Utah to the state, and
             13      strongly urges the Governor and Utah's congressional delegation to work to obtain from
             14      the federal government the transfer of these lands to this state.
             15      Highlighted Provisions:
             16          This resolution:
             17          .    fully supports the provisions of the Transfer of Public Lands Act, as currently
             18      signed into law, and strongly urges the federal government to honor its long overdue
             19      promise to transfer title to the public lands within the boundaries of the state of
             20      Utah to the state;
             21          .    declares that this action, if taken by the federal government, will allow Utah to
             22      provide for the education of its children, grow its economy and job opportunities,
             23      and provide for responsible management of the state's abundant natural resources
             24      while preserving the important historic and cultural contributions that Utah's public
             25      lands provide the citizens of Utah, the nation, and the world;
             26          .    strongly urges the Governor, the Attorney General, Utah's congressional delegation,
             27      Utah's local governments, and the citizens of the state of Utah to join the Legislature
             28      in fully supporting the provisions of the Transfer of Public Lands Act, as currently
             29      signed into law, in order to hold the federal government accountable for its long


             30      overdue promise to transfer title to the public lands within the state of Utah to the state; and
             31          .    strongly urges the Governor and Utah's congressional delegation to exert their
             32      utmost abilities to obtain from the federal government the transfer to this state of the
             33      public lands as specified in the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act at as early a
             34      period and on such terms as may be beneficial to the state and advantageous to its
             35      citizens.
             36      Special Clauses:
             37          None
             38     
             39      Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             40          WHEREAS, at statehood, Utah exacted from the federal government in its Utah
             41      Enabling Act the same promise the federal government made and kept with all states east of
             42      Colorado -- the promise that the federal government would "extinguish title" to the public lands
             43      within the boundaries of the state;
             44          WHEREAS, to facilitate the federal government's performance of this promise, Utah
             45      agreed, just like states east of Colorado, to "forever disclaim all right and title to the
             46      unappropriated public lands" as a means of quieting title;
             47          WHEREAS, with certainty of the title, the federal government was able to give
             48      certainty of title to purchasers and transferees of the public lands as the federal government
             49      disposed of them in honoring statehood contracts like Utah's Enabling Act;
             50          WHEREAS, Utah's expectation that the federal government would timely dispose of
             51      the public lands as a material part of the benefit of its enabling act bargain is plainly evident
             52      from the Utah Senate Joint Memorial Number Four from 1915, which provides, in part, as
             53      follows:
             54          "In harmony with the spirit and letter of the land grants to the national government, in
             55      perpetuation of a policy that has done more to promote the general welfare than any other
             56      policy in our national life, and in conformity with the terms of our Enabling Act, we, the
             57      members of the Legislature of the State of Utah, memorialize the President and the Congress of


             58      the United States for the speedy return to the former liberal national attitude toward the public
             59      domain, and we call attention to the fact that the burden of State and local government in Utah
             60      is borne by the taxation of less than one-third of the lands of the State, which alone is vested in
             61      private or corporate ownership, and we hereby earnestly urge a policy that will afford an
             62      opportunity to settle our lands and make use of our resources on terms of equality with the
             63      older states, to the benefit and upbuilding of the State and to the strength of the nation.";
             64          WHEREAS, Utah's expectation that the federal government would timely dispose of
             65      the public lands as a material part of our enabling act bargain is plainly evident from the
             66      express language of Section 9 of the Utah Enabling Act that "five per centum of the proceeds
             67      of the sales of public lands lying within said State, which shall be sold by the United States
             68      subsequent to the admission of said State into the Union, after deducting all the expenses
             69      incident to the same, shall be paid to the said State, to be used as a permanent fund, the interest
             70      of which only shall be expended for the support of the common schools within said State";
             71          WHEREAS, Utah's expectation that the federal government would timely dispose of
             72      the public lands as a material part of our enabling act bargain is plainly evident from the fact
             73      that the "forever disclaim right and title ... until title thereto shall be extinguished [be and
             74      remain]" is the very same language contained in the enabling acts of states east of Colorado
             75      where the federal government did, in fact, dispose of virtually all of its public lands;
             76          WHEREAS, Utah's expectation that the federal government would timely dispose of
             77      the public lands as a material part of its enabling act bargain is evident from the fact that Utah
             78      did not bargain, and would never have bargained, away the "incident of sovereignty" of being
             79      able to tax the lands to provide essential government services;
             80          WHEREAS, the enabling act of North Dakota was done within five years of Utah's and
             81      contains virtually the same word-for-word disposal language, but the federal government
             82      disposed of all 3% of North Dakota's public lands such that it keeps 100% of its mineral
             83      royalties, controls 100% of the access, use, and development of their lands, and, as a
             84      consequence, has an abundance of public funds for education and other essential public
             85      services;


             86          WHEREAS, according to the United States Government Accountability Office in
             87      testimony to Congress in May of 2012, the United States Geological Survey estimates that "the
             88      Green River Formation [an area where Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming meet] contains about 3
             89      trillion barrels of oil, and about half of this may be recoverable, depending on available
             90      technology and economic conditions";
             91          WHEREAS, according to the Institute for Energy Research in February of 2013, there
             92      is more than $150,000,000,000,000 worth of energy resources locked up in federally controlled
             93      lands throughout the West;
             94          WHEREAS, given that the federal government continues to run unsustainable,
             95      trillion-plus annual deficits, and continues to amass unsustainable national debt and unfunded
             96      obligations for social services in the dozens of trillions, Utah faces inevitable reductions in the
             97      amount or value of the 45.3% of federal funds that comprise total state spending;
             98          WHEREAS, any reduction in federal funds to the state, which comprise the single
             99      largest source of Utah's total spending, will disproportionately impact funding for education as
             100      the single largest component of Utah's state budget;
             101          WHEREAS, in 2012, the Legislature of the state of Utah passed by supermajorities in
             102      both houses, and the Governor signed, H.B. 148, Transfer of Public Lands Act, to secure the
             103      full rights and benefits of Utah's Enabling Act in the transfer of Utah's public lands to the state
             104      to be managed for the multiple use and sustained yield of Utah's abundant resources through
             105      local planning;
             106          WHEREAS, other mountain west states are beginning to follow Utah's lead with
             107      various legislative measures to secure their enabling act promise for the timely disposal of their
             108      public lands;
             109          WHEREAS, there is no sustainable way to increase personal or corporate taxes
             110      sufficient to close even a fraction of the per-pupil funding gap in the state, a gap which is the
             111      largest in the nation; and
             112          WHEREAS, the ability to derive tax and other revenues from the lands, including
             113      through maintaining recreation and heritage areas and other multiple uses within the state, is


             114      the only solution substantial enough to provide for the education equality of Utah's children
             115      and the economic self-reliance for the state:
             116          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah fully
             117      supports the provisions of the Transfer of Public Lands Act, as currently signed into law, and
             118      strongly urges the federal government to honor its long overdue promise to transfer title to the
             119      public lands within the boundaries of the state of Utah to the state and, by doing so, allow Utah
             120      to take its place equally among the states of the Union.
             121          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah declares that
             122      this action, if taken by the federal government, will allow Utah to provide for the education of
             123      its children, grow its economy and job opportunities, and provide for responsible management
             124      of the state's abundant natural resources while preserving the important historic and cultural
             125      contributions that Utah's public lands provide the citizens of Utah, the nation, and the world.
             126          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature strongly urges the Governor, the
             127      Attorney General, Utah's congressional delegation, Utah's local governments, and the citizens
             128      of the state of Utah to join the Legislature in fully supporting the provisions of the Transfer of
             129      Public Lands Act, as currently signed into law, in order to hold the federal government
             130      accountable for its long overdue promise to transfer title to the public lands within the state of
             131      Utah to the state.
             132          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature strongly urges the Governor and
             133      Utah's congressional delegation to exert their utmost abilities to obtain from the federal
             134      government the transfer to this state of the public lands as specified in the Utah Transfer of
             135      Public Lands Act at as early a period and on such terms as may be beneficial to the state and
             136      advantageous to its citizens.
             137          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be sent to the United
             138      States Department of the Interior, United States Department of Agriculture, the Majority
             139      Leader of the United States Senate, the Minority Leader of the United States Senate, the
             140      Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of Utah's congressional
             141      delegation, and the Governors of the other 49 states.


             142     


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