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H.C.R. 1

             1     

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION - LETTER TO FEDERAL

             2     
GOVERNMENT

             3     
2012 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Chief Sponsor: Christopher N. Herrod

             6     
Senate Sponsor: Margaret Dayton

             7     
             8      LONG TITLE
             9      General Description:
             10          This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor demands that the
             11      national government of the United States declare to the state of Utah its intent to
             12      dispose of its public lands in Utah or cede control of its lands to the state of Utah by
             13      July 1, 2012, or the state of Utah will take appropriate action to vindicate its rights
             14      under the United States Constitution, Utah's Enabling Act, and natural law.
             15      Highlighted Provisions:
             16          This resolution:
             17          .    demands that, by July 1, 2012, the national government of the United States
             18      communicate, in writing, to the Governor of the state of Utah, the President of the
             19      Utah Senate, and the Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, the intent of the
             20      national government of the United States to commit to either, by January 1, 2013,
             21      begin:
             22              .    selling public lands held by the national government in Utah and depositing 5%
             23      of those proceeds into Utah's permanent school fund as required by Utah's
             24      Enabling Act; or
             25              .    ceding control of, management of, and authority to sell public lands in Utah held
             26      by the national government to Utah's state government; and
             27          .    provides that, if the national government of the United States affirmatively rejects


             28      both courses of action, declines to commit to one of these courses of action, or fails to
             29      communicate its response to this demand by July 1, 2012, the government of the state of Utah,
             30      on behalf of the citizens of the state of Utah, will take appropriate action to vindicate its rights
             31      under the United States Constitution, Utah's Enabling Act, and natural law.
             32      Special Clauses:
             33          None
             34     
             35      Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
             36          WHEREAS, the Legislature and the Governor of the state of Utah, on behalf of Utah's
             37      current and future citizens, seeks recognition of, and vindication of, certain rights granted to it
             38      by the Constitution of the United States, guaranteed to it by the United States government by
             39      the passage of Utah's Enabling Act, and secured to it by natural law;
             40          WHEREAS, the Legislature and the Governor of the state of Utah seek redress from the
             41      United States government by July 1, 2012;
             42          WHEREAS, the Legislature and the Governor of the state of Utah assert, as a state
             43      within the United States of America, that certain express and implied promises made by the
             44      national government of the United States of America have not been fulfilled or have been
             45      abrogated by the direct and indirect action of the national government, to the detriment of the
             46      citizens of Utah;
             47          WHEREAS, in granting the right to "the People of Utah to form a Constitution and
             48      State Government, and to be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original
             49      States," the United States Congress, the President of the United States, and the citizens of the
             50      United States made certain express and implied promises to Utah, which remain unfulfilled
             51      over one hundred years later;
             52          WHEREAS, in addition, subsequent Congresses and Presidents have taken affirmative
             53      actions that, intentionally or not, change the covenants made between the national government
             54      of the United States and the citizens and government of the state of Utah;
             55          WHEREAS, Utah's Enabling Act guarantees that "five per centum of the proceeds of
             56      the sales of public lands lying within said State, which shall be sold by the United States
             57      subsequent to the admission of said State into the Union, after deducting all the expenses
             58      incident to the same, shall be paid to the said State, to be used as a permanent fund, the interest


             59      of which only shall be expended for the support of the common schools within said State";
             60          WHEREAS, the national government of the United States has failed to fulfill its
             61      obligation under this portion of Utah's Enabling Act, as nearly 70% of the land area in Utah
             62      continues to be held by the national government and has not been sold;
             63          WHEREAS, Utah's citizens, particularly its school children, have been and continue to
             64      be harmed by the failure of the national government of the United States to fulfill its promises;
             65          WHEREAS, the loss of revenues from the sale of the land and Utah's inability to tax the
             66      land decreases the money available to the state of Utah to spend on public education;
             67          WHEREAS, Congress's power to make this promise is explicitly granted to it by Article
             68      IV, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States: "New States may be admitted by
             69      Congress into this Union; . . .";
             70          WHEREAS, because Congress voluntarily imposed upon the national government the
             71      obligation to sell the public lands it holds within Utah, the United States Constitution, contract
             72      law, and fundamental fairness require that the national government of the United States be
             73      required to fulfill the promises it made in Utah's Enabling Act;
             74          WHEREAS, by passing the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43
             75      U.S.C. Sec. 1701 et seq., and other land management legislation, which shifted the national
             76      government of the United States' policy from selling lands within states held by the national
             77      government to retaining and managing those lands, the national government of the United
             78      States affirmatively broke the promise contained in Utah's Enabling Act and breached its
             79      contractual obligation to the citizens of Utah;
             80          WHEREAS, Utah's Enabling Act also guarantees that, if the citizens of Utah meet the
             81      conditions for becoming a state established by Congress in the Enabling Act, "the proposed
             82      State of Utah shall be deemed admitted by Congress into the Union, under and by virtue of this
             83      act, on an equal footing with the original States, . . . ";
             84          WHEREAS, Congress's action in failing to sell public lands within Utah has denied
             85      Utah its right under the Enabling Act to exist as a state on an "equal footing" with the original
             86      states;
             87          WHEREAS, the table attached as appendix A illustrates that Utah is not on an equal
             88      footing with the original states;
             89          WHEREAS, the table compares the percentage of land in Utah held by the national


             90      government of the United States with the percentage of land in each of the original 13 states
             91      held by the national government of the United States;
             92          WHEREAS, to summarize the table, the national government owns 67.9% of the land
             93      area of Utah, and of the original 13 states, Virginia has the highest percentage of land owned by
             94      the national government at 15.7%;
             95          WHEREAS, the citizens of the original 13 states have received and continue to receive
             96      significant financial benefits not enjoyed by Utah's citizens;
             97          WHEREAS, by failing to sell public lands in Utah, the national government of the
             98      United States has deprived Utah's permanent school fund of money to build the school fund's
             99      principal;
             100          WHEREAS, consequently, the interest generated from the permanent school fund is
             101      substantially less than it should be -- depriving Utah citizens of adequate money for public
             102      education;
             103          WHEREAS, sale of public lands to private parties may allow the state to tax those
             104      lands;
             105          WHEREAS, the revenues generated from those taxes can be used to further bolster
             106      public education services, provide other essential state services, or to reduce the general tax
             107      rates for all Utah citizens; and
             108          WHEREAS, Utah's tax revenues and economy are harmed because economic growth
             109      through private development of, and use of, the lands cannot occur:
             110          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
             111      Governor concurring therein, on behalf of the citizens of Utah and based upon the reasons set
             112      forth in this resolution, demand that, by July 1, 2012, the national government of the United
             113      States communicate, in writing, to the Governor of the state of Utah, the President of the Utah
             114      Senate, and the Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, the intent of the national
             115      government of the United States to commit to either, by January 1, 2013, begin (1) selling
             116      public lands held by the national government in Utah and depositing 5% of those proceeds in
             117      Utah's permanent school fund as required by Utah's Enabling Act; or (2) ceding control of,
             118      management of, and authority to sell public lands in Utah held by the national government to
             119      Utah's state government.
             120          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Legislature and the Governor that if the national


             121      government of the United States affirmatively rejects both courses of action, declines to
             122      commit to one of these courses of action, or fails to communicate its response to this demand
             123      by July 1, 2012, the government of the state of Utah, on behalf of the citizens of the state of
             124      Utah, will take appropriate action to vindicate its rights under the United States Constitution,
             125      Utah's Enabling Act, and natural law.
             126          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the President of
             127      the United States, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United
             128      States House of Representatives, the United States Department of the Interior, and to the
             129      members of Utah's congressional delegation.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 1-26-12 11:42 AM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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