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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY
Introduced: 1/16/24
Referred: Transportation, Resources
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Alaska delegation in Congress to pursue a waiver to the Jones Act for the
2 transportation of oil and gas drilling rigs to the state.
3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
4 WHEREAS the state is grappling with a consequential natural gas shortage, impairing
5 the well-being and economic stability of its residents and businesses; and
6 WHEREAS the natural gas shortage poses a substantial threat to energy security and
7 reliability in the state; and
8 WHEREAS the current deficit in local natural gas production capability is, in part, the
9 result of a shortage of jack-up drilling rigs, which are pivotal for increasing in-state natural
10 gas extraction in the Cook Inlet sedimentary basin; and
11 WHEREAS 46 U.S.C. 55102 (sec. 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920),
12 commonly known as the Jones Act, mandates that goods transported between United States
13 ports be carried on ships that are built, owned, and registered in the United States and crewed
14 by United States citizens, which complicates the transportation of drilling rigs to the state; and
15 WHEREAS the complexity of oil and gas drilling rigs creates substantial barriers to
16 procuring and constructing rigs within the confines of the state; and
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1 WHEREAS acquiring a waiver to the Jones Act would facilitate the transportation of
2 essential drilling rigs from other states and territories of the United States and foreign
3 countries, thereby helping to mitigate the state's energy crisis; and
4 WHEREAS alleviating the natural gas shortage will not only bolster the state's energy
5 security but will also safeguard the health and safety of the state's residents; and
6 WHEREAS the sustainable development of the state's rich energy resources will, in
7 the longer term, contribute to domestic energy security and economic prosperity, both in the
8 state and throughout the United States;
9 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the Alaska
10 delegation in Congress to pursue a waiver to the Jones Act to facilitate the urgent
11 transportation of oil and gas drilling rigs to the state, recognizing the imminent and acute
12 necessity to stabilize the state's energy supply.
13 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President
14 of the United States; the Honorable Pete Buttigieg, United States Secretary of Transportation;
15 and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the
16 Honorable Mary Peltola, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.
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