Capital letters indicate new material to be added to existing statute.

Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute.

This is supplied as an informational item only.

This is NOT an official publication of the Colorado Legislature.

First Regular Session

Sixty-first General Assembly

LLS NO. R97@0760.01 RLH

STATE OF COLORADO

BY REPRESENTATIVE Entz;

also SENATOR Wattenberg.

ENGROSSED

AGRICULTURE

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 97-1031

WHEREAS, Department of the Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has waged a continuous "War Against The West" designed to stymie economic growth and the use and enjoyment of the natural resources of the western states; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt has allowed the National Park Service to publish regulations extending agency authority without Congressional approval; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt promised partnerships with the states but has promoted federal paternalism; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt has utilized the powers of his agency to thwart the legitimate development of public access to public and private lands such as the January 1997 agency policy related to RS 2477 assertions; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt has failed to produce his promised innovative agency Endangered Species Act revisions and interpretations; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt utilized the Endangered Species Act as a regulatory bludgeon rather than as a tool of conservation; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt has continuously fought against the orderly development of Alaska's vast oil reserves, particularly the development of the vast coastal plains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he has promoted total federal preemption of Alaska's fish and wildlife management authorities without Congressional authorization, he has attempted to develop regulations eliminating established subsistence and commercial fisheries within Glacier Bay National Park without Congressional authorization, and he has supported the creation of "Indian country" in Alaska despite Congressional settlement of aboriginal claims in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; and

WHEREAS, In an attempt to preempt Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authority, Interior Secretary Babbitt is trying to persuade the FAA to establish "no­fly zones" over the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains, which would only regulate tour operators, in a misguided attempt to curb "noise pollution" that the National Park Service admits is not a serious problem; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt has proposed an 11% cut, equaling $12 million, in the federal Payments­In­Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program which was intended to reimburse counties for property tax losses for federal tax­exempt lands; and

WHEREAS, The money cut from the PILT program will apparently be used to help pay for the management of the new Escalante Monument in Utah, which was established by President Clinton without the usual environmental and public hearing process; and

WHEREAS, An 11% reduction of Colorado's $8 million share of the PILT payments would mean that approximately $900,000 per year would be taken from Colorado counties to contribute to the Escalante Monument project; and

WHEREAS, In 1995 Congress increased the authorization for PILT to double the previous $100 million level gradually over several years in order to make up for inflation, making a full appropriation for fiscal year 1999 $190 million, rather than the $101.5 million Interior Secretary Babbitt is asking for; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt has utilized his agency's broad powers and regulatory authorities to override state agency jurisdictions in navigable waters; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt has utilized his agency's broad regulatory powers to impact uses on state and private lands outside the boundaries of lands managed by the Department of the Interior; and

WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Babbitt has demonstrated an almost complete disregard for the jurisdictions and responsibilities of state agencies by failing to consult appropriate states on matters of mutual concern; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty­first General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:

That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, call for the immediate resignation of Department of the Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.

Be It Further Resolved, That the Colorado General Assembly calls on President Clinton to appoint a Secretary that is capable and willing to work cooperatively with the Governors of the western states and their agencies to integrate the mission of the Department of the Interior with the real economic and social needs of the western states.

Be It Further Resolved, That the Colorado General Assembly respectfully requests that all of the western states unite in this effort to produce a more productive and respectful partnership between the federal and state governments.

Be It Further Resolved, That the Colorado General Assembly respectfully requests that Congress take appropriate action to reestablish the rights of the states and specifically halt the Department of the Interior's "War Against The West".

Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent to Bill Clinton, President of the United States, to Interior Secretary Babbitt, to all of the Colorado delegates to the United States Congress, and to Roy Romer, Governor of Colorado.