April 2, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 57 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 57
(Senate - April 02, 2019)
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[Pages S2187-S2188] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated: POM-23. A concurrent memorial adopted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona urging the United States Congress to provide full long-term funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Senate Concurrent Memorial 1002 Whereas, the authority of state and local governments to promote the highest value and use of land is critical to funding education and other essential government services; and Whereas, under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, federal land [[Page S2188]] policy changed from one of disposal, in which land would enter the state tax rolls, to permanent federal retention as untaxable public land; and Whereas, the State of Arizona is composed of 113,417 square miles of land, of which 42% is federally owned, nontribal land that is unavailable for economic development and not part of the property tax base. Less than 17% of the land in Arizona is private land; and Whereas, recognizing the substantial burden this policy change imposed on the ability of state and local governments to fund education and other essential government services, Congress established the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program in 1976 to compensate for the tax revenue that these governments otherwise would have generated from the land; and Whereas, the national average PILT payment in fiscal year 2018 was $0.91 per acre, which is far below the amount that federal lands would return through both value-based taxation and economic development; and Whereas, for more than a decade, Congress has been erratic in the amount and timeliness of PILT payments to Arizona counties; and Whereas, funding for fiscal year 2018 PILT was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, totaling $553 million, but the fate of fiscal year 2019 and future years is still unknown; and Whereas, a lack of PILT funding places the large, unsustainable burden of providing services squarely on the backs of Arizona taxpayers and critically impacts the local budget process and structural solvency of counties and public school systems; and Whereas, without regard to the longstanding debate whether the federal government should relinquish control of Arizona lands, Congress should pay the full amount in lieu of tax revenue that is denied this state's taxing entities as long as the federal government does withhold state lands from being subject to tax; and Whereas, an estimated $9.4 billion provided by state, county and local monies, including 43% of the state general fund budget, funds K-12 education in Arizona. The state and local governments struggle to provide this and other essential government services, and proper payment of PILT will help this imbalance; and Whereas, the federal government has the duty to reimburse local jurisdictions for the presence of federally managed public lands in a reliable and consistent manner. Wherefore your memorialist, the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring, prays: 1. That the United States Congress establish, in coordination with this state, an objective standard for calculating the value of PILT payments that are equivalent to the tax revenue this state, political subdivisions and school districts would otherwise be able to generate but for federal control of Arizona lands. 2. That the United States Congress provide full, timely and sustainable long-term funding for the PILT program to help create financial stability within Arizona's counties and public school system. 3. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit a copy of this Memorial to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona. ____ POM-24. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Iowa urging the United States Congress to enact legislation to implement a multilateral trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico; to the Committee on Finance. House Concurrent Resolution No. 10 Whereas, Iowa is a world leader in agricultural production and industrial manufacturing, and depends on international trade to market its products; and Whereas, Iowa prospers from multilateral trade with Canada and Mexico, its two largest international export markets, which purchase nearly half of the value of Iowa's total exports; and Whereas, a multilateral trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico will support high-paying jobs for Iowans and build the entire North American economy; and Whereas, a multilateral trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico should provide safeguards for United States products to create a more level playing field for America's workers, modernize agriculture trade in North America to benefit America's farmers, and establish new protections with respect to United States intellectual property, digital trade, anticorruption, and good regulatory practices; and Whereas, multilateral trade agreements negotiated with bipartisan efforts enjoy overwhelming support from the United States business community and farm groups; and Whereas, a multilateral trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico will reinforce the close relationship we uphold with our neighbors to the north and south; and Whereas, a multilateral trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico must be ratified by all three governments before it can come into effect, including a congressional vote on legislation to implement the multilateral trade agreement: Now therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring, That the Iowa General Assembly recognizes that a multilateral trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico will strengthen Iowa's economy and benefit Iowa's farmers and workers, and urges Congress to enact legislation to implement such a multilateral trade agreement; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this Concurrent Resolution be distributed to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of Iowa's congressional delegation. ____ POM-25. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of North Dakota relative to abortion; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. House Concurrent Resolution No. 3029 Whereas, a bill prohibiting abortions from being performed 20 weeks postfertilization passed in the United States House of Representatives in 2013, 2015, and 2017; and Whereas, in 2017, the bill prohibiting abortions from being performed 20 weeks postfertilization failed to pass in the United States Senate by only nine votes, and Whereas, over twenty states, including North Dakota, have implemented laws, with varying exceptions, prohibiting abortions from being performed 20 weeks postferilization: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives of North Dakota, the Senate concurring therein: That the Sixty-sixth Legislative Assembly urges the Congress of the United States to pass a federal prohibition on abortions performed 20 weeks postfertilization; and be it further Resolved, that the Secretary of State forward copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, and each member of the North Dakota Congressional Delegation. ____ POM-26. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of Ohio urging the United States Congress to enact a Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as expeditiously as possible; to the Committee on the Judiciary. Senate Resolution No. 41 Whereas, If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person and must be entitled to all the protections of United States law available to a legal person; and Whereas, Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a hospital, clinic, or other facility should have the same claim to the protections of the law that would arise for any newborn or any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care; and Whereas, Without special protection for infants born alive after an abortion provided in law, these infants are exposed to serious injury or harm and possible death; and Whereas, A Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would provide the protections needed so that an infant born alive after an abortion is treated as a legal person under, and is protected by, United States law: Now therefore be it Resolved, That we, the members of the Senate of the 133rd General Assembly of the State of Ohio, hereby urge the Congress of the United States to enact a Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as expeditiously as possible; and be it further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly authenticated copies of this Resolution to the members of the Ohio Congressional delegation, to the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, to the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, and to the news media of Ohio. ____________________
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