Juneau — The Alaska House of Representatives has voted to concur with Senate amendments and give final passage to House Joint Resolution 5, sending a unified, bipartisan message to Washington D.C. in support of restoring and making permanent the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.
Sponsored by Representative Jeremy Bynum (R-Ketchikan) and co-sponsored by 30 other House members, HJR 5 received overwhelming support in both bodies of the Legislature will now be forwarded to Governor Dunleavy and the Alaska Congressional Delegation.
“This is a clear statement from Alaska’s elected leaders that our rural forest communities’ matter,” said Rep. Bynum. “With this resolution, we are urging Congress and the President to act quickly and decisively to renew this critical program that supports local schools and basic services in areas where federal land holdings impact local tax revenue.”
Twenty Alaska communities, including Ketchikan, Wrangell, Cordova, Petersburg, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough, receive direct funding from the Secure Rural Schools program, which helps offset the loss of tax revenue and timber receipts in areas surrounded by federal forest lands.