House Joint Resolution No. 25
Introduced By brainard, prouse, clark, orr, cobb, tash, wells, curtiss, stovall, zook, kasten, beaudry, boharski, simpkins, jenkins, emerson, baer, mahlum, benedict, keating
A Joint Resolution of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the state of Montana urging Congress to reaffirm its power over international agreements that concern the use and management of land and resources belonging to the United States, the individual states, and the people.
WHEREAS, the federal government is the sole negotiator of treaties and international agreements for the United States; and
WHEREAS, the federal government has signed various agreements with foreign countries and other international organizations; and
WHEREAS, many of these treaties and agreements may potentially jeopardize the sovereign right of the people of the United States to regulate domestic decisions regarding the use of public lands, environmental protection, and natural resources; and
WHEREAS, some federal and international proposals conflict with private property rights; and
WHEREAS, the western states depend on the reasonable multiple use of public and private land to sustain their economies and the livelihood of their citizens; and
WHEREAS, prohibiting specific uses on nonfederal lands could cause significant negative impact on the value of nonfederal property and on local economies; and
WHEREAS, the power to plan or zone private land is a power reserved to the sovereign states and to the people of the states; and
WHEREAS, the enormity of some of the proposed plans, such as the Rocky Mountain Heritage Corridor and the Mississippi River Valley Heritage Corridor, demonstrates an excessive federal involvement.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
That this body request our Congressional Delegation to aggressively work to reaffirm the power of Congress under Article IV of the United States Constitution over international agreements that concern the use and management of land and resources belonging to the United States, the individual states, and the people.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we oppose all programs, such as world heritage areas, biosphere reserves, and the American heritage areas, that usurp the sovereign rights of the people of the United States and the State of Montana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we request Congress to fulfill its obligation to the nation by carefully reading all documents that pertain to treaties and agreements and by fully examining and debating the issues that arise from changing the use of lands owned by the United States.
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