ALEC Urges President and Federal Government to Consult With States on Energy Resources and Public Lands

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Feb 1, 2012) - The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is sending a strong message to the federal government in regards to management of lands and energy resources within state borders.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama said, "Over the last three years we've opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration..." Unfortunately, compared to 10 years ago, oil and natural gas production on federal lands is down by more than 40 percent. Also, over the past few years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed and finalized numerous overreaching and inefficient air and water rules that will dramatically increase energy costs, negatively impact jobs and the economy, irreparably damage the competitiveness of U.S. businesses and trample on state sovereignty in the process.

"Every year the federal government further erodes state sovereignty by handing down decisions on the use of energy on public lands," said Wyoming State Sen. Bebout, a member of ALEC's International and Federal Relations Task Force. "It's time to restore the states' co-equal status with the federal government as written in the Constitution."

The lack of cooperation and the recent onslaught of EPA regulations violating states' rights is in direct opposition to a recently passed ALEC resolution requesting that the federal government "confer and consult" with states on public lands and energy resources. This resolution, reflecting the sentiment of ALEC's more than 2000 state legislative members from across the country, was approved earlier this month by the ALEC Legislative Board of Directors.

"The stakes are high and states like Texas who depend on public trust lands demand a seat at the table when decisions are made," said Texas State Rep. Tom Craddick, ALEC's former national chairman.

ALEC's resolution, titled Resolution Requesting that the Federal Government Confer and Consult with the States on Management of Public Lands and Energy Resources, recognizes that state governments have an inherent interest in how the federal government manages public land and energy resources.

For more information visit www.regulatorytrainwreck.com or www.alec.org/initiatives/restore-the-balance

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the nation's largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators, with more than 2,000 state legislators across the nation.