BILL REQ. #: S-2821.1
| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2003 Regular Session |
Read first time 04/07/2003. Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of
the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully
represent and petition as follows:
WHEREAS, For many years western states have grappled with the
challenge of providing the best education for their citizens; and
WHEREAS, Western states face unique challenges in achieving this
goal; and
WHEREAS, From 1979 to 1998 the percent change in expenditures per
pupil in 13 western states was 28 percent, compared to 57 percent in
the remaining states; and
WHEREAS, In 2000-01, the pupil per teacher ratio in 13 western
states averaged 17.9 percent to one compared with 14.8 percent to one
in the remaining states; and
WHEREAS, The conditions in western states are exacerbated by
projections that enrollment will increase by an average of 7.1 percent,
compared to an average decrease of 2.6 percent in the rest of the
nation; and
WHEREAS, Despite the wide disparities in expenditures per pupil and
pupil per teacher ratio, western states tax at a comparable rate and
allocate as much of their budgets to public education as the rest of
the nation; and
WHEREAS, The ability of western states to fund education is
directly related to federal ownership of state lands; and
WHEREAS, The federal government owns an average of 51.9 percent of
the land in 13 western states, compared to 4.1 percent in the remaining
states; and
WHEREAS, The enabling acts of most western states promise that 5
percent of the proceeds from the sale of federal lands will go to the
states for public education; and
WHEREAS, A federal policy change in 1976 ended these sales
resulting in an estimated 14 billion dollars in lost public education
funding for western states; and
WHEREAS, The ability of western states to fund public education is
further impacted by the fact that state and local property taxes, which
public education relies heavily upon to fund education, cannot be
assessed on federal lands; and
WHEREAS, The estimated annual impact of this property tax
prohibition on western states is over 4 billion dollars; and
WHEREAS, The federal government shares only half of its royalty
revenue with the states; and
WHEREAS, Royalties are further reduced because federal lands are
less likely to be developed and federal laws often place stipulations
on the use of state royalty payments; and
WHEREAS, The estimated annual impact of royalty payment policies on
western states is over 1.86 billion dollars; and
WHEREAS, Much of the land that the federal government transferred
to states upon statehood as a trust for public education is difficult
to administer and to make productive because it is surrounded by
federal land; and
WHEREAS, Federal land ownership greatly hinders the ability of
western states to fund public education; and
WHEREAS, The federal government should compensate western states
for the significant impact federal land ownership has on the ability of
western states to educate its citizens; and
WHEREAS, Just compensation will allow western states to be on equal
footing with the rest of the nation in their efforts to provide
education for their citizens;
NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the United
States Congress appropriate just compensation to the state of
Washington for the impact of federal land ownership on the state's
ability to fund public education.
BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately
transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United
States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of
Washington.