[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 98 (Friday, July 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7299-S7301]
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-168. A resolution adopted by the House of the General 
     Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; to the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations.

                               Resolution

       Whereas, the House of Representatives is becoming 
     increasingly concerned that the tropical rain forests are 
     being destroyed at a rate of between 13.5 million and 55 
     million acres a year; and
       Whereas, it is feared that further destruction will lead to 
     the elimination of hundreds of thousands of species of plants 
     and animals; and
       Whereas, rain forests are an important source of medicinal 
     plants, and approximately 121 prescription drugs are derived 
     from plants which have their origins in rain forests; and
       Whereas, rain forests are storehouses of evolutionary 
     achievement and are increasingly invaluable to humankind in 
     our search for the mysteries of life; and
       Whereas, rain forests play a major role in the way the 
     sun's heat is distributed around the globe, and any 
     disturbance could produce climatic choas; and
       Whereas, it is imperative that something be done before the 
     damage to the rain forests is irreversible: Therefore be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives memorialize the 
     President and Congress to take whatever steps are necessary 
     to protect the rain forests from further destruction; and be 
     it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the President of the United States and the presiding officers 
     of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from 
     Pennsylvania.
                                                                    ____

       POM-169. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Michigan; to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations.

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 17

       Whereas, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has proven 
     itself to be a stabilizing factor in Europe. Through a wide 
     variety of programs and the channels of communications it has 
     opened, NATO has helped to secure the peace, economic 
     development, and cooperation among its member nations and 
     other countries; and
       Whereas, Poland, a free and democratic nation with a long 
     and proud history, enjoys numerous ties with NATO member 
     nations. The Republic of Poland is committed to the 
     preservation of freedom and the strengthening of democracy. 
     This nation's well-being as a sovereign country has long been 
     dependent upon the overall stability of central Europe; and
       Whereas, the people of Poland wish to exercise their 
     responsibilities within NATO. This country desires to become 
     part of NATO's mission to prevent the excesses of 
     nationalism; and
       Whereas, the United States is dedicated to maintaining its 
     friendship with Poland, a country that is pivotal to the 
     continued stability of this area of the world; Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That we memorialize the President and the 
     Congress of the United States to work for the expansion of 
     the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to include the 
     Republic of Poland; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 
     the Office of the President of the United States, the 
     President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and the members of 
     the Michigan congressional delegation.
                                                                    ____

       POM-170. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Colorado; to the Committee on Governmental 
     Affairs.

                     House Joint Resolution 97-1027

       Whereas, the federal ``Personal Responsibility and Work 
     Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996'', Public Law 104-193, 
     herein referred to as the ``Act'', was passed by the United 
     States House of Representatives on July 18, 1996, and the 
     United States Senate on July 23, 1996, and signed into law by 
     President Clinton on August 22, 1996; and
       Whereas, Article III of such Act addresses the several 
     states' obligation to provide child support enforcement 
     services and mandates that the states adopt certain 
     procedures for the location of an obligor and the 
     establishment, modification, and enforcement of a child 
     support obligation against such obligor; and
       Whereas, the members of the Sixty-first General Assembly 
     recognize the importance of assuring financial support for 
     minor and dependent children; however, the General Assembly 
     finds that those procedures specified in the Act include such 
     far-reaching measures as the following:
       (1) The necessity to implement the ``Uniform Interstate 
     Family Support Act'', as approved by the American Bar 
     Association and as amended by the National Conference of 
     Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, which uniform act allows 
     for the direct registration of foreign support orders and the 
     activation of income-withholding procedures across state 
     lines without any prior verification, certification, or other 
     authentication that the child support order or the income-
     withholding form is accurate or valid and without a 
     requirement that notice of such withholding be provided to 
     the alleged obligor by any specified means or method, such as 
     by first-class mail or personal service, to assure that the 
     individual receives proper notice prior to the income-
     withholding;
       (2) Liens to arise by operation of law against real and 
     personal property for amounts of overdue support that are 
     owed by a noncustodial parent who resides or owns property in 
     the state, without the ability to determine if a lien exists 
     on certain property;
       (3) The obligation of the state to accord full faith and 
     credit to such liens arising by operation of law in any other 
     state, which results in inadequate notice and the inability 
     of purchasers to have knowledge or notice of such liens;
       (4) A duty placed upon employers to report all newly hired 
     employees, whether or not the employee has a child support 
     obligation, to a state directory of new hires within a 
     restricted period of time after the employer hires the 
     employee;
       (5) The requirement that social security numbers be 
     recorded when a person applies for a professional license, a 
     commercial driver's license, an occupational license, or a 
     marriage license, when a person is subject to a divorce 
     decree, a support order, or a paternity determination or 
     acknowledgment, or when an individual dies, whether or not 
     the person has an obligation to pay child support;
       (6) A requirement that the child support enforcement agency 
     enter into agreements with financial institutions doing 
     business in the state in order to develop, operate, and 
     coordinate an unprecedented and invasive data match system 
     for the sharing of account holder information with the child 
     support enforcement agency in order to facilitate the 
     potential matching of delinquent obligors and bank account 
     holders;
       (7) Procedures by which the state child support enforcement 
     agency may subpoena financial or other information needed to 
     establish, modify, or enforce a support order and to impose 
     penalties for failure to respond to such a subpoena and 
     procedures by which to access information contained in 
     certain records, including the records of public utilities 
     and cable television companies pursuant to an administrative 
     subpoena; and
       (8) Procedures interfering with the states' right to 
     determine when a jury trial is to be authorized; and
       Whereas, the Act mandates numerous, unnecessary 
     requirements upon the several states that epitomize the 
     continuing trend of intrusion by government into people's 
     personal lives; and
       Whereas, the Act offends the notion of notice and 
     opportunity to be heard guaranteed to the people by the Due 
     Process Clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the 
     Constitution of the United States; and
       Whereas, the Act offends the 10th Amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States, which provides that ``The 
     powers not delegated to the United States by the 
     Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are 
     reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.''; and
       Whereas, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New 
     York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress 
     may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory 
     processes of the states; and
       Whereas, the Act imposes upon the several states further 
     insufficiently funded mandates in relation to the costly 
     development of procedures by which to implement the 
     requirements set forth in the Act in order to preserve the 
     receipt of federal funds under Title IV-D of the ``Social 
     Security Act'', as amended, and other provisions of the Act: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-first 
     General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate 
     concurring herein: That we, the members of the Sixty-first 
     General Assembly, urge the Congress of the United States to 
     amend or repeal those specific provisions of the federal 
     ``Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 
     Act of 1996'' set forth in this Resolution that place undue 
     burden and expense upon the several states, that violate 
     provisions of the Constitution of the United States, that 
     impose insufficiently funded mandates upon the states in the 
     establishment, modification, and enforcement of child support 
     obligations, or that unjustifiably intrude into the personal 
     lives of the law-abiding citizens of the United States of 
     America; be it further

[[Page S7300]]

       Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the 
     President of the United States, the Speaker of the United 
     States House of Representatives, the President of the United 
     States Senate, the Speaker of the House and the President of 
     the Senate of each state legislature, and Colorado's 
     Congressional delegation.
                                                                    ____

       POM-171. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Hawaii; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Concurrent Resolution No. 257

       Whereas, the State of Hawaii is one of the nine states that 
     comprise the United States (U.S.) Ninth Circuit Court of 
     Appeals that also includes Guam and the Northern Mariana 
     Islands; and
       Whereas, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals consists 
     of a twenty-eight judge bench with approximately ten 
     vacancies as of Spring, 1997; and
       Whereas, the State of Hawaii has not had full-time, active 
     representation on this important federal bench since the 
     retirement to senior status of the Honorable Herbert Y. C. 
     Choy in 1984; and
       Whereas, a judgeship for the State of Hawaii has been 
     denied throughout the last three presidential 
     administrations; and
       Whereas, the State of Hawaii is one of only two states in 
     the Union without full-time, active representation on its 
     respective federal circuits; and
       Whereas, the federal circuit courts, according to U.S. 
     Senator Diane Feinstein of California, ``have been structured 
     to draw upon the legal traditions of several states'' in 
     order to ``preserve the federalizing function of the courts 
     of appeals''; and
       Whereas, the ideals expressed by Senator Feinstein cannot 
     possibly be attained in the U.S. Ninth Circuit if the State 
     of Hawaii has no circuit judge to give voice to our ``legal 
     traditions''; and
       Whereas, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals receives 
     approximately six percent of its workload from the State of 
     Hawaii, including cases involving the Native Hawaiian 
     Sovereignty vote, mandatory lease to fee condominium 
     conversion, Native Hawaiian land claims, and the Waikiki 
     vending ordinances, among many others: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate of the Nineteenth Legislature of the 
     State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1997, the House of 
     Representatives concurring, That the President of the United 
     States and the United States Senate are respectfully 
     requested to work diligently and appropriately to award the 
     State of Hawaii a full and equal measure of judicial 
     representation on the United States Ninth Circuit Court of 
     Appeals by appointing and confirming a qualified resident of 
     the State of Hawaii to any presently existing vacant Ninth 
     Circuit judgeship; and be it further
       Resolved That certified copies of this Concurrent 
     Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United 
     States, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the 
     Governor of the State of Hawaii, the members of the Hawaii 
     Congressional Delegation, and the Honorable Orrin Hatch, 
     Chairman of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee.
                                                                    ____

       POM-172. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Tennessee; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 41

       Whereas, in 1976, the United States Supreme Court ruled to 
     allow the several states to impose the death penalty as 
     punishment for certain crimes; and
       Whereas, Tennessee has had a constitutional death penalty 
     statute since 1977; and
       Whereas, during the last twenty years, Tennessee has not 
     carried out a single death penalty sentence, in part because 
     of lengthy habeas corpus proceedings by death row inmates and 
     the inaction of the federal court system; and
       Whereas, most recently, the Honorable John T. Nixon, U.S. 
     District Court Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee, 
     has overturned the capital convictions of four (4) of 
     Tennessee's most heinous convicted killers; and
       Whereas, in overturning these four (4) convictions, Judge 
     Nixon has continued a pattern of judicial conduct that raises 
     an issue as to his bias against capital punishment; and
       Whereas, during his tenure on the U.S. District Court for 
     the Middle District of Tennessee, Judge Nixon has continually 
     delayed ruling on capital cases before his court; and
       Whereas, he has also repeatedly reversed the convictions 
     and/or sentences of many capital cases which were tried and 
     adjudicated years ago, making it difficult for such cases to 
     be retried; and
       Whereas, the State of Tennessee Attorney General has even 
     filed a petition for writ of mandamus against Judge Nixon to 
     expedite a death penalty matter in a particular case that 
     languished in his court: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate of the one-hundredth General 
     Assembly of the State of Tennessee, the House of 
     Representatives Concurring, That this General Assembly hereby 
     memorializes the House of Representatives and Senate of the 
     U.S. Congress to consider amending the United States 
     Constitution to remove Federal Judges for ``dereliction of 
     duty'', and not just ``high crimes and misdemeanors'', in 
     order to ensure that judges act with due dispatch and care in 
     carrying out their duties on appeals of capital cases and 
     other habeas corpus matters, and writs of mandamus, be it 
     further
       Resolved, That this General Assembly hereby memorializes 
     the House of Representatives of the United States Congress to 
     thoroughly and timely investigate whether ground exist to 
     impeach John T. Nixon, Judge for the United States District 
     Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, in accordance 
     with the United States Constitution, and if such grounds 
     exist, then to initiate proceedings to impeach Judge John T. 
     Nixon in accordance with the United States Constitution, be 
     it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Senate is directed to 
     transmit certified copies of this resolution to the Speaker 
     and the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the 
     President and the Secretary of the U.S Senate, the Clerk of 
     the U.S. Supreme Court, and to each member of the Tennessee 
     delegation to the U.S. Congress.
                                                                    ____

       POM-173. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Nevada; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 6

       Whereas, the Las Vegas Valley has in recent years 
     experienced a tremendous increase in population and growth in 
     the number of businesses and residential homes in the area; 
     and
       Whereas, the Federal Government presently manages public 
     land located within the Las Vegas Valley; and
       Whereas, a sale or other transfer of some or all of that 
     public land would facilitate community expansion and growth 
     in the Las Vegas Valley; and
       Whereas, because public lands managed by the Federal 
     Government in Nevada are not taxable, a sale or transfer of 
     those lands into state or private ownership would provide 
     additional land subject to taxation in the State of Nevada; 
     and
       Whereas, although the sale or other transfer of public land 
     managed by the Federal Government in the Las Vegas Valley 
     would be beneficial to the State of Nevada and its residents, 
     such transfers may adversely affect sparsely populated and 
     rural counties in Nevada by increasing the amount of land 
     managed by the Federal Government in those counties, thereby 
     reducing the amount of land in those counties that is 
     privately owned or owned by the State of Nevada or a local 
     government; and
       Whereas, during the 105th session of Congress, 
     Representative John Ensign introduced the Southern Nevada 
     Public Land Management Act of 1997 (H.R. No. 449), which, if 
     enacted, would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
     dispose of certain Federal lands in the Las Vegas Valley and 
     authorize the State of Nevada to elect to obtain the lands 
     for public purposes: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of Nevada, 
     jointly, That the Legislature of the State of Nevada hereby 
     expresses its support for the Southern Nevada Public Land 
     Management Act of 1997 and for the sale or other transfer of 
     public land managed by the Federal Government in the Las 
     Vegas Valley if the transfer does not adversely affect 
     sparsely populated and rural counties in Nevada; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and 
     transmit a copy of this resolution to the Vice President of 
     the United States as the presiding officer of the Senate, the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives and each member of 
     the Nevada Congressional Delegation; and be it further
       Resolved, That this resolution becomes effective upon 
     passage and approval.
                                                                    ____

       POM-174. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Colorado relative to the proposed ``American 
     Land Sovereignty Protection Act''; to the Committee on Energy 
     and Natural Resources.
       Whereas, the United Nations has designated sixty-seven 
     sites in the United States as ``World Heritage Sites'' or 
     ``Biosphere Reserves'', which altogether are about equal in 
     size to the State of Colorado, the eighth largest state; and
       Whereas, section 3 of Article IV of the United States 
     Constitution provides that the United States Congress shall 
     make all needed rules and regulations governing lands 
     belonging to the United States; and
       Whereas, many of the United Nations designations include 
     private property inholdings and contemplate ``buffer zones'' 
     of adjacent land; and
       Whereas, some international land designations, such as 
     those under the United States Biosphere Reserve Program and 
     the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations 
     Scientific, Educational, and Cultural Organization, operate 
     under independent national committees, such as the United 
     States National Man and Biosphere Committee, which have no 
     legislative directives or authorization from Congress; and
       Whereas, these international designations, as presently 
     handled, are an open invitation to the international 
     community to interfere in domestic land use decisions; and
       Whereas, local citizens and public officials usually have 
     no say in the designation of land near their homes for 
     inclusion in an international land use program; and
       Whereas, the President and Executive Branch of the United 
     States have, by Executive Order and other agreements, 
     implemented these designations without the approval of 
     Congress; and

[[Page S7301]]

       Whereas, actions by the President in applying international 
     agreements to lands owned by the United States may circumvent 
     Congress; and
       Whereas, in the 105th Congress, Congressman Don Young 
     introduced HR-901, entitled the ``American Land Sovereignty 
     Act'', to protect American public and private lands from 
     jurisdictional encroachments by certain United Nations 
     programs, and such resolution has been referred to the 
     Resource Committee with 77 cosponsors; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-first 
     General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate 
     concurring herein: That the State of Colorado supports this 
     legislation, which reaffirms the Constitutional Authority of 
     Congress as the elected representatives of the people, and 
     urges the ``American Land Sovereignty Protection Act'' be 
     introduced and passed by both the House of Representatives 
     and the Senate as soon as possible during the 105th 
     Congressional session; be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the 
     President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives of the United States Congress and to each 
     member of the Congressional delegation from Colorado.
                                                                    ____

       POM-175. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the State of Colorado; to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources.

                     House Joint Resolution 97-1038

       Whereas, in 1976, the United States Congress enacted the 
     Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program administered by the 
     United States Bureau of Land Management to compensate local 
     governments for the tax-exempt nature of and the costs 
     associated with the presence of federal lands; and
       Whereas, counties have historically and traditionally 
     shared in the benefits of economic activity on public lands 
     through statutory formulas that guarantee a percentage of all 
     gross receipts to be returned to the counties where the 
     activity occurs; and
       Whereas, shared natural resource payments to counties from 
     economic activities such as timber sales, mineral leasing, 
     and grazing are absolutely vital to the financial stability 
     of county government; and
       Whereas, counties utilize shared receipts to provide vital 
     services through long-standing intergovernmental agreements 
     with the federal government; and
       Whereas, the United States Congress considered and passed 
     legislation in 1994 known as S. 455, which adjusted the PILT 
     program by increasing the authorization level to reflect full 
     value as enacted in 1976; and
       Whereas, in 1995, Congress increased the authorization for 
     PILT to double the previous $100 million level gradually over 
     several years in order to make up for inflation, making a 
     full appropriation for fiscal year 1999 of $190 million 
     rather than the $101.5 million Interior Secretary Babbitt is 
     asking for; and
       Whereas, the United States Secretary of the Interior, Bruce 
     Babbitt, announced that the Clinton Administration's budget 
     proposal calls for a $12 million cut in PILT funding that 
     dramatically impacts western states; and
       Whereas, the money cut from the PILT program will 
     apparently be used to help pay for the management of the new 
     Escalante Monument in Utah, which was established by 
     President Clinton without the usual environmental and public 
     hearing process; and
       Whereas, an 11 percent reduction of Colorado's $8 million 
     share of the PILT payments would mean that approximately 
     $900,000 per year would be taken from Colorado counties to 
     contribute to the Escalante Monument project; and
       Whereas, cutting money from the PILT program violates the 
     original agreement between the federal government and our 
     nation's counties: Now, therefore, be it,
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-first 
     General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate 
     concurring herein: That we, the members of the General 
     Assembly, support full funding of the federal PILT program as 
     authorized by the passage of S. 455 in 1994 and urge the 
     Colorado Congressional Delegation to advocate for the full 
     funding level; be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the 
     President of the United States, the United States Secretary 
     of Interior, the President of the United States Senate, the 
     Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and 
     members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation.
                                                                    ____

       POM-176. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Alaska; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                           Resolution No. 12

       Whereas the Tongass National Forest has been chosen by the 
     Clinton Administration to provide Christmas trees to decorate 
     the nation's Capitol and congressional offices; and
       Whereas the grace and beauty of Alaska's native tree 
     species are well suited for such a distinct purpose; and
       Whereas Alaskans are a generous people, and their State's 
     resources a tremendous asset that if carefully managed by the 
     people most closely affected can be the backbone of a strong 
     economy; and
       Whereas trees harvested for the economic benefit of the 
     people of the Tongass are subject to full public comment and 
     environmental review; and
       Whereas, under normal conditions, the Alaska Legislature 
     would regard the opportunity to provide federal offices with 
     Christmas trees from our national forest as the highest 
     compliment and honor; and
       Whereas conditions are not normal, as one of Alaska's two 
     pulp mills and the state's largest sawmill have shut down 
     while Alaska's remaining pulp mill has announced it will 
     close in March at a cost of thousands of jobs; and
       Whereas, even with the recent signing of a three-year 
     contract to supply wood to Southeast Alaska's two largest 
     sawmills, consistent supply remains a concern for their 
     continued existence; and
       Whereas over 60 percent of Southeast Alaska's timber-
     related jobs have been eliminated since 1990; and
       Whereas the Clinton Administration has ignored the efforts 
     of the Alaska congressional delegation and the Alaska State 
     Legislature to secure the livelihoods of the workers, their 
     families, and the timber dependent communities of Southeast 
     Alaska; and
       Whereas the Alaska State Legislature deems it inappropriate 
     to harvest trees for decorative purposes, and ask Southeast 
     Alaskans to incur the cost, while Southeast Alaska timber 
     jobs are being extinguished, depressing the area's economy; 
     and
       Whereas what should be an honor is instead an affront as it 
     carries the message that careful harvesting of our trees is 
     acceptable to decorate the nation's Capitol and the halls of 
     Congress, yet not acceptable to provide jobs for the people 
     of Southeast Alaska; be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature recognizes 
     harvesting of Alaska's trees to provide pleasure for those 
     far removed is symbolic of a failed national policy which has 
     cost Southeast Alaska communities thousands of year-round, 
     family supporting jobs and caused untold personal suffering; 
     and be it further
       Resolved, That the Alaska Legislature opposes the 
     harvesting of Christmas trees for the nation's Capitol and 
     other federal and congressional offices from the Tongass 
     National Forest and urges that it not be done without full 
     public comment and a comprehensive Environmental Impact 
     Statement; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature requests the 
     Clinton Administration to find another source for the 1998 
     White House Christmas tree festivities in light of the social 
     and economic hardship forced upon the unemployed timber 
     workers, their families, and the timber dependent communities 
     of the Tongass.
                                                                    ____

       POM-177. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Nevada; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 11

       Whereas, by section 8 of chapter 262, 14 Statutes 253 
     (former 43 U.S.C. Sec. 932), enacted in 1866, the right of 
     way was granted for the construction of highways over public 
     lands not reserved for other public uses; and
       Whereas, the placement of that section in an act primarily 
     devoted to the encouragement of mining upon the public lands 
     suggests that an important purpose of the grant was to 
     provide access to mining claims, but its operation was 
     extended by section 17 of the Placer Law of 1870, which also 
     affected other patents, pre-emptions and homesteads, so that 
     the right of access was extended broadly to private property; 
     and
       Whereas, when section 8 of chapter 262 of the Statutes of 
     1866 was repealed in 1976 by section 706 of Public Law 94-
     579, section 701 of Public Law 94-579 also provided: 
     ``Nothing in this Act * * * shall be construed as terminating 
     any valid * * * right-of-way [sic], or other land use right 
     or authorization existing on the date of approval of this 
     Act''; and
       Whereas, this legislature in its 67th Session enacted 
     Assembly Bill No. 176 and Senate Bill No. 235 and adopted 
     Senate Joint Resolution No. 12, which recognized the 
     acceptance of rights of way across public land by private use 
     as accessory roads, dispensed with public maintenance but 
     declared all such roads open to public use, and urged the 
     Federal Government to recognize the rights so acquired: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of Nevada, 
     jointly, That the Nevada Legislature, speaking on behalf of 
     all its residents, calls upon the Congress of the United 
     States to continue to ensure the permanent rights existing in 
     those roads over public land that serve private property; and 
     be it further
       Resolved, That the Nevada Legislature hereby urges the 
     Secretary of the Interior to allow for the identification of 
     rights of way over public land in the State of Nevada through 
     an administrative process; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and 
     transmit a copy of this resolution to the Vice President of 
     the United States as presiding officer of the Senate, the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, each member of the 
     Nevada Congressional Delegation and the Secretary of the 
     Interior; and be it further
       Resolved, That this resolution becomes effective upon 
     passage and approval.




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