[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 21593]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         ARIZONA STATEHOOD AND ENABLING ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1999

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, we wish to speak today about the Arizona 
Statehood and Enabling Act Amendments of 1999 concerning the investment 
allocation and distribution of revenues in the State of Arizona's 
permanent land endowment trust fund. This fund consists of moneys 
derived from the sale of State trust land that was conveyed to the 
State of Arizona on admission to the Union in 1912. The State of 
Arizona was granted approximately 10.9 million acres of land at 
statehood and today holds in trust over 9 million acres. Every year, 
revenues generated from trust land uses must be deposited in the fund 
and used solely for the benefit of beneficiaries specified in the 
Constitution of the State of Arizona, predominately Arizona's K-12 
public schools.
  The Arizona Statehood and Enabling Act Amendments of 1999 repealed 
strict investment and distribution limitations imposed on the fund by 
the Congress in the State's enabling act. It also granted the voters of 
the State of Arizona the authority to adjust distributions to the fund 
beneficiaries. To accomplish that objective, Congress specifically 
amended section 28 of the Arizona Enabling Act of 1910 to read, 
``Distributions from the trust funds shall be made as provided in 
article 10, Section 7 of the Constitution of the state of Arizona.''
  The Congressional Budget Office estimate, which was included in the 
House of Representatives Committee report, indicated that ``[e]nactment 
of this bill would give Arizona state officials greater flexibility in 
investing and distributing the assets of the state's permanent funds.''
  My understanding is that this reference to the Constitution of the 
State of Arizona, in section 28 of the enabling act, authorizes the 
voters of the State of Arizona to amend their constitution to authorize 
different distributions than those in place in 1999, including 
distributions that may pay out more funds to the beneficiaries. I ask 
the senior Senator from Alaska: Would she agree?
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. I want to thank the senior Senator from Arizona for 
his question. I am familiar with the enabling act's requirements that 
funds are held in trust for certain beneficiaries, including K-12 
public schools, and that distributions are made from Arizona's 
permanent land endowment trust fund.
  The 1910 Arizona Enabling Act specified the level of education-
funding distributions that must be made from the State land trust fund. 
In 1999, Congress amended the 1910 act, eliminating the distribution 
requirement and providing that such distributions be made as provided 
for in the Arizona Constitution, specifically article 10, section 7. 
Thus, as I understand it, so long as changes to the education-funding 
distributions are accomplished by amendments to article 10, section 7 
of the Arizona Constitution, and the funds are used for the 
beneficiaries of the enabling act, the changes to funding distribution 
amounts from the State land trust are proper.
  Mr. McCAIN. I thank Senator Murkowski for her answer. I have one 
further question. I believe, should the voters of the State of Arizona 
change the amounts distributed to the fund beneficiaries by amending 
article 10, section 7 of the Arizona Constitution, that the consent of 
Congress is not required prior to the change taking effect. Would the 
Senator agree?
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Senator McCain, because Congress specified that 
distributions may be made as determined in article 10, section 7, of 
the Arizona Constitution, I share his view that Congress need not 
provide consent.
  Mr. McCAIN. I thank the Senator from Alaska for her response.

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