HJR24 Alabama 2013 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Thad McClammy

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2013

Title

U. S. Congress/Federal Government urged to indemnify Alabama counties for lost sixteenth section lands from offshore gulf oil revenues, Attorney General to provide oversight, amounts provided

Summary

HJR24 is a nonbinding resolution urging Congress to annually indemnify Alabama counties for lost sixteenth section lands using offshore Gulf of Mexico royalty revenues, with oversight by the Attorney General and safeguards to protect education funding.

What This Bill Does

It asks Congress to provide annual indemnification to each Alabama county for lost sixteenth section lands, funded from offshore royalty revenues. It outlines a calculation method where about 930,027 acres are divided among 67 counties, assigns a per-acre value based on a portion of 2008 offshore royalties, and uses Department of Conservation and Natural Resources figures to determine each county’s share. It includes safeguards to ensure indemnification funds supplement rather than replace existing education funding, and assigns oversight and rulemaking to the Attorney General. It also asks Alabama’s Congressional Delegation to pursue the indemnification through legislation and administrative action and to share copies with federal leaders.

Who It Affects

• Alabama counties — potential annual indemnification payments calculated based on lost sixteenth section lands.
• Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources — provides calculations of existing sixteenth section acreage used to determine county allocations.
• Attorney General — oversees the process and rules for collecting and distributing indemnification funds.
• Alabama's Congressional Delegation and the U.S. Congress — urged to pursue and enact annual indemnification legislation.

Key Provisions

• Urges the U.S. Congress to annually indemnify each Alabama county from offshore royalty revenues for lost sixteenth section lands.
• Proposes a specific methodology: divide approximately 930,027 acres of sixteenth section lands among 67 counties, assign a per-acre value based on one-sixteenth of the 2008 offshore royalty revenues, and determine each county's indemnification using Department of Conservation and Natural Resources calculations.
• Requires safeguards to ensure indemnification funds increase and do not replace or decrease any existing state or local education funds.
• Gives oversight of the process to the Attorney General, including engaging in rulemaking as needed.
• Requests Alabama’s Congressional Delegation to actively pursue annual indemnification through legislation and administrative action, and to provide copies of the resolution to federal leaders.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Resolutions, Legislative