HJR 4 Alaska House · 34th Legislature (2025-2026)

Urging the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of the Interior, the United States Board on Geographic Names, and the members of the state's delegation in Congress to maintain Denali as the official name for the tallest mountain in North America.

House Joint Resolution 4 is a symbolic resolution from the Alaska Legislature urging the President, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to maintain "Denali" as the official name for North America's tallest mountain. It states that Denali is the traditional Koyukon Athabaskan name, has been Alaska's official name since 1975, and was adopted by the U.S. in 2015, rejecting a return to "Mount McKinley." The resolution argues that changing the name would be disrespectful to Alaska Natives, confuse tourism (as Denali is widely recognized), and lacks historical connection to President McKinley, who never visited the mountain. This resolution does not change the name but formally requests federal officials continue using "Denali."
Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jul 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House Passage
Jan 2025
Senate Passage
Feb 2025
Governor
Introduced Jul 30, 2025 Last action Jul 30, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

CSHJR 4(RLS) Enrolled HJR 4 · 1 edit
MINOR
The bill was transitioned from a committee draft to its enrolled final version, with minor formatting adjustments and updated recipient names for the resolution copies. The substantive policy content regarding the preservation of the name 'Denali' remains unchanged. The only notable change is the update of the Vice President's name from J.D. Vance to JD Vance and the Secretary of the Interior from Walter Cruickshank to Douglas Burgum, reflecting current administration appointments.
TECHNICAL

Updated recipient names in the resolution distribution section to reflect current administration officials (JD Vance and Douglas Burgum instead of J.D. Vance and Walter Cruickshank).

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
48
Key actions
7
Committee
3
Amendments
1
Jul 30, 2025
Introduced
(H) PERMANENTLY FILED 7/16 LEGIS RESOLVE 1
lower
Feb 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) PASSED Y19 N- E1
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Moved CSHJR 4(RLS) Out of Committee
upper
Jan 30, 2025
Committee
(S) <Pending Introduction & Referral>
upper
Jan 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) PASSED ON RECONSIDERATION Y31 N8 E1
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Moved CSHJR 4(RLS) Out of Committee
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) PASSED Y28 N10 E2
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Amended
(H) AM NO 1 FAILED Y17 N21 E2
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) RLS CS ADOPTED UC
lower
1 primary · 11 co-sponsors

Sponsors