The primary focus of the new governor's administration was economic development. Toward this end he called for revised homesteading and land laws along with updated mineral leases, power licenses, and timber contracts. The Alaskan governor also joined with Hawaiian Territorial Governor Samuel Wilder King in a call for a 25-year tax holiday to promote industrial development in the two territories. Finally, Heintzleman opposed the native claim of "possessory rights" to millions of acres of land, wishing to open the land to development. This opposition led to a prolonged battle in the United States Court of Claims.