Democrats to Gov: Stop Touting Existing Oil Industry Commitments as New
March 8, 2012
Official reports show I-Pad, other promised investment already underway under ACES
JUNEAU - Today Representative Scott Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks) and Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) called on the governor to stop touting existing oil industry commitments as new when he pitches his multi-billion dollar oil tax giveaway.
“For the last four to five years, the oil industry has reported to the state that these projects are already in their plans, so how can the governor keep repeating that they are new commitments?” asked Rep. Kawasaki, a member of the House Resources Committee.
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Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL RAGING AGAINST THE MACHINE EDITION
March 2, 2012
To Tell the Truth
We had big fun in the House of Representatives Wednesday.
First, we listened to a speech by the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. I have lots and lots respect for the chief justice – especially since a guy never knows when he might get hauled in front of the court – but I have to say that the hour-long speech might have been just a skosh longer than my attention span. But then I’ve never been accused of having the longest attention span anyway.
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Berta’s Briefings from Rep. Gardner: A Pipeline to Poverty?
March 1, 2012
I think we all want to find a way to harness our state’s natural gas to help Alaskans with high energy costs as well to take our natural resources to market. Unfortunately, a bill which just passed the House Resources Committee – with the stated goals of bringing gas to Alaskans as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible – has identified the right problems and found a very expensive and wrong solution, which is likely to do the opposite of what it intends.
House Bill 9 puts the Alaska Gasline Development Agency (AGDC) in charge of building a small gas pipeline to bring gas from the North Slope to the Railbelt, including Anchorage, of course.
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Rep. Miller’s District 7 Interior Update: Oil Taxes Back in the Forefront
February 29, 2012
Hello from Juneau, and Happy Leap Day! The 2012 Legislative Session is in full swing, and here is a brief rundown of some of the things I’ve been working on.
The Oil Tax Debate
Just like last year, the debate over oil taxes has gripped the Alaska Legislature. Governor Parnell continues to push for support of his House Bill 110, which would give oil companies a $2 billion dollar tax break, with the hopes it will spur more investment. I voted against this giveaway last year, and I am glad the Senate has taken a stand against it this session.
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Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL READ SOME OTHER WRITER EDITION
February 10, 2012
What, oil companies might not be telling the truth?
Dermot Cole, the columnist for the Fairbanks News-Miner, has been doing a bang-up job writing about how poorly the state is doing in extracting information from the oil companies and releasing it to the public.
If that sounds like a discussion that would put you to sleep so fast you’d get a concussion when your head hit the table, here are a couple of things to consider.
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