March 26, 2010

Dear Neighbor,

At the top of the agenda in the Legislature this week was the in-state gas pipeline. This issue tops the charts for Anchorage residents in terms of importance. Many of you have written to me about your interest in seeing a bullet line, and in finding a solution to the gas shortage in Southcentral.

For that reason, I voted yes on a measure that came before the House to create a “Joint In-State Gasline Development Team” in the Governor’s office. The bill goes now to the Senate, who will hopefully adopt it.

Under the House bill, the gasline team, made up of representatives from the Alaska Railroad, Natural Gas Development Authority, Housing Finance Corp, and Dept. of Transportation, and is charged with selecting a route from the North Slope to tidewater, and developing a construction plan to be delivered to the Legislature by July 1, 2011. The plan must find the most economical way to provide gas to the greatest number of residents, and include a financing plan for the Legislature to consider.

“Consider” is the operative word here. The team will make recommendations - which the Legislature is not obligated to follow. So, before we pat ourselves on the back too quickly, we must keep in mind that our action this week doesn’t mean the in-state gas line is a foregone conclusion. It just means that we’ve taken a step toward making it a reality. But hey, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and I’m glad that we took it.

Until next week,

Many of you have been calling with questions about the health insurance reform bill that was passed by Congress this week. We are still examining the bill, and what the impact will be on Alaska. Until we have more information, we wanted to provide you with some links in the meantime that can explain different features of the bill.

http://www.akdemocrats.org/buch/032610_Health_Reform-Good_for_Alaska.pdf

http://www.akdemocrats.org/buch/032610_Health_Reform-Immediate_Benefits.pdf