Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I hope everyone enjoyed the great sunshine this weekend! On Friday, a bipartisan group in the House passed an oil and gas tax and subsidy reform bill, House Bill 247. This legislation puts us one step closer to agreeing to a responsible action plan for Alaska.

Oil and Gas Taxes, Credits, and Subsidies

At the beginning of the session, Governor Walker introduced House Bill 247 to increase oil and gas taxes and rewrite the state’s tax credit program. As originally introduced, HB 247 would create total combined savings and revenue of approximately $500 million for next year (FY17). As I discussed ina recent newsletter, the House Resources and House Finance Committees amended Governor Walker’s bill, but those versions resulted in less combined savings and revenue than the original proposal. One revised version produced total savings and revenue of less than $10 million in FY17. Finally, last week, a bipartisan group agreed to amend HB 247, and the House approved the amended version. As amended, HB 247 will reform Alaska’s oil and gas tax system and save Alaska over a billion dollars in credit subsidy payments by 2020.

Facing a $4 billion budget, most Alaskans don’t support using savings to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in oil and gas tax credits and subsidies. Passage of HB 247 will help Alaska reduce the budget deficit this year and in future years as we continue to address Alaska’s fiscal challenges.

HB 247 now moves to the Senate for consideration.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any suggestions or concerns.

Sincerely,

    Rep. Matt Claman

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