The Legislature is now in day 7 of a special session called by Governor Bill Walker to propose the ‘buy-out’ of TransCanada under SB138, a bill that passed under the last administration. After only a few days, it seems the best, and possibly the only, course moving forward on the proposed natural gasline for Alaska.
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Autumn is nearly over and Winter is creeping up on Fairbanks. To tell you the truth, at this point, I’d rather just have snow since we already have the ‘cold’. As you have heard, the Legislature has been called in to a special session regarding progress on the important gasline legislation that passed in 2014 under the last administration. We are scheduled to convene on Saturday morning at 11am. It won’t be easy to leave home for a month on the road, but this was anticipated and lawmakers should get this important work done no matter what the personal inconvenience.
Read More →ANCHORAGE – The third Special Session of the 29th Alaska Legislature is scheduled to start Saturday morning with House and Senate floor sessions. Governor Bill Walker has scheduled a briefing for all lawmakers Saturday afternoon to outline the details of the three pieces of legislation that will be under consideration. The members of the Alaska Independent Democratic Coalition (AIDC) are looking forward to the Governor’s detailed briefing but are dismayed by today’s announcement from the Senate President and the Speaker of the House that members of the House Finance and Senate Resources Committee’s will be encouraged to skip the briefing in favor of committee hearings on the same subjects at the same exact time as the Governor’s briefing.
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Last week, Governor Walker issued a proclamation calling the legislature into a special session to address gasline issues. On October 24, we will head down to Juneau to address some key issues: To reinstate a reserve tax on North Slope resources in the ground that are not developed and a proposal to buy TransCanada’s share of the gas pipeline and gas treatment facility. I am excited to work on these issues and hope that others can make the necessary steps to come together and move forward for Alaska.
Read More →ANCHORAGE – Earlier today, the Alaska State Legislature’s Republican-controlled Legislative Council failed to withdraw its ill-advised lawsuit against Governor Bill Walker over his decision to accept federal funds to expand eligibility for the Medicaid program in Alaska. The Legislative Council, which only includes one member of the minority in the House and Senate, met behind closed doors in Anchorage to discuss the Council’s lawsuit. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Council took no action. The result of this inaction is that the lawsuit will continue.
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