Representative
CHRIS TUCK

I’m Here for You

I want to hear from you,
share your thoughts, voice
your opinion. Together we
will make a difference.

Click here to visit my Website
 
Click here to write me an email

Call me anytime:
   (907) 465-2095
   Toll-Free (866) 465-2095

Visit me:
   May-December
   716 W. 4th St., Ste. 340
   Anchorage, AK 99501
   (907) 269-0242 fax

   January-April
   State Capitol Bldg. Rm. 422
   Juneau, AK 99801
   (907) 465-3810 fax

Contact Other Elected Officials:

Governor Parnell,
Anchorage Office:
907-269-7450
EMAIL: Gov. Sean Parnell
www.state.ak.us

Senator Lisa Murkowski,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-3735,
EMAIL: Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Senator Mark Begich,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5915
EMAIL: Sen. Mark Begich

Congressman Don Young,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5978
EMAIL: Rep. Don Young

Jobs and Investment are on the Rise Under ACES

Dear Neighbors,

The Legislature continues to rush forward with the governor’s massive and ill-conceived giveaway of Alaska’s oil wealth at a frantic pace, hoping to get the bill passed before the 90 day session concludes on April 14. As I have stated before, this bill will give billions of dollars from the state treasury to the wealthiest and most profitable corporations in the world—with no promise or guarantee of increased production or investment in Alaska.

Senate Bill 21 is due to move from the House Finance Committee to a final vote on the house floor late in the hour tonight. If the Legislature passes this bill, it will certainly lead to massive budget deficits and cuts in essential state services - and likely lead to new taxes on Alaskans and possibly the loss of the permanent fund dividend to fill the gap.

The governor and other giveaway proponents are only telling one side of the story. They say Alaska is losing jobs and investment under our current oil tax structure (ACES). The truth - jobs and investment have actually soared in Alaska!

According to a recent study of North Slope employment by the McDowell Group, an independent research firm contracted by the Senate Finance Committee:

• Employment climbed to an all-time high in 2011.

• Jobs more than doubled over the past 10 years.

• Even though there was a period of decline between 2008 and 2009, the industry quickly returned to a positive growth trend.

• Further, the newest figures available from the Alaska Department of Labor indicate that there were 1,000 more jobs on the North Slope in February this year than at the same time last year.

Overall, the North Slope has seen record employment growth since the current tax structure (ACES) was implemented in 2007. However, in April 2011, the Department of Labor found that 54 percent of all new oil and gas hires were non-residents.

So far oil companies have refused to commit to Alaska hire in exchange for tax cuts.

Increased Investment in Alaska

Contrary to what the public is being told, investment in Alaska is on a major upswing, and not just for the overdue maintenance of aging infrastructure. A 2010 report by the Alaska Department of Revenue reported “Capital expenditures on pipeline repairs increased after corrosion incidents in 2006. However, the majority of growth in capital expenditures since 2007 is attributable to drilling, seismic and other production related projects.” In 2011 the Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget testified before the House Finance Committee that “the good news is we are seeing a lot of increase in oil exploration.”

The McDowell Group reports “North Slope-related spending totaled $4.9 billion in FY2011, marking at least the fourth consecutive year in spending growth (earlier comparable data is not available). Since FY2007, annual spending has increased by about $1.3 billion.”

In December 2011, 19 oil companies competed for 616,000 acres of new petroleum-rich lands, paying the state nearly $21 million in bonuses. The bidding generated the sixth largest amount ever for tracts on the North Slope.

New investors are coming to the North Slope. The large Spanish oil company Repsol announced plans to begin exploring in Alaska last winter. The company planned to spend at least $768 million under a "broad-reaching exploration and development program.” "The North Slope of Alaska is an especially promising area for Repsol as it has already shown to be oil-rich and carries low exploratory risk," Repsol said.

According to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, new development wells are at the highest level in five years. In October of 2011 the Petroleum News reported that “34 on-shore and near-shore wells are planned, ‘exceeding the record to date, which was 33 in 1969, when 33 exploration wells were drilled after the discovery of the giant Prudhoe Bay field.’”

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources recently took out an ad in the Petroleum News stating “Alaska is successfully encouraging investment from companies that are new to the state, with the number of petroleum companies doing business in the state almost doubling from 2006 to 2008.”

In 2011 the Alaska Department of Revenue reported “The state has seen new entrants into the Alaska oil and gas industry since the implementation of a net profits production tax. At the most recent lease sale held in October of 2010, a company new to Alaska successfully bid on over 100 tracts of oil and gas property. The steadily increasing number of production tax returns filed annually also indicates companies’ new or renewed interest in Alaska’s oil and gas opportunities.”

The evidence indicates Alaska’s oil industry is healthy and growing.

I’m here for you, so please keep in touch on matters important to you and your family!

Warm regards,

Chris Tuck
Alaska State Representative
District 29 – Anchorage