NEWS: House Resources Committee Misses Opportunity to Help Close $4 Billion Budget Gap
Juneau – Much of the savings associated with Governor Bill Walker’s proposed reform to Alaska’s flawed and overly expensive oil and gas tax credit system has been lost because of the actions of the House Resources Committee. House Bill 247 was passed out of the committee tonight. The original bill was significantly altered by members of the House Majority to remove $450 million in savings and new revenue.
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NEWS: House Democrats Comment on Withdrawal of Governor’s Controversial Appointee
JUNEAU – Today, Representative Scott Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks), Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) and Representative Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage) released the following statements upon hearing Dennis Mandell had withdrawn his name from consideration for the Alaska Assessment Review Board after concerns were raised about his residency, his history of working for the oil industry in disputes against Alaska, and his failure to pay taxes.
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NEWS: More Declining Production: Updated Numbers Show Decline Continues at Least to 2024
JUNEAU – Today, upon learning the Alaska Department of Revenue now predicts oil production declines to accelerate through 2024, down to 285,000 barrels per day, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) called on the Parnell administration to provide information about what has changed since its push last session to roll back oil production taxes.
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Rep. Tuck’s Community Connection: Alaska’s Finances Fall into Ruin while Oil Companies Make Blockbuster Profits
The final session of the 28th Alaska Legislature is well underway. As we wrestle with such issues as a constitutional amendment change to allow state funding of private schools, or whether Alaska should become an investment partner in a future gas pipeline, it is critical that we also stay focused on Alaska’s fiscal situation.
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Berta’s Briefings from Rep. Gardner: A Pipeline to Poverty?
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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