Alaska governor calls special session as gas-line bill stalls near end of regular session
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday ordered the Alaska Legislature to convene in special session on Thursday in Juneau to consider a natural gas line bill, just one day after the deadline for the regular session. The move sets the stage for another attempt to advance the measure after lawmakers spent Tuesday working through competing versions of the gas-line legislation.
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon interrupted floor debate on a tobacco bill to read the announcement about the governor’s order. Edgmon told the House that the Legislature had been called back into special session starting Thursday at 10 a.m. in Juneau on subjects germane to House Bill 381, which focuses on natural gas taxation of certain natural gas pipeline properties.
The governor’s directive came as House and Senate members appeared to pause longer negotiations on the gas-line package after procedural actions during the day. After work on different versions of gas line bills continued for several hours Tuesday, both chambers appeared to set aside efforts for the day as lawmakers prepared for what comes next.
In the House, after debate, members voted 21-19 to send the gas line bill back to the Rules Committee, a step that effectively ended the bill’s chances of being passed by the full Legislature by Wednesday night unless additional, supermajority procedural measures are taken. In the Senate, the Finance Committee also heard a version of a gas line bill but opted to keep it in committee instead of advancing it to the floor for a possible vote.
Lawmakers and majority caucus members in both chambers have signaled that it is unlikely a bill resolving differences could pass by the regular session deadline. Concerns have also been raised that key financial details about the project were not being provided by Glenfarne, the developer, and Alaska Gasline Development Corp., which is listed as a partner to the company.
Dunleavy’s gas line proposal, introduced March 20, would provide the developer with “immense” tax breaks and other incentives that the governor has said are needed to make the project economically viable. Other versions of gas line legislation under consideration in the House and, particularly, the Senate offer fewer breaks and seek to provide a greater share of pipeline revenues to the state and municipalities that would be affected by the infrastructure.
During the run-up to Tuesday’s procedural moves, House efforts earlier in the week included a push for a package that would pair progress on gas-line legislation with a separate pension measure. House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, a chief advocate of the pension bill, said Tuesday he was hoping Dunleavy would include both items in the special session declaration, but he added that he would work toward passing a gas line bill if it was the only item on the agenda. Kopp also said Dunleavy would need to “invest in relationships with people in this building” rather than staying away from offices, urging that he start meeting lawmakers in person to secure agreement.
Dunleavy spent Tuesday in Anchorage at the start of the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference, which continues through Thursday. During a joint press conference with U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum focused largely on natural resource industry projects, Dunleavy criticized lawmakers who he said are holding up the bill he is seeking, saying it was a decision by “the handful of folks in Juneau” who wish to “play with the future of Alaska.”