Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered the state legislature to convene a special session on Thursday, just one day after the regular session deadline, to consider a bill aimed at advancing a natural gas pipeline project that he has declared his top priority in his final months in office.
Special Session Announcement
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, an independent from Dillingham, interrupted floor debate on a tobacco bill Tuesday afternoon to announce the governor's order. “I’d like to take just a moment to let the body know that the governor has officially called the Legislature back into special session starting on Thursday at 10 a.m. here in Juneau on subjects germane to the title of the following bill, House Bill 381, which is the natural gas taxation of certain natural gas pipeline properties,” he stated.
Legislative Efforts and Challenges
Work on different versions of gas line bills continued for a few hours afterward in both the House and Senate before both chambers appeared to abandon those efforts for the day. Edgmon, in a brief interview after the governor’s mid-afternoon announcement, indicated that efforts to pass a gas line bill by the end of the regular session were still ongoing. However, just after 5:30 p.m., the House voted 21-19 to send the bill from the floor back to the Rules Committee, effectively ending its chances of passing the full Legislature by Wednesday night unless special parliamentary measures requiring a supermajority of lawmakers occur. The Senate Finance Committee also heard a different version of a gas line bill but opted to keep it in committee rather than advancing it to the floor for a possible vote.
Governor's Proposal and Opposition
Dunleavy’s version of the gas line bill, introduced March 20, grants the developer immense tax breaks and other incentives he argues are necessary to make the project economically viable. In contrast, versions 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 affected by the pipeline’s infrastructure. Majority caucus members in both chambers have stated over the past day that it is unlikely for a bill resolving differences to pass by the regular session deadline. Many legislators have also expressed concerns that key financial details about the project are not being provided by Glenfarne, the developer, and the state’s Alaska Gasline Development Corp., a partner to the company.
Previous Attempts and Reactions
A day-long effort by the House on Monday to pass a gas line bill as part of a deal that would also result in a state employee pension bill becoming law fell short. House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, a Republican from Anchorage and a chief advocate of the pension bill who led efforts to reach a deal with the governor, said Tuesday he was hoping the governor would include both items in a special session declaration. Kopp stated he was also willing to work toward passage of a gas line bill if that is the lone item on the agenda, but emphasized that Dunleavy needs to work more cooperatively with legislators to get it passed. “He is going to have to invest in relationships with people in this building and not hide on the third floor,” Kopp said. “He’s got to start showing up in offices, going around asking people how we can get to a yes.”
Dunleavy spent Tuesday in Anchorage for the start of the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference, which continues through Thursday. During a joint press conference with U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, which focused largely on natural resource industry projects in the state, the governor criticized legislators he said are holding up the bill he is seeking. “This is a decision on the part of the handful of folks in Juneau who wish, for whatever reason I don’t understand, to play with the future of Alaska,” he said.
This story was originally published by Juneau Independent and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
