A board member with the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, which is a part owner of the proposed AKLNG gas line project and pushing for lawmakers to provide a multibillion dollar tax break, likened state legislators to mosquitoes — “irritating, relentless, and somehow always present” — at a board meeting on Thursday. The “tongue-in-cheek” comparison […]

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Tuesday he is ordering state lawmakers into a special session to force a new decision on his top priority: property tax breaks for the company proposing to build a massive pipeline system to ship natural gas from the North Slope to tidewater. Dunleavy outlined his plan during a news conference […]

The Alaska House of Representatives voted to approve a revised bill to reinstate a pension system for all Alaska public sector employees, following passage by the Senate on Tuesday. The bill now heads to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s desk for consideration. With just 21 days to go in the second year of the 34th Legislature, the […]

Members of the Alaska Senate voted to approve a long-awaited pension bill on Tuesday, amid debate on the cost of the new public retirement benefits system and responsibilities of the state and local community employers. The Senate passed a revised version of a pension plan approved by the House last year. The vote was 12 […]

Sponsors for the proposed 807-mile Alaska gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas processing and export facilities are seeking additional massive public subsidies to make the project viable. Even fallout from the largest “oil disruption in history” isn’t enough to overcome the need. Although President Trump initially boasted that the Alaska LNG export project would be […]

The Alaska Senate on Tuesday unanimously advanced a bill that would clarify state regulators’ authority to oversee pricing for imported natural gas. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees the construction and location of gas import facilities. Senate Bill 180 clarifies that authority to regulate pricing for imported gas rests with the Regulatory Committee of Alaska, […]

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed eliminating property taxes for the Alaska LNG project to incentivize development of the $46 billion gas line and export facilities. The bill was introduced to the Legislature on Mar. 20 and would exempt the project from local taxes in Alaska, including property and sales taxes. Instead, a volume-based tax […]

In a speech to the Alaska Legislature this week, Alaska Rep. Nick Begich III urged state lawmakers to boost the development of a proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline. “The federal path is largely cleared, but investors also need state level clarity, fiscal predictability and simplicity,” Begich said. “Scrutinize it carefully, model it thoroughly. But my […]

As President Donald Trump presses for a takeover of Greenland, some Alaska state lawmakers are trying to send a different message about state cooperation with the Arctic island. A resolution recently introduced in the state Senate, Senate Joint Resolution 24, seeks to promote continued friendship, cooperation and “mutual respect” between Alaska and Greenland, an autonomous […]