Alaska House recesses 10 days as gas line conference committee begins

The Alaska House of Representatives sent HB 381, the tax framework for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project, to a conference committee Monday after rejecting Senate amendments by a vote of 12 yeas to 28 nays, then voting unanimously to recess to allow negotiations to proceed.

Before taking up the concurrence vote, the House passed HCR 301 by 40 to 0, a carryover resolution that allowed HB 381 and the work done on it during the second special session to carry forward into the newly convened third special session without starting from scratch. The Majority Leader explained that the resolution allowed the body to "carry the work forward into the next special session that we had done as a complete package rather than starting over from ground zero."

With HCR 301 in place, the House took up the concurrence vote on the Senate-amended version of HB 381. After the House failed to concur, the Speaker appointed a conference committee, chaired by Representative Schragg, with Representative Edgeman and Representative Ruffridge, to meet with a like committee from the Senate.

The House then passed HCR 302 by 40 to 0, authorizing a recess of more than three days. The body is set to reconvene Wednesday, July 1, at 10:30 a.m. Lawmakers on the floor repeatedly described the interlude as a ten-day recess, though the calendar span from June 20 to July 1 is eleven days. The Majority Leader noted the body could reconvene earlier than July 1 if needed.

What Is at Stake

The House rejected concurrence after the Majority Leader walked through a series of major changes the Senate made to HB 381. The school funding provisions were entirely new. The Senate version added language creating a cushion for school districts whose enrollment drops sharply or that consolidate schools, so funding does not fall off immediately. The Senate version also repealed the existing in-state natural gas pipeline fund and replaced it with a single new Alaska LNG Project Bond Fund, and added a new annual oversight requirement directing the Alaska Gas Line Development Corporation's board to review its assets each year and report to the legislature by January 10 whether it holds more money than it needs, with an independent audit attached.

The Senate version added a new public dashboard requirement directing AGDC to maintain a website tracking project status, costs, risks, permitting, gas supply, the Fairbanks Spur Line, community impact grants, and Alaska Hire numbers, updated monthly or more often. Bond approval rules were also reversed. Where the House version allowed AGDC to issue bonds unless the legislature voted to stop it within 90 days, the Senate version requires the legislature to actively approve any bond issuance within 90 days, with no small-dollar exception.