Video Clips

Quoted moments from Alaska public meetings, hearings, and press conferences.

Rich Gonzalez “I'm here to offer my wholehearted support for the appointment of Mark Vizcocho to the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly. I've had the privilege of working alongside Mark in several capacities, and when Mark commits to something, he gives it everything he has.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Special Work Session of July 16, 2026 · Jul 16, 2026

Jared Griffin “Ordinance number FY 2027-05, levying an area-wide marijuana excise tax, establishing the Community Well-Being Fund, and providing for voter approval of the tax.”

Kodiak Borough: Assembly Special Work Session of July 16, 2026 · Jul 16, 2026

Calvin Schrage “failing this vote, if we take it, is likely going to kill the gas line, at least for this year. And we'll be back here in January, maybe with a developer that's still pursuing this, maybe they pull out by then”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Calvin Schrage “Regarding the S-Corp pass-through entity tax, the committee exempts the Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Project to avoid, avoid further burdening an already marginal project and delays the effective date by one additional year, now 3 years, and it requires an informational tax return for year 2027.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Ashley Carrick “I was in the original 34 votes for the House version of this bill. I was in the 8 concurrence votes for this bill when it came back from the other body, and I will be a yes vote today because I want to build the line.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Calvin Schrage “foreign ownership reporting is improved. A significant change in ownership structure is defined as any change of 5% or more of the pipeline or 10% or more of other project components.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Bryce Edgmon “19 Yeas, 19 nays. By a vote of 19 yeas to 19 nays, the committee report for House Bill 381 has failed to be adopted.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Sarah Vance “if we pass this today, all this is is the first step. If ultimately the producer cannot get, or the builder cannot get to final investment decision, what we call FEED, then we are left with an income tax bill.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Bryce Edgmon “the governor has already issued an executive proclamation to call the legislature back in session effective July 27th, 2026 at 10:00 AM. And this, I presume to be no matter what happens with the vote on this bill, that the executive proclamation has been issued.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Sarah Vance “HB 381 is not a gas line bill. Let me say that again. HB 381 is not a gas line bill. It's a tax restructuring bill.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Calvin Schrage “I don't think that you're going to get closer alignment between the different factions on this issue than you're going to get here today.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

DeLena Johnson “we've taken the S-Corp pass-through entity tax and added it on, saying we have to have that if we're gonna have gas line bill. They really aren't. They don't— one does not need to be there to have the other. And now we're going to end up killing our gas line with this because we can't separate out these two, these two subjects.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Rebecca Schwanke “We already have the third highest corporate income tax in the country. That is not inviting investment in our country or in our state. If this passes as is, this would be the single highest pass-through entity tax in the country.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Andrew Gray “the tax imposed under this section does not apply to— go to line 7— income of an Alaska liquefied natural gas project. So we heard earlier about a parasite being added to this bill that would kill this gas line project. Well, it wouldn't, because this gas line project is immune from the, quote, parasite, because it doesn't apply.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Calvin Schrage “the deadline for the Phase 1 pipeline is extended to 2034 based on developer concerns. The 3 key project dates may also be extended in the event of force majeure”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Justin Ruffridge “there's a lot of work that still needs to be done in this bill. We got far apace from, uh, I think the initial intent of the legislation, which was to offer a tax relief for a large infrastructure liquid natural gas project.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Calvin Schrage “Previous language required at least a 1% adjustment and no more than 3%, guarantee— guaranteeing that costs to Alaskan ratepayers would climb at least 1%. That floor has been removed should we enter a period with low or no inflation.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Ashley Carrick “A singular provision in a 45-page bill on a project as consequential as this should not be the reason today that we say no.”

Alaska Legislature: House Floor Session, 7/16/26, 1030am

Robert Yundt “this is arguably the fourth most consequential piece of legislation in the history of the state behind statehood, TAPs, and the PFD.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

Robert Yundt “We need to change its diaper. Does that mean another special session? Does that mean the powers of free conference? I'm not quite sure, but I know everyone here is willing and ready to get back after it, so I do hope that we we continue on with this. I will be a no vote today because it's got a bad odor.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

Matt Claman “They were set up as a limited liability company. Company like over 11,000 companies in Alaska and because we have no personal income tax, when they came to Alaska there was no tax on them. There was no loophole. They came up with the existing structure.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

Robert Yundt “I was very very proud to vote for this bill last month, not because I thought it was perfect or even that I thought it was really that good, but because I knew it would lead to conference committee and that we would have another crack at it.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

Matt Claman “I do think this bill is, as I think many have said, far less than perfect. It raises in some respects more questions than answers. I was concerned that we never heard from Department revenue during the conference committee meeting this morning.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

Matt Claman “I look at the southern half of my district and I think about how the southern half really dislikes the S corp provisions but likes the portions about the gas line. And I look at the northern half of my district and they like the S corp provisions but they dislike the gas line provisions.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

James Kaufman “I believe this bill should have been about trying to enable the gas line, keep it as tight as we could to this subject, and not veer off into the other issues that end up thwarting or at least stalling it. So I hope we can get there. I guess I don't think this will be it, so I'll be a no on this.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

Robert Yundt “I have in my life seen a few ugly babies. And I will never admit to them which ones they were, but what I will tell you is they all grew up to be very beautiful, productive members of society. And that's where I think this bill could go. It's got a little bit of an odor.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

Matt Claman “The S corp provisions of this legislation continue to trouble me, and it, And that also is reflected in the division that I see within my district.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

James Kaufman “instead of the bill that we should have been working on, I believe, to deal with the tax treatment to enable the lifeblood of energy in Alaska for its citizens and the potential for monetizing that and really changing the game fiscally for the state became instead a bit of an attack on the ongoing situation that we have, which if we want to try and resolve our tax structure broadly with respect to the S corp, that's a worthy issue. Do it separately.”

Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session - July 16, 2026 11:00am · Jul 16, 2026

Kris Curtis “the board's process is set out in regulation and statute, and that's what we will use to help evaluate and determine and answer the audit objectives.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Kris Curtis “With the addition of the mobile application to the contract, the new contract cumulative amount not to exceed is $262,450. And the Division of Legislative Audit has availability within our budget to absorb the additional cost.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Julie Coulombe “When I look through the bullets, there are some real measurable things that the audit— the auditor would be looking at. You're mentioning Fishery Statutes and Regulations, Administrative Procedure Act. Regulation, Executive Branch Ethics Act. So it sounds like there is a measure here.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Kris Curtis “we conduct all of our audits in accordance with auditing standards that require that we maintain our independence both in fact and appearance. Yes, I have no concerns about that. To be able to address these objectives using objective criteria. We will gather sufficient appropriate evidence like we always do for every performance audit we issue, and we will come back to the committee with an independent objective report.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Scott Kawasaki “I feel like given the breadth of stakeholders' concerns and with current litigation, the AG overturning several proposals, and the amount of concern as Fisheries Chair that Representative Stutes has heard, it felt like it was appropriate to have an objective and independent look at the board's processes and procedures.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Louise Stutes “as the body tasked with confirming board members and executive branch oversight, I believe it's the legislature's duty to initiate an independent review of the Board of Fisheries and to ensure they are compliant with applicable policies, regulations, and statutes.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Chuck Kopp “I fully support the request by Representative Stutes. I don't think we have a board, a regulatory board in state government that is more sought to be weaponized by activists. And the process does matter.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Matt Gruening “The only one, as you pointed out, that might be somewhat subjective is determine whether the board has operated in a transparent manner and/or provided adequate public notice. I think that would be more for the legislative auditor to speak to how she would determine that. But as the representative said, we worked with the legislative auditor on crafting this request so that they were quantifiables that they could come back with results on.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Bill Wielechowski “I think the first fall meeting was October 12th, 2023, and I'm just wondering if we should expand it to include that entire fall meeting schedule right through the present.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Zack Fields “I just wanted to thank Representative Stutes for bringing this request to the committee, and I support it and look forward to learning more. It does seem like some unusual decisions intervening in that board's decision, so thank you.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Louise Stutes “this audit request is not based on any outcomes of what the Board of Fish has done. It is based— we are asking it based on the process on which those outcomes were determined. The process, not the end result.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Zack Fields “I move and ask unanimous consent the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee approve the special audit request related to the Board of Fisheries and that the audit cover October 12th, 2023 through July 1st, 2026.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Louise Stutes “We're not addressing any decisions that have been made by the Board of Fish. We— our intent through this audit is to address the process in which these decisions are being made and that the process that has been laid out and established is being complied with in making these decisions.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Gray Jackson “Chris Curtis has served over 34 years with the Division of Legislative Audit and was approved by the legislature on March 2, 2012, to serve in her current position leading the division as legislative auditor.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Kris Curtis “if we get up and going in August, possibly by next session, but it won't come to this committee. Would never have it done that early because it would have to be done in prelim to you by December, final in January. We won't make that, but I would think generally 4 to 6 months of field work depending how big the team is.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Gray Jackson “I want to thank Chris and her staff for doing— always doing a great job on our behalf.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Kris Curtis “Today we are asking for the committee's approval of an amendment to that contract to expand the scope of work to include a new mobile application for an additional contract amount for $17,700.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Gray Jackson “After the nominee is approved by the full committee, I anticipate that we will appoint the recommended nominee to serve as acting legislative auditor until his or her nomination is voted on separately by the House and the Senate or in a joint session at the first possible opportunity.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Louise Stutes “A common theme that in the eyes of the public is growing more severe each year is the board's adherence to a transparent public process, ethical conduct, as well as its own policies, regulations, and statutes. These concerns were proven factual when our own Attorney General recently overturned 5 regulation proposals adopted by the Board of Fish, citing ethics acts violations. Board decisions and consequent— are consequential, often impacting thousands or tens of thousands of Alaskans within a single action.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

Gray Jackson “a few weeks ago on June 26th, sadly, in my opinion, Chris submitted her letter of resignation to the committee with an effective date of August 30th. I worked with Ms. Curtis and Stacy Bentley, the HR manager, to revise the job description for this critically important position. And the job announcement was posted to Workplace Alaska on Monday, July 6th, and it closes on Friday, July 24th.”

Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026

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