Video Clips
Quoted moments from Alaska public meetings, hearings, and press conferences.
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
“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
Jennifer 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
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
“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
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
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
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
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
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
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
“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
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
“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
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
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
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
Chris 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
Matt Groening
“the Attorney General herself cited ethics violations in overturning the 5 proposals that are referenced in the letter. There are several other meetings and proposals that are under litigation right now, and I believe that consistently we have been hearing concerns over the course of you know, Representative Stutes' 8 years as Fisheries Chair, that folks are concerned about the process and whether it's being followed.”Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026
Chris Curtis
“The audit is an independent— it'll be an opinion based on sufficient appropriate evidence. We bring it to this committee, we present it during executive session. This committee will decide whether or not to release it, but this committee has never not released it because it's an independent process.”Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026
Chris 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
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
Chris Curtis
“I have no concerns about our ability to conduct the audit. I always make sure that an audit request, that we have adequate criteria. We need criteria.”Alaska Legislature: Joint Budget & Audit - July 16, 2026 8:30am · Jul 16, 2026
Matt Groening
“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
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
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
“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
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
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
Chris Curtis
“likely we will have recommendations that come out of the audit.”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
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
Chris 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
“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
Chris 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
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
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
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
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
Chris 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
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
Anna Brawley
“typically every year the Assembly passes a policy priorities resolution at some point in the budget process. We're trying to do it earlier than we did last year, and really, you know, not, not to necessarily to the level of put, you know, $300,000 in this particular line, but really broadly giving direction to the administration as they are actively in the budget process themselves with departments, you know, of what we would like to see, either asking for more information and/or, you know, putting forward some broad priorities or requests.”Anchorage Assembly: Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting · Jul 16, 2026
Erin Baldwin Day
“the tax cap is not the only structural limitation or constraint that we have or the only place where we can consider how to better fund services and infrastructure in Anchorage. And I mean, I think there are other things that are in motion that do provide different structural options in terms of how we pay for things. And I think we need to have a— we as a body need to have more conversations about what those tradeoffs look like.”Anchorage Assembly: Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting · Jul 16, 2026
Ona Brouse
“The police department is a slightly different situation because the reason their overtime is so hot is because of their vacancies. So the amount of overtime that the, that the police department runs is particularly hot because they are missing 70 police officers. And so they're running shifts and people in voluntary overtime as much as needs to happen. And then that means that the labor amounts that are spent on the natural operating labor side are being spent in the overtime category.”Anchorage Assembly: Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting · Jul 16, 2026
Erin Baldwin Day
“We've also asked for a pretty robust review of our position with respect to deferred maintenance. And so we're asking for that in terms of roads, our fleet, stormwater, which we heard an update on at one of the more recent IEUC meetings, which was pretty sobering. Also major maintenance and other needs on our facilities and public buildings.”Anchorage Assembly: Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting · Jul 16, 2026
Ona Brouse
“the fire department's everyday operations function with a very high number of OT hours. And that number that is currently in the budget, to my understanding and the calculations that I have seen, is the number of OT hours that they work regular shifts plus a little tiny cushion. But because the wages have changed over a number of years and the allocation of those overtime hours, either through secondary callouts where we're assisting the state or the feds for other problems that they may have, and we send firefighters that way and we backfill with OT.”Anchorage Assembly: Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting · Jul 16, 2026
Anna Brawley
“In the past, our resolutions have really focused on what we would like to see happen. This one does take a little bit different tactic. It does certainly have some of that, and we would welcome other comments on that, but really asking for information, and this is not simply chasing or trying to make the administration do a bunch of extra work, right, but these are really trying to outline and characterize what we all need to have before us to make some of these big decisions, or at least understand kind of what is coming.”Anchorage Assembly: Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting · Jul 16, 2026