Update | 7:46 p.m.
House Speaker Mike Chenault says he’s shocked by the governor’s inclusion of a new natural gas tax on the docket for the October special session.
In a press release, Chenault, a Nikiski Republican said he met with the governor on Monday and the tax wasn’t mentioned. He called the natural gas reserves tax “unusual and confrontational,” likening it to taking “a shot at our partners.”
At a nearly 2-1 ratio, state voters shot down a tax of this kind in 2006. The ballot measure proposed levying a tax on state leaseholders of 3 cents a year per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas in the ground. The tax would be repealed on completion of a natural gas pipeline.
Original post | 4:37 p.m.
Gov. Bill Walker on Thursday formally called the Alaska Legislature back to Juneau for a third special session this year.
His proclamation calls for consideration of two topics: a tax targeting undeveloped natural gas still in the ground, and buying out Canadian pipeline builder TransCanada’s ownership stake in a proposed natural gas pipeline.
In a press release, Walker likened the state’s natural gas reserves to milk with no expiration date. He says taxing it serves as an insurance policy against the “significant risk of never monetizing” the gas.
The TransCanada pipeline ownership buyout is an option the state must exercise by the end of the year, if at all. The buyout would give the state more negotiating power with the other pipeline partners, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP.
In a press release, the governor said the gasline project has gone from “a wish list item to a must-have” because of the state’s $3.5. billion budget deficit.
Sen. Dennis Egan, a Juneau Democrat, said he’s pleased the governor wants the session in Juneau.
“You know, the Capitol is ready for business,” Egan said. “And we just learned … the House chambers will be available as well. So Senate and House chambers will be available. There’ll be a few offices not ready yet, until mid-November, but we can accommodate everyone. And more than enough to accommodate a heckuva lot more than were accommodated in Anchorage.”
The governor is holding a press conference Friday morning in Anchorage on the special session.
