Category: News Feeds

The Alaska House of Representatives on Thursday postponed its final vote on a fast-track supplemental budget bill that would use the state’s largest savings account to cover some shortfalls in the current state budget.

Members of the House voted 21-19 to pull the bill from the House floor after it became clear that there were not enough votes to fund the bill from savings. 

Thirty votes are needed to spend from the Constitutional Budget Reserve; a vote to spend from the reserve failed 22-18 before legislators reversed course, rescinded their rejection and sent the bill back to the House Rules Committee. 

All members of the House’s multipartisan coalition majority voted in favor of the postponement; all members of the Republican House minority voted against it. 

Rep. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, was the only member of the minority to vote in favor of spending from the reserve. All legislators voted in favor of the underlying bill, even if they disagreed on how to pay for it.

A new vote on spending from the reserve could take place as early as Monday, but it might not be needed: On Friday, the Alaska Department of Revenue is expected to release a revised state budget forecast, and members of the House minority indicated they may be willing to bet that oil revenue from the Iran war will fill the gap.

“We have been blessed in this state. We have been blessed right now with the ability to look a little bit into the future … and notice that we have an additional amount of revenue that we have to spend. How incredible is that?” said Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna. 

Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage and co-chair of the House Finance Committee, said he does not believe oil prices will rise high enough and stay high enough to pay for the supplemental budget bill without savings.

If Alaska North Slope oil prices were to average $90 per barrel between March 10 and June 30, that would raise an additional $300 million in state revenue — not enough to meet the need, Josephson said. Prices would have to average more than $105 per barrel for that period to avoid a withdrawal from savings, he said.

The bill in front of the House on Thursday would have spent $373.5 million from savings to unlock federal transportation grants, cover last year’s wildfire response spending, and pay for part of the cost of dealing with the disaster caused by ex-Typhoon Halong in Western Alaska. 

All those items are additions for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Lawmakers are simultaneously working on a separate budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The bill in front of the House on Thursday was adopted by the Senate on Wednesday after the six-person Senate minority negotiated the removal of $150 million in items in exchange for their votes on the bill and the draw from savings. Those items will still need to be funded later.

The biggest remaining item in the bill is $129.6 million to refill the state’s higher education investment fund, which was drained last year amid a veto-involved dispute between the Legislature and governor. 

The item that has garnered the most attention is smaller — $70.2 million that would be used to match federal grants for highway construction.

The state’s construction industry has been lobbying heavily for the Legislature to approve that money early so companies can make plans for the summer construction season.

“There is no way I would ever vote to gamble the future of our construction and oil and gas industry on months of oil prices in the most volatile market and geopolitical conditions of my lifetime,” said Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage. 

Fields said any delay has a cost: “Even if oil prices come in higher for the rest of the year, the Department of Transportation cannot put out bids based on price forecasts. They have to have a budget bill passed by us.”

Without firm projects, construction companies cannot make hiring decisions, he said.

“This is now a starvation year for the construction industry,” Fields said.

The postponement preserves some political leverage for the 19 Republican members of the House minority. Because 30 votes are needed to spend from the reserve and there are 21 lawmakers in the coalition majority, money can’t be spent from the reserve without at least nine minority members in support.

After the floor vote, House Minority Leader DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, said the vote was not about leverage, but, but that the minority voted to protect savings ahead of Friday’s forecast. 

She pointed out that as currently written, the bill would have authorized lawmakers to spend hundreds of millions of dollars from the reserve, regardless of how much extra money the state earns from the Iran war. 

“What we were really doing is making sure that we didn’t just give a full, free opportunity to take money from our savings and spend $378 million without any controls whatsoever.”

Republican lawmakers said they had not seen the revenue forecast yet, but expressed confidence in increasing oil prices, despite uncertainty around the Iran war.

“There’s a saying in the infantry, ‘no plan survives first contact with the enemy,’ right? So I don’t know what’s going to happen with the Iran war,” said Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks and a veteran of the Iraq war.

“I can tell you, there’s been a lot of oil and gas infrastructure that has been blown up, and you generally can’t rebuild that stuff in a day,” he said. “So I don’t expect, personally, oil to be like $150. It is going to be higher than it was three weeks ago, probably for a while.” 

But members of the House majority were clearly frustrated by the delay.

“Volatility is a 10 out of 10 right now,” said Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham. “I’ve never seen a responsible finance committee or responsible leadership in the House make such an effort to gamble on the future in terms of oil prices.” 

Rep. Calvin Schrage, D-Anchorage, serves as co-chair of the House Finance Committee.

He pointed to past forecasts where revenues did not materialize and budgets had to be revised, and called the minority members’ move irresponsible. 

“That’s what they were suggesting today, that we rely on a forecast — unrealized, unpredictable, uncertain money to finance a budget when industry and Alaskans are asking for certainty. I mean, as recently as last year, we saw the folly of that sort of budgeting methodology, and it’s irresponsible.”

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Lingít clan leaders L’eiwtú Éesh Herman Davis and Aanyáanáx Ray Wilson will receive honorary doctorates of laws from the University of Alaska Southeast during the May 3 spring commencement ceremony at UAS in Juneau.

UAS announced the awards for Davis and Wilson, as well as other distinguished Southeast Alaskans, on Friday.

Davis, of Sitka, is clan leader of the L’uknax.adí, from Kayaashka Hít (Platform House). He “has demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication as he has worked to ensure that his knowledge of the Tlingit language, culture, traditions and history is preserved and passed on,” UAS said in its announcement.

“Davis has generously shared his extensive Traditional Ecological Knowledge, identified key historical locations on the landscape and worked with scholars to preserve Tlingit place names,” UAS stated. “As a master-level birth speaker, Davis has taught Tlingit language and dance for 50 years through the Sitka Native Education Program and Noow Tlein Dance Group, integrating storytelling, song, and dance into lessons and helping build an extensive curriculum to share with others. He has collaborated with co-awardee Aanyáanáx Ray Wilson to repatriate significant ceremonial pieces, including a Raven helmet.”

Davis and Wilson worked for decades to repatriate the Raven helmet that Ḵ’alyáan of the Kiks.ádi clan wore during an 1804 battle in Sitka against Russian colonists. 

The state-run Sheldon Jackson museum announced in December that it would return the helmet to the care of Sitka Tribe of Alaska, and Kiks.ádi clan members, in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Wilson, of Juneau, is clan leader of the Kiks.ádi, from G̱agaan Hít (the Sun House).

In Friday’s release, UAS stated that Wilson “has shown remarkable leadership in sharing Tlingit dance, stories, practices, and values, and has shifted the paradigm for how museums work with and represent Indigenous Peoples.” 

“As a Tlingit culture-bearer, Wilson taught dance and culture for 25 years with the All Nations’ Children dance group (Lda Kut Naax Sati Yatx’i), and helped collaboratively develop a tool that teaches children about the Tlingit language and culture through music,” UAS said “Wilson worked with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to ensure traditional cultural protocols were followed while restoring a ceremonial sculpin hat, and advised the American Museum of Natural History on integrating Indigenous perspectives into renovations, ensuring that Tlingit culture and traditions were represented as living and dynamic.”

UAS also announced Friday that it will confer an honorary doctorate of laws on Younce Kóo oo Wóo Russell Dick, of Hoonah, from the Kaagwaantaan (Eagle/Wolf) Clan.

Dick “is a catalyst for innovation and economic growth throughout Alaska and beyond,” UAS said. “As president and chief executive officer of Huna Totem Corporation, Dick has been an extraordinary leader in sustainable tourism, cultural stewardship, and workforce development.”

UAS also noted that Dick helped transform Icy Strait Point into a globally recognized destination.

“Throughout his career, Dick has held key leadership roles at Sealaska Corporation, Alaska Dream Cruises, Haa Aani, LLC, and Icy Strait Whale Adventures (Three Wolves Charters), and served as vice chair of the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority Board of Directors,” UAS stated. 

The university in recent years has honored several Alaska Native leaders with honorary doctorate awards. In 2024 it conferred an honorary doctorate of education on Gooch Tláa/Kéet Tláa/Anne Johnson, a cultural educator and culture bearer who has contributed to the Sitka Native Education Program for some 50 years. 

In 2021 UAS conferred an honorary doctorate of education on Pauline Duncan, a teacher and culture bearer of Sitka who created many culturally relevant classroom materials for Native children in her decades as a classroom teacher. 

The post UAS to award honorary degrees to L’uknax.adí, Kiks.ádi clan leaders appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

The head of the Alaska Division of Elections will not share legal advice that led to the state’s decision to send an extended voter list to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Director Carol Beecher told state senators Wednesday that she will not waive attorney-client privilege as state lawmakers examine last year’s decision to give the Trump administration a detailed list of Alaska voters.

Alaska is one of 12 states that have either turned over their voter lists or have said they plan to comply with a nationwide request, according to records kept by the Brennan Center, a critic of the administration’s request.

Alaska and Texas are also the only states to have signed a memorandum of understanding that would allow the Department of Justice to pick individual voters for eventual removal from state lists of eligible voters.

Neither elections officials nor the Alaska Department of Law have explained why the state voluntarily complied with the request and signed the memo, or how compliance fits within the Alaska Constitution’s right to privacy.

Last week, Idaho became the latest state to reject the Department of Justice’s request for voter information, joining dozens of others.

That state’s Secretary of State said in a letter to federal officials that filings in a lawsuit showed that the department had shared sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, with “unauthorized persons,” and as a result, he could not guarantee that Idahoans’ identities would be safe.

In a pair of legislative hearings this week, Alaska lawmakers were unable to learn why Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, Beecher, and the Alaska Department of Law reached a different conclusion.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, grilled Beecher during a Wednesday hearing, pressing her to release the legal advice she received before the Division of Elections turned over its voter list.

“This is an issue of grave concern for hundreds of thousands of Alaskans, and you have the ability to provide us with those documents. You have the ability to waive any potential privilege. Would you be willing to do that?” he asked.

“At this point, I am not willing to waive that privilege,” she said. 

Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, asked Beecher whether the department made a mistake by sharing the voter data and signing the memo that would allow the federal government to single out individual Alaskans.

“I do not, at this juncture, believe that the division made a mistake in signing the MOU,” she said.

This week’s toughest questions came from Democratic lawmakers. Beecher and Dahlstrom are both Republicans, and Dahlstrom is also a candidate for governor in this fall’s elections.

Republican lawmakers were generally silent in this week’s hearings. 

Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said he was “in an awkward position” and reached out to a variety of experts in an attempt to avoid bias in a hearing he held on Monday.

During that hearing, Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, said he sees the state’s compliance as something like following the speed limit.

“When the federal government makes a law, we’re expected to follow it … it’s the federal government’s job, through whomever, to ensure that law is followed, and from what I understand, the federal government was merely attempting to make sure that Alaska followed the National Voter Registration Act,” he said.

The information transmitted to the Department of Justice goes beyond the publicly available voter information purchasable from the Division of Elections for $20. 

It contains personally identifying information, such as birthdates, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

In a legal analysis performed last month, legislative attorneys called the DOJ’s request “unprecedented” and said the division’s handover would be legal only if the federal government requested the information “in compliance with federal law” and used “the information only for governmental purposes authorized under law.”

As of Wednesday, three separate federal judges — in Oregon, California and Michigan — have ruled that the federal government’s request is not in compliance with federal law. 

Of the 48 states and the District of Columbia that have been asked for their voter lists, 29 and DC are fighting the federal government in court. The federal government has won none of those cases to date.

Legislative attorney Andrew Dunmire said he is also unaware of any federal law that allows the federal government to single out individual voters for removal from voter lists, as the MOU states.

On Wednesday, Beecher said the Department of Justice has not yet requested that any voters be removed from Alaska’s list. In addition, Dahlstrom said in December that the state would comply with the MOU only if the federal government’s actions are legal.

But with the Alaska Department of Law and the Division of Elections stonewalling legislators, it isn’t clear what the state considers a legal request. 

In September, the Justice Department told Stateline that it is sharing the voter data with the Department of Homeland Security, and the Trump administration has previously said it intends to input the voter lists into a nationwide registry to look for noncitizens.

The DHS tool for that effort has repeatedly flagged citizens in error, ProPublica reported last month.

Speaking to legislators this week, former Alaska attorney general Bruce Botelho advised lawmakers to continue searching for the legal advice given to elections officials by the Alaska Department of Law.

He also suggested that legislators consider filing a lawsuit to have the agreement with the Department of Justice declared illegal.

The post Alaska officials stonewall state legislators on justification for handing voter data to feds appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

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 request to you is not to become a roadblock.”

But legislators who are dealing with the pipeline on a daily basis say they don’t have answers to basic questions, including how much the pipeline will cost and whether the gas it carries will be affordable to Alaskans.

“I have not seen any figures,” said Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage and chair of the Senate Resources Committee. 

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, said legislators are not going to be a roadblock.

“We’re not going to throw sand in the works. Everybody wants a pipeline. We all hope that it comes about, but it’s got to be done properly and make sure that we know what’s going on.”

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said he has heard “from very credible sources” that the price of gas through the pipeline could be $50 per million cubic feet by 2046. 

The current cost of gas from Cook Inlet for Southcentral Alaska is about $10 per MCF. 

“Just imagine if you have utilities locked into 30-year contracts for gas at $50 an MCF. That would be catastrophic,” Wielechowski said. “That’s the sort of thing that we’re trying to protect Alaskan consumers all up and down the Railbelt from — an absolute catastrophe to our economic system.”

As currently proposed, the pipeline project consists of two phases. The first phase includes an 807-mile pipeline from the North Slope to the west side of Cook Inlet, with a tie-in to existing natural gas infrastructure around Anchorage.

The second phase would extend the pipeline to the Kenai Peninsula, where an export terminal would be built. The second phase would also include a processing plant on the North Slope.

One year ago, the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation sold 75% of the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline project to Glenfarne, an international developer.

Since the acquisition, Glenfarne has signed a number of nonbinding agreements with potential gas purchasers and gas sellers, but it has not disclosed estimates for the project’s cost, and it hasn’t disclosed what it expects the cost of gas to be.

Last year, company officials said they expected to make an investment decision by the end of 2025. In a subsequent filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, they said they would make the decision in February. A new timeline hasn’t been made public.

The lack of data is particularly problematic because legislators are considering whether to offer a property tax break to pipeline developers.

Those taxes are significant. Because Alaska does not have a statewide income tax or sales tax, its state budget suffers when people move into the state. More people means more demand for things like schools, parks and roads, but no increased revenue to pay for those things.

Economists have called that the “Alaska disconnect.”

Alaska has a 2% property tax on oil and gas infrastructure. Most of that money is passed on to municipalities, which use it for local needs.

In December, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he was considering a proposal to cap that property tax at 0.2% for the natural gas pipeline, creating a payment in lieu of taxes system.

“That bill should be next week,” Dunleavy said during a Thursday news conference with U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, confirming the 0.2% rate will be part of the new legislation.

“Last couple weeks, we’ve been working with municipalities, getting their input as to what this should look like before (we) put the bill out,” he said. “So look forward to probably next week on that PILT bill, so that we can look at the economics of this line and also ways to ensure that municipalities benefit from this directly.”

This week, Begich expressed some support for a lower property tax rate, saying it could encourage people to invest in the pipeline.

“The classic 2% tax burden that would apply, say, to a $50 billion asset, would be a billion dollars in cash flow early in the project’s life cycle,” Begich said. “If that cash flow coming out of the project lowers the rate of return for investors, they’re not going to show up and invest. And so we need to make sure that our tax policy is A, doing what’s right for Alaskans. B, is not impeding the ability for the project to move forward. And I think we can do both of those things with some creative thinking and conversations with the industry.”

While a lower tax rate would benefit pipeline developers, it has the potential to harm residents who live near the pipeline. 

If pipeline construction and operation mean more people moving to Alaska and municipalities are unable to raise revenue to meet the resulting demand for services, local governments could be forced to raise taxes or cut basic services in order to pay for the pipeline subsidy.

Last week, the Senate Resources Committee introduced Senate Bill 275, which imposes some transparency requirements on the pipeline project, eliminates a tax exemption relevant to the project, and imposes a new surcharge on gas processing plants. 

That bill was introduced just days before Begich urged lawmakers not to be a “roadblock.”

Giessel, who chairs the resources committee, said she didn’t think Begich’s comments were directed at her or her committee’s bill.

“We’re not being a roadblock. We’re doing exactly what we’re supposed to do according to our constitution,” she said.

Asked whether he was thinking of Giessel’s bill during his speech, Begich said, “It was not my direct intention. No, I think it’s always worth having the conversation about the tax structure, about the incentive structure, though that’s an ongoing discussion that happens at the state legislature in Alaska. I think it’s important that when we have those conversations, they’re done in a way that is going to encourage, rather than discourage, industry from coming in and saying, ‘Yes, this is a good place for us to invest in.’”

Speaking to reporters after his speech, Begich said the state would benefit by getting more information from Glenfarne.

“I welcome more information,” Begich said. “I recognize that they’ve got certain restraints on what they can share. But look, I’d like to see more information shared. I’d like to see more of the economics of the project shared so we can understand what the full potential is and what’s on the table. I believe that’s going to come with time, but more information is better.”

The post Alaska legislators have few firm facts as they consider a proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

A monumental moment for state leaders is expected Friday with the release of an official forecast of how much extra revenue Alaska’s government may get due to the Iran war.

Oil prices have skyrocketed since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, which had legislators on Thursday commenting on the grim reality the conflict may mean hundreds of millions of extra dollars for Alaska.

“I understand that we’re all feeling awkward about the unfortunate reason for the optimism, which is that mankind can’t stop itself from fighting,” said Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, who co-chairs the House Finance Committee.

The day also saw lawmakers pull a $373.5 million supplemental budget off the House floor due to a bitter disagreement about tapping into a reserve fund to pay for it. Dissenters, all members of the Republican minority caucuses, said that decision should be made after the updated revenue forecast.

“I find it really interesting that we’re taking up this item the day before we actually know how much money we have and what the size of our deficit is,” Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, said during floor debate. He said after talking to executive and legislative financial staff “I’m pretty confident that the vast majority of items in this are probably going to be able to be funded in this specific bill through the current (year) surplus.”

Members of the bipartisan House majority accused the minority caucus of playing Russian roulette with critical budget items such as transportation projects scheduled this year. The supplemental budget includes $70.2 million needed to secure about $630 million in federal funds for such projects — and public and private transportation leaders have been imploring lawmakers to move quickly on those funds so the window for this year’s work season isn’t missed.

“We’re saying, ‘Eh, we like to build, but we want to see what the revenues are later on,’” said Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, another House Finance Committee co-chair. “We’re going to continue to wait. We’re going to continue to leave people hanging. We’re at the verge of being too late. I’m getting texts as of this morning from industry leaders that if we don’t deploy this money now we’re jeopardizing hundreds of millions of dollars that would hit the road this summer. What are we doing?”

The transportation funds are needed because Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed them last year as part of a political fight involving the Cascade Point Ferry Terminal, which his administration favors and allocated tens of millions of dollars toward. Legislators voted to divert $37 million in so-called Juneau access funds to other projects — and questioned his support of the terminal since a state study says it will have negligible benefits for travlers, but benefit a planned gold mine in the area. Dunleavy subsequently issued his veto.

Other significant items in the supplemental budget are $98.7 million for wildfire response and up to $75 million for disaster relief.

Also included is about $130 million to replenish the Alaska Higher Education Investment Fund, which provides scholarships, after lawmakers tapped it last year to cover a deficit in the current year’s budget when the House minority blocked an effort to tap the state’s $3 billion Constitutional Budget Reserve, which is typically used for shortfalls.

The lack of minority support was again key during Thursday’s supplemental budget vote.

The House passed the supplemental budget by a unanimous 40-0 vote, following the Senate’s unanimous passage of it Wednesday. But a House vote to fund the budget by tapping the CBR fell short by a 22-18 vote since a three-fourths majority is necessary to access the fund. Rep. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, was the lone minority crossover to the bipartisan majority coalition vote.

That resulted in the House majority voting to rescind passage of the supplemental budget and pull it from the floor, returning it to the Rules Committee. The House then adjourned until Monday — and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said it is not a certainty the bill will be brought back to the floor then even if the revenue forecast is known, since there also needs to be assurance the budget can be funded.

The $64 question: What will oil prices average this year and next?

Alaska lawmakers last spring passed a budget that balanced if North Slope oil prices average $64 a barrel for the fiscal year ending June 30. The official revenue forecast at the time was prices would average $68. But a grim revenue forecast in December stated this year’s prices would be $65.48 and next year’s about $62.

Oil was $92 a barrel on Tuesday.

House majority lawmakers said Thursday that if oil prices were to average $90 a barrel between now and June 30 it would mean about $300 million in extra revenue. That means the supplemental budget would still need additional funds — and presumes the war in Iran will last that long and cause sufficient disruption to oil markets in the process.

However, some analysts say oil could go above $100 a barrel. Oil prices at that level for a full year would generate an extra $1.5 billion more for the state compared to the most recent revenue forecast.

This story was originally published by the Juneau Independent.

The post Legislators hold breath, budget with war-influenced state revenue update expected Friday appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.