Jeremy Hsieh, from KTOO’s Gavel to Gavel, does a good job of explaining what’s left to be done in the Legislature, how a special session is formed, and what it might mean for upcoming elections.
What’s left to do in Juneau and will they get it done?
Correction, Medicade ( not Medicare) will be one of the three items that will soon consume most available state revenue.
To this Cook Inlet consumer.HB4 was the alternate to importation of gas. Dan Fauske stated then and is still stating today that when the AGDC/ASAP cost of gas to the consumer exceeds the cost of imported gas he will consider himself on a fool’s errand. You don’t hear that restriction for cost to Alaskans from the AKLNG crowd do you?
Because of goverment incentives Cook Inlet is looking better to the point where Cook Inlet consumers/distributors will probably pass on the AKNLG open season and Conoco will start exporting again. None of the that was known back then when HB4 was being discussed.
Where was the AOGCC (Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission) who recommends if gas has a higher purpose for oil extraction? Where are the latest reservoir depletion reports from the producers showing that this volume of gas is available now or might be available before final investment decision (FID)? Why wasn’t the state pursing abandoment of the AGIA Canadian option long ago when shale gas made the pipeline to Alberta absolutely uneconomical? Where were the comparative studies to show possible revenues by using this gas energy for maximum. oil extraction.
According to Professor Goldsmith of ISER we are now consuming our cash reserves at about 7 million dollars per day. The same legislators who love to claim that soon Education, Medicare and State Pensions will consume 100% of available revenues are more than willing to ignore the Department of Revenue projections showing the percentage of general fund unrestricted revenues that AKLNG will consume in the near future (for example, depending on the finance option chosen, 15%, 20% or 29% in FY 2019 – and FY 2019 will start in June 2018). Yesterday I heard that the various state agencies are already piling on to increase the fiscal note amounts before SB 138 is even passed because this is a cash cow for them. . If these legislators had so much time to vett this and gather sufficient information, why were they meeting after midnight to rush this through? Remember AGIA is still active as is AGDC/ASAP. We had better be damn careful when approaching the future.. I am not impressed with “tons of testimony”. Remember the Senate wouldn’t allow Roger Marks to testify because they chose to couch their hearings “where never is heard a discouraging word…” to hurry things along..
Lastly, were you here in the late 80’s when we had the dress rehearsal for what is comming? But hey, I am now all for changing the state song to “Don’t worry – be Happy”.
Lynn, you should also listen to yesterday’s House Finance hearing right before they passed it out of the committee. According to Rep. Edgemon this bill is by far the most thoughtful and balanced approach to ANS gas commercialization that he has seen over the past decade.
I still cannot reconcile your support for HB 4, which is a terrible bill that has many, many flaws with your hostility towards this bill.
Lynn, if you counted up all of the hours that various committees heard on this bill I think any Alaskan would be impressed. The work on tnis bill started in the summer when the legisllature heard testimony on BV’s royaly study. the senate amd house heard a ton of testimony during the day throughout this session. And House Respurces heard over 50 amendments. I would bet that over 100 hours of testimony and deliberation was heard in the middle of the day. During this time, the legislature has heard a ton of testimony from three independent consultants and from the administration and their consultants. Every question asked by legislators, to my knowledg, has answered.
What questions haven’t been asked or answered?
Good video. Last night around midnight House Finance was going through the motions of deliberating the now entirely politicized AKNLG gas line project. How reassuring to see the legislators gathering at midnight to cram through a bill of such magnitude. During the recesses when the microphones are turned off, gatherings of the ruling and political classes in the back of the room and in the hallways conducted the real legislative hearing. I am amazed that two Representatives have already written editorials supporting the project yet these same legislators will later claim they can objectively review the future contracts for this deal (I predict at least two “yes” votes on whatever is presented).
We are now spending our savings. Now the golden goose of oil revenue is old and can’t produce the golden eggs for Alaska. So now, instead of facing fiscal reality, we are being offered a cure for the goose or perhaps another goose, This cure or new gosling is just around the corner yet certainly we are not allowed to understand what the cure or that new gosling might truly cost us.
If anyone asks what Obamacare and AKLNG have in common please remember the current Governor and his political allies are the first to complain about a major national policy being instituted by passing legislation without first understanding the legislation or its’ impact.
Thanks for causing me to give myself a major head slap. The gamesmanship of this session is almost more intriguing than the giveaways to the oil companies.