Bills Passing, Conference Committee, Gas for Alaskans, and lots more!

Senate Majority Bipartisan Coalition Website

State Senator District E

Senate Majority Leader

Senator Cathy Giessel Newsletter

UPDATES

Issues affecting

your family, community and jobs.

May 14, 2026

Dear friends and neighbors,

Extemely busy here in the Capitol.

Budget is primary.

Floor sessions are passing a lot of bills.

We are now in the "24 Hour Rule", meaning schedules will change with only 24 hour notice.

Budget: If you are interested in what is going into and coming out of the 2027 Budget, scroll down to the Budget Conference Committee section.

The SB 280, Governor's "most important bill this session", is in its 29th hearing since March 20 in the Senate Resources Committee. To see those meetings, scroll down to the Senate Resources meetings section.

A NEW Section: Senate Floor Session.

See the actions taken on bills passing the Senate.

Items in this Newsletter:

· Bills Moving

· Senate Floor Sessions

· 2026 Budget Conference Committee

· Finance Committee Meetings

· Resources Committee Meetings

· Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics with Current Topics, Stuff I Found Interesting, Arctic Issues, Economy, Education, Politics, Healthcare

· Resource Values, Permanent Fund Data

· Alaska History

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Past Newsletters

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Bills Moving

It’s bill-passing season. Here’s what to expect in the final days of the Alaska Legislature’s session Alaska Public Media

The Alaska Legislature’s regular session ends in just over a week, on May 20, and lawmakers are racing to pass a wide range of bills and resolutions before the deadline.

Alaska House passes bill adding more than $140 million to education budget - Anchorage Daily News

Juneau lawmaker’s bill seeking to stabilize education funding passes House, faces Senate hurdles during last week of session. Juneau Independent

The Alaska House voted Tuesday to alter the method for calculating education funding and boost state expenditures on public schools by over $140 million annually.

Senate Floor Sessions

May 12th - Floor Recording

· SB 178 - Expand early intervention services

· SB 208 – Agricultural Land Leases

· SB 282 - Military: JT Armed Svcs Committee

· HB 1 - Specie as Legal Tender

· SJR 25 - Supporting US-Mexico-Canada Agreement

· HJR 39 - Waive Visa Fees For Teachers

· SB 170 - Gaming; Electronic Pull-Tabs

· HB 194 - Oil/Gas Corp. Income Tax; Royalty Sale

May 13th - Floor Recording

· SB 178 - Expand early intervention services

· SB 208 – Agricultural Land Leases

· SJR 25 - Supporting US-Mexico-Canada Agreement

· HJR 39 - Waive Visa Fees For Teachers

· HB 194 - Oil/Gas Corp. Income Tax; Royalty Sale

2026 Budget Conference Committee

Senate Members:

Sen. Hoffman, chair

Sen. Stedman

Sen. Cronk

House Members:

Rep. Josephson

Rep. Schrage

Rep. Stapp

"Budget Conference Committee 101"

Review from 2 days ago...

The Uniform Rules defining Conference Committees

If one body refuses to concur in amendments of the other it so notifies the other. If the other body refuse to recede, the presiding officer of each body appoints 3 members to sit as a Conference Committee.

The committee meets and reaches agreement on previously adopted amendments to a bill, then submits an identical report to each body. If the report is accepted by both bodies, the bill is transmitted to the governor.

NOW - The Conference Committee has requested, and been granted, Limited Powers of Free Conference. As below:

If the members of the Conference Committee cannot agree on amendments, or if one or both bodies refuses to adopt the committee report, the Conference Committee askes for limited powers of Free Conference but only on the specific points of disagreement.

If the members of the Limited Free Conference Committee cannot agree, a Free Conference Committee is appointed. The previous members of the Conference Committee and Limited Free Conference Committee may not be appointed to the Free Conference Committee.

There are 3 members from each body appointed to the Free Conference Committee. The Free Conference Committee can offer amendments to the bill that may not have been in the previous bill. But the changes cannot be so extensive as to require a title change to the bill.

2026 Budget Conference Committee

The House and Senate have different items and amounts in their versions of the bill. Quickly dispensed with are the items that are identical. Also quickly agreed to are many items.

Then come the items that must be negotiated.

Meetings of the Conference Committees are very perfunctory

The negotiations are done behind the scenes. During the public meeting, the chair, which alternates each year between House and Senate, simply goes down the list of items agreed to and states “House” or “Senate”. This indicates which budget item and amount have been accepted.

For the audience watching, it means nothing unless you have a copy of the “motion sheets” which list each item under consideration. The motion sheets are sent out before each Conference Committee meeting. Motion sheets are here.

As you look at the motion sheets, the Department is top right, boxes below list the issue, then columns "House change" and "Senate change". Last column on the right is "Version Adopted". That is where the committee will say which budget they are adopting on that topic. You will note that the "Senate change" column is often blank; that's where the Senate eliminated or de-funded that item.

The Conference Committee meet several times to make budget decisions

May 11, first meeting link here.

May 12, second meeting link here.

Here are the motion sheets. You will see "versions adopted" columns, H or S. This is where the committee will indicate which budget version adopted on that item yet. Each meeting they will go through a few more agreed upon items.

Senate Finance Committee Meetings

May 12th - 9:00am - Recorded Meeting, Documents

· HB 314 - Arch, Eng, Surveyors; Reg Int Desgin

· HB 96 - Home Care Employment Standards ADV Board

· HB 14 - Repeal Catastrophic Illness/Med Assist

May 12th - 1:30pm - Recorded Meeting, Documents

· HB 27 - Medical Major Emergencies

· HB 262 - Number of Superior Court Judges

· HB 36 - Foster Children Psychiatric Treatment

· HB 52 - Minors & Psychiatric Treatment

· HB 133 - Payment of Contracts

May 13th - 9:00am - Recorded Meeting, Presentation, Document

· Donlin Gold Project Update

Senate Resources Meetings

May 12th - 9:00am - Recorded Meeting, Documents

· SB 280 - Supporting A Gasline for Alaskans Act

· HB 79 - Naming VIC Fischer Shoup by Marine Park

· HB 93 - Residency Req: Hunting, Trapping, Fishing

· HB 117 - Commercial Fishing; Set Gillnet Coop

May 12th - 3:30pm - Recorded Meeting, DOR Presentation, Documents

· SB 280 - Supporting A Gasline for Alaskans Act

May 13th 9:00am - Recorded Meeting, Documents

· SB 280 - Supporting A Gasline for Alaskans Act

May 13th 3:30pm - Recorded Meeting, AOGCC Presentation, Version W

· SB 280 - Supporting A Gasline for Alaskans Act

The Senate Resources committee is working hard to get this bill across the finish line in condition that honors our Constitutional responsiblity to maximize the benefit for Alaskans, at the same time as never surrendering our power of taxation.

It makes no sense to remove all taxes and just let the company build the pipeline and sell the gas overseas, with some for Alaska.

Here's the problem: at the price of the project, gas for Alaskans will be very expensive. We are trying to find a way to reduce that price, while still promoting the company's work.

We spend more than 20 hours a week working through the issues.

Opinion: Glenfarne's tax stance deserves a serious response ADN

Gas line deadline: House lawmakers rush to move property tax bills out of committee by Friday Alaska News Source

Several committees have scrutinized the bills, saying it lets gas line developers get off easy and hands the state minimal returns. At the center of that debate: transparency. Lawmakers say they want details on project specifics to see if the tax exemptions are worth it, but Glenfarne won’t give those specifics, arguing it would make the project uncompetitive and jeopardize negotiations with potential buyers. But skeptics say the secrecy cuts both ways. “This is a huge give ... to Glenfarne,” Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, said in March. “Will it still be enough for them? I don’t know.”

Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics

Opinion: Glenfarne's tax stance deserves a serious response ADN

Gas line deadline: House lawmakers rush to move property tax bills out of committee by Friday Alaska News Source

Current Topics

Dalton Highway toll proposal stalls in Alaska Senate committee Alaska Beacon

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities invests approximately $16.5 million in maintenance on the Dalton Highway each year, with approximately one-third of that funding coming from the federal government.

Alaska Senate-passed bill seeks to assert ‘right to repair’ for consumer electronics Alaska Public Media

Senate Bill 111, known as the Consumer Digital Right to Repair Act, would require electronics manufacturers to provide parts, documentation and tools to Alaskans looking to fix things like broken cellphones, laptops, security cameras and baby monitors. They’d be required to sell those to individuals and independent repair shops on the same terms they give manufacturer-authorized service providers, and to provide much of the documentation for free.

Stuff I found Interesting

Construction on a connection between two well-known trails along the Anchorage waterfront kicked off with a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and Ship Creek Trail are both part of the city’s 32-mile Moose Loop. The connection will add another mile by routing the loop near the city’s small boat launch and away from Alaska Railroad depot on First Avenue.

U.S. Marine Corps expands Alaska footprint. Alaska Public Media

The U.S. Marines Corps doesn’t have a big presence in Alaska, but that presence is expanding.

Economy

1 big thing: Trump's 5-alarm economy Axios

President Trump flew to Beijing Wednesday under some of the darkest economic clouds of his political career, departing a country reeling from the cost of everyday life. The bottom is falling out on Trump's economic credibility — the central promise of his return to power. The inflation crisis that doomed his predecessor suggests he may not recover.

Education

School’s in for summer with UAA camps and academies for young learners Green and Gold News

Energy

Iran war energy shock squeezes U.S. paychecks Axios

Workers are now earning less in real terms, a threat to spending that has kept the economy humming. "American households continue to feel the brunt of surging energy costs, adding to the deluge of inflation they have weathered since the pandemic.”

North Slope maps plan for largest natural gas power plant in the world Reporting From Alaska

Borough Mayor Josh Patkotak and three officials from Twenty First Century Utilities gave a presentation on this massive project at CERA Week in March in Texas. “At the top of the continent, a new kind of electric utility is taking shape—one that will convert abundant, low-cost gas into large-scale electric power in Prudhoe Bay.

Healthcare

Alaska Legislature formalizes rules for physician assistants working within the state Alaska Beacon

Physician assistants may soon be able to operate more independently in Alaska, if Gov. Mike Dunleavy approves a bill passed Friday by the Alaska Legislature. PAs currently operate many clinics in rural Alaska, but their duties have generally been described in state regulation, not law. That caused problems in 2023, when the state medical board proposed significantly restricting them.

Alaska legislators approve update for law that allows data sharing between hospitals Alaska Beacon

In Alaska, the organization is HealthEconnect Alaska, a nonprofit. If signed into law, SB 272 would clarify the roles of the Department of Health and the organization operating the exchange. People whose records are transmitted through the exchange would be allowed to consent or object to different uses of their data.

Politics

The vanishing Chinese LNG market Axios

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas to China have cratered, largely due to tariff battles.

Alaska Resource Values

Alaska North Slope crude oil price (05/11/2026): $114.27

FY26 budget (beginning 7/1/25) is fully funded at

$64/barrel of oil.

History of prices:

3/23/2026: $101.05 (Iran War)

12/17/25: $60.06

9/20/24: $63.63

9/30/23: $87.99

9/30/22: $86.91

6/29/22: $116.84

3/08/22: $125.44

12/22/21: $75.55

March 2020: $12.29 (COVID)

7/3/2008: $144.00

ANS production (5/11/26):432,355 bpd

Precious Metal Prices

May 13, 2026

Gold - $4715.31

Silver - $88.32

Platinum - $2163.00

Copper - $6.57

Palladium - $1528.46

Rhodium - $9,975

Alaska Permanent Fund

website

How is the Fund invested? Alaska Senate Finance Committee, presenters: Callan, Investment Advisors. Callan said that APF is "one of the best run portfolios among our clients".

February 25, 2026 Link to meeting. Meeting Notes.