|
Dear Friends and
Neighbors,
We have such great news
reporters in the Capitol! There has been very accurate reporting
done all session.
Articles cited in this
newsletter summarize actions on last day of 23rd Legislature.
Gas Pipeline
Staff and I will continue
to watch both Finance committees, even though we no longer have our
hands on it. Concern is that most of the Senate Committee doesn't
live on the Railbelt, so won't be directly affected by the gas
price for consumers.
Summary of House Finance
meeting (5/22/26) is in a section of this newsletter.
Skepticism
looms as an obstacle over Alaska Legislature’s special gasline
session Alaska
Beacon
The risk is if only Phase 1
is built. In that scenario, the
Department of Revenue estimates, Southcentral Alaskans
could end up paying more than $27 per mcf under current law and
almost $23 per mcf under the governor’s proposal.
Speaking Thursday during
the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference, Glenfarne CEO Brendan
Duval offered conflicting statements about the pipeline’s
financing.
At one point, he said
that he had sufficient investments to construct the first phase
without any tax breaks. Later, talking with Dunleavy, he
said the tax bill is “a critical condition” for pipeline
construction, as is a gas-purchase agreement with ENSTAR, the
middleman that supplies most of Southcentral Alaska with natural
gas.
(My comment: Yes, Glenfarne
told us in November 2025, in Executive Session of Legislative
Budget & Audit, that no legislation (tax cuts) would be needed.
Executive Sessions are not recorded, so I can't send it to you. The
struggle: Risk of only Phase One, conflicting or no information
from little-known private company. Glenfarne has two projects
in U.S. that are much smaller, worked on longer, and still not to
FID (final investment decision); maybe that's because they are not
getting tax breaks there either.)
AOGCC
tells Senate Resources new Pt Thomson offtake may be needed Petroleum
News
The Alaska Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission updated the Senate Resources Committee on
Point Thomson May 13, telling the committee that its existing
gas offtake order for the field, issued in 2015, may need to be
updated.
(My comment: This is
very important. New information about this very complex oil/gas
field calls for reassessment of how much gas can be removed.)
Glenfarne
CEO says Alaska LNG financing hinges on tax legislation Anchorage
Daily News
“We know so little about
what actually Glenfarne is doing. We know so little. It’s all left
to speculation, and I don’t care to speculate,” said Edgmon, a
Dillingham independent.
LNG
Special Session: Lawmakers vote to start work next week. Alaska News Source
Senate Majority Leader
Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, defended the legislature’s
approach. “We’re doing what we believe is the best thing for the
people of Alaska,” Giessel
told Alaska’s News Source. “We’re supporting a gas pipeline, but not at any
cost to Alaskans.”
Alaska
LNG: A personal archive Alaska
Beacon
They haven’t sent out any
brochures or hosted any meetings, but I’m trying to write down what
they say anyway, so that a few years from now, I can flip though my
now organized and labeled folders and highlight the dates that came
and went, the promises made and abandoned, just the latest in an
archive of corporate lies.
Two bills that I worked on that passed:
SB
147/HB 195 Pharmacy
Patient Services – Pharmacists hold doctoral degrees. There are 520
pharmacists in Alaska, and 860 pharmacy technicians.
This legislation, if
allowed into law by the Governor, allows pharmacists to diagnose
and treat simple illnesses that can be diagnosed with a test
done in the pharmacy (examples: sore throat, urinary tract
infections, colds, flu, etc.). Pharmacists can then prescribe
treatment for these simple, test-confirmed diagnoses, as well
as renew prescriptions for chronic care for asthma and diabetes.
They can provide HIV prevention medications, contraceptives, and
smoking cessation services.
They cannot make new diagnosis that
is outside what can be confirmed with CLIA-waived test. They cannot
prescribe opioids or other medications on prohibited lists. No
medications from REMS list can even be purchased by a
pharmacist.
This patient services
authority exists for pharmacists in 30 other states. Savings:
$277/visit treated by local pharmacist rather than at healthcare
clinic. Pharmacies are often open for much longer hours, on city
and neighborhood streets, and well known to citizens.
Local pharmacists are
positioned in communities all over Alaska. They can meet healthcare
needs of Alaskans quickly, safely, less expensively, and prevent
complications. Twenty-four other states equip their pharmacists to
provide these services.
Myth-buster: No pharmacist is
authorized to prescribe or dispense for medication abortion. State
laws prohibit it: AS
18.16.010 (a) and AS
18.16.090. In addition: the Federal Drug Administration
prohibits Mifepristone from being on the shelf in a community
pharmacy (see REMS
– Risk Evaluation & Mitigation Strategy, FDA website).
HB 210, SB 205 Occupational Disability Coverage – amended into HB
14
Under current law for
defined contribution retirement program, a public employee who
becomes disabled while serving the public receives an occupational
disability benefit equal to 40% of their gross monthly compensation
at the time they left service. This 40% was set in the 1950s.
SB 205 increases that
benefit to 75% of their gross monthly pay. This change applies to
members of both the Public Employees’ Retirement System Defined
Benefit Plan and the Defined Contribution Plan, ensuring equitable
treatment across retirement tiers. The bill also provides for an
immediate effective date.
The bill ensures injured
public employees are not pushed into poverty and do not lose their
retirement security.
When a public employee is
injured in the line of duty, the financial consequences can be
devastating. The sudden loss of income, combined with medical
expenses and long-term recovery needs, places significant strain on
individuals and their families.
Example: State Trooper earning
$6,000/month
Disabled by gunshot wound
- income drops to $2,400/month
This bill sets disability
income at $4,500/month (75% of previous salary)
Can we afford it? YES!
Trust funds are far more than fully funded:
PERS:
399% funded
TRS:
5,172% funded
This is not a funding
problem.
This is a policy
design problem.
HB 210/SB 205 reflects
reality:
• People permanently
disabled usually cannot supplement income
• Medical costs are often
higher
• Families still need
housing, food, transportation, and childcare.
I know 3 state troopers,
shot on job, 100% disabled – one lost his home, another divorced,
all are living in poverty, all have no health insurance so can’t
afford healthcare for their injuries, all will never be able to
work again.
About 11 years ago, two
on-duty state troopers were shot and killed in rural community.
Both had children/wife who were left with no financial support
(they were not pension recipients) and no healthcare coverage.
Legislature passed legislation that gave the two widows healthcare
coverage for 10 years.
This is a real problem.
This bill corrects this serious gap.
I hope the Governor
doesn’t veto this.
May 21 - Special Session begins
House and Senate gaveled
in on May 21, adopted resolutions permitting finance committees to
function, floor sessions to be held as needed.
Gas Pipeline
Staff and I will continue
to watch both Finance committees, even though we no longer have our
hands on it. Concern is that most of the Senate Committee doesn't
live on the Railbelt, so won't be directly affected by the gas
price for consumers.
Items in this Newsletter:
· Action on Last 2 Days...
· Questions from Constituents
· Gasline Finance Committee Meetings
· Podcast: Pipeline Impossible: Deadlines
Reckoning
· Plastic Recovery Newsletter
· Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics with Current
Topics, Stuff I Found Interesting, Education, Politics, Healthcare
· Resource Values, Permanent Fund Data
· Alaska History
|
