I am writing this special edition of my newsletter to ask for your support and testimony on Senate Bill 114, the oil revenue reform bill that will help solve our fiscal crisis, fund the needed school funding increase, and get our state back on track.
Public testimony is being offered this Monday, May 1st at 1:30 PM in the Senate Finance Committee. If we can show enough support for closing the S-Corporation tax loophole and the modest reduction in per-barrel oil tax credits, we will have a great chance of getting these policies into the comprehensive fiscal plan legislators and the governor are considering.
Call-in number for the Monday meeting: (907) 563-9085.
Alternatively, you can send written testimony to: Senate.Finance.Committee@akleg.gov
I wanted to express a sincere thank you to the dozens of Alaskans who have already sent in letters of support. Your letters have helped us create momentum for SB 114 and these much-needed reforms.
Let's keep up the momentum and show up on Monday afternoon. Feel free to share the graphic below with the pertinent details to your network and lists.
Here is more information about Senate Bill 114here and in the write-up below.
Why is Senate Bill 114 Needed Now
SB 114 would add around $600 million in revenue by closing the S-Corporation tax loophole and reducing the sliding scale oil tax credits from 8 to 5 dollars. It also ties those credits directly to investment.
For the last 10 years, Alaska has spent our enormous savings reserve and gone from a state of prosperity to a state that can barely keep the lights on without cuts to education, the PFD, and critical infrastructure. Senate Bill 114 is a compromise, bi-partisan effort to reverse that decline. It’s not a silver bullet, but it is an essential piece of the solution to Alaska’s fiscal crisis. Over the next two years, our state government is facing a billion-dollar budget shortfall and this bill will go a long way toward closing the gap.
The great part about SB 114 is it is designed to incentivize investment. By tying per barrel credits to capital expenditures, we will see hundreds of millions of dollars in more investment on the North Slope and hopefully reverse the decline of oil industry jobs lost in the last 10 years.
Senate Bill 114 is a Rules Committee bill from Senate Leadership and is currently in the Senate Finance Committee. If you have time, please send an email to legislators asking for their support. You can send a message to Sen.Bill.Wielechowski@akleg.gov to pass on and/or the Senate Finance Committee at: Senate.Finance.Committee@akleg.gov
Thank you for reading my e-news and as always, don't hesitate to reach out if my office with any questions or if I can be of assistance.
