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Some question timing of special session Alaska Legislature called back beginning July 12; most legislators, governor, running in primary; tax timing an issue Anne Sutton Associated Press Writer
Alaska legislators are heading back into special session July 12, and some lawmakers and at least one oil producer say that cuts too close to the Aug. 22 primary election.
Gov. Frank Murkowski announced he would be calling a second special session to finish work on a petroleum production tax and amendments to a proposed natural gas contract. Lawmakers adjourned the first special session June 8 after failing to agree on any of the measures before them.
Daren Beaudo, a spokesman for BP PLC, said the timing of the coming session further politicizes the issue.
“Something post primary would have given people a little more space to make decisions based on merit,” he said.
Beaudo said oil company officials also hoped that lawmakers would wait until the public comment period finished up July 24 before considering any changes to the fiscal contract that the governor negotiated with BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.
Some tough primary fights Fifty legislative seats and the governor’s race will be decided in November, and many lawmakers are fighting tough primary battles.
But Murkowski, in a letter to lawmakers last week, said his decision was not motivated by politics.
“It’s nonsense that any of us would allow election year politics to influence such critical issues and ask that you join me in condemning those who may do so,” he wrote.
Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, said Murkowski was disingenuous in asking lawmakers to rise above the politics of the season.
“The politics of the season are upon us,” he said. “And it’s an unwise time to make a business decision in this kind of heat.”
Ramras, who faces a primary opponent, accused Murkowski of calling a special session to further his own re-election chances. The governor is facing a tough primary challenge from former state senator John Binkley and former Wasilla mayor Sarah Palin.
Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, one of the few who is not seeking re-election, said he also worries lawmakers will feel intense political pressure when voting on the overhaul of the oil taxes or the gas pipeline.
“A lot hinges on whether the governor’s popular or unpopular in an individual lawmakers district,” said the Juneau Republican. “If he does it on Sept. 12, it would be a lot more productive.”
Tax timing the issue for some But others argue the timing is driven by the calendar.
Rep. Ethan Berkowitz, an Anchorage Democrat and candidate for lieutenant governor, said the day had come to overhaul the state’s oil tax system.
“We have a responsibility to fix the broken oil tax and everyday we don’t fix it we are in dereliction of our duties,” he said.
Although Berkowitz last special session railed against a House and Senate compromise measure to tax oil net profits in favor of a tax on gross production, he said a speedy decision would give oil companies the knowledge they need to base future investment decisions.
Sen. Ralph Seekins, R-Fairbanks, said the lawmakers should attend to their work no matter what the timing.
“When is it not going to get caught up in politics?” he said.
Seekins added, however, that he did not understand why Murkowski called the special session just three days before almost 20 legislators were scheduled to leave for a week to attend an energy conference in Alberta, Canada.
The governor’s spokesman, John Manly, said he expects the legislature will continue to meet during their absence.
Manly said the timing is driven by the administration’s need for enough lead time to renegotiate provisions in the contract.
The administration said it wants to have the contract in place before voters weigh in on a ballot initiative to tax natural gas reserves. Administration officials, who argue it would kill the contract, say voters would be less inclined to vote for the reserves tax if a contract is signed.
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