HB 111 headed for conference committee

House Bill 111, the oil credit and tax bill, was included on Gov. Bill Walker’s May 18 call for a special session. The versions passed by the House and Senate during the regular session are quite different, with the Senate removing most tax-related changes from the House bill and focusing on the elimination of North Slope cashable credits. The House, which is looking to increase revenue from the oil and gas industry, refused to agree to the Senate changes. The Senate passed its version of the bill 14 yea, 5 nay; the House rejected the Senate version by a vote of 17 yea, 22 nay.

The next step is a conference committee.

House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, appointed House conference committee members May 22: Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, chair; Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage; and Rep. Dave Talerico, R-Healy. Tarr and Josephson co-chair the House Resources Committee, and authored HB 111; Talerico is a minority member on that committee.

Senate members of the conference committee had not been named when this issue of Petroleum News went to press.

The House Majority Coalition said in a May 23 statement that the first meeting of the conference committee was expected to be after the Memorial Day holiday.

- KRISTEN NELSON