Homestretch for lawmakers

JUNEAU — The Legislature has 10 days to complete its current 90-day session, and Valley lawmakers have plenty of work left on their plates.

There’s a $2.1 billion capital budget reading for the Senate floor debate today before it heads to the House where Chugiak Rep. Bill Stoltze co-chairs the Finance Committee.

Stoltze already has Gov. Sean Parnell’s LNG bill, which underwent tremendous scrutiny in the House Resources Committee, led by co-chair Eric Feige of Chickaloon, and will begin hearings today.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee is reviewing a sweeping education bill that no one in the House seemed to completely support, but it did move from the House floor this week on a 28-11 vote.

There’s more. Lots more, including the bill to authorize construction of the Knik Arm Bridge — long a priority of Rep. Mark Neuman, of Big Lake. That bill — House Bill 23 — awaits a hearing on the Senate floor.

The Legislature has until April 20, which is also Easter. Leading lawmakers had hoped to get done by Good Friday, but rumblings around the Capitol discourage that kind of thinking right now.

The state’s Constitution says the Legislature can proceed beyond the 90-day limit, a deadline established in a 2006 voter initiative.

So, for now, 10 days it is.

“That will be enough time,” Stoltze said. “There is no law that we have to pass every bill that’s introduced. We’ll do our best to make sure that all things are considered.”

Feige’s Resources Committee just completed some heavy lifting on Parnell’s LNG bill, Senate Bill 138. He held 19 hearings over 16 days and reviewed dozens of amendments that constituted more than 100 drafts.

“It’s a fairly big decision,” Feige said of why he devoted this kind of time to the bill. “The big question is, do we proceed with the deal that has been crafted in partnership with the administration the (oil) companies and TransCanada? We very systematically acquired information. We spent a lot of time listening not only to the administration’s point of few, but our own consultants and our own attorneys.”

The bill calls for the state to become a project partner designed to reduce risks for North Slope leaseholders BP, ExxonMobil and Conoco Phillips and, in return, boost the state’s prospective share of returns.

The legislation is deemed “enabling,” meaning the state can move forward and begin negotiating contracts that would be brought back to the Legislature for approval. This would likely be in the fall of 2015.

The bill is highly nuanced, but has a provision for those casually tracking pipeline progress to understand. As written in Feige’s committee, the bill says negotiated contracts needing legislative approval must be made public at least 90 days before the agreement’s effective date.

“The Legislature doesn’t want to be put in a position of, on Dec. 15, have a contract dumped in our lap with a note saying, ‘here guys. Sign this. Please,’ ” Feige said. “So we put in the requirement. That means the Legislature gets to see them at least 90 days before they get approved. If the process works like I expect it to, because of all of these meetings, leading up to that point, at least select members of the Legislature will have a good idea of what’s in those contracts. As they get rolled out to the public, we can clearly say here’s how this part got created.”

House Finance begins hearings today on SB 138. The committee has already been hearing from consultants, industry executives and Larry Persily, the federal coordinator for an Alaska North Slope gas pipeline.

Stoltze said it was crucial to hear from these people even before the formal bill hearings began.

“We have been trying to prepare for receiving the bill for quite some time,” Stoltze said. “We have grabbed every spare hour to educate ourselves as best as we can. It would require another legislative action if this gets approved. Every step is critical, and we want to make sure we get the best information and make the best decisions.”

Soon the capital budget will land on Stoltze’s desk.

So far the Senate’s version of the bill has the Mat-Su area getting $30.7 million in general fund appropriations, including:

• $ 11 million for the Mat-Su Borough rail extension to Port MacKenzie.

• $1.7 million for a new Wasilla Library.

• $2 million for a fire department in Houston.

Federal funds are targeted to help with several road projects, and the Mat-Su area also will benefit from a $10 million statewide appropriation for the Chinook Salmon Research Initiative.

“We are trying to do our best,” Stoltze said. “The public, I think, has responded to lower expectations. If you look at the Valley, there are things either the voters endorse, matched or ponied up for.

“We have a very responsible constituency and electorate who, at the end of the day, know they put forward the most critical priorities.”

Freelance reporter Steve Quinn is a veteran Alaska journalist who formerly covered state government for the Associated Press.