Huggins gives Legislature -A grade

JUNEAU — The dust from the 28th Legislature is settling, and Senate President Charlie Huggins had hoped he could give lawmakers an A for two years of work.

That changed April 21, the first of five extra days the Legislature needed to close out business.

Lawmakers needed the additional time to finish working on an education bill and the Knik Arm bridge bill, long a priority of Huggins.

“I would have given us an A, but I give us an A-,” said Huggins, a Mat-Su Republican whose tenure as Senate president closes this year. “I was not happy with the fact that we took a few extra days. That, I thought, was uncalled for.

“Myself, I realize a bill like the education bill, we were going to have some difference. We were unsuccessful in addressing some of the differences a little early on. I take responsibility for it.”

Huggins also stood by his controversial decision to remove a hotly contested bill after he had already assigned it to the Education Committee. The bill — Senate Joint Resolution 9 — would have sent voters to the polls to consider a constitutional change permitting public money to fund private and religious schools.

Sponsored by Mat-Su Sen. Mike Dunleavy, the proposal was instead assigned to the Judiciary and Finance committees. But ultimately, there were not enough votes to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote.

Even so, Huggins defended his decision to devote so much time to an issue that never reached the Senate floor.

“That’s OK that we didn’t vote,” he said. “Change is hard to come by. There should be a higher standard. Making constitutional amendments of that magnitude, there is nothing wrong with taking multiple years to look at this.”

Huggins says he’s not sure whether he’ll pursue another term as Senate president. He is the second Mat-Su Borough senator to hold that post. In 2007, Lyda Green held the gavel for two years, but elected not to run for office again.

Huggins’ predecessor, Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, had the job for four years in a bipartisan Senate majority led largely by Republicans in the key leadership roles.

Huggins said he’s willing to serve another term in that post, but said he thinks others should be considered when next year’s Senate, certain to have a new look, emerges.

“It’s important for a group like that to have turnover,” Huggins said. “Several people have talked to me about being president. It’s something I would consider, but it would not be my No. 1 objective.”

Huggins said he would like to see continuity in one area: committee assignments on any natural gas pipeline legislation.

Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed Gov. Sean Parnell’s Senate Bill 138, deemed “enabling” legislation, which allows the governor to negotiate a project development contract with North Slope leaseholders Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and BP.

By the end of 2015, the administration is to come back to the Legislature with a contract for its review.

Huggins says it’s important for the Senate to have as many people on committees who have been around for previous debates.

“It would be my wishes and desire for those who touched the gas pipeline project, those people on the committees who can provide some continuity doing so,” Huggins said.

“Since I’ve been in the Senate, we’ve touched four different pipeline proposals. I think this one has the most potential for the state. It’s time that we built one; it’s time we get on with it.”

Huggins says it’s time to begin working on the Knik Arm bridge, too. An idea nearly as divisive as the education bill, the bridge project is now in the hands of the state’s Department of Revenue, after legislation passed in the extra days of the session.

Huggins left the negotiating of the compromise that led to successful the bridge bill passing to Sens. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage; Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna; and Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage.

Huggins was allowed to appoint himself, but he said it’s best to assemble a team with experience on conference committees (McGuire) and with an understanding of large projects (Micciche).

“It will be challenging,” Huggins said. “The people who had an opposing point of view aren’t going to go away. That’s not all bad.”

As difficult as this session may have been, the next two years, and legislatures thereafter, could be increasingly more divisive. With state revenue slated for a continual decline, budgeting priorities will receive greater scrutiny.

Huggins says things are not as dire as claimed by those opposing last year’s oil tax regime change and Parnell’s gas line plan. It will just take several years for things to level out as the state waits for outer continental shelf exploration and the gas line to develop.

“We have to continue ratcheting down the budget,” Huggins said. “We’ve been working in concert with the House, and both sides know we’ve got to come to grips with a budget. We have to look at the new reality of the revenue flowing to us.”