Nothing special about this special session

State lawmakers who hoped to be angling for salmon alongside their fellow Alaskans this time of year instead are getting ready to return to the Capitol for yet another taxpayer-funded special session called by Gov. Frank Murkowski. The purpose of the session is another attempt at reaching agreement on a natural gas pipeline and on revamping the state's method of getting the constitutionally mandated &#8220maximum benefit” for its petroleum resources.

The largest reason, to date, for the inability to close a deal on either is that &#8220reaching agreement” has had little to do with genuine negotiation and compromise. Instead, it has come to mean giving assent to the governor's version of a solution to both issues.

Months of legislative haggling and needless hair-splitting, followed by the governor's tour of the state seeking support for his plan, have gone nowhere. Now, the governor is getting ready to embark on another seven-stop tour of the state. The reason, according to a Friday press release from his office, is that the public hasn't sufficiently understood his plan.

Given the almost universal criticism of the proposal - only the governor, a handful of his political supporters and North Slope producers appear to favor it - perhaps it is time for the governor to entertain the notion that the public understands it all too well.

Even key members of the governor's own party are beginning to distance themselves from the proposal. Speaker of the House John Harris recently went public, along with Senate Resources Committee chair Tom Wagoner, with support for candidate John Binkley and his plan to revamp the current system of oil &#8220taxation.”

They are calling for a return to focusing on the simpler and more straightforward &#8220gross value” part of the equation instead of on the more nebulous and easily manipulated &#8220profits” part - something the minority party has been championing for three years.

With so much dissent, it appears there is little hope for any final deal to come out of the special session. And that's probably good news for Alaskans. The only thing better would be a speedy end to the expensive session.

Lawmakers - and all Alaskans - deserve a cooling-off period. There's an election on the horizon where everyone will be allowed to weigh in. Among other things, the Aug. 22 primary likely is to be a referendum on the governor's plan. His opponents - and an increasing number of Alaskans - are calling for a thorough examination of other oil tax and gas pipeline options.

With so much at stake for the future of Alaska, and so little time remaining before the election, there's no point in forcing a decision now.