Senate Republicans: TC Alaska/ExxonMobil Agreement
Positive For Alaska and Gas Pipeline

NORTH POLE – The Senate Republican Caucus provided the following comments on today’s announcement by TC Alaska and ExxonMobil regarding their agreement on the Alaska North Slope Gas Pipeline project.

“Certainly today’s announcement is very positive for Alaska and the country.  While it appears that this agreement honors the terms of AGIA while advancing an Alaska Gasline project, we will be very interested to look more closely at all the details, to be assured that the state’s “must haves” in AGIA will be protected.  I appreciate that their announcement continues to acknowledge the possibility of an LNG option that includes a liquefaction facility in Valdez,” said Sen. Gene Therriault, R – North Pole.

While several key aspects of the announcement are worthy of highlighting, such as TC-Alaska remaining the licensee under AGIA, and the open season timeline continues on schedule, Therriault noted, “This agreement marks a serious breakthrough for the gas pipeline project in that ExxonMobil’s partnering acknowledges that TransCanada’s ability to advance a project using the Northern Pipeline Act (NPA) is a significant advantage compared to the National Energy Board (NEB) process in Canada.  For years legislators were told by some that there was no advantage to using the NPA rather than the standard approval process of the NEB.”

“Throughout this process we always predicted that TransCanada and the companies would come together and negotiate an agreement.  This announcement today between TC-Alaska and Exxon goes a long way towards a commitment to see this project through,” said Sen. Tom Wagoner, R-Kenai.

“I am hopeful that today’s announcement will quiet those who appear to have been hoping for failure of the AGIA process,” said Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage.

“We look forward to the continued development of solid construction cost data which the state and other interested parties will need as we approach an open season in 2010,” said Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River. “Construction of the pipeline is still not assured; however, this agreement is a real step forward.”

Senate Republicans: Public Has Been Shortchanged

JUNEAU – Members of the Senate Republican Caucus today said the public had been shortchanged by a mixed bag of legislation produced by this year’s session, which adjourned Sunday evening before 8 p.m. Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, the minority leader, said while he was pleased by an overall reduction in spending, he was disappointed in the lack of funding for a number of crucial projects.

“I was discouraged that the majority was unresponsive to the Governor’s request for adequate funding for ongoing work with TransCanada on the gas pipeline,” Therriault said. “When issuance of the AGIA license was delayed last year it slowed down some of the work that TC Alaska was obligated to perform. The administration asked that the appropriation to track and audit this work be carried forward, and the majority coalition said ‘no.’ We have legislators demanding more information from the Governor on AGIA monitoring, but we do not provide the money to do the work.”

Therriault also noted that the capital budget did not contain a relatively small state match that would have captured as much as $150 million in federal funds for much-needed highway projects. “These federal funds left on the table could have paid for a number of important major maintenance and reconstruction projects on Alaska’s arterial highways,” Therriault said. “The Dalton Highway, while it will receive funding for one of many necessary projects, will continue to be substandard for many miles. We can’t continue to ignore the Dalton Highway; it’s not just an Alaska highway, it is our ‘road to the bank.’”

Therriault said a disparity in how capital projects were funded between regions was only part of the legacy of this legislative session. Other shortcomings include a failure to address many important policy issues in a timely manner, such as the Governor’s proposal to establish an electrical energy generation and distribution entity for the railbelt utilities or a bill requiring parental consent for a minor’s abortion.

“I was also somewhat dismayed that information vital to the debate over management of the public employees and teachers retirement systems was not generated,” Therriault said. “Many members have made commitments on this issue, and it would have been helpful to be able to get to the data we need to make an informed decision, especially in light of the growing unfunded liability of PERS and TRS.”

Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River, said he was disappointed that the majority refused to take even a small step toward a green future. “The Senate majority refused to force consideration of propane or compressed natural gas for some $25 million they appropriated for purchasing government buses and other equipment,” Dyson said. “This could have saved operating money, as well as reducing carbon emissions.”

“I was also deeply disheartened the Senate took no action on parental involvement in a minor’s abortion,” Dyson said.

Despite periodic differences on policy matters, Therriault was pleased to have maintained a good working relationship with Senate President Gary Stevens.

“Hope springs eternal, as the saying goes, so we remain hopeful that the Legislature will seize upon the opportunities presented to us to affect good public policy,” Therriault said. “Over the interim and going into the next session in January, we hope legislative committees will examine these issues in depth, inform the public of the implications of the options available to us, and move forward on good policy decisions. In other words, we look forward to a productive session next year.”

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Republican Caucus: Senate’s Pared-Down Capital Budget Missing Important Projects
JUNEAU – Even though the Senate today passed a $1.8 billion capital budget that more realistically reflects the uncertain future revenue stream the state now faces, it leaves out some important projects that are key to securing and increasing state revenues.

“While it is good to see a reduction in spending, I think the priorities of the Senate majority are misplaced,” said Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole. “It reminds me of the fateful end of Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown in the old Jim Croce song, who ‘looked like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone’. Now, we haven’t exactly been in a knife fight over this capital budget, but the missing pieces are crucial ones.

“For example, it is distressing that the Senate majority chose not to fund some of the Governor’s requests for much-needed upgrades to the Dalton Highway. The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has been asking to have these projects funded for several years now, in anticipation of construction of the gas pipeline. Federal stimulus dollars that should have gone into priority transportation projects on Alaska’s major arterial highways were instead diverted to “B” list projects in individual Senators’ districts.”

Sen. Tom Wagoner, R-Kenai, said, “I was appalled, not just at the disparity in the distribution of projects, but that the majority absolutely and inexplicably refused to vote for Sen. Dyson’s green amendment to encourage the use of propane and compressed natural gas in the buses funded by the bill.”

Therriault said two other very important missing pieces are funding for the Governor’s effort on the bullet or spur line and the second phase of a major oil and gas reservoir study currently being undertaken by the Department of Natural Resources.

“These are critically important projects for getting natural gas to the people of Alaska,” Therriault said. “To deliberately leave them out of the budget is simply unconscionable. We are hopeful that the House will include the funds in their version of the bill.”

Dyson Resolution Calls on Congress to
Not Renew “Assault Weapons” Ban

JUNEAU – Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River, has introduced legislation, SJR 15, calling on Congress to not reinstate the 1994 federal ban on “assault weapons,” which expired in 2004. The earlier ban prohibited the sale of certain types of semi-automatic rifles and clips that held more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

“The 1994 ban on so-called ‘assault weapons’ really had no effect on reducing crime, but made it impossible for law-abiding gun enthusiasts and other average citizens to buy the guns they wanted,” Dyson said. “In fact, contrary to what gun control groups predicted when the ban expired in 2004, government statistics show that the murder rate by guns has dropped to a 43-year low.

“The type of firearms and clips banned by the 1994 law were the most popular for target shooting, home protection, competition training, and are helpful to some handicapped shooters,” Dyson said. “The current federal definition of an ‘assault weapon’ is one that is capable of fully automatic fire, or in other words, a machine gun. Extending that definition to semi-automatic rifles, based on cosmetic features, is nonsensical. It is unfair to the millions of Americans who enjoy the lawful use of those weapons.”

Dyson also noted that the Supreme Court of the United States, in its decision last year in District of Columbia v. Heller, ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms primarily for defensive purposes. “This would be a step backwards – a step that tramples on our Second Amendment rights,” Dyson said.

SJR 15 was referred to the Senate State Affairs and Judiciary committees.

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Senate Republican Caucus: Governor Right to Question Federal Stimulus Dollars that Would Result in Huge Long-Term Operating Budget Commitments

JUNEAU – In light of Governor Sarah Palin’s announcement today that she would accept only $514 million of $930 million offered to Alaska in federal stimulus dollars, members of the Senate Republican Caucus endorsed her approach to keep the state operating budget under control.

“The Governor has said she would accept only those dollars offered for capital projects and is just saying ‘no’ to most of the funding for expansion of government programs,” said Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole. “I think this is a responsible course to take. She may be criticized for refusing more than $400 million in available funding, but by doing so, we will avoid an unsustainable expansion of programs on into the future. I appreciate that she is going to work with the Legislature to review those projects and dollars she questioned, to see if there is a balance we can reach between the strings that are attached and what is in the best interest of Alaskans.”

“This offer from the Congress and the Obama administration is a little bit like having way too much to drink,” said Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage. “A good time may be had by all, but the hangover the next day, and the consequences of what you did while you were drunk, may be with you for a long, long time.”

“The Governor made it clear that the direction she is taking with the federal stimulus dollars only pertains to the State of Alaska, and does not impact any funding for which municipalities, nonprofits, tribal organizations, and other community entities may otherwise be eligible,” said Sen. Tom Wagoner, R-Kenai. “I think part of the job of the Legislature, along with the administration, is to help those local entities identify available grants that are funded through the stimulus package, and apply for those dollars if they do not create an on-going commitment that the local organization cannot sustain.”

“The U.S. economy is going through an especially rough patch, so we have to be very careful how we apply this stimulus,” said Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River. “In addition, we hope the public will understand the strings that are attached to some of these carrots. For example, one program would get us $28 million, but requires us to adopt a statewide international building code. While a one-size-fits-all code may work in smaller states, the climate and geography in Alaska is so varied that local governments need flexibility in their areas. Through our legislative process, we will determine if we want to take on this requirement.”

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