newsminer.com

I’ve only been in Alaska for three legislative sessions, but it seems like every one is so chock-full of stuff it’s a struggle to finish in time.

This one is no different. At kick-off news conferences this morning, House Reps and Dems both spelled out long lists of goals, and even supporters of the shorter, 90-day session expressed doubts about whether it would be long enough this year, the first year it goes into effect. House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, already has his white board out with the countdown on it. (The gov recently installed her own counter on the third floor — a digital display counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds of her first term.)

At the House majority presser (the Republicans), the biggest topic was probably the gas line. Both Reps and Dems are saying they’d like to learn more about the gas line proposals that didn’t meet the AGIA requirements, including those of the Alaska Gasline Port Authority, which applied but was deemed incomplete, and ConocoPhillips, which didn’t apply and didn’t aim to meet the requirements.

That seems perfectly natural and almost expected under AGIA, which dictates that all applications, even those deemed incomplete, be released to the public. But some lawmakers are also sewing seeds of doubt in the process itself. Harris read from a 2005 letter from DNR officials (Tom Irwin and Marty Rutherford included) stressing the importance of a competitive process. The suggestion was that by narrowing down the number of applicants to one, the AGIA process is no longer competitive. Harris later said he didn’t see any failing with the law or process to date, but pointed out that the law could be changed to make an nonconforming proposal conform.

“Any time we pass a law in the state, it isn’t perfect,” he said.

Rep. Ralph Samuels, R-Anchorage, who was the only lawmaker to vote against AGIA, said he still sees flaws in the law. But he suggested reviewing ConocoPhillips’ nonconforming proposal didn’t have to clash with AGIA at all, but could simply by considered outside the AGIA process.

The administration pitched AGIA as a list of “must-have” requirements that reflected the state’s minimum requirements for a project — Alaska project headquarters, certain tax and royalty requirements, and so on. Samuels and Harris didn’t say specifically that they were willing to give on any of the must-haves, but Samuels suggested it didn’t have to be giving at all — AGIA has requirements and incentives (including $500 million), and if ConocoPhillips wants lesser requirements and lesser incentives, maybe that’s OK. There’s also the question of what will get a gas line built at all.

Samuels added that lawyers and consultants were already reviewing the ConocoPhillips proposal and that of TransCanada, the one company whose application did meet the AGIA requirements.

In any case, expect hearings on more proposals than just TransCanada’s.