2012 Session Shaping Up Well For District 30
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Rep. Gatto and I went bald to raise money for children's cancer research last year.
- Lawmakers turned Rep. Gatto’s desk into a memorial. (Photo courtesy HMP)
Good Afternoon,
Hello from Juneau. With one day left in the regular session it’s a good time to catch up on some of the bills that mean the most to our district.
Capital Budget
The House Finance Committee is reviewing the bill (SB160) to determine this year’s priorities for transportation, education and public safety. While we should all be concerned about the amount of money it spends, it will pay for many worthy projects like the long overdue reconstruction of O’Malley Road and the extension of East 88th Avenue from Spruce Brook Street to Elmore Road. Our schools will also receive funds to pay for educational supplies and building upgrades.
You can read it yourself by clicking here: http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20160&session=27
In-State Gas Pipeline
House Bill 9 does not call for construction of an instate gas pipeline. What it does is allow the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation to advance a commercial project to that stage. The tentative plan calls for a bullet line from the North Slope to Cook Inlet delivering abundant supplies of gas to Fairbanks south to the Kenai Peninsula.
The in-state gasline project is not perfect in its current form. The senate has made many changes that could actually make it harder or at least delay the construction of a pipeline. A lot can happen in the next 24 hours so we’ll see what happens.
Click here to read it:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20%20%209&session=27
Oil Taxation
Daily production in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is about a third of what it was during the peak production years in the late 1980’s. No matter what side you fall on in the oil tax debate, there is no questioning we need more oil production now.
The house passed HB 110 last year. It struck that elusive balance between a fair share of the profits and encouraging new oil field investment. The senate tabled HB 110 and after more than a year released its own petroleum tax bill (SB 192) last week but it looks unlikely to even pass the senate.
High oil prices are fueling an unprecedented surge of new oil and gas investment and exploration worldwide. Even mature petroleum basins are seeing billions of dollars of new investment while Alaska’s North Slope basin sits on the sidelines. Alaska has no new oil fields under development.
I know some of you are reluctant to reduce the state’s take of oil revenue when prices are topping a hundred dollars a barrel. But consider what our economy will be like ten years from now if significant new sources of oil are not brought online.
Education Funding
On Wednesday we learned Service High School is losing ten teaching positions without additional education funding. That amounts to about 15 percent of the teaching staff and translates into increased class sizes and a decline in the quality of education.
The good news is we may have a solution. This morning a package of education funding bills were released. Here are the highlights.
- $5.9 million for vocational-technical education in grades 7-12. That is a 50 percent increase
- Student transportation funding will see an eight million dollar increase this year to help cover skyrocketing fuel costs and a 1.5 percent inflation proofing increase this year and next
- The property mill rate will be fixed at 2.65 mills for all municipalities that help pay for their own schools. That frees up an extra $21.9 million this year that local governments can use towards education funding
This package of legislation is front loaded into the legislature’s Public Education Fund with $86.7 million dollars through 2014.
Insurance for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Today the House Health and Social Services Committee moved Senate Bill 74 out of committee. It mandates private insurance coverage for the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders diagnosed by a medical doctor. As a member of the committee I was so proud to see this one move forward.
The testimony we heard from parents with autistic children, including a state representative, was heartbreaking. The only chance an autistic child has to live a normal life is through early intervention and treatment. Desperate parents have been forced to empty their savings and retirement accounts to come up with the money for treatment programs. Many other states have passed similar legislation and shown that the premium cost increases are minimal.
We are anticipating a floor vote by the end of session tomorrow. With 29 co-sponsors in the house it will be easily approved.
Click here to read SB 74: http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2074&session=27
Before we go I would like to give my deepest sympathies to the family of Representative Carl Gatto who passed away on Tuesday. Not only was he a wise and compassionate leader who listened to and respected all viewpoints, he was a dear friend to all who knew him.
My fondest memory of Carl was when he talked me into shaving my head last year to raise money for children’s cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Carl always kept a positive attitude no matter how tough the situation became in the capitol building and he was unquestionably one of the kindest people I have ever known.
Finally, one of our neighbors Mark Edwards publishes a quarterly economic report for Northrim Bank. It’s a great snapshot of Alaska’s economy and is very informative. Read it for yourself here: Northrim_Spring12_Econ_Update
Do you need information on these topics or anything else? Call my toll free number while we are in session at 1-888-269-3879. If we don’t know the answer we will get it for you.
Warmly,
Charisse
admin @ April 14, 2012
Point Thomson Litigation Resolved, Historic Alignment on Gasline
Posted in: Announcements, Energy, Press Releases | Comments Off
Hi everyone,
Governor Parnell’s office issued this press release about the Point Thomson settlement agreement. It is great news so we wanted to share it with all of you.
Have a great weekend,
Charisse
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 12-036
March 30, 2012, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell announced today that two major milestones have been met in the state’s effort to bring Alaska’s natural gas to Alaskans and markets beyond.
First, the State of Alaska resolved its long-running litigation with ExxonMobil and other leaseholders regarding the Point Thomson field, which holds a quarter of the North Slope’s known natural gas.
And, second, the three major producers – ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP – delivered a letter today to the governor announcing that they are now aligned with the Alaska Pipeline Project (APP) parties, and working on a gasline project focusing on bringing North Slope gas to tidewater in Alaska.
“Last fall, I told TC Alaska and the producers I wanted to see them pursue a large-diameter line in state to tidewater,” Governor Parnell said. “And, in my State of the State speech in January, I gave a roadmap for commercializing Alaska’s North Slope gas that included a number of critical benchmarks. I said the companies needed to finalize a Point Thomson settlement and align with the APP parties on an Alaska gasline project by the first quarter of this year.
“I am pleased to announce that the parties have resolved Point Thomson litigation and the three CEOs have stated their companies are now formally aligned with the APP parties. They have undertaken work together on the commercialization of North Slope gas with a specific focus on a large-scale LNG project from Southcentral Alaska.”
Point Thomson, located 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, is Alaska’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field, holding an estimated 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and gas liquids. ExxonMobil is the unit operator at Point Thomson, with BP, ConocoPhillips and Chevron holding the majority of the leases. The state’s legal dispute with the companies resulted from the lack of development at Point Thomson for the past 30 years.
“Today’s settlement lays out strong near-term production commitments and a clear path for full development of Point Thomson’s significant oil and gas resources, and it establishes clear consequences if the companies do not follow through,” said Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan.
“The companies have agreed to firm timetables for production at Point Thomson. This will result in significant new investment, increased work for Alaskans and increased revenue for state and local government,” Sullivan added.
“The animating principle of this settlement is that the companies must earn their acreage. The more work, more commitment, more investment and more production that occur, the more acreage the companies will retain,” Sullivan said.
Major components of the settlement include:
Increasing liquids production into the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).
- Opening the Eastern North Slope to new development opportunities by adding infrastructure and a 70,000 barrels per day common carrier pipeline connecting to TAPS.
- Incentivizing and laying out a clear path and alternatives for full-field development, each of which will require billions of dollars in investment if pursued.
- Positioning North Slope gas for a large-scale gas pipeline project.
- Providing potential for significant gas volumes for in-state use no later than 2019.
- Requiring a commitment to develop a separate oil reservoir within Point Thomson.
A copy of the letter from the three major producers to the governor is available at: http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell_media/resources_files/ceo_letter.pdf
To read the settlement and related materials, please go to: http://www.dnr.alaska.gov
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admin @ March 30, 2012
Senate Endorses Call to Clean Up Legacy Wells in Northern Alaska
Posted in: Energy, Press Releases | Comments Off
For Immediate Release: March 23, 2012
(JUNEAU) – Today the Alaska Senate unanimously passed House Joint Resolution 29, calling on the federal Bureau of Land Management to fulfill its mission of protecting public land by plugging and remediating more than a hundred exploratory oil wells in northern Alaska. The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage.
“With the Senate’s unanimous support, the Alaska Legislature is now speaking with one voice on this issue,” said Rep. Millett. “This looming environmental disaster will not go away until BLM makes protecting the lands it is responsible for a priority.”
Legacy Wells were drilled between 1944 and 1982 by the federal government in an attempt to locate commercial quantities of oil and natural gas. Only seven of the 137 wells have been plugged and cleaned up by state standards.
The wells pose significant risk to ground water, vegetation, land and sea mammals and fish. The sites are covered with trash that scars the natural beauty of Northern Alaska.
Fines totaling eight billion dollars would be levied if a private petroleum exploration company were responsible for these wells, not to mention the condemnation from the news media, the environmental community and the public.
The Senate Resources Committee amended the resolution. It now asks the Office of the Governor to inform the rest of the country about this problem through national news outlets and other media channels.
Senator Charlie Huggins, R- Wasilla/Rural Mat Su, carried the resolution today on the senate floor. “BLM clearly has a double standard here,” said Sen. Huggins. “When the agency doesn’t obstruct natural resource development of federal lands in Alaska it rigorously enforces environmental protection laws, but ignores those laws on petroleum wells it is responsible for. All Americans should be outraged by this.”
Watch Sen. Huggins floor speech on HJR 29 by clicking on this link:
http://www.aksenateminority.com/
Senator Lisa Murkowski grilled BLM Director Robert Abbey last week about the Legacy Wells. Click on the link below to view the video clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhZS2Ip5oA
The resolution now goes to the House for concurrence with senate amendments to the bill. Photos of the polluted wells sites are included with this news release. For more information, call Rep. Millett at (907) 465-3879.
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admin @ March 23, 2012
District 30 Constituent Meeting Today
Posted in: Anchorage Issues, Announcements, General | Comments Off
Hi everyone,You should have received a card in the mail this week about today’s constituent meeting but here is a quick reminder.
Please join me and Senator Kevin Meyer this afternoon at Hanshew Middle School for a House District 30 and Senate District O constituent meeting. Bring your family and friends, find out what is happening in the Alaska State Legislature, and let us know what is on your mind.
We will have refreshments and a great conversation on the issues that matter to you.
WHO: Representative Charisse Millett and Senator Kevin Meyer
WHAT: House District 30 and Senate District O constituent meeting
WHEN: TODAY! – Saturday, March 17, 2012 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Hanshew Middle School, 10121 Lake Otis Parkway, Multipurpose Room
Hope to see you there.
Warmly,
Charisse
admin @ March 17, 2012
