Gov. Parnell Dumps Push For Tax Cuts For Oil & Gas Industry; GOP Stunned, AK Dems Elated - ADN
JUNEAU -- In an abrupt reversal that astonished legislators, Gov. Sean Parnell said Wednesday evening that he was abandoning his top priority for the special session -- big oil tax cuts -- because he saw no hope of getting a bill through the Legislature.
His decision came on the eighth day of the 30-day session and leaves only a bill for a natural gas pipeline, a priority of House Speaker Mike Chenault, on the legislative agenda. Lawmakers already passed one bill in the special session related to sex trafficking.
House Democrats were elated. Chenault took the about-face in stride. Senators were perturbed. The governor blamed the state Senate as unwilling to dramatically cut taxes to boost declining oil production, but some senators said the governor called it off when there was still hope of compromise.
"It was way too early to pull the plug," said Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, the influential co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee who had pronounced the governor's proposal "nonsensical." Oil taxes are complicated, Stedman said, but the House was beginning to dig in and he figured within a week they'd look for common ground.
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http://www.adn.com/2012/04/25/2439941/parnell-pulls-oil-tax-issue-off.html