FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Democrats Offer Oil Solution that Gets for Every Give
Proposal would set development and production benchmarks, help those who reach them
JUNEAU – Today, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) filed the Alaska Oil Production Enhancement Act designed to set production and development benchmarks and provide incentives for industry to meet them. The bill would extend the successful Cook Inlet exploration credits to the North Slope, add tax credits for developing new facilities to get oil from the well into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, and provide new credits that only apply to development work done that is more than what a company did the previous year.
“All we’ve heard about this session is the governor’s proposal to give away upwards of $2 billion a year without requiring anything in return,” said Rep. Gara. “If we’re going to grant tax breaks, we should guarantee that those breaks get us more jobs, more oil development, and more exploration.”
The Alaska Oil Production Enhancement Act would cost the state a small fraction of what the governor’s proposal would cost Alaska. Because each element is tied to a specific action by the industry, Alaskans will know what they are getting for each dollar.
“This bill only gives credits after the industry has explored more, built more facilities, and drill more wells—the things that put more oil in the pipeline,” said Rep. Gara. “Alaskans need to know there are better ways to get more investment on the North Slope.”
“With this bill, we’re not just hoping for more production, we’re requiring it,” said Representative Pete Petersen (D-Anchorage) who co-sponsored the legislation.
The bill will be read for the first time later today on the House floor and will get a bill number at that time.
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Mark Gnadt
Press Secretary, House Democratic Caucus
W: (907) 465-3842; C: (907) 209-7006
http://www.akhouse.org
