House To Vote On ACES Bill

House members are expected to take a vote Thursday night on whether or not to change the current oil tax structure.

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By Alexis Fernandez

Story Created: Mar 31, 2011 at 7:04 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Mar 31, 2011 at 7:32 PM AKDT

State House members are expected to take a vote Thursday on whether or not to change the state’s current oil tax structure.

On Thursday the Alaska House of Representatives debated Governor Sean Parnell’s proposed legislation to change the current oil tax structure, known as ACES.
 
For most of the day House members discussed whether or not House Bill 110 would create jobs, and bring more exploration to our state.
 
Parnell made a final push on Wednesday at a rally to support his bill to change oil taxes which he says are not business friendly. However House Democrats say an amendment needs to be added to the bill to make sure oil companies will deliver more than they already do.
 
“It’s about giving certainty when people, Alaskans, go into other corporate board rooms and have to compete for projects globally,” Rep. Anna Fairclough, R-Eagle River, said.
 
House Democrats say the governor’s proposed bill does not provide enough explanation on how the tax break would guarantee a return from producers. 
 
“This bill would basically give a bunch of money to people, we don’t what the affect will be, what it would generate,” Rep. Mike Doogan, D-Anchorage, said.
 
During the House debate several amendments were discussed that included putting a time frame on the bill, which Republicans say defeats the sole purpose of the bill.
 
“If we try to restrict someone and say that they have to produce X to get Y, were the ones that fail over time, all we've done is raise taxes,” Rep. Fairclough said.
 
Democrats say without a timeline, the state is left guessing what the future will look like.
 
“ Is that in two years, in three years, do we have to lose ten billion dollars in revenue,” Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks, said.
 
Parnell along with House Republicans claim if the bill doesn’t work in the future, lawmakers can always go back and fix it. But across the board, lawmakers on both sides agree something needs to be done to tackle the decline of oil production in the state. 
   
 

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