Deal to pass gas line, state employee pension bills collapses after marathon discussions on deadline day

Gas line bills stalls after hours of House debate, Senate heads home for the day; passage of bill was part of deal to keep governor from vetoing pension bill before midnight deadline

Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, motions to adjourn for the day in a nearly empty Senate Chamber at 10 p.m. Monday, May 18, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This is a developing story that will be updated throughout the day.

A deal involving the Legislature passing a bill advancing a long-discussed natural gas line in exchange for Gov. Mike Dunleavy allowing a bill reviving pensions for public employees appears to be dead after the House stalled on the gas bill Monday evening.

Most members of the Senate were allowed to leave the Alaska State Capitol soon after the House moved the gas bill to the bottom of its agenda, with the majority leader and Senate president briefly gaveling in at 10 p.m. to officially end that chamber’s business for the day.

Dunleavy cancelled plans to hold a brief press conference shortly after the Senate adjournment. He faces a midnight deadline to sign, veto or allow the bill to become law without his signature — with both House and Senate members saying a veto is expected.

Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, said after Monday’s adjournment it does not appear possible for the Legislature to pass a gas line bill by the regular session deadline of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Duneavy has said he will call a special session if a gas line bill that has the provisions he wants fails to pass.

House members on Monday introduced dozens of amendments during several hours of floor debate on the gas line bill — which itself was introduced as a 23-page amendment to another bill that originated as a regulatory change to importing liquid natural gas.

"We have a very unconventional process in front of us here, with over 22 amendments to one amendment. I've never seen that in my time as a legislator," House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said in the early stages of floor debate. Dozens of additional amendments were drafted for possible introduction, although many were not offered.

However, shortly before 8 p.m. the bill was moved to the bottom of the calendar as legislators hit a stalemate on pending proposed changes.

House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, discusses proposed natural gasline legislation he introduced as an amendment to another LNG bill during a floor session on Monday, May 18, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

In a further unusual move during the day, House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, read a statement from the governor’s office at about 2 p.m. stating that an agreement has been reached that will allow transmittal of messages by Dunleavy on the pension bill — veto or otherwise — until 11:59 p.m. Monday.

"This confirmation is provided to ensure an orderly process and a clear official record," Kopp read.

The bill would need two-thirds of the House to immediately advance to final reading for passage (a process that typically occurs on the next session day). Even if that occurrs it’s fate in the Senate is anything but certain – members of the bipartisan Senate majority were expressing dissatisfaction with the House’s bill as of late Monday afternoon.

"There's no way I could support that bill if it comes over as is, but hopefully they'll make some changes," Senate Rules Chair Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said during a Senate Rules Committee meeting where a competing gas line bill was advanced to the Senate Finance Committee. "There's still hope. There's still time."

A gas line bill introduced March 20 by Dunleavy contained tax rates and exemptions that would result in about $75 million in annual state and local revenues once the project was fully operational, compared to roughly $1 billion under current state law.

The House and Senate are each working on differing versions of gasline bills, but each seeks more revenue than the governor for the state and municipalities affected by the pipeline’s infrastructure. The bill currently favored by the Senate majority seeks far more revenue for the state and municipalities than the House version.

Reps. Jeremy Bynum, R-Ketchkian, Neal Foster, D-Nome, and Robyn Niayuq Frier, D-Utqiagvik, discuss possible changes to a gas line bill during a House floor session on Monday, May 18, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

Dunleavy has made the gas line his dominant issue this session as he prepares to leave office at the end of his second term in December, arguing breaks for the pipeline’s developer are essential to make the project economically viable and calling the Senate’s bill unacceptable.

The bill restoring pensions for public employees, in a significantly more limited way than the system that was eliminated by lawmakers in 2006 due to its cost to the state, passed the Legislature with 33 total votes in the House and Senate — far short of the 40 necessary for a veto override.

The proposed deal involving the LNG and pension bills was openly discussed by numerous lawmakers and reported by several media outlets prior to the deal with the governor’s office being read on the House floor.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.