Dunleavy says he will call immediate second special session if gasline bill doesn’t pass Legislature by Friday

Bill that passed House 34-5 stalls in Senate as majority caucus members express concerns about size of tax breaks given to project, unresolved questions about costs and revenues

Nick Fulford, senior director for gas, LNG and energy transition at GaffneyCline Energy Advisory, speaks to the Senate Finance Committee about the proposed Alaska LNG Project on Thursday, May 28, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

As a 30-day special legislative session approaches its Friday deadline with little public action — and lots of closed-door meetings — on a bill to incentivize a natural gas pipeline, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Thursday he will call another special session beginning Saturday if the bill fails to pass.

"Progress is happening, but time is running out in this special session," he wrote in a Facebook post at 12:45 p.m. Thursday. "While the House of Representatives completed their work and passed over a bill with tremendous support last week, the Senate has a little under two days to complete their work."

"My hope is we can get the work done and a bill passed that works to help move this large gas line project forward before midnight Friday. If not, we will begin the process again Saturday with another special session."

The announcement comes on the same day Dunleavy is required to act on two dozen bills passed by the Alaska Legislature with either a veto or enacting them into law. Legislative leaders have said they don’t envision lawmakers trading support on the gasline legislation for support for specific bills, but vetoes by the governor on key items could create ill will that will hinder the gasline’s fate.

The bill being considered by the Legislature, House Bill 380, passed the House last Friday by a 34-5 vote. It cuts property taxes the Alaska LNG Project developer would pay to state and local communities by an estimated 85% for 30 years, which could equate to tens of billions of dollars. That’s less than a 90% reduction sought by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who ordered the special session when legislators rejected his proposal at the end of the regular session.

Members of the bipartisan Senate majority caucus say they still have concerns about the size of the tax breaks, what the project will eventually cost and if the state will be asked for further help, and what impact it will have on consumer prices of natural gas in the state.

The Senate Finance Committee cancelled two meetings Wednesday, another on Thursday morning and a meeting scheduled at 1:30 p.m. Thursday was on hold as of 2:45 p.m. A technical session on the Senate floor — meaning no votes on legislation would occur — scheduled at 11 a.m. Thursday also has been delayed to a call of the chair.

Numerous caucus meetings involving the Senate majority, some with other officials at the Capitol, have occurred in place of the public meetings the past two days.

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