Dunleavy calls special session for gas line bill starting Thursday

Governor’s order occurs with a day and a half left in regular session, but with many lawmakers skeptical bill he favors can pass by deadline

Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivers his State of the State address to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Ellie Ruel / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This is a developing story.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday ordered the Alaska Legislature to convene a special session on Thursday — one day after the deadline for this year’s regular session — to consider a bill advancing a natural gas line that he has declared his top priority in his final months in office.

House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, interrupted floor debate on a tobacco bill Tuesday afternoon to read an announcement about the governor’s order.

"I’d like to take just a moment to let the body know that the governor has officially called the Legislature back into special session starting on Thursday at 10 a.m. here in Juneau on subjects germane to the title of the following bill, House Bill 381, which is the natural gas taxation of certain natural gas pipeline properties," he said.

Work on different versions of gas line bills were ongoing Tuesday afternoon by the House and Senate. Edgmon, in a brief interview after the governor’s announcement, said efforts to pass a gas line bill by the end of the regular session are still being made.

Dunleavy’s version of a gas line bill introduced March 20 gives its developer immense tax breaks and other incentives he says are needed to make the project economically viable. Versions of gas line legislation in the House and particularly the Senate offer fewer breaks, and seek to provide a greater share of pipeline revenues to the state and municipalities affected by the pipeline’s infrastructure.

Majority caucus members in both chambers have stated during the past day it is unlikely for a bill that resolves differences to pass by the regular session deadline.

An attempt to pass a gas line bill as part of a deal that also would result in a state employee pension bill becoming law failed on Monday.

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