Special session resumes in Anchorage, where House Finance will consider gas pipeline bill

Senate Finance scheduled to start work on legislation in Juneau on Wednesday

Dan Stickel, chief economist for the Department of Revenue, presents an overview of a gasline bill backed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to the House Finance Committee during the opening day of a special session on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Senate and House members have said they’ll work cooperatively with their respective morning and afternoon committee meetings to consider gas pipeline legislation, but they won’t be working close together.

The House Finance Committee is scheduled to resume its work at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Anchorage, following a single meeting in Juneau when the special legislative session began last Thursday. The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to remain in Juneau when it begins meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

"We have polled the committee and the plan is to meet in Anchorage," Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, who co-chairs the House Finance Committee, announced at the end of Thursday’s meeting. "So we're working those details out and will let folks know. Today is our sixth meeting with the gasline and our intent is meet every day next week when we come back and probably through the weekend."

Also, Foster said, "I think things are probably going to be moving a little faster than we think" because of the length of time it may take to get a bill the committee approves through the rest of the parliamentary process. The Senate would likely modify whatever legislation the House passes and if the House fails to agree to those changes then a joint House-Senate conference committee would have to craft a compromise vote that both chambers would again vote on before the special session adjournment deadline of June 19.

Sen. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican who co-chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said after the regular session ended last Wednesday the plan is to keep the normal meeting times for each chamber’s finance committee — the Senate in the morning and House in the afternoon — so each can follow the other’s progress and conduct their meetings accordingly.

A further consideration is whether any legislation passed will be acceptable to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who ordered the special session when work on a gasline bill stalled during the final days of the regular session. He is seeking more generous tax breaks and other incentives for the proposed gasline’s developers than legislators, who say the governor’s proposal will come at the cost of revenue to the state and municipalities affected by the pipeline’s infrastructure.

Rep. Sara Hannan, a Juneau Democrat on the House Finance Committee, said in an interview she opposes moving the meetings to Anchorage, but was outvoted.

"Here's one reason that I think would be better: we have Gavel coverage here," she said. "Up there people can watch it by streaming on the teleconference on BASIS, but you then need to be able to have streaming service to do that."

That is a factor in the Senate Finance Committee’s decision to keep its meetings in Juneau, according to Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, a member of the committee.

"My understanding when we left was that (Senate Finance) is meeting in the Capitol so all Alaskans can get quality presentations and audio on Gavel," he wrote in a text message Friday.

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