Third special session on gasline set to pass midpoint without a bill to consider

Technical floor sessions with no formal action again scheduled for next Tuesday; Senate president says ’promising’ discussions with Gov. Dunleavy occurred this week

State Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, gets her picture taken in the House Speaker’s chair after presiding over a technical floor session on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

A third special session to consider the proposed Alaska LNG Project is set to pass its midpoint on Tuesday, when the House and Senate are scheduled to continue a series of brief technical floor sessions during which no official action on bills occurs.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has ordered the special sessions in an effort to advance the project before he departs office in December, has not yet introduced a bill for the Alaska Legislature to consider. The governor’s office since the beginning of the current special session has declined to offer a time frame for presenting a draft bill to lawmakers.

The special session can last up to 30 days. Tuesday will be the 16th day.

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, stated in a message to KTUU on Thursday “I have had discussions today with the Governor,” characterizing them as “promising.” However, Stevens noted, "We have not seen the final bill.”

Official action at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday was brief, with the House and Senate each gaveling in for technical floor sessions lasting less than one minute apiece. The most notable action was Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, presiding over the House Chamber for the first time as Speaker Pro Tem, after fellow Juneau Democrat did the same during a technical session a week ago.

"It’s great to have another view," Story said afterward. "It reminded me of the different lenses that we as legislators have when we look at our work."

Hannan and Story said they don’t know if either of them — or perhaps another legislator, if one is in Juneau — will preside over the next floor session on Tuesday. Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juenau, has been presiding over the Senate floor sessions during the current special session that began July 27.

Outside the Capitol the gasline got more attention from legislators and other stakeholders at a Gasline Caucus meeting in Anchorage on Thursday. Dunleavy, in a video shown at the beginning of the meeting, asked lawmakers "to pass this bill as soon as possible." Presentations were made by policymakers, developers and others largely aligned with the governor’s version of legislation to incentivize the gasline project.

The governor in previous bills has sought large tax breaks for the gasline’s developers, arguing the incentives are necessary to make the project economically viable. While there is little opposition expressed by legislators to the gasline itself, resistance to the incentives sought by Dunleavy is being expressed by members who say they are not getting sufficient information about the project’s potential costs and profits.

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