Gov. Bill Walker plans to call a special session of the Alaska Legislature this year, focused on issues surrounding the development of a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope.
Walker made the announcement Monday evening on a television appearance on KTVA. His communications director, Grace Jang, said more details would be released later this week.
Alaska -- along with three oil producers and a pipeline company -- is in the process of developing a huge gas pipeline project from the North Slope. A special session this fall to address specific aspects of the project, like property taxes, has been under discussion for months.
State law requires Walker to give lawmakers 30 days of advance notice, so the special session will not begin until late October at the earliest. Walker told KTVA that he wants the special session to conclude before Thanksgiving.
Asked whether the special session would be held in Anchorage or Juneau, where the state Capitol has been undergoing renovations, Jang said in an email that Walker "is working with legislative leadership on the location, but he prefers that legislative sessions be conducted in the state capital of Juneau."
(c)2015 the Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage, Alaska)
