Gov. Parnell Defends Gas Tax, Abandons Earmarks

February 03, 2011|By Ted Land | Channel 2 News

Governor Sean Parnell speaks with reporters in Juneau.

JUNEAU, Alaska — Gov. Sean Parnell says it's too early in the legislative session to make judgments on whether certain priorities of his administration will make meaningful progress in the next few months.

Among those priorities: his desire to suspend the 8-cent per gallon state motor fuel tax, which most lawmakers say is important to bring in revenue for road construction and repair.

"The state government doesn't need it," Parnell said.

Earlier in the week, Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, also criticized the Parnell administration for not taking a stance on a bill to provide lunches in Alaska schools.

Senators expressed frustration that new Education Commissioner Mike Hanley was not present to testify during a committee hearing on the proposal.

"(Hanley) is a principal at Kincaid Elementary. He felt a responsibility to the parents of that school to provide a smooth transition to the new principal, which he has done," Parnell said of the absence, noting that Hanley is now in place to work with lawmakers.

EDUCATION FUNDING

One thing the governor and Legislature seem to agree on is that any increases to education funding this year should be modest, and may not happen at all.

Parnell noted that there were significant increases during the Palin administration, but says he's willing to listen to educators.

"Even though we had those record increases, we don't really see demonstrable improvement in our children's education," he said.

FEDERAL HEALTHCARE

Parnell says he is working with the Department of Law to look at a recent Florida court ruling which determined that the federal healthcare law passed last year is unconstitutional.

The State of Alaska is a party in the lawsuit.

"I'm caught between a federal government that says, 'You have to do this, you must pursue this,' and I have the duty to uphold the rule of law,” Parnell said.

SHELL DELAY

Parnell also expressed anger that Shell will not be able to drill exploratory oil wells in the Beaufort Sea this summer. He blames the EPA and Obama Administration for delaying critical permits.

"Egypt is burning right now. We're dependent on Middle East oil. Why not become more dependent on domestic sources? That's how simple this really is," he said.

NO MORE EARMARKS

Parnell just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with Sens. Mark Begich (D) and Lisa Murkowski (R).

Parnell says the state of Alaska will not request any earmarks this year, but will approach certain federal agencies with specific requests to fund projects like fisheries research.

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