JUNEAU, Alaska — With less than two weeks left to finish their business in Juneau, the state Senate majority caucus said Tuesday it does not know enough about the consequences of Gov. Sean Parnell's oil tax cut plan, to pass the legislation this year.
They've been floating the idea of advancing a scaled-down version of the bill, which only offers incentives for new oil and gas production, but according to Senate leaders, even that is unlikely, as they wait for legislative reports on Alaska's existing tax structure.
Sen. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) said the first of those reports is not expected until June. Another should come out in September; too late for Parnell, who said he wants action this session.
"I'm not comfortable making multi-billion dollar decisions when I know I don't have the data that I need to make that decision," said Stedman, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
Senate President Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) said that the oil tax cut proposal "isn't a lost cause," but that he doesn't see the votes to advance the measure this year.
