The oil companies need to commit $20~25 Billion dollars for the largest private project in the history of the world. So once the get it built it would be okay to jack the rates up triple or quadruple? They are committing for the long term, the state should do the same. It is a fixed percentage rate, not a fixed dollar figure. If the price of gas goes up, the revenue to the state would still go up.
having the state pay 20 percent of pipeline construction costs
That is very misleading. It is an option, not a requirement. And it is not just paying 20% of the construction cost, is buying 20% of the pipeline and sharing 20% of the profits. I don't like that actually; to me it is a conflict of interest. The State is a regulating board for the pipeline. We should not be an owner. We can make enough money off the taxes and royalties.
allowing oil and gas companies to pay state taxes in the form of natural gas rather than cash
Which is what we do now with the oil pipeline for many years. The state takes the oil and sells it to local refineries. It has worked well and there is no arguing over cost or price value of the oil, we take our percentage in oil. There is a market in Alaska for the gas, the state would sell it to local distribution companies and industry.
Thank you for the further info, especially about the state paying 20% of construction misnomer.
Leave it to the media to ignore important information that might not fit the premise of their story. Still, if there is bipartisan agreement in the legislature about this bill, then what is he doing trying to bypass the legislature on his way out of office? Of course, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the Republicans actually approve, and the writer went quote mining to support his cause. I don't really trust the writer anymore now that I know the state's option is to own 20%, not just pay for 20%.