By SUZANNE DOWNING
July 27, 2026 – The Alaska Legislature opened its third special session on the Alaska LNG project Monday, but Alaskans should not expect quick action. Or perhaps any action at all.
The House and Senate convened in technical sessions, meaning there were not enough lawmakers present to conduct substantive business. No bill was introduced, no committee hearing was held and no vote was taken. The plan was to gavel in and gavel out without a quorum.
The Senate adjourned until Aug. 10, two weeks into the 30-day special session and just eight days before Alaska’s Aug. 18 primary election.
In other words, the special session has begun, but the Legislature is not really in session. They’ll be campaigning.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy called lawmakers back to Juneau after the previous special session failed to produce an acceptable version of House Bill 381, legislation intended to establish predictable construction-period taxes for the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline.
The original bill would have replaced property taxes during construction with a tax based on the volume of gas eventually moving through the pipeline. Project developer Glenfarne has said tax certainty is necessary to attract financing for the multibillion-dollar project.
The House passed a clean version of HB 381 in June. The Senate later loaded the legislation with additional provisions, including a controversial expansion of Alaska’s corporate income tax to certain pass-through businesses, widely viewed as targeting Hilcorp.
A conference committee produced another version of the bill, but it failed in the House on a 19-19 vote July 16 after Dunleavy said he would veto it because of the corporate tax provision.
Dunleavy called the third special session almost immediately.
“A third special session to provide tax relief so the Alaska LNG project can move forward is scheduled to begin today,” Dunleavy wrote Monday on X. “Before reintroducing the legislation, my administration is going to continue meeting with all parties to determine the best path forward to an agreement.”
“I believe that by having these discussions now we can come to an agreement on a bill that would get the support it needs to pass both bodies and get this vital project moving forward and conclude this special session quickly,” he added.
That is the optimistic view.
The more realistic expectation is that the House and Senate majorities will continue to stall while negotiations, if there are serious negotiations, take place behind closed doors.
The political calendar is now working against the governor. The primary election is only 22 days away, and many legislators would rather be in their districts campaigning than in Juneau casting difficult votes on taxes, the gasline or both.
The Senate’s decision not to return until Aug. 10 consumes nearly half of the special session before lawmakers even contemplate taking up legislation. Rep. Louise Stutes is making a play for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Stevens, the Senate president. Democrats want to increase their power in both the House and Senate, and Stutes is one of those key votes.
There is also a larger political calculation.
Political observers have increasingly speculated that Democratic-aligned legislators have little incentive to give Dunleavy a major gasline victory during his final year as governor. Dunleavy has long been mentioned as a possible Republican challenger to US Sen. Lisa Murkowski in 2028. Helping advance a project that Alaska governors have pursued for generations could give him a powerful legacy issue and a potent argument in a future US Senate campaign.
No legislative leader is likely to admit that national and state political considerations are influencing the gasline debate. But in Juneau, policy and politics are rarely separated for long.
For now, Alaskans should lower their expectations. The third special session is underway in name, but lawmakers have gone home. The administration will continue its private discussions, legislators will campaign and the clock will keep running.
Unless the House and Senate majorities decide they genuinely want an agreement, this special session may end exactly as the last one did … with no gasline tax bill.
One thought on “Lights on, but nobody home as Alaska Legislature gavels in, promptly gavels out”
It has become painfully clear that southcentral Alaska will have to import LNG from Canada in order to continue heating our homes and keep the lights on. I hope Enstar can do that before the decreasing pressure shuts down furnaces, boilers, and generators causing the necessity of rolling blackouts during the coldest periods of winter.
Remember this during this election cycle, and think about how you as an individual are going to prepare for this. It’s coming.