By SUZANNE DOWNING
May 25, 2026 – After being called into special session to tackle what supporters call the largest infrastructure project in Alaska history, lawmakers largely disappeared for the Memorial Day weekend, leaving the Capitol quiet, while the future of the Alaska LNG project hangs in the balance.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy called legislators back to Juneau immediately after adjournment of the regular session, specifically to address legislation tied to the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline and gas export project. The project, now backed by majority stakeholder Glenfarne and supported by the administration, would involve an 800-mile pipeline from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska, with liquefied natural gas exports aimed at Asian markets.
But after a regular session in which gasline legislation spent weeks bogged down in committee hearings and procedural delays, many Alaskans are watching closely to see whether lawmakers are finally ready to act, or whether the Legislature will once again “meeting it to death.”
That criticism has been aimed particularly at the Senate Resources Committee, chaired by a defiant and unyielding Sen. Cathy Giessel, where gasline tax legislation repeatedly stalled during the regular session despite the governor making the project his top legislative priority.
Senate sidelines Giessel as Alaska LNG tax bill bypasses Resources Committee in special session
This week, however, the focus shifts to the House and Senate Finance committees, where lawmakers will begin digging into the financial and tax structure underpinning the project.
The key legislation under discussion would overhaul how major gas pipeline infrastructure is taxed. Supporters argue the changes are necessary to make the project economically viable and competitive globally. Opponents have raised concerns about reducing future tax revenues and the long-term fiscal impacts on the state and municipalities.
Meetings scheduled this week include multiple presentations from GaffneyCline Energy Advisory, a Baker Hughes company that has been involved in analyzing LNG market conditions and project economics.
Here is the schedule for this week’s hearings:
Tuesday, May 26
House Finance Committee
1:30 pm — Anchorage LIO, Denali Room
HB 381 — Oil & Gas Property Tax; Municipal Tax
Presentation by Nick Fulford, Senior Director for Gas/LNG & Energy Transition at GaffneyCline Energy Advisory.
Wednesday, May 27
Senate Finance Committee
9:00 am — Senate Finance Room 532
SB 2001 — Gas Pipeline Volumetric Tax; AGDC; RCA
Presentation by GaffneyCline
Streamed live on AKL.tv.
Thursday, May 28
Senate Finance Committee
9:00 am — Senate Finance Room 532
SB 2001 continued
Presentation by GaffneyCline
Streamed live on AKL.tv.
Friday, May 29
Senate Finance Committee
9:00 am — Senate Finance Room 532
SB 2001 continued
Streamed live on AKL.tv.
The special session comes after months of mounting frustration from project supporters. Alaska has spent decades studying and debating a North Slope gasline while other energy-producing regions moved aggressively to supply global LNG markets.
3 thoughts on “Special session gets to work Tuesday with Alaska LNG hearings after Memorial Day pause”
Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline construction start date: 2046.
The LNG will become reality when and if we have leadership that works with the people of the state and the legislature to do competitive bidding and work with the companies that came out highest in the bidding process. What is going on now thru Dunleavy is criminal baiting and when a person looks at all information on those few pages of slides, its a sick venture not going to happen. I listened to the testimony that may sound good but ask yourselves why the comparison of other countries? We don’t have any competition because we don’t have a pipeline. Check out the lower 48 pipelines through FERC.gov. What a revelation and what an eye opener to the reader when you see that we don’t compete in gas so there is nothing to compare too.
Check out the waste products being returned to Alaska and buried or in injected into the subsurface under the Cook Inlet and ask yourselves why we need to take care of another countries’ garbage and get charged for it.
The gas line needs to be built on the same pipeline path as the oil pipeline to save big bucks and have a better maintained resource flow for safety and all phases of building. Passing through Fairbanks with a liquification center between Fairbanks and Glenallen and exporting from the Valdez base where safety of shipping is well established. We need a competitive bid process and choice under the law with public hearings and comment periods from all who will have the pipe pass through their communities.
This state needs a plan that works for Alaska and not against it. But we need to make the choice of those who do business for us and with our resources. The residents of Alaska need to choose their future issues, not a scheme concocted by fraud, waste and abuse of Dunleavy and a company pushing every button to make Alaska pay for their well being and profit. NO to Glenfarne and tpo the scheming of Dunleavy! Kell the bill SB2001 and all that goes with it.
Every reader needs to read the Dana Raffanielio opinion in the May 23, 2026 “Must Read Alaska” clearly touching every point of the scheming going on by Dunleavy and staff with Glenfarne and future buyers in the Asian market. The fraud, waste and abuse against the State of Alaska and businesses is totally alarming, staggering and creates a mind boggling future history of monetary loss unprecedented in the state’s financial resources and our resource use ever created by a governor and business owners. The corruption is without limit or boundary. This opinion should set every Alaskan on “fire” to rid the state of Glenfarne and Dunleavy’s scheming for money, pretentious lying schemes in Alaska.
The legislature should shut then doors and walk out!! Bring criminal charges against Dunleavy and his staff for their corruption and intended fraud, waste and abuse of the Alaska resources they intend to use. Alaska will never become the the dumping ground of another country’s wasted energy by-product! Never! All readers–go to that opinion and read it!