Enrolled HB 16: Amending, for purposes of the Alaska Stranded Gas Development Act, the standards applicable to determining whether a proposed new investment constitutes a qualified project, the standards used to determine whether a person or group qualifies as a project sponsor or project sponsor group, and the deadline for applications relating to the development of contracts for payments in lieu of taxes and for royalty adjustments that may be submitted for consideration, and modifying the conditions bearing on the use of independent contractors to evaluate applications or to develop contract terms; providing statements of intent for the Act relating to use of project labor agreements and to reopening of contracts; and providing for an effective date.
00Enrolled HB 16 01 Amending, for purposes of the Alaska Stranded Gas Development Act, the standards 02 applicable to determining whether a proposed new investment constitutes a qualified project, 03 the standards used to determine whether a person or group qualifies as a project sponsor or 04 project sponsor group, and the deadline for applications relating to the development of 05 contracts for payments in lieu of taxes and for royalty adjustments that may be submitted for 06 consideration, and modifying the conditions bearing on the use of independent contractors to 07 evaluate applications or to develop contract terms; providing statements of intent for the Act 08 relating to use of project labor agreements and to reopening of contracts; and providing for an 09 effective date. 10 _______________ 11 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 12 to read:
01 LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that 02 (1) in awarding contracts under the Alaska Stranded Gas Development Act, a 03 qualified sponsor or qualified sponsor group and contractors of the qualified sponsor or 04 qualified sponsor group may develop and enter into project labor agreements with appropriate 05 collective bargaining organizations for each project for which a contract is entered into; and 06 (2) each contract for payments in lieu of taxes and for royalty adjustments 07 entered into under the Alaska Stranded Gas Development Act contain a provision by which 08 the contract may be reopened by any party to the contract; the subject matter of the reopening 09 may be dealt with through the use of arbitration proceedings agreed on by the parties. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 43.82.100 is amended to read: 11 Sec. 43.82.100. Qualified project. Based on information available to the 12 commissioner, the commissioner may determine that a proposal for new investment is 13 a qualified project under this chapter [ONLY] if the project 14 (1) principally involves 15 (A) the transportation of natural gas by pipeline to one or 16 more markets, together with any associated processing or treatment; 17 (B) [IS A PROJECT FOR] the export of liquefied natural gas 18 from the state to one or more other states or countries; or 19 (C) any other technology that commercializes the shipment 20 of natural gas within the state or from the state to one or more other states 21 or countries; 22 (2) would produce at least 500,000,000,000 cubic feet of stranded gas 23 within 20 years from the commencement of commercial operations; and 24 (3) is capable, subject to applicable commercial regulation and 25 technical and economic considerations, of making gas available to meet the reasonably 26 foreseeable demand in this state for gas within the economic proximity of the project. 27 * Sec. 3. AS 43.82.110 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 43.82.110. Qualified sponsor or qualified sponsor group. The 29 commissioner may determine that a person or group is a qualified sponsor or qualified 30 sponsor group if the person or a member of the group 31 (1) intends to own an equity interest in a qualified project, intends to
01 commit gas that it owns to a qualified project, or holds the permits that the department 02 determines are essential to construct and operate a qualified project; and 03 (2) meets one or more of the following criteria: 04 (A) owns a working interest in at least 10 percent of the 05 stranded gas proposed to be developed by a qualified project; 06 (B) has the right to purchase at least 10 percent of the stranded 07 gas proposed to be developed by a qualified project; 08 (C) has the right to acquire, control, or market at least 10 09 percent of the stranded gas proposed to be developed by a qualified project; 10 (D) has a net worth equal to at least 10 [33] percent of the 11 estimated cost of constructing a qualified project; 12 (E) has an unused line of credit equal to at least 15 [25] percent 13 of the estimated cost of constructing a qualified project. 14 * Sec. 4. AS 43.82.170 is amended to read: 15 Sec. 43.82.170. Application deadline. The commissioner of revenue or the 16 commissioner of natural resources may not act on an application for a contract 17 submitted under AS 43.82.120 unless the application is received by the Department of 18 Revenue no later than March 31, 2005 [JUNE 30, 2001]. 19 * Sec. 5. AS 43.82.240(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) The commissioner may use independent contractors [AN 21 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR] to assist in the evaluation of an application or in 22 the development of contract terms under AS 43.82.200. The commissioner may 23 condition the development of a contract under AS 43.82.020 on an agreement by the 24 applicant to reimburse the state for the reasonable expenses of independent 25 contractors [AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR] under this section. A 26 reimbursement of expenses that is required in an agreement authorized by this 27 subsection may not exceed $1,500,000 for each application. 28 * Sec. 6. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).