02/03/2006 09:02 AM House W&M

HB 223-NATURAL GAS PIPELINE INCENTIVE/ GAS TAX                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:03:52 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced  that the next order  of business would                                                               
be HOUSE  BILL NO. 223,  "An Act levying  a tax on  certain known                                                               
resources  of natural  gas, conditionally  repealing the  levy of                                                               
that  tax, and  authorizing a  credit  for payments  of that  tax                                                               
against amounts due  under the oil and  gas properties production                                                               
(severance)  tax  if  requirements   relating  to  the  sale  and                                                               
delivery  of  the natural  gas  are  met;  and providing  for  an                                                               
effective date."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WEYHRAUCH,  having determined there  was no one  wishing to                                                               
testify, closed  public testimony on  HB 223, and  announced that                                                               
the committee would discuss it at the end of the meeting.                                                                       
HB 223-NATURAL GAS PIPELINE INCENTIVE/ GAS TAX                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:42:14 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  WEYHRAUCH announced  that the  committee would  return its                                                               
attention  to HOUSE  BILL  NO.  223, "An  Act  levying  a tax  on                                                               
certain known  resources of natural gas,  conditionally repealing                                                               
the levy  of that tax, and  authorizing a credit for  payments of                                                               
that tax  against amounts  due under the  oil and  gas properties                                                               
production (severance)  tax if requirements relating  to the sale                                                               
and delivery  of the natural  gas are  met; and providing  for an                                                               
effective date."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:42:22 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to report  HB 223 out of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
9:42:26 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS  objected for the purposes  of discussion.                                                               
He thanked  the bill sponsors.   He then related his  belief that                                                               
the legislative  process was established by  the founding fathers                                                               
"so that  despite all the rhetoric  on both sides of  the aisles,                                                               
nothing ever really swings too far  one way or another because it                                                               
is so hard  to get something through the process."   He noted the                                                               
difference between  those issues that go  through the legislative                                                               
process where testimony and debate  from experts and others bring                                                               
"all  points  of  view  to  the  table,"  as  opposed  to  ballot                                                               
initiatives  where the  use  of campaign  funds  can often  [sway                                                               
public  opinion]   and  bypass   the  discussion  process.     He                                                               
highlighted  that   whereas  ConocoPhillips  Alaska,   Inc.  sent                                                               
representation  to testify  as to  why  the company  economically                                                               
opposed  [HB 223],  ExxonMobil Corporation  and BP  chose not  to                                                               
even enter  the debate  on this  issue.  He  opined that  "if the                                                               
legislative process is  going to move forward  [without] the main                                                               
victims' of this tax [willing] to  sit up here and articulate [as                                                               
to  the economic  effects] of  this reserves  tax ...  then we've                                                               
lost the key  element of having the  legislative process, [which]                                                               
is to  have all  points of view  come to the  table."   He opined                                                               
that because  the bill  has a  long way  to go  and he  will have                                                               
another  opportunity  to  address   it  in  the  House  Resources                                                               
Standing Committee, [the bill] should  move forward or there will                                                               
be no further debate at  committee hearings nor sufficient debate                                                               
in the public arena as a ballot initiative.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:46:18 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS then removed his objection.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
9:46:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRUENBERG opined  that  the reason  this bill  is                                                               
moving forward  is because there  is an initiative behind  it and                                                               
that if the legislature doesn't act, the public will act.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WILSON  expressed   her  opinion  that  sometimes                                                               
people vote on initiatives with  insufficient facts and thus it's                                                               
important that the [legislature] "scrounge up facts."                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WEYHRAUCH provided, for the  public's information, that the                                                               
House  Special Committee  on Ways  and Means  was established  to                                                               
explore methods  to fund  the state's  fiscal gap,  and therefore                                                               
it's the  purview of this  committee to  explore tax policy.   He                                                               
also identified  the variety  of other  committees on  which this                                                               
committee's members are assigned to  "provide the context for how                                                               
we  analyze  and  look  at  measures."   He  also  expressed  his                                                               
appreciation  of Representative  Samuels' comments  regarding the                                                               
fact that  "we bent  over backwards to  take public  testimony on                                                               
these measures and  have had many ... meetings  for that specific                                                               
purpose."                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:49:03 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WEYHRAUCH asked if there  was any further objection.  There                                                               
being none,  HB 223 was  reported out of House  Special Committee                                                               
on Ways and Means.