Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
02/03/2026 03:15 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB202 | |
| HB124 | |
| HR6 | |
| HCR9 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 202 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HR 6 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HCR 9 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 124 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 124-AIDEA
3:37:21 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 124, "An Act relating to the Alaska Industrial
Development and Export Authority; and providing for an effective
date."
CHAIR CARRICK, as prime sponsor of HB 124, stated that today the
committee would resume the HB 124 AIDEA Presentation on slide
16.
3:38:34 PM
RANDY RUARO, Executive Director, Alaska Industrial Development &
Export Authority (AIDEA), resumed the PowerPoint presentation
[hard copy included in the committee file], which was started on
1/27/26. He began on slide 16, showing AIDEA Assets, Projects,
Bonds, and Loans across the state of Alaska. He said AIDEA
geographically has a significant reach, except in Southwest
Alaska and the Aleutian chain.
3:40:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked if there is a list available of all
the assets of the authority and the status of the different
loans. By statute, it was due to the legislature by January 10.
He did not see a list of all the assets.
MR. RUARO said that he could provide the letter that was
submitted to the Senate [Secretary] and House [Chief] Clerk that
is separate from the report. He will be sure the committee gets
this today. He could also provide a summary that breaks down by
the programs and could even clarify further.
3:43:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE stated that AIDEA follows the same fiscal
year as the state. He asked if the report submitted covers this
period.
MR. RUARO replied that is correct. He stated that he can
provide the update quickly.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked whether it would be fair to say that
some of the projects may be in negotiations and not public
information yet.
MR. RUARO replied that there is a pipeline of projects under
review or due diligence. Some of these projects AIDEA would
prefer to keep confidential.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE proffered that a small business requesting
a loan would not want this to be known. He asked when the last
time general funds were given to AIDEA.
MR. RUARO replied it was 12 to 15 years ago for the Ambler Road
project. More recently in 2018, there were funds appropriated
for the West Susitna Road project.
3:46:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND clarified that he wants a report on
executed investments. He was going to ask for a separate report
regarding what is in the pipeline of projects keeping
confidential the names or individual firms. This information
would allow the committee to review AIDEA's assets.
MR. RUARO replied he could provide a pipeline summary that
categorizes the project instead of providing individual names.
3:48:24 PM
MR. RUARO returned to the PowerPoint presentation. He outlined
on slide 17, "Healthcare Funding" the various funded projects.
On slide 18 was "Ambler Access Project" Section 201 of Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). This project
has been around for decades; Congress decided that there needed
to be an access corridor. The area has been mined for decades
and Congress said specifically there shall be access in Section
201 ANILCA. He said AIDEA has worked with the local communities
and tribes, held meetings in the communities with an event, and
has resolutions from communities. The average wage of a miner
is $130,000 per year, which would make close communities
particularly interested in these jobs.
MR. RUARO noted that on slide 19, "Section 1002 Area Leases of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)," was the ANWR
project. Congress directed the U.S. Department of the Interior
to hold sales. He said AIDEA recognizes the value of the oil
and gas in ANWR and bid on the leases. The leases have 4
billion barrels of oil and 7 trillion cubic feet of gas. He
stated significant funds would need to be spent and AIDEA needs
to find a partner to develop reserves. The revenue is roughly
$2 billion a year. He said AIDEA has worked with Kaktovik, the
only community in the region, and it supports development.
3:52:24 PM
MR. RUARO outlined on slide 20, "West Susitna Access Project,"
where the legislature gave AIDEA funding and direction to
develop this project. This road accesses several mines and
recreational areas.
3:53:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE noted the numerous meetings he has
attended, many in Big Lake. He requested a list of upcoming
meetings to share with the public. He asked for highlights of
the West Susitna Access project.
MR. RUARO answered the West Susitna Access project is working on
the ongoing project design, bridges, and outreach to
stakeholders, and a core permit will be filed with the Army
Corp. There will be public participation through AIDEA and
through the Army Corp. He said there will be multiple avenues
for ongoing public input.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE noted the West Susitna Access Project is
all on borough land, not on state land, but questioned about the
1 percent wetlands in the project.
MR. RUARO answered most of the land is state land and some
borough land. He said that the U.S. Supreme Court case greatly
reduced federal requirement for wetlands.
3:56:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked about slide 18 and the concern
expressed by folks regarding the road being public versus
private. She asked how AIDEA can guarantee that it will be a
private road.
MR. RUARO replied that there are three layers of assurance that
it will be kept as an industrial access and limited commercial
access road. First, it will be needed for the permitting
process in a formal designation by the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) limited access designation. Second, the road
was incorporated by President Donald Trump. Third, the road
must run through private land, Doyan and others, and to his
knowledge none of those entities have allowed commercial access.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked what the cost of the road is.
MR. RUARO replied roughly estimated the cost of the road is from
$500 million to $1 billion. This year, AIDEA is hoping to get
out in the field and take geotechnical samples to produce solid
cost estimates. The road is intended to follow the Red Dog
model that AIDEA would not proceed until that the mines agree to
cover the cost of the project.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT questioned hearing that any time
someone wants to lease land there must be a sort of bonding.
She asked how the legislature knows projects AIDEA is funding
are not permanent and will be cleaned up.
MR. RUARO stated that AIDEA will follow federal and state rules
for reclamation and bonding. The cost will be managed through
those existing statutes and requirements.
4:02:09 PM
MR. RUARO continued with slide 21, "Maritime & Logistics
Investing in Coastal Alaska." This slide outlines information
on the Ketchikan shipyard, which he estimates could create
additional jobs. Slide 22, "Energy Security and Affordability,"
outlines the Interior Energy Project (IEP); Cook Inlet Energy
Security (HEX, LLC); and sustainable energy transmission and
supply development (SETS) f und. On slide 23, "Direct Investment
Model The Red Dog Mine System," shows how the dollars flow in an
AIDEA project. This project has produced nearly $2 billion, 800
to 1,000 jobs, and $50 million annually in wages.
4:07:07 PM
MR. RUARO continued with slide 24, "Future Horizons 2026 &
Beyond." He outlined three emerging investments in data
centers, tokenization, and new energy sources. He said AIDEA is
trying to create a model that could be repeated elsewhere in the
state. He said the next few slides are regarding how AIDEA
would be affected by HB 224.
4:09:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked how AIDEA has worked with the
state's comprehensive development strategy. He said AIDEA has
been able to help grow early stages of businesses opportunities.
He asked what the current strategy is to use the resources that
AIDEA has on emerging and velocity of early-stage businesses.
MR. RUARO replied that AIDEA has just approved a tech subsidiary
to help vet, review, and promote technological projects. He
said AIDEA should find other partners beyond the tech subsidiary
to work with people with ideas about small businesses,
especially with artificial intelligence (AI). He stated that
AIDEA needs to set up a central location where Alaskans' ideas
can be advanced to grow a business.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked if he could share more information
on the tech subsidiary.
MR. RUARO replied that he has a resolution establishing the
subsidiary and public notice distributed that he can share.
4:12:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE followed up on the loan participation
program (LPP). He asked if there was a list available, at least
by geography, if not by name.
MR. RUARO replied he would have to look at the loan contracts.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE clarified maybe it could be an aggregate
list.
MR. RUARO said he would have to look at confidentiality issues.
4:15:20 PM
CHAIR CARRICK clarified McCabe's request to request a heat map
[of LPP program participation] of each of the regions in Alaska.
4:15:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND followed up that the amounts would be
helpful to understand what AIDEA needs fiscally to do its work.
He said knowing how much money is currently obligated would help
understand the balance sheet.
CHAIR CARRICK said she would let staff work with Mr. Ruaro to
produce the report. One thing she wants to highlight is small
business development and the loan participation program.
4:18:26 PM
MR. RUARO continued slide 26, "How HB 124 affect AIDEA?" and
outlined additional changes not listed in the presentation. He
said Section 2 changes the makeup of the board and adds on an
environmental member, as well as adds on former legislators. As
he read the bill, board members would have to meet the
requirements currently outlined. He recommended that Section 2
be deleted. He said Section 3 changes the staggering of the
board terms and allows for removal of board members. He said he
opposes Section 3. Section 4 requires AIDEA to adopt personnel
rules. He reflected that AIDEA follows personnel rules and is
not sure if Section 4 is needed. Section 5 is about the
attorney general controlling whether AIDEA can file a complaint
to protect its contracts. He said AIDEA opposes this, as it has
a preference for its in-house council. He recommended that
Section 5 be deleted. He stated that Section 6 is agreeable to
adopting regulations and he is not opposed to these
requirements.
MR. RUARO continued with Section 8 [outlined in the
presentation] that will stop AIDEA from performing its functions
and require AIDEA to sell off roughly $1.2 billion by the end of
2026. He warned this would result in hundreds of millions of
dollars in losses. The $500 million asset limit would prohibit
new loans. He pointed to Section 9, [paragraph] (1), and said
AIDEA has serious concerns about getting a resolution from a
political subdivision. A hundred percent approval will hinder
the projects from moving forward. He noted that the
requirements in [paragraph] (2) regarding findings are already
in legislation. [Paragraph] (3) would have AIDEA compile and
make available to the public a document that summarizes the
projected economic, social, and environmental effects of the
project. He said AIDEA is interested in this requirement, which
happens on some of the large projects through a federal agency.
[Paragraph] (4) requires reporting to the legislature and
[paragraph] (5) requires legislative approval. He said he
thinks these are already required. Section 10 prevents a board
member from voting on indirect or direct interest, and he said
he cannot comment without more understanding or a definition of
an indirect interest. Section 11 repeals and reimposes
providing an accounting of assets. He is unclear what new
requirements are established in this section. Section 12
requires AIDEA to develop performance metrics. He said AIDEA
does not object to missions and measures. Section 13 attempts
to make proprietary and confidential financial information
submitted by a project applicant to AIDEA open to the public.
He couldn't tell if the normal protections under the public
records statue would apply or if it was just considered public
information. This section needs to be clarified, he advised.
4:28:42 PM
MR. RUARO continued with the sectional review, noting that
Section 14 is in regard to the attorney general lawsuit
approval. For the reasons mentioned earlier, he said AIDEA
drafts contracts with inhouse council and uses out-of-house
council as needed. He said AIDEA is opposed to making this a
decision of the attorney general. Section 15 removes standard
protection that exists for every state employee. He warned that
employees would be subject to being sued or being personally
liable. Section 17 provides for an effective date of January 1,
2027. It is unclear whether assets under contracts now would
have to be used on this date or whether some contracts would be
exempted.
4:31:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked what the deferred inflows of
resources are currently, noting that what is being stated looks
like $163 million.
MR. RUARO deferred to the chief financial officer to answer the
question, noting that he can get a written response from her.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked for the difference between
nonoperating revenues and operating revenues and the breakdown
between the two.
MR. RUARO replied he will get a specific breakdown.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND said it looks like $1.05 billion are
invested funds, either firm capital or open loans, which would
seem to suggest there is another $6 million not invested.
MR. RUARO replied that AIDEA would get that breakdown. The
majority - 95 percent - are working on a project or investing in
bonds.
4:35:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE, on slide 26, said he thinks Mr. Ruaro
meant billions, not millions of assets. The Interior Gas
Utility (IGU) was a loan that AIDEA gave in Fairbanks to
transport natural gas for heat. The terms of the loan of $139
million for a 35-year loan with the first 15 years' payment
interest free and the rest of the loan a quarter of a point for
payment. He asked how this would work if AIDEA had to divest
assets and whether it would create issues for Fairbanks.
MR. RUARO replied that if forced to sell assets under the
statutory requirements AIDEA is taking steps that are reasonable
and prudent. The assets would be ranked highest to least
performing and by statue the IGU loan is a very low performing
asset by design. He said AIDEA would have to analyze it and see
if AIDEA could sell or remove it from its assets under this
bill. It may be difficult to find a buyer, and the buyer would
likely be looking at the terms.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE stated that buyers look at the short-term
deadlines that AIDEA are offering on these assets "up on the
chopping block." He asked if AIDEA could find buyers for
various projects.
MR. RUARO replied that AIDEA would reach out to private
investors that showed previous interest. The investors could
wait until close to the deadline to make a deal and AIDEA would
have a low recovery rate.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked if people employed at AIDEA projects
should be worried about their jobs if this bill passes.
MR. RUARO replied if the bill passed it would force AIDEA into
several positions. He said AIDEA would seek legal counsel to
see if it could break a contract. The contract clause would
need to be looked at in the Alaska Constitution. He said AIDEA
would look at the legality of the bill.
4:42:27 PM
CHAIR CARRICK asked about the Northern Economic study done that
the legislature spent a quarter of a million dollars on. It was
released two years late and was less robust, being only sixteen
pages long.
MR. RUARO replied that it was only the executive summary; the
full study is due and will be hundreds of pages long. He said
part of the delay was due to addressing allegations of AIDEA
that were made. It takes more time to do these investigations
and give a factual representation of AIDEA. Also, the report
had to be updated as another annual report was completed and a
fiscal year passed. He said AIDEA paid for the study and hopes
to get it out this week.
CHAIR CARRICK asked if the role of AIDEA is to use public funds
to provide a report that is two years late and a rebuttal to
public groups in Alaska.
MR. RUARO replied it was a policy decision to try to inform the
public of accurate facts. It is important for the public to
have accurate information and there will be a significant
benefit.
4:47:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY agreed with Representative Holland's
request for more information. She asked about the public
process and that public comment time is recognized. She asked
how AIDEA is going to be more responsive to the public process.
MR. RUARO replied there is always an opportunity for public
comment which is a minimum of two minutes. The meetings are
publicly announced a month in advance. The board does not
engage in back-and-forth debate about the merits of a project.
The nature of the organization is that AIDEA's statutory mission
is to advance economic development and create jobs. This may be
at odds with the people that are commenting on the projects.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if there is a limit on time of two
minutes and whether, if the technology fails, there is make-up
time for public comment.
MR. RUARO replied on the agenda there is a notice for public
comment, there is no limit on the total time for public comment.
The public comment is part of the record, so AIDEA could post
them.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked about the project's background
information, such as survey and environmental studies, and she
asked whether these are posted.
MR. RUARO responded that lots of information is posted. For
example, the effect of the Ambler Road on caribou was recently
posted.
4:54:13 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that HB 224 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CS HB 202 STA Ver. N.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 202 |
| HB 202 Summary of Changes Ver. A to Ver. N.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 202 |
| HB 124 Backup SRC Letter 1-29-26.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Written Testimony Rec'd 2-2-26.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HR 6 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HR 6 |
| HR 6 Ver. A.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HR 6 |
| HCR 9 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HCR 9 |
| HCR 9 Ver. N.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HCR 9 |
| CS HCR 9 STA Ver. I.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HCR 9 |
| HCR 9 Summary of Changes Ver. N to Ver. I.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HCR 9 |
| HCR 9 Fiscal Note LEG-SESS-02-02-2026.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HCR 9 |
| HB 124 AIDEA Backup Coastal Plain Resources 10.2025.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 - AIDEA Back-up - Alaska 2025 State Profile.pdf |
HSTA 2/3/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |