Senator Gary Stevens on proposed oil tax cuts: “Inexcusable truthfulness’, Alaska Dispatch, Dec. 15, 2011.
Thank you for inviting me to speak. Frankly, you’ve got a lot of nerve. I stand before you as the recipient of an “F” from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce and the Resource Development Council. Legislators were given grades by these organizations — apparently based on our support or lack of it for the governor’s oil tax bill, HB 110. So, the biggest issue facing the Legislature this year is state oil taxes. Big surprise, right? This has been the biggest issue for many years running.
All Representatives who got A’s voted for the governor’s oil tax bill, while those of us who got D’s and F’s either voted against it in the House, or like myself, dared to question it in the Senate.
… and so the speech starts. Whether you agree with Senator Stevens or not, this is an important piece that deserves respect and reflection. Personally, I think the Legislature needs to start thinking in new ways about these issues. But in preparing to think about them in new ways, we need to understand the old and this is a very clear articulation of the basis for one point of view.
Thoughts on Alaska Oil & Gas 