Four days after the Senate adjourned from the Special Session called by Governor Parnell to hammer out a deal to cut taxes for oil and gas producers, the House adjourned.

When the Governor abruptly pulled his bill to do just that, the Senate voted to adjourn from the session, deciding not to attempt a deal on an in-state gasline, another item on the Special Session agenda.

In a meeting after the Governor’s decision to sideline the tax bill, Senators agreed that the only remaining issue, House Bill 9, was extremely problematic in several ways, and therefore, could not be fixed in a manner that would actually pass out of the Senate.

Seemingly dissappointed to be leaving Juneau, House Republicans lashed out at the Senate for leaving without making an in-state gasline deal. “It is unfortunate that the Senate has, again, refused to act on major legislation advancing the most pressing issues confronting Alaskans today,” House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, said. “Not only has the Senate denied Alaskans in-state gas at the earliest opportunity, but they have also killed the possibility of AGDC taking a seat at the table as the producers and TransCanada talk about a large-diameter export pipeline.”

Chenault, the author of the small diameter gasline bill, cited high prices and gas shortages as the need for the bill. But, Conoco Philips, who owns a liquified natural gas plant in Nikiski, which is in Chenault’s district has been exporting natural gas to Asia for quite some time.

“It is a privilege to serve as an elected official, and with that comes the responsibility to be engaged in a strong public discourse, to debate bills and make them better. The Senate instead decided to walk away, to not advance good public policy or to meet with us on a compromise,” Rep. Anna Fairclough, R-Anchorage, said. “That is extremely frustrating.”

But, prior to leaving Juneau, the Senate pointed out their position on the small diameter gas line proposed by the House.

“The governor’s initiative on the big line helped us reach this decision,” said Senator Bert Stedman, R-Sitka. “The new conversation that he has sparked between the three major North Slope leaseholders and their potential alignment around an all-Alaska big diameter line undercuts the economic rationale for the HB 9 approach. We feel the fiscally prudent approach dictates our action today.”

“We believe that a big-diameter gas line will deliver the cheapest gas that Alaskans will ever see,” said Senator Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak.

“Fairbanks would have the brightest future with a large diameter line,” said Senator Paskvan. “If that cannot be accomplished, only then does a small diameter line make sense.”

“Cook Inlet’s future is bright. The USGS estimates there are 19 trillion cubic feet of gas in Cook Inlet,” said Senator Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage. “In light of this, we need to proceed very cautiously before spending billions to subsidize a gasline from the North Slope that could double the cost of gas for SouthCentral consumers.”

Senator Hollis French, a former Cook Inlet oil rig worker said, “Let’s let these new drillers go to work. There’s no better and cheaper place to find gas than in your back yard.”

Governor Parnell sided with the House in the debate over adjounment, saying in a statement, “I stand with the House on its decision to gavel out after the Senate Majority failed to address the state’s energy needs. The Senate refused to work; the House did its job. I put House Bill 9 on the call to continue advancing a natural gas pipeline project. Instead of problem-solving with the House, the Senate ignored the bill.”

The 30-day Special Session lasted 10 days.