Senator Bill Wielechowski

06/17/2026

Everyone recognizes the crippling costs of energy in Fairbanks. A provision was added to the House version of the gas line bill to require a spur gas line to Fairbanks. The question is - who pays for it.

Under the House version of the Gas Line tax break bill, the costs of the Fairbanks spur line, estimated to be at least $150 million would be paid for by all purchasers of gas (not just those in Fairbanks), in-state or out of state. This would be a very small increase to everyone's cost of gas. Yesterday, Glenfarne came before Senate Finance Committee asking for a "technical change" to the bill that instead shifted the cost of the Fairbanks spur line to only in-state users - meaning South Central and meaning a more significant increase in gas costs for everyone in Alaska, but no increase for out of state buyers. I believe a more fair way to pay for this spur line is to spread the cost to everyone - not just in-state users. What do you think?

06/14/2026

Why would Alaska give Glenfarne 35 years with an 85% property tax break when the Legislature’s consultant says they only need 7-10 years of tax breaks?

06/12/2026

How much in tax breaks does Alaska really need to give Glenfarne forever so they can make $5 billion in profits per year?

06/12/2026

Waiting for more facts on this and for a Legislative Legal opinion, but this seems like an extraordinary abuse of power by the Director of the Division of Elections and Lt. Governor to remove someone from the ballot like this

If past issues with the Division of Elections putting its thumb on the scale for conservative causes are anything to go by, this will almost assuredly end up in court sooner rather than later.

06/11/2026

The Alaska Legislature is constitutionally required to get the maximum benefit for our resources. We follow that constitutional mandate through a variety of revenue measures: property taxes, corporate income taxes, royalties and severance taxes. We could also do it by providing low cost gas to Alaskans.

The bill just passed by the House Finance Committee does the following:

- A 100% property tax break for five years, then a 90% property tax break for 30 more years that will cost the state and local communities $1 billion per year. This in spite of our expert consultant saying the property tax break should be no longer than 7-10 years.

- No corporate income taxes for the developer or the state’s largest oil producer. The project developer will make $5 billion per year in profits when the project is fully going and had previously testified they would pay this tax, which would be $462 million per year. Hilcorp, the State’s largest producer will make an 82% rate of return on its gas sales yet will also continue to pay zero corporate income taxes

- Alaskans in South Central currently pay $10-13 for gas. Under this bill it will be roughly $22 after delivery costs and inflation are factored in.

The bill still has a long way to go. I think we can do better.

06/10/2026

Food is medicine! Nutritious food isn't just about what's on the dinner table, it's also about preventing chronic disease, improving mental health, supporting child development, and helping seniors maintain their health and quality of life.

The WIC farmers market program started on June 1st. Eligible WIC participants can use benefits to buy produce at their local farmers market in authorized locations. Contact your local WIC clinic to sign up.

More information: https://health.alaska.gov/en/services/farmers-market/

Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program information: https://health.alaska.gov/en/services/senior-farmers-market/

06/09/2026

DOT considering speed limit changes on Tudor and Muldoon roads

The current speed limit ranges from 40 to 50 mph and changes three times from where Tudor Road meets the Minnesota Parkway, to where Muldoon Road reaches the Glenn Highway.

06/05/2026

I recently wrote that Glenfarne can build the Alaska natural gasline right now - with no legislation. Instead, they are demanding billions in tax breaks from Alaska. Some insist we just give it to them. No questions asked. I don't think that would be following our fiduciary responsibilties.

What does a fair deal look like for Alaska and Glenfarne? Fortunately, Chair Cathy Giessel of the Senate Resources Committee led 36 hearings on this exact issue. Here is what the Committee concluded a fair deal looks like:

- Property tax break sunset

Glenfarne is seeking a 90% property tax break FOREVER. Worth at least $1 billion per year. According to our Legislative consultant, LNG projects in the Lower 48 sometimes get property tax breaks, but they sunset after 10 years. He testified that a property tax break sunset after 7-10 years was reasonable.

- Cost overrun protection for Alaskans

When the TransAlaska Pipeline was initially proposed, its cost was estimated to be $900 million. It ended up costing $8 BILLION. It didn't matter much to the producers who built it though, because they just raised the pipeline tariff - which they paid to themselves as owners of the pipeline. The increased tariff resulted in more write offs for the oil companies however, which resulted in Alaska losing billions in tax and royalty revenue.

In Glenfarne's case, the only place they could initially pass increased costs are to the consumers of the gas - Alaskans. Glenfarne testified they will not pass the costs of any overruns onto Alaskans. When we put that in the bill, they objected.

- Corporate tax loophole closure

Upon full buildout, Glenfarne will become the most profitable company in Alaska, making $5 billion in profits per year. Yet, because of loopholes in our tax structure will pay zero corporate income taxes, costing Alaska $462 million per year. Glenfarne originally testified they supported closing this loophole. When we put this in the bill, they objected.

- Price protection for Alaskans

The developer has been running ads saying this project will provide low cost gas. Gov. Dunleavy has publicly said this project will result in natural gas costing Alaskans between $4.50-$4.75. Dunleavy's own Dept. of Revenue testified natural gas prices will be, BEST CASE SCENARIO, $22.96 for consumers. If politicians and the developer are going to sell this project on promises of low cost gas, that deserves to be put in statute. So we put a cap of $5 natural gas in the bill. Glenfarne and Gov. Dunleavy objected to this.

-Limit the losses to the State during gasline buildout

Under our existing oil and gas tax structure, expenses for natural gas exploration, development, feeder lines and more are deductible against oil taxes. Because of this, the State will see a reduction of tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue before gas even starts flowing. In working with the Department of Revenue, we identified a way to help fix this - by increasing the gross oil tax floor from 4% to 6%. This was actually a change proposed by Gov. Dunleavy in a different bill. He objected when it was included in our bill.

-The complete subsidization of the Dalton Highway must end

The Dalton Highway is the haul road leading to Prudhoe Bay. It is used predominantly by the oil and gas industry. It needs $450 million in repairs over the next 6 years. Similar to a provision that Gov. Dunleavy proposed in a different bill, we proposed a surcharge of 30 per barrel of oil to help fund these repairs. He objected when it was included in our bill.

- Communities and the State must be fairly compensated during the construction phase of the project.

There will be increased costs for police, fire, schools, roads, infrastructure. We believe the appropriate amounts should be at least $50M for construction impacts and $30M/year for 5 years for community impacts

- Solid repeal language should be included to protect the State and local communities in a variety of situations:

Any property tax cuts should be temporarily repealed if impact payments are not timely made. Any property tax cuts should be repealed if construction on the project does not commence by 2028. Any property tax cuts should be repealed if the pipeline is not fully operational by 2032.

- In order to protect instate businesses and workers, we recommend provisions requiring the use of Alaska contractors and a strong project labor provision.

06/05/2026

One of the six proposed pipeline projects since I’ve been in the Legislature. Cost to state: $1 billion over that time, not including the billions in tax cuts given to create a “competitive environment.”

Maybe the current proposal will get it done, but due diligence is required - not just bumper sticker slogans with little fiduciary review.

06/03/2026

The pressure campaign is mounting to "Build the Line." Full page newspaper ads, Facebook posts by Gov. Dunleavy and Glenfarne promising low-cost energy, political attacks against those who don’t “support the gasline."

The reality is that no legislation is needed to build the Alaska Natural gas pipeline - they can build it right now - with absolutely nothing from the Legislature. The permits are all there. The federal loan guarantees are in place. In fact, a leader of AGDC warned the Legislature LAST YEAR to do nothing, saying "I believe that if the Legislature gets involved that this project will go away." The CEO of AGDC told legislators last year the project was "economically viable and “there’s no consideration for property taxes. The existing statutes are what are in place and will be abided by.”

The reason for the special session is about one thing. The same thing we have seen for decades in Alaska. Wealthy Outside developers demanding billions in tax breaks from Alaska. Or they will leave.

Alaska has a long and unfortunate history of being duped by multinational Outside developers. In 1991, during the nearly 20-year case Alaska v. Amerada Hess, a judge found that major oil companies had deliberately falsified records to reduce royalty payments to the state. The judge sharply criticized Alaska officials for their gullibility, ruling the state was guilty of "inexcusable trustfulness" in its dealings with big oil.

Remember the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act in 2008? A Canadian pipeline company persuaded the State that if we only “put skin in the game” they would build a natural gas pipeline. The resource development industry decried anyone who opposed it as anti-development and as opposing cheap gas for Alaskans. Later, the project was shelved. That cost $327 million out of Alaska’s treasury.

Remember SB 21 in 2013 - the bill that cut oil taxes by billions. We were promised more jobs, more revenue, the PFD would be "saved", and it would spur a gasline. Since then oil jobs are down by 40%, State revenue has plunged by billions per year and we’ve all seen what’s happened to the PFD. The oil companies quietly killed the gasline project a few years later.

Enter Glenfarne, the 16th group in State history to declare its intention to build an Alaska natural gas pipeline. Despite its previous assertions that nothing was needed from the Legislature, a couple months ago the developer changed its tune, demanding a 90% break in State and local property taxes. A billion dollars per year. Every year. When the Legislature’s expert testified that any tax breaks would only be needed for a maximum of 10 years, Glenfarne and the Governor objected. And demanded these tax breaks be forever.

After Glenfarne testified on the record that they would be a good corporate citizen and supported paying corporate income taxes, they demanded they - like Hilcorp - pay ZERO corporate income taxes. The cost to Alaskans from this - $462 million per year at peak production. To put Glenfarne's demands in perspective, that means that they will eventually be the most profitable corporation in Alaska, making $5 billion in profits PER YEAR, while paying zero corporate income taxes and virtually no property taxes.

And when Glenfarne testified that cost overruns from the project would not be passed on to Alaskans, we put that in the Senate Resources version of the gasline tax break bill. Glenfarne then demanded it be taken out. When Gov. Dunleavy demanded the legislature pass his gasline tax break bill, he chastised legislators - saying the gasline would result in Alaskan paying $5 natural gas (we currently pay $10-13). So we put that cap in the Senate Resources bill. Glenfarne and the Governor demanded we take that out. When the Senate Resources Committee requested Dunleavy’s Department of Revenue calculate what the cost of natural gas prices would be for Southcentral consumers in Phase 1 of the gasline project, they finally calculated the number: $22.96 in the absolute best-case scenario. More likely closer to $30.

Make no mistake about it – I don’t know any Legislators who oppose developing our natural gas resources or finding affordable energy solutions. But as Legislators we have a fiduciary duty to protect the State’s interests. And to do our due diligence. That’s what the Legislature has been doing and continues to do. To ensure we are protecting the State treasury and the consumers who ultimately may have to bear the burden of exorbitant cost overruns.

At a time when our schools and infrastructure are crumbling, the PFD is being cut, roads aren’t being fixed, and the cost of living is through the roof, this is about protecting Alaska’s interests. Alaskans deserve that. Should demand it.

Now is not the time to succumb to expensive industry lobbying for what’s best for THEM. It’s about time we did what’s best for Alaska.