Rep. Bill Elam

Rep. Bill Elam Representative Bill Elam, Serving Dist. 8, Kenai Peninsula. Community values | Fiscal responsibility | Responsible stewardship of public resources

I was talking with some of our staff today about September 11th and had one of those moments that catches you a little o...
09/11/2026

I was talking with some of our staff today about September 11th and had one of those moments that catches you a little off guard. I realized that several of them weren’t even alive when it happened.

It’s hard to believe it has been 25 years.

Like many who lived through that day, I can still remember where I was and watching the events unfold. We remember the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives, the first responders who ran toward danger, and the families whose lives were forever changed.

But there is something else I hope we don’t forget.

In the days and weeks that followed, Americans came together. We didn’t suddenly agree on everything, and we certainly weren’t a perfect country. But for a while, the things that divided us seemed smaller than the things we shared.

Twenty five years later, we could probably use a little more of that.

We don’t have to agree on everything to care about one another, to treat each other as neighbors, or to remember that we share a country and a future.

For those too young to remember September 11th, I hope we pass along more than the story of what happened that day. I hope we also pass along something about how Americans responded to one another afterward.

May we never forget.

09/11/2026

Today, the House and Senate Resources Committees met jointly to discuss Cook Inlet natural gas and the challenges facing Southcentral Alaska.

As a member of the House Resources Committee, my priorities are straightforward: make sure Alaskans have the gas we need to heat our homes and keep the lights on this winter, while developing Alaska’s resources for a reliable and affordable long-term energy supply.

There was encouraging news. Hilcorp continues to invest $400–$500 million annually in Cook Inlet and plans to drill more than 26 wells this year. HEX is also investing heavily and expects to more than triple its firm gas sales next year.

There is still a real concern this winter. If we experience another winter as cold as last year, our utilities could face a natural gas supply shortfall. Residential customers are prioritized, and we heard today that producers and utilities have options to strengthen winter supply. Those conversations need to happen now, not when temperatures are below zero.

Something that really stood out to me today is that we can’t ask companies to invest hundreds of millions of dollars developing Cook Inlet, drill more wells, and help solve our natural gas shortage while at the same time looking for ways to significantly increase their taxes. We need to understand how those decisions affect investment, production, and ultimately the energy bills Alaska families pay.

We may need imported LNG to get us through the next few years, but that cannot be the long-term answer for a state with the resources Alaska has.

This winter, Alaskans need reliability. For the future, we need resource development and affordable Alaska energy.

Please tune in to the joint meeting of the House and Senate Resources Committees today at 1:00 PM.We’ll hear updates on ...
09/10/2026

Please tune in to the joint meeting of the House and Senate Resources Committees today at 1:00 PM.

We’ll hear updates on Cook Inlet gas production from DNR, Hilcorp Alaska, HEX Energy, and Chugach Electric Association.

Watch live at AKL.tv

08/27/2026

Earlier this year, I introduced House Bill 318 to put safeguards in place to protect Alaska’s children from addictive social media features and give parents more control.

This week, Meta agreed to a landmark multistate settlement — including Alaska — over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that kept young users hooked.

Many of the safeguards in the settlement closely mirror what we proposed in HB 318: limits on addictive feeds and excessive use, restrictions on notifications during school and nighttime hours, stronger age verification, and better parental controls.

This settlement reinforces what parents and policymakers across the country have been saying: we need to take the impact of social media on our kids seriously.

Parents need better tools to protect their children, and social media companies should not be allowed to put profits and engagement ahead of the health, safety, and privacy of kids.

I’m encouraged to see these protections moving forward nationally, and I look forward to continuing this work for Alaska’s families.

https://law.alaska.gov/press/releases/2026/082626-BigTech.html

At some point, Alaska has to move from talking about our problems to actually doing something about them.We’re facing an...
08/13/2026

At some point, Alaska has to move from talking about our problems to actually doing something about them.

We’re facing an energy crisis in Southcentral, continued outmigration, and a need for good paying jobs and new economic opportunity.

AKLNG gives us an opportunity to change that.

This is a generational project with the potential to create thousands of jobs, attract tens of billions of dollars in private investment, provide long-term energy for Alaskans, and dramatically change Alaska’s economic outlook.

Yet we’re apparently prepared to let another special session expire without fully working the Governor’s gas line legislation.

I have a hard time reconciling that.

In July, I voted against a conference committee bill that had grown from 7 pages to 45 and included major changes to Alaska’s tax policy without adequate time, analysis, or public process.

My vote was not against AKLNG. I said then: Alaska needs a clean pipeline bill.

Now we have HB 4001 before us, and we’re being told “the votes aren’t there.”

Yesterday, I joined my House Minority colleagues in formally asking the Speaker to gavel us back in, hold the hearings, provide the Department of Revenue analysis, allow amendments, and bring the bill to a vote.

If the votes aren’t there, prove it on the floor.

Nobody can guarantee AKLNG reaches a Final Investment Decision. But this project will never get the chance to prove whether it’s viable if Alaska can’t provide the tax certainty necessary to attract private capital and move it forward.

We’re not being asked to guarantee this project succeeds.

We’re being asked to do our job so we can find out if it can succeed.

Maybe the bill passes. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe amendments make it better.

But a project that could change Alaska’s future for generations shouldn’t die in a press release.

Let’s do the work.

Let us vote.

Tomorrow morning, the Alaska Gasline Caucus will hear from local leaders, employers, and energy experts about what the A...
08/06/2026

Tomorrow morning, the Alaska Gasline Caucus will hear from local leaders, employers, and energy experts about what the Alaska Gasline Project could mean for our communities and our state.

If you have an interest in Alaska's energy future, I encourage you to tune in or stop by the meeting.

Thursday, August 6
9:00 AM

You can attend the meeting in-person at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office (1500 W. Benson Blvd.) or watch the meeting on Gavel Alaska. https://www.ktoo.org/gavel/

Over the past two years, I have consistently supported Alaska’s LNG project because I believe it represents one of the g...
07/18/2026

Over the past two years, I have consistently supported Alaska’s LNG project because I believe it represents one of the greatest opportunities our state has seen in decades.

This project has the potential to provide affordable natural gas for Alaskans, create thousands of good-paying jobs, strengthen our economy, and position Alaska as a global energy leader for generations to come.

That’s why Thursday’s vote was one of the hardest I’ve cast.

My vote was not against the pipeline.

It was against a conference committee report that expanded far beyond the pipeline itself.

The final version of HB 381 included major new tax policy, changes to municipal taxation, private business disclosure requirements, education funding provisions, and other policy issues that deserved their own hearings, their own debate, and their own vote. These are significant policy questions that should be considered openly—not attached to one of the largest infrastructure projects in our state’s history.

Alaska needs a clean pipeline bill, not an omnibus tax and policy package.

I’ve said from the beginning that Alaska needs a stable, predictable business environment if we’re going to attract tens of billions of dollars in private investment.

If we’re serious about building this pipeline, we should keep the legislation focused on building the pipeline.

We were standing on the right tracks. Unfortunately, the conference committee asked us to board the wrong train.

I remain optimistic about Alaska’s future and fully support getting this legislation across the finish line so developers can move this project forward. I hope the Legislature returns with a clean bill focused on affordable energy, jobs, and long-term opportunity for Alaskans.

This project is too important to fail because we tried to solve too many unrelated problems in a single bill. Let’s pass a pipeline bill—and build Alaska’s future.

Happy Fourth of July! Today we celebrate the freedom we’ve been blessed with and the people who have fought to protect i...
07/04/2026

Happy Fourth of July! Today we celebrate the freedom we’ve been blessed with and the people who have fought to protect it. Have a safe and wonderful Independence Day, and happy 250th, America!

Today, the House passed HB 381.For those of us on the Kenai Peninsula, we've seen firsthand what affordable and abundant...
06/12/2026

Today, the House passed HB 381.

For those of us on the Kenai Peninsula, we've seen firsthand what affordable and abundant energy can mean for our communities. We've also seen what happens when those opportunities disappear. We've seen industries close, good-paying jobs disappear, and families leave our communities looking for opportunities elsewhere.

This bill isn't a guarantee that the project moves forward. There are still steps ahead, including action in the Senate. But I believe it's worth making the effort to see if we can move this project forward in a way that benefits Alaska.

If we're successful, this project has the potential to provide affordable energy for Alaskans, strengthen our economy, create jobs, and support communities across the state. It could help preserve the industries we rely on and create opportunities for future generations.

I want to thank the members of the Resources Committee, the Finance Committee, and everyone involved for the amount of work that went into this bill. Regardless of where people landed on every piece of it, I appreciate the seriousness this body brought to the conversation and the effort that was put into trying to get this right.

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120 4th Street Office 422
Juneau, AK

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