Legislation Alaska

Regulatory reforms inspired by last spring's Exxon Valdez disaster are being frustrated by what supporters attribute to unprecedented oil industry lobbying, and some Alaskan officials say their state may never take the steps necessary to prevent a repeat of that massive oil spill. Of nine major oil-related reform bills introduced in the state Legislature after the supertanker Exxon Valdez spilled 10.

The House approved a $1-a-pack tax on cigarettes--the nation's highest--as part of an effort to price children out of the tobacco market. The bill, which passed 22-18, would nearly quadruple the state's 29-cent tax on cigarettes and triple the tax on cigars and other tobacco products. The increase would push the cost of a pack of cigarettes to about $3. The bill, which has already been approved by the Senate, is still subject to a second House vote.

The Alaska Legislature passed two restrictive abortion bills, overriding vetoes by Gov. Tony Knowles. The new laws now face likely court challenges by abortion-rights activists. Both vetoes were overridden 40-19, the exact two-thirds vote Republican leaders needed to overturn the Democratic governor's action. One of the new laws requires pregnant teens 16 and younger to get a parent's or judge's permission for an abortion.

The Alaska Legislature passed two restrictive abortion bills, overriding vetoes by Gov. Tony Knowles. The new laws now face likely court challenges by abortion-rights activists. Both vetoes were overridden 40-19, the exact two-thirds vote Republican leaders needed to overturn the Democratic governor's action. One of the new laws requires pregnant teens 16 and younger to get a parent's or judge's permission for an abortion.

Amid heavy lobbying from the oil industry, a package of reforms to prevent a repeat of the Exxon Valdez oil spill took a battering in the final hours of Alaska's legislative session that ended early Wednesday. As legislators at the state Capitol in Juneau adjourned for the year, a collection of bills emerged that Gov. Steve Cowper and other state officials said will make another massive oil spill in Alaska waters less likely.

On one hand, Alaska is fighting a lawsuit by Philip Morris Inc. and other tobacco companies and debating a big increase in cigarette taxes to reduce smoking. On the other, the state's $20-billion oil nest egg, the Alaska Permanent Fund, has made millions investing in Philip Morris stock. And tobacco industry critics are questioning the Philip Morris investment, the Permanent Fund's biggest stock holding.

Is it too soon to worry about the equivalent of a "Keating Five" blight on the tender flower of democracy in Eastern Europe? Not for attorney Michael Josephson. Josephson believes governments emerging from communism's collapse could fritter away moral capital on scandals analogous to the savings and loan fiasco that has enveloped five U.S. Senators.

Gov. Walter J. Hickel has signed a bill allowing Alaska residents to carry concealed handguns, saying he weighed the concerns of police with those of citizens who want to protect themselves from criminals. "Those that impressed me the most were the women who called and said they worked late and had to cross dark parking lots, and why couldn't they carry a concealed gun?" Hickel said from Fairbanks, where he signed the bill Friday.

Nearly three years after America's worst oil spill--and oil industry pledges to be better prepared if it happens again--the industry is pushing state legislation to sharply limit its liability in cleaning up accidents. Critics, including commercial fishermen and environmentalists, are calling the measure a giveaway that could make it difficult for the state and federal governments to make companies abide by spill contingency plans.

The House approved a $1-a-pack tax on cigarettes--the nation's highest--as part of an effort to price children out of the tobacco market. The bill, which passed 22-18, would nearly quadruple the state's 29-cent tax on cigarettes and triple the tax on cigars and other tobacco products. The increase would push the cost of a pack of cigarettes to about $3. The bill, which has already been approved by the Senate, is still subject to a second House vote.

On one hand, Alaska is fighting a lawsuit by Philip Morris Inc. and other tobacco companies and debating a big increase in cigarette taxes to reduce smoking. On the other, the state's $20-billion oil nest egg, the Alaska Permanent Fund, has made millions investing in Philip Morris stock. And tobacco industry critics are questioning the Philip Morris investment, the Permanent Fund's biggest stock holding.

Gov. Walter J. Hickel has signed a bill allowing Alaska residents to carry concealed handguns, saying he weighed the concerns of police with those of citizens who want to protect themselves from criminals. "Those that impressed me the most were the women who called and said they worked late and had to cross dark parking lots, and why couldn't they carry a concealed gun?" Hickel said from Fairbanks, where he signed the bill Friday.

Nearly three years after America's worst oil spill--and oil industry pledges to be better prepared if it happens again--the industry is pushing state legislation to sharply limit its liability in cleaning up accidents. Critics, including commercial fishermen and environmentalists, are calling the measure a giveaway that could make it difficult for the state and federal governments to make companies abide by spill contingency plans.

Is it too soon to worry about the equivalent of a "Keating Five" blight on the tender flower of democracy in Eastern Europe? Not for attorney Michael Josephson. Josephson believes governments emerging from communism's collapse could fritter away moral capital on scandals analogous to the savings and loan fiasco that has enveloped five U.S. Senators.

Amid heavy lobbying from the oil industry, a package of reforms to prevent a repeat of the Exxon Valdez oil spill took a battering in the final hours of Alaska's legislative session that ended early Wednesday. As legislators at the state Capitol in Juneau adjourned for the year, a collection of bills emerged that Gov. Steve Cowper and other state officials said will make another massive oil spill in Alaska waters less likely.

Regulatory reforms inspired by last spring's Exxon Valdez disaster are being frustrated by what supporters attribute to unprecedented oil industry lobbying, and some Alaskan officials say their state may never take the steps necessary to prevent a repeat of that massive oil spill. Of nine major oil-related reform bills introduced in the state Legislature after the supertanker Exxon Valdez spilled 10.

An 11th-hour maneuver by House Democrats to amend the omnibus trade bill fizzled in the Senate Tuesday, thereby setting the stage for a veto battle over the bill next week. The House leadership last week pushed through a "technical amendment" to the already completed bill that would have stripped from it a controversial provision limiting exports of Alaskan oil products.

Exxon Corp. will have to lay out less than half the $1.125 billion it agreed to pay in an out-of-court settlement with Alaska and the federal government over environmental damage from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, according to an Alaskan legislative study. Tax benefits and the fact that Exxon will pay the bulk of the settlement--the $900-million civil portion--over 10 years are the reasons for the lower real cost, according to the study.