Alaska Supreme Court rules bonding plan is unconstitutional

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Sunday, September 6th, 2020 8:25am

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court has rejected as unconstitutional former Gov. Bill Walker’s proposal to use bonding to pay Alaska’s oil and gas tax credit obligations.

The court, in a written ruling released Friday, said the plan, approved by the Legislature in 2018, is “unconstitutional in its entirety.”

The bill passed by lawmakers approved the creation of a new state corporation that would be empowered to sell up to $1 billion in bonds to pay off remaining tax credit obligations.

The Legislature previously voted to end the tax credit program geared toward small producers and developers, arguing the program had become unaffordable.

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