Comment Letter:
Support of HB110 - Reed Christensen, Dowland-Bach

March 24 Via email

Alaska State House of Representatives
Finance Committee

Dear Chairmen and Committee Members:

I am sending you this email to voice my support of HB110. I was at the public hearing on Monday, but I am unable to make the public hearing tonight. We desperately need to make the Alaskan oil & gas climate more competitive. HB110 is a step in the right direction. I personally think this bill does not go far enough, but it is a step in the right direction. I work for Dowland-Bach Corporation, a local manufacturing company that makes products such as well head safety systems, chemical injection skids, and electrical industrial control panels for use on the North Slope. Our business is down over 40% since ACES was passed and the alarming downward trends have the appearance of continuing. This is due in large part to the fiscal environment created by the ACES legislation. Companies can get a better return on their investment in other areas of the world besides Alaska. These companies are voting with their investment dollars and they are voting for these other venues. The project horizon on state lands in Alaska looks pretty bleak.

We need more private sector jobs and investment. We need more oil in the pipeline. We cannot afford to wait. Taking more money from the producers and putting the money into the state treasury does not help our economy in the long term. There is not a state savings account big enough to fill the void from a dead oil & gas industry. There are not enough people or jobs to be taxed to replace the revenue from the Pipeline.

The pipeline is 2/3 empty right now and continuing to decline. ACES is accelerating the decline and bringing the eventual shut-down date much closer. It needs to be fixed as soon as possible. The effects are already being felt and will continue to ripple throughout the state economy affecting other areas that currently seem to feel a false sense of security today. Areas such as state jobs, public services, education, charities, and construction just to name a few.

Please pass HB110 out of committee and lean on the Senate to help them feel the urgency to do something this session.

Sincerely,
Reed Christensen
Dowland-Bach Corporation

6130 Tuttle Place
Anchorage, AK 99507

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