The Institute of the North has been planning the policy trip, intended to give lawmakers, community and economic development officials, a researcher and others a firsthand look at how Norway -- a country that it says is like Alaska in several important ways -- addresses energy and economic development issues.
The institute's managing director, Nils Andreassen, said Monday the group included about 30 people and attendees had planned to start leaving as early as Friday for the week-long trip.
But he said that after discussion with the group, the decision was made to postpone. He said it was important to the institute that it not set any artificial time lines by which lawmakers needed to be done with their special session work to make the trip.
House Majority Leader Alan Austerman, who was among those who'd planned to attend, said he wouldn't have signed off on representatives leaving the special session for the trip. He said he's not sure whether he'll attend the future trip.
Andreassen said he hopes to reschedule the invitation-only trip within the next three months.
The lawmakers who had been scheduled to attend ranged from legislative leaders to members of various House and Senate committees -- finance, energy, budget, audit and resources.
Pam Varni, executive director of the Legislative Affairs Agency, said the state would have paid for the 14 lawmakers to go. Andreassen said the cost to attend is $4,280, which includes hotel, ground transportation, in-country flight and some meal costs. He also anticipated out-of-pocket costs, like food.
Sen. Joe Thomas, D-Fairbanks, has a long list of questions to which he'd like answers, such as learning how Norway settled on its current oil and gas tax rate; what caused the country to start its own oil company; and its "massive" use of hydroelectric power, at time when Alaska is exploring a possible major hydro project of its own on the Susitna River.
He believes Alaska can learn, and perhaps apply, a lot from Norway. He'd like to see a written report detailing the findings after the trip.
Dirk Craft, chief of staff to freshman Rep. Lance Pruitt, co-chair of the House Special Committee on Energy, said Pruitt had been trying to cancel his participation. Craft said it didn't fit with Pruitt's work schedule and that Pruitt didn't plan to attend a later trip.
The Legislature went into special session April 18, the day after the 90-day regular session ended in gridlock over the state capital budget.
Andreassen dismissed any suggestion that the trip was a junket. The itinerary showed 11-hour days, or longer, including meals and travel. It listed meetings with the U.S. ambassador to Norway as well as a slate of government officials, plus tours of natural gas and tidal energy facilities and a visit to the Norwegian Polar Research Institute.
"This isn't fun," Andreassen said. "It's work."
Andreassen said Norway was raised as a model worth exploring during the institute's Alaska Dialogue series. The policy tour was intended to show Alaska leaders how Norway approaches issues related to the Arctic, renewable and other energy sources and its sovereign wealth fund.
The institute had asked attendees to plan to attend a forum to discuss what they'd learned later this year.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.