JUNEAU -- A state Senate committee on Friday agreed that the Alaska Supreme Court should be the first court to hear any legal challenge of a final contract to develop the North Slope's natural gas reserves.
But senators nixed a proposal by Gov. Frank Murkowski to cut in half the 120-day period allotted to bring an appeal once the contract is executed.
The bill, one of three introduced by Murkowski earlier this week, moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. It could be voted on as early as this afternoon on the Senate floor.
The three measures, being heard in House and Senate committees, are meant to smooth the way for ratification of a deal Murkowski has negotiated with three oil companies to move an estimated 4 billion cubic feet of stranded gas a day from the North Slope to markets in Canada and the Lower 48.
Jim Baldwin, counsel for the state attorney general's office, said bypassing the lower courts by giving the high court original jurisdiction would speed up the process.
He said shortening the time frame for a legal challenge also would help, especially in light of a provision in the draft contract that requires gas line partners to move forward with project planning for at least 15 months despite any legal challenge of the project.
"I'm sure they would like to see a lawsuit proceed as expeditiously as possible," he said. "It's a good-faith effort to try to and move the process along."
He said potential plaintiffs are likely to be sophisticated, well-funded and ready to file an appeal quickly.
But committee members said they aren't so sure. They pointed out that the average Alaskan would be struggling to understand the lengthy and complex contract.
"I'm concerned about unequal footing of the parties," said Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage. "On one side you've got Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, British Petroleum and the state against some citizen."
French said plaintiffs could end up being several state legislators and public interest groups.
The committee also added a provision to the bill that rearranges the steps toward finalizing a contract, allowing for the 120-day judicial review only after the Legislature has completed its own review of the commissioner of revenue's findings.
The committee did not act on a proposal by Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, to extend the public comment period from 45 to 90 days. Committee Chairman Ralph Seekins, R-Fairbanks, said the amendment would be considered in debate over another bill amending the state's Stranded Gas Development Act, the law by which Alaska officials can negotiate and ratify a contract on tax and royalty terms for recovering North Slope gas reserves.
The bills are House and Senate Bills 2002, 2003 and 2004.
