Wednesday was the last day of the Alaska state legislature’s regular session, but Governor Dunleavy has called a special session to continue pushing tax cuts for a massive new pipeline.

Earlier this week, Dunleavy held a historic pension bill hostage, threatening to veto it unless the legislature passed tax cuts for the pipeline. Dunleavy put the well-being of workers on the line, playing games with the lives of hardworking Alaskans.

This is consistent with Dunleavy’s actions throughout the session. After last year’s veto of education funding, which the legislature successfully overrode, he approached this year with even less willingness to negotiate.

Legislators worked hard to pass a historic elections bill, working across party lines to create a policy that would benefit all Alaskans. Ultimately, the Governor vetoed the commonsense bill that had broad bipartisan support, only to immediately introduce his own version with many similar provisions.

We were grateful for the leadership of Senator Tobin on a strong data center bill requiring community benefit agreements, which passed the Senate and had its first hearing in the House on Monday. This bill would have created strong consumer protections for Alaskans, but unfortunately, it did not make it to the House floor in time this year. The Alaska Center is concerned about environmental and water impacts of data center development in our state, and authored a whitepaper earlier this year.

Ultimately, the legislature did not pass tax cuts for the pipeline in their final days, as negotiations broke down over specific amendments. Governor Dunleavy then vetoed the pension bill as he threatened to do, and a special session started the following day. The full legislative bodies will reconvene on the floor on June 4.

Not every Alaskan supports a gas line. And no Alaskans support giving away our resources for the benefit of the ultra-rich. This mega-project would have massive carbon impacts, endangering future generations. We must continue to make our voices heard throughout this special session and make sure that elected leaders hear from constituents, and not just oil and gas lobbyists.

We are facing generational challenges in our state, and Alaskans need elected leadership prepared to meet this moment. State elections are just around the corner. We invite you to stay engaged and join us, so that the next legislature is poised to work with our next administration for the good of Alaskans.