Alaska

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said he will not introduce a bill to impose a property tax on natural gas leases in major reserve areas after receiving written assurances from two industry giants that they will make available their share of Alaska’s North Slope gas to a future gas pipeline project.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker Announced this week that he is allowing the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to spend up to $3.6 million, which had already been appropriated, to continue early work on a proposed bond-financed road project.

Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming are the states most "in the crosshairs" as energy revenues look to remain low well into next year, Fitch Ratings said.

Royal Dutch Shell's decision to walk away from its unsuccessful drilling efforts in the Alaskan Arctic is credit negative for Alaska, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.

Facing a $3.5 billion deficit, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker is calling the state's legislature into special session Oct. 24 to discuss measures to monetize Alaska's untapped natural gas resources.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker is pushing to use the Alaska Permanent Fund, traditionally used for payouts to Alaska citizens, to help close the state's budget gap.

Of the 18 states with increasing poverty rates, all but three experienced increases in median household income.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker announced this week that he convened a meeting of the state's business leaders to discuss Alaska's fiscal future and how to reduce its multi-billion dollar budget deficit.

The oil and gas industry is pressing Congress to permit exports of crude as prices remain at the lowest since the 2008 global financial crisis. The campaign comes as Houston and other energy dependent credits face growing pain from the falling prices, according to Fitch Ratings.

Far West issuers sold $48.3 billion of municipal bonds in the first half of 2015, a 70% increase from the first six months of 2014 that was driven by refundings.

Standard & Poor’s put triple-A rated Alaska on negative outlook and warned that it might no longer warrant the highest rating if the state’s lawmakers fail to fix its structural budget imbalance.

Alaska and California issuers are among those at risk of downgrades after U.S. oil prices tumbled this week, Fitch Ratings said Tuesday.

CIVICVentures, an Alaska non-profit, is selling $90 million of tax-exempt refunding bonds next week on behalf of Anchorage.

The Environmental Protection Agency has given Alaska a temporary pass on the EPA's latest carbon emissions rules because of the state's unique energy infrastructure challenges, a decision praised by the governor.

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is going to sell $67 million of bonds to refund debt it used to purchase a hydroelectric plant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Alaska legislature passed a budget that avoided a possible government shutdown next month, though the state still faces a major shortfall and will need to take action if oil revenues do not improve.

The Alaska Railroad Corp. received a one-notch downgrade to A from Standard & Poor’s on capital grant receipts bonds while Moody’s Investors Service affirmed its A3 rating ahead of plans to price $96.6 million on July 21.

Anchorage, Alaska, voters have approved $59.25 million of bonds to expand and refurbish several elementary schools.

Ports on the West Coast are recovering from the cargo backup that developed during a recent labor dispute and are turning their attention to long-term strategic threats from ports in other regions.

Tax revenue in the top oil producing states has fallen sharply, dropping by 40% in Texas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.