Associated Press
The Senate Finance Committee authorized spending up to $200,000 on a study of oil and gas employment on Alaska’s North Slope.
Committee co-chair Bert Stedman says the study is to sort out conflicting jobs data lawmakers received during the debate on oil production taxes.
Oil Industry representatives told legislative committees that Alaska was losing oil field jobs to North Dakota. But the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Click Bishop, said oil industry jobs are near record high levels, but a higher percentage of jobs are going to out-of-state workers.
The proposed tax stalled in the Senate with leaders saying they did not have the information needed to make a sound decision.
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