A Citizen’s Guide

The letter Gov. Frank Murkowski sent lawmakers on Tuesday night railed against the House for putting the oil tax rate at 23.5 percent with a 0.25 percent escalator at high oil prices.

Murkowski said any tax rate higher than his original 20 percent tax rate proposal could scuttle a deal with Exxon Mobil, BP and ConocoPhillips to recover the North Slope’s natural gas reserves.

Conspicuous in its absence, though, was any mention of the Senate’s version of the tax with a 22.5 percent base rate and a 0.1 percent escalator.

Has the governor agreed to support the Senate’s version?

Senate President Ben Stevens, R-Anchorage, has reportedly told House leadership that the Senate’s figures were a take-it-or-leave-it deal for the conference committee.

The line’s been drawn in the sand, at least by Stevens. The House so far is unwilling to cross that line, and the clock is ticking.