AIDEA Reform Bill Introduced in Alaska Legislature
Written by Rebecca Noblin, Native Movement Policy Justice Lead
What is AIDEA and why does it need reform?
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) is a public corporation of the State of Alaska, created in 1967 by the Alaska Legislature “to increase job opportunities and otherwise to encourage the economic growth of the state, including the development of its natural resources, through the establishment and expansion of manufacturing, industrial, energy, export, small business, and business enterprises.” AIDEA’s structure as a separate, though public, corporation of the State of Alaska allows it to operate through its governor-appointed board, which interprets its own establishing legislation to require very little public or legislative oversight of its decisions.
AIDEA reported $1.4 billion in assets in both 2020 and 2021. AIDEA has its hands in multiple projects across Alaska that support the extractive economy, including the Ambler Access Road, the West Susitna Access Road, and Arctic Refuge oil and gas leases. AIDEA is also currently suing the federal government to protect its interest in the Arctic Refuge leases.
AIDEA lacks transparency and public involvement. It also lacks adequate legislative oversight. Moreover, its board members are appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the governor, making it susceptible to political whims. Among AIDEA’s transparency issues is its board’s penchant for holding meetings in executive session, which are not public under Alaska’s Open Meetings Act. In 2020 the AIDEA board spent 68 percent of its meeting time in executive sessions. This included meetings where AIDEA made decisions to expend substantial amounts of public money. AIDEA also does not give sufficient public notice for its meetings, often giving notice five days or fewer before important decisions, such as spending $35 million on the Ambler Access Road. AIDEA also insists that it does not need legislative approval for these major expenditures of public dollars.
What does the AIDEA Reform Bill do?
On January 18, Representative Andy Josephson introduced House Bill 271, a bill designed to address some of the problems with how AIDEA operates. HB 271 would do a number of things, including:
Requiring legislative confirmation of the five public members of the board and the Director;
Requiring the public members of the board to come from different sectors, including a Tribal government representative, a member with experience in socially responsible investing, and a member with experience in renewable energy project development;
Instituting staggered 4-year terms rather than allowing the board to serve “at the pleasure of the governor”;
Increasing scrutiny and stakeholder involvement in all AIDEA projects over $10 million;
Increasing the dividend AIDEA pays to the state from 25 to 50 percent to no less than 50 percent;
Requiring 30 days notice for change of regulations and requiring AIDEA to publish a written justification for any change to a regulation;
Requiring AIDEA allow all interested members of the public at least two minutes to comment on any decision and requiring production of a publicly available response to public comments before voting on any action;
Requiring the release of more information publicly; and
Requiring local consent for projects over $10 million and requiring the creation of Regional Resource Advisory Councils.
While this bill would represent a major improvement in how AIDEA operates, there’s more that needs to be done. We will be pushing legislators to amend the bill to require more public notice of meetings, longer comment periods, and restrictions on meeting in executive session, among other things.
How can Alaskans get involved?
Sign up to get updates on AIDEA Reform legislation and AIDEA board meetings at www.BadAIDEA.org! When legislative hearings are scheduled on the AIDEA Reform legislation, you can call in to testify in favor of the legislation and strengthening amendments. And you can also call into AIDEA board meetings to make your voice heard.