It was a good day for Tesoro and their employees as Governor Sean Parnell accompanied by commissioners and local legislators and officials attended a bill signing ceremony at the Tesoro Nikiski refinery. “It was a pretty important day for the Tesoro refinery here in Nikiski as it was the day I signed the bill that extended the royalty contract with Tesoro, meaning that they can buy royalty oil from state for an additional year which keeps people on the Peninsula employed and keeps us producing Alaskan oil for Alaskans as well as providing corporate income tax incentives to encourage our refiners who want to invest more in infrastructure do so which will expand our refining by the in-state industry and create more jobs for Alaskans,” explained Parnell.

The Governor was able to get a first-hand look at such an investment at the Tesoro refinery when he toured the $15 million dollar control room project that was completed one year ago. “It was a joy to see Peninsula employees working more closely together, more efficiently and most importantly more safely, it’s a plus for everybody,” he said.

While on the Peninsula the Governor also signed legislation that made amendments to the Pick Click Give program that allows all Alaskans an opportunity to support their favorite non-profit organization by donating a portion of the permanent fund dividend on line when applying, “HB 75 introduced by Rep. Paul Seaton from Homer and makes sure that our small non-profits in the state can participate in Pick Click Give but not have to suffer through expensive audits that actually cost more than the contributions they were getting. So it makes our ability as citizens to contribute even easier,” said Parnell. He said that getting out into the community to sign bills is something that governors have done for decades and allows people to glean a better understanding of how the bills will affect the local communities, “It also is a chance for me to get connected on issues that I wouldn’t otherwise hear about or see first-hand and that’s very valuable to me as Governor,” said Parnell. The Governor also visited the Snowshoe Gun Club where he signed a bill that encourages big game hunting with children. The bill allows the Alaska Board of Game to establish annual seasons when only youth ages 8-17 may take big game with their resident parents, grandparents or legal guardians. One of the sponsors of the bill was Sen. Peter Micciche.