Convenes

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appears poised to call a special session of the legislature in mid-December to discuss, and hopefully pass, a compromise Marcellus Shale regulatory reform bill.

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell on Thursday certified Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) the winner of the Nov. 2 election, clearing the way for her to be seated with the 112th Congress, which convenes Wednesday. But Republican Joe Miller hasn’t exactly given up the fight. He said he planned to hold a news conference on New Year’s day to discuss his next legal steps. Miller, an attorney who was backed by former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is challenging the votes that were counted in Murkowski’s favor despite the misspelling of her name. Write-in candidate Murkowski declared victory in late November with a more than 10,000-vote lead over Miller, of which more than 8,000 ballots were challenged by the Miller camp (see NGI, Nov. 22, 2010).

The Democratic-controlled House, when it convenes Thursday, is expected to hit the ground running with several measures that have oil and natural gas producers, particularly independents, worried.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week urged FERC to move forward expeditiously with resolving cases pending at the federal agency related to refunds due to the state from electricity overcharges during California’s electricity crisis in 2000-2001.