Attorney Samuel Laffey outlines assessment‑board role in oil and gas valuation appeals at confirmation hearing

Samuel Laffey, nominated to the State Assessment Review Board, appeared before the House Resources Committee on March 17 to describe the board’s role in oil and gas and pipeline property assessment appeals and to explain how his legal training would prepare him for the work.

Laffey, an attorney with the Office of Public Advocacy in Anchorage, said most of the assessment disputes he had observed arise from North Slope property valuations and occasional Cook Inlet issues. He told the committee the board’s work is less about negotiating settlements and more about deciding, based on statute, case law and evidence, whether the Department of Revenue’s assessed values are correct and, if not, what the proper assessment should be.

On his qualifications, Laffey described a joint JD/MBA program and experience reading and processing large volumes of documents, conducting witness questioning and interpreting statutes and regulations. He said those skills are directly applicable to appellate‑style hearings the Assessment Review Board conducts.

Representative Fields asked whether it was normal for an attorney with largely family‑law experience to serve on the board. Laffey said he had some prior exposure to natural‑resources matters in his MBA and earlier work in American Samoa and that he felt qualified but acknowledged the committee must decide.

Ending: The committee set the appointment aside. Laffey said he is prepared to apply his legal analysis and document‑management experience to appeals about assessment valuations.