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House Republican leaders are backing off plans to have an early vote on TransCanada Corp.'s natural gas pipeline plans, pushing a final vote on the state license for the project even closer to the Aug. 2 deadline.

House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, had earlier said he hoped to have a vote before many legislators left Wednesday for a Council of State Legislatures conference in Anchorage.

This weekend, when that looked like it was not going to happen, House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, sent Harris a letter asking for a final vote by Tuesday.

"My caucus is united in wanting a vote by the 15th," she said.

House Rules Committee Chairman Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, said he'd hoped for an earlier vote as well, but that now does not appear possible.

"It was not meant to be this way," he said. "We were hoping to get a vote before this Council of State Governments thing."

The Legislature is currently considering awarding TransCanada a license that would provide the Calgary, Alberta, company with a $500 million subsidy, in exchange for developing an independent pipeline for Alaska.

The state's big oil producers, led by ConocoPhillips and BP, which are developing their own pipeline, have fought the efforts of Gov. Sarah Palin to seek a pipeline under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.

Legislative rules require multiple readings of bills on different days, making it difficult to hold a vote before many members leave for the conference, Coghill said. He said he expects a vote soon after they return on the 20th.

Kerttula said she wanted a vote more quickly, and the testimony now being presented was "becoming repetitive."

"I haven't heard much of anything new in weeks," said Rep. Lindsey Holmes, D-Anchorage.

Coghill called the call for an early vote "disingenuous," saying some of those seeking an early vote have themselves extended the process by asking for additional topics to be discussed.

Kerttula said she had hoped to have a floor vote before the conference began so the House could send the TransCanada bill to the Senate and begin work on energy legislation, the other topic of the special session.

Complicating the issue is that two additional conferences that many legislators want to attend follow the Anchorage conference.

Coghill said those aren't as important as the Anchorage one, which the Alaska Legislature itself requested to host nearly two years ago, and which was scheduled before the special session was called.

That didn't sway Rep. Mike Doogan, D-Anchorage.

"If you actually believe this is the most important vote we're going to take in 40 years, taking a four-day break to go rub elbows with other legislators is a mistake," he said.

Coghill said as the host, Alaska legislators need to be there.

"We as legislators are kind of on the hook for that," he said.

"If it were anywhere else I'd say, 'No, this is not more important,'" he said.