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Greetings again from Juneau! After a four-day weekend for Easter, the Legislature is back in full swing. The major topic of discussion here continues to be how to close the fiscal gap without compromising essential state services. As always, your ideas and comments are welcome.
Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Moratorium
As of Wednesday, a new version of has been introduced. The new bill institutes a dual moratorium on both vessels and participants. In order to participate during the moratorium period, the fishing vessel must qualify and the interim-use permit holder must also qualify. This version addresses the concerns of many skippers who objected to a vessel-only moratorium because they felt it would put them on an uneven playing field with vessel owners.
Although the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have stated they prefer the vessel-only version, the new version seems to be a compromise that all sides can live with. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Ben Stevens, has said he will also support the changes.
The impetus for the groundfish moratorium stems from anticipated federal actions. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is currently considering options for rationalizing the federal groundfish fishery. Many fear that a flood of new participants will enter the state waters fishery once the federal fishery is rationalized. In order to protect Alaska's fisheries, state fisheries managers are recommending a temporary suspension of new entrants in the state fishery while they pursue a permanent solution.
The bill will have a final hearing in the House Fisheries Committee on Monday, April 19. It will then move to House Resources, followed by House Finance.
Education Funding Update
How to properly fund the state's public education system continues to be a hot topic this session. Legislators from both the House and the Senate are confident that Alaska's schools will see a funding increase of $84.5 million, but additional funding is still being debated.
The House has passed an education-funding package that includes an increase in the base student allocation from $4,010 to $4,588. The package is tied to $10 million in capital-improvement projects, which was critical in gaining bi-partisan support. The Senate passed a package, but it was different from the House version. A conference committee, consisting of members of the House and Senate, will now meet to work out a compromise that both bodies can agree upon. No date has yet been set for that committee.
On the Radar
Another piece of legislation that is gaining steam is . If approved by the legislature, this measure would place a question on November's ballot limiting appropriations from the Permanent Fund to five percent of the fund's average market value. This resolution would only permit money from the fund to be used for the costs of administering the fund, dividends, and public education. Please let me or my staff know what you think about the latest proposal to close the state's fiscal gap.
AP Teacher Grants
Applications for the Advanced Placement teacher grant must be received at the Department of Education and Early Development no later than April 19. The application is available at . The grant allows teachers to gain AP training at no cost through the Alaska AP Institute June 20-25 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For more information, contact Cecilia Miller at 465-8703.
Legislative News
The Juneau newspaper has created a website with stories about the 23rd Alaska State Legislature. This is an excellent resource if you are looking for stories on a specific subject, or just curious what has been going on this session. To access the website, go to .
Want to check on a bill?
All bills can be found on the Internet on the BASIS system. Anyone can find out a bill's status, including committee hearings, how legislators have voted on the bill, and you can view and print the bill's entire text. Access the system from
Visitors
It was our pleasure to welcome Jim and Vicki Ashford, Amy Willis, Sally Magnuson, Paul Buie and JoAnn Costello to our Juneau office recently. If you have a spring trip to Juneau planned, please stop by and visit us.
And remember, my ears and door are always open to you.
Dan Ogg
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