An Act excluding buildings used primarily for office space from the Housing Project and Public Building Assistance Act, restricting state ownership of buildings used primarily for office space, and providing for the disposal of state ownership interests in certain state buildings used primarily for office space; and providing for an effective date.

Updated: March 5, 1999

The number one goal of this bill is for Alaska to maintain its public facilities! It's time we stopped being embarrassed by deteriorating, decaying, dilapidated buildings.

This bill is actually "Plan B." I would prefer the approach in my HB 112 which would establish the Alaska public building fund as a special account in the general fund and create an agreement whereby the occupants of state-owned buildings would pay "rent" into this fund to help pay maintenance costs. If HB 112 doesn't pass, I would like to see HB 122 instigated.

HB 122 would require the State to sell its office buildings and "rent" them back where needed, thus putting these buildings back on local tax rolls and saving the State the expense of maintaining them.

Either of these bills would fulfill my goal: If Alaska can't maintain it's public buildings, we should sell them. If we own them, we should maintain them. It's time we quit embarrassing ourselves by trying to have it both ways.