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What's Happening This Week
Things have really gotten busy with only a week left in the session. The capital budget has not yet come over from the Senate. There is a lot of jockeying to get bills scheduled for committee hearings and for floor sessions. School money, taxes, and spending reduction bills seem to have the most priority.
Since the Governor has said he will veto an income tax, the sales tax is the only vehicle up for discussion to close the budget gap. I worked hard to get the proposed 3% sales tax structured so it would not interfere with the local sales tax exemptions and caps - at least the next two years. No one yet knows if there is enough support to pass the final proposal.
Tustumena Back Online
Last week the M/V Tustumena returned to Seldovia on its first regularly scheduled run after spending the winter dry-docked for repairs and upgrades. The ship's new vehicle lift has been plagued with problems and has caused major delays.
The M/V Kennicott was filling in for the Tustumena, but had to return to its regular Southeast summer schedule. The Kennicott is the only other ferry that can accommodate the Tustumena's route. Unfortunately, not all the bugs were worked out of the Tusty's new vehicle elevator and it broke down again while unloading a car in Seldovia. Our office has been working with the citizens of Seldovia and the folks at the A.M.H.S. to try and fix this problem as quickly as possible with as little inconvenience to those affected as possible. By the time you receive this newsletter, the ferry should be back in service. They anticipate a 2pm departure from Homer (where the repairs are taking place) on May 11th.
If you or your vehicle were on board the Tustumena and experienced a financial loss due to the ferry delay, please contact our office at 1-800-665-2689 or the Seldovia City Treasurer at 234-7643 for the Reimbursement Request Form.
Personal Legislation
I have introduced four bills this session. All four are moving quickly and you will find the bills listed below.
, establishing the Homer Mercury Classic, was heard and passed out of the House Finance Committee this past week. It was heard on the House Floor the next day and passed the House unanimously. Hopefully it will continue to move as quickly on the Senate side.
, offering protection to healthcare providers volunteering their services, has passed out of the House Labor and Commerce and Judiciary Committees with minor clarifying amendments. We are waiting to have HB 260 scheduled on the House Floor this week.
, a bill that I introduced to provide generic drug labeling on brand-named prescriptions, passed on to the Senate Rules Committee. The bill is waiting for scheduling on the Senate Floor. We are hopeful that this bill will pass this session and be enacted into law.
is the fish transporter bill that I introduced. It is also waiting to be scheduled on the Senate Floor. The bill would help fishermen aggregate their catch and transport their catch to market. I hope we can quickly get this bill into law so it will be available during this year's commercial fishing season.
Other Legislation of Interest
eliminates the ability to recover costs associated with public interest litigants. Currently, lawyer costs can be repaid to public interest litigants if the litigants are determined to be fighting for the welfare of the general public and are the prevailing party. Without the ability to recoup costs, public interest litigants would not be as able to defend the public welfare from state or corporate interests. I don't support the bill and I will vote against it on the House Floor.
Adult Public Assistance
The office has received a couple of inquiries relating to eligibility for Adult Public Assistance, especially from older folks who are concerned about supplementing their income if they are no longer eligible to receive the Longevity Bonus. The are available on my website at Many senior citizens do not realize that they may already qualify for this assistance.
Please contact our office or your local Division of Public Assistance for an application, or you can download one online at:
House Bills Passed on the House Floor This Week
makes Peace Corps volunteers once again eligible to receive the Permanent Fund Dividend.
recognizes the importance of maintaining and restoring healthy riparian fish habitats and encourages community involvement to preserve rivers, lakes, and streams around the state.
allows health insurance companies to offer individual health care plans that do not contain some state mandated coverage. This should allow for less expensive policies to be available. For example, seniors who do not need pregnancy or drug abuse treatment would not have to pay for that coverage.
brings the state of Alaska's definition of organic agricultural products in line with the federal definition.
modifies the construction claims process so that both contractors and the State of Alaska can expect a more judicious process and speedy settlement of claims.
allows the Dept. of Fish and Game, the Board of Fisheries, or the Board of Game to enter into management agreements with federal agencies; however, these agreements cannot give state authority to a federal agency.
establishes the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board under the Dept. of Public Safety.
offers a simple, yet detailed list of requests for terminally ill patients. The list is an alternative to Alaska's current power of attorney that exists for health care services and directives for the terminally ill.
sets basic standards and requirements for the clean-up and repair of former drug lab sites
establishes a nine-member Alaska Energy Policy Task Force to review and analyze the state's current and long-term energy needs.
amends the one percent for art provision of the Art in Public Places program. It sets aside for art one-percent of the first $10 million of construction costs paid for with state funds. Above $10 million, the percentage is reduced to one-half a percent for art. The bill maintains the current percentage for rural areas. It also establishes a public art maintenance fund.
allows any chapter of the Kenai Peninsula Boys and Girls Club to implement and operate the "Homer Mercury Classic." This is similar to an Ice Classic. Please read above for more information.
The Senate is also passing out a number of House Bills as the session winds down. We include bills passed by the House in the newsletter; otherwise listing both Senate and House bills would require too much space. Remember, you can always check a bill's status on BASIS from the link at the bottom of the newsletter.
Fisheries Committee
The Fisheries Committee did not meet this week. We are waiting for new bills to be referred to the committee for review.
State Affairs Committee
Last week, we passed a number of bills out of the State Affairs Committee. We passed rewriting APOC and the regulation requirements for lobbyists and campaign contributions. In most situations, we returned all of the proposed increases to the original amounts. The original version of the bill raised all contribution limits excessively; the committee substitute that passed from State Affairs was a much-improved bill. We also eliminated political contributions from a lobbyist to political candidates residing outside their own district.
The committee passed a few other bills in the past week, including: - National Wheelchair Games, - political signs on private property, - Alaska & Yukon Intergovernmental Relations Accord, all passed from committee along with a few other bills. We will be working quickly to close out the committee as session winds down.
We also passed , which expresses concerns about the US Patriot Act and its impact on our constitutional rights.
Education Committee
As you might imagine, the pace around the Capitol Building has increased significantly in recent days. It has been difficult to get all the Education Committee members together for a meeting in light of extended floor sessions, caucus and extra meetings in other committees. So, we did not get a chance to meet last week.
HESS Committee Action
We heard and passed , which establishes a program to screen newborns for hearing loss. Under this program all children will be tested within 30 days of being born, unless the parent refuses. If the child is found to have compromised hearing, the department will assist the parents in early intervention and treatment programs. Hearing loss can be a difficult disability to treat if not caught at an early age. This should be a valuable program and it will probably save the State money that would normally be spent helping these children later in life.
would bring back Alaskan residents outside the State who are hospitalized for psychiatric reasons and under the age of 21.
Before kids can be sent out of state, the department must certify that in-state facilities are not available to handle their case. It would be beneficial to bring these kids back to Alaska where they can be close to families and therefore rehabilitate more quickly. SB 157 would also create about 400 new jobs within the State and generate revenue from hospitalizing these patients in Alaskan facilities.
is Rep. Dahlstrom's Informed Consent for Abortion. I introduced a series of amendments. I want to make sure that the information women receive before terminating their pregnancy is unbiased and objective. I also want to guarantee a woman's total privacy and to also insure protection from unnecessary litigation for doctors, who perform the procedures. A woman's constitutional right to an abortion cannot be restricted by the State and the HESS committee is working with the sponsor to lower the 24-hour waiting period proposed in the original bill. We will probably take up HB 292 again this week.
Bill Access System
All bills can be found on the State’s BASIS system. You can see what committee a bill is in, when it will be heard, how
committee members voted, and much more. You will find the system to be accessible at the website below.
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/start.asp
Live on the Web
Remember that you can hear just about any committee hearing or tune into just about any legislative session-present or past-by going to Gavel to Gavel, public radio and tv’s broadcast of the state legislature as it occurs. Click on the link below to connect to Gavel to Gavel.
http://www.ktoo.org/gavel/schedule.cfm.
Contact Staff
If you need to contact the staff please click below:
Lauren Radcliffe,
Cameron Yourkowski,
Chris Knight,
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