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HOMER AREA VISIT
As most of you are probably aware, Senator Gary Stevens and I are in District 35 for the next few days. I hope to see you while I’m home. Please call my
office or the Homer LIO if you’re interested in visiting with me while I’m in Homer and would like a copy of my schedule.
HB 437-ATTENDANCE STATUS OF SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN
Many of you have contacted my office about this bill for tracking school students. I want you to know that I do not support this bill in its current form.
Representative Chenault is the sponsor of HB 437 and has informed me that he is reworking the bill to address public concerns. I appreciate all your
comments and I hope you will let me know your feelings about the new version of the bill once it is released. I will update you on HB 437 in next week’s
newsletter.
SHALLOW NATURAL GAS LEGISLATION UPDATES
SB 312- This bill ends the controversial shallow natural gas lease program and replaces it with a “gas only” leasing program that requires a
best-interest-finding, public notice and a public comment review process. I am very supportive of this bill and commend Senator Ogan for introducing it.
SB 312 will have its first hearing on Monday the 23rd at 3:30 pm in the Senate Resources Committee. HB 364- Homer Shallow Natural Gas Leases. As I
indicated in the last newsletter, the Sponsor Substitute of HB 364 preempts the re-issuance of the Homer area shallow natural gas leases if the leases are not
proven economically viable by the end of their three-year term. This is a much less expensive and more politically feasible way of reaching the goal of a
buyback. I have replaced the SNG lease buy-back bill with this new version; it now awaits a hearing in the House Oil and Gas Committee. HB 395 is
sponsored by Representatives Harris, Stotze, Gatto, and myself and addresses many of the specific grievances surrounding the shallow natural gas leasing
program (public notice, bonding, water quality assurances, local ordinances). This bill has been rescheduled several times due to the Chairman’s illness, but
is now due for a hearing on Tuesday the 24th, at 3:15pm in the House Oil and Gas Committee.
EDUCATION FUNDING
The House Special Committee on Education passed HB 471 last week. This bill increases the Base Student Allocation by $210. This amounts to a $42.5
million dollar total increase in education funding. HB 471 also includes a provision that would increase the base student allocation by 2% each year. I am
supportive of the concept of keeping education funding apace with the cost of providing it, however, I have some reservations about this particular 2% a
year provision. I am concerned that it will cause fewer legislators to support this important legislation to increase education funding, and I am worried that
the provision may set a dollar amount that will not provide an adequate annual funding increase in future years. Thank you all for the many phone calls and
emails I have received supporting education funding; I appreciate your thoughtful suggestions.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
HB 390—Allows schools to adjust the timing of their school year to best-fit local needs. Current statute requires a 180-day school year. This bill would
allow a district to provide an equal number of instruction hours within a four-day school week, for example. Schools could potentially save money and
provide better teacher/pupil ratios by adjusting their school year. HB 390 was passed out of committee. HB 338—Currently children must turn 5 by
August 15th in order to attend kindergarten, this bill will change that date to September 1st to better coordinate with the start of the school year and other
state’s requirements. We also moved HB 338 from Committee.
SB 63- MUNICIPAL ANNEXATIONS AND DETACHMENTS
The House Community and Regional Affairs (C&RA) Committee passed SB 63; this bill was introduced as a result of the recent Homer annexation. SB 63
sets out a framework that municipalities must follow when collecting property taxes on newly incorporated or annexed areas. The bill spent some time in the
C&RA Committee due to concerns over an amendment proposed by the Local Boundary Commission. Mary Griswold of Homer has been following this
bill since its introduction last year and asked for my help in getting the bill moving again. My office responded by working with the Local Boundary
Commission, the bill's sponsor and the House C&RA Committee to create a fair compromise. SB 63 is now headed to the House Floor for a vote.
HOUSE FISHERIES COMMITTEE
HB 409—This bill lifts the statutory limit of 58-feet placed on seine vessels and leaves it up to the Board of Fish to make the decision administratively at the
district level. We took out the 2/3rd’s vote provision as well as the grandfather clause and then passed the bill out of Committee. HB 415 would take away
the Board of Fish’s authority to limit salmon fishermen from fishing in one salmon administrative district per year. Although this concept may have merits, I
become philosophically concerned when the legislature, which has much less time and expertise, takes away management discretion from the Board of Fish.
Furthermore, the Board of Fish could already lift this regulation if petitioned and subsequently found it to be in the best interest of the fisheries involved.
We held HB 415 over for further testimony. HB 444—Corrects unfair tax measures placed upon direct market fishermen. The current tax laws levy the
tax on the value of the semi-processed product direct marketers produce. This law creates a disincentive for adding value to Alaska’s fisheries resources.
This bill has wide support and will be heard again this week. We also plan to hear HB 415 again this week, as well as HJR 36 and HB 478. HB 478 is a
technical bill requested by the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. HJR 36 is a resolution asking the National Park Service to mitigate the adverse
effects the Glacier Bay management program has on local fishermen.
HB 260- IMMUNITY FOR PROVIDING FREE HEALTH CARE
HB 260 is the bill I sponsored to promote volunteerism among healthcare providers. It is scheduled in its last committee of referral (Senate Judiciary) on
Wednesday the 25th of February.
STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
HB 327 allows for teachers and superintendents to retire three years early if future retirees pay into the system. If a school district chooses to opt into this
Retirement Incentive Program, the district is then responsible for putting matching dollars into the retiree’s retirement benefits. We decided to move the bill
on to the Finance Committee where detailed budget discussions normally occur. HB 319, the remote cabin sites bill, moved from Committee. The bill still
has logistical problems regarding implementation and was amended a number of times. We moved HB 319 from Committee; it now goes to the Resources
Committee. The remaining Department of Natural Resources land issues will be worked out between the sponsor and the Resources Committee members.
The State Affairs Committee is often the first Committee of referral for bills, therefore we will be meeting more frequently over the next several weeks in
order to catch-up on the many bills waiting to be heard.
BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE CLOSEOUTS
We closed out the Fish & Game, Dept of Transportation, and Dept. of Revenue Finance Subcommittees last week. These closeouts entail forwarding
Committee reports to the standing Finance Committee. The Committee reports are the recommendations put together by the Subcommittee’s members.
Dept. of Fish & Game- Rep. Wilson and I fought hard to convince other members of the subcommittee to reconsider cutting commercial fisheries funding.
We provided budget alternatives and showed direct links between cuts in management leading to decreased fishing time and the resulting loss in state
revenues. In Fiscal Year 2003, the commercial fishing industry generated close to $50 million in taxes. We all ultimately agreed to fund the commercial fish
budget at last year’s levels. ADF&G has assured me that we will have no losses in harvesting opportunities if our funding recommendations are adopted.
We still have to work with the Finance Committee to address salary increases. The Dept. of Transportation is increasing their budget this year by using
additional federal funds. We recommended funding the state portion of the budget at last year’s level to ensure adequate road maintenance. The Dept. of
Revenue’s (DOR) state portion of the budget will go down this year. We are able to remove state General Fund money by replacing services with receipts
coming from the sale of business licenses. Any cuts to DOR would have affected our ability to audit oil company taxes.
FUTURE BUDGET ISSUES
We will keep you informed when the full House Finance Committee puts together our budget. During that time there will be an opportunity for all residents
of District 35 to voice their concerns about funding state services.
HESS COMMITTEE
Last week the Health, Education and Social Services Committee met and heard a presentation from the Department of Health and Social Services (HSS) on
the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) recent reorganization. OCS is working to meet national standards and though progress has been made, several keys
issues still need to be improved, including: repeat maltreatment, child abuse/neglect in foster care, placing children in multiple foster homes, family
reunification and speed of adoption. The HSS Dept. is aware of OCS shortcomings and is working diligently to improve the standard of care and service
they provide. We also heard an overview on Public Health budget cuts from the Alaska Nurses Association and the Division of Public Health. I am
concerned about the cuts to Public Health Nurses as they provide valuable and accessible services to our communities. Until a new revenue source is clearly
identified, basic state services like public health nurses will continue to see cuts in their budgets. We also heard HB 380, an act relating to aggravating
factors at sentencing. This bill has very limited enforceability and simply gives judges the ability to more severely punish drug sellers whose actions result in
a deadly overdose. I do have some questions about how this bill would affect pharmacists if they were to incorrectly prescribe a drug which lead to
someone’s death; I am waiting to hear back from the bill’s sponsor (Rep. Meyer) on how HB 380 would apply in that situation. HB 404 was the final bill
on last week’s calendar. This bill was requested by the Governor and relates to the Alaska Student Loan Corporation’s (ASLC) bonds, loans, and grant
programs. This is a finically complicated and technical bill that allows ASLC more freedom in their operation and will make them less dependant on the
state’s coffers. We passed HB 380 and HB 404 from Committee. On Tuesday the 24th, we will be hearing HB 394- Extending the Commission on Aging
and HB 197, Intensive Family Preservation Services.
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 can access the
system from the website below:
LIVE ON THE WEB
Remember that you can hear most committee hearings or tune into just about any legislative session, present or past, by going to Gavel to Gavel, which transmits TV and public radio broadcasts of the state legislature as they occur. Gavel to Gavel also has an online archive of past meetings. Click on the link below to connect to Gavel to Gavel:
If you need to contact the staff please click on one of the links below:
Lauren Radcliffe,
Cameron Yourkowski,
Chris Knight,
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