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Contact Information:
Toll Free:(800) 665-2689
In the Homer Area:(907) 235-2921
Via Mail or in Person: 345 W. Sterling Hwy., Suite 102B
Homer, Alaska 99603
Fax:(907) 235-4008
Website:
Email:
We had a very nice weekend visit back home. Friday’s meeting with fishermen, the Open House, and several individual meetings helped identify District problems and assess attitudes in the communities. I had the honor of helping cut the ribbon on Homer’s new animal shelter, and was fortunate enough to tour the Ice Hockey rink.
The number of volunteers that have turned out to help see these facilities take shape has been truly impressive. Today Tina and I will be traveling through Cooper Landing and Seward to meet with constituents and tour Seward’s long-term care facility. We will hopefully make it back to Juneau before Tuesday.
I had the pleasure of welcoming several students from the district who were in Juneau as part of the Conservation and Civic Summit for the Alaska Youth for Environmental Action. The timing was very fortunate as the group was present for the House floor vote on , a pesticides bill they have been very active in promoting. Willy Dunn escorted the group of 6 Homer High School students down, including Lindsay Olsen, Claire Thorington, Taneeka Hanson, Kathryn McCarron, Katie Gavenus, and Simon Schaad.
Resources Committee
Last week we moved one bill and two resolutions out of committee. is a resolution in opposition to a program proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to allow Open Ocean Aquaculture in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone (3 to 200 mile zone.) I worked with the staff of the House Fisheries Committee to strengthen the language in the resolution opposing finfish and predatory shellfish aquaculture in the EEZ. We also clarified that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) would apply to Open Ocean Aquaculture. NEPA calls for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement to accompany federal legislation approving major development.
opposes the imposition of a milk tax on Alaska dairy farmers. The milk tax, or Mandatory Dairy Promotion Assessment was established more than twenty years ago to help increase the sale of surplus milk in the lower 48. The "Got Milk" campaign was created using milk tax money. Alaska has been excluded from the levy of this assessment because it is a "milk-deficit" state, meaning the state does not produce enough dairy to meet demand and must import from the lower 48. HJR 5 seeks to maintain this exclusion.
gives the Department of Environmental Conservation’s authority to exempt gas only exploration wells and production facilities from oil discharge prevention and contingency plans. I amended the bill by deleting the contingency plan exclusion for facilities producing refined petroleum products.
This week we will hear four bills and two resolutions. is a resolution urging congress to refrain from enacting legislation that would alter the punitive damages award in the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill case. opposes the designation of U.N. World Heritage sites without the consent of the state legislature. amends the state's Aquatic Farming Act to allow aquatic farm permit holders to harvest and sell "insignificant populations" of wild shellfish on their farm site. It also allows the aquatic farmer to harvest wild stock in greater than "insignificant" numbers if the Commissioner of Fish and Game deems the harvest necessary. The revenue from that harvest will go to the state general fund. allows the Commercial Fishery Entry Commission to increase permit renewal and vessel license fees. gives the state primacy over regulating certain classes of oil extraction re-injection wells. creates a tax credit for oil and gas exploration on the Alaska Peninsula.
State Affairs
On Tuesday we heard two bills sponsored by Rep. Mike Kelly that affect the Public Employees Retirement System and Teachers Retirement System (PERS/TRS); and . seeks to divide the percentage of salary paid into the retirement system every year to cover employee’s future benefits and pay off the unfunded liability between the employee and the employer. Currently most PERS employees contribute 7.5% of their salary and TRS employees contribute 8.65%. The employer currently contributes a much higher percentage, which includes any unfunded amounts. Under , the employees and employer’s equivalent contributions under PERS would be approximately 14.5% in 2006 and 17% in 2007. For TRS the employee contribution rate would increase by 5% every year until 2008 when employee and employer contributions would stabilize at around 23%. These rates would increase over the years to a level that pays off the unfunded liability over the next 25 years.
makes changes to the membership of the current PERS and TRS boards. Currently, only one member of either of the two boards is neither a participant nor a beneficiary in the PERS/TRS system. calls for three of the five members of the Governor-appointed PERS board to have never been employed in the public sector. Similarly, three of the five TERS board members are to have never been employed in the education sector.
On Thursday we had a work session where we unveiled a work draft of the State Affairs PERS/TRS bill. We received input from different groups regarding various aspects of the issue. There is general consensus about the enormity of the problem. Although about 70% of the guaranteed future benefit payments are covered by
deposits in the retirement fund, around 15 billion that will come due in the next 25 years is unfunded. We could cover this with a $5 billion deposit today and let it grow, with interest, to make those payments, or we can increase employer payments drastically. However, School District payments of about 44% of each teacher’s
salary are not realistic either. Because the solvency of the retirement system is in the best interest of both employees and employers, we are looking for a combination solution to this looming problem. The State Affairs PERS/TRS bill creates a 4th tier Defined Contribution (DC) plan. Under a DC plan retirees receive the amount
that they put into their account, as well as the employer match and interest. They may retire at any time and have access to their account, or move to a private sector job and transfer their retirement account with them. The State Affairs bill also includes medical coverage, identified by employees and employers as the most important aspect of their retirement. For more detailed information on the elements of the State Affairs Bill, a draft of the bill, and information to help better understand the situation, please visit my website. This is a very complex issue that will affect many people. Any constructive input is much appreciated.
We will be working on PERS/TRS bills this coming Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We will also be hearing , dividend applications for active military, , relating to the use of campaign contributions, , anatomical gifts and the anatomical gift registry program, and , regulations of the Local Boundary Commission.
Ways and Means
The committee continued with an overview of Alaska’s tax system. We discussed Natural Resource Taxes and the state's former Education Tax. Mining tax structure was the main focus of the resource discussion. No tax bills have been formally introduced through the committee yet, but it is hoped that this overview will help the
committee make better-educated decisions in the future.
Following Bills
All bills can be found on the State's Bill Action and Status Inquiry System (BASIS). You can see what committee a bill is in, when it will be heard, how committee members voted, and much more. Don't forget that you can view all bills relating to your areas of interest by selecting "Subject Summary" from the menu on the right. You can access BASIS through the link below.
Live on the Web
Most committee hearings can be seen and heard on Gavel to Gavel, which is broadcast on both local access TV and on the internet. You can also access online archives from their website. .
Contact Us
If you would like to speak to me regarding a specific issue, it is helpful to first get in touch with the member of my staff handling related issues. You can click on their email addresses to send them a note, or just give us a call at the office. Please provide your full name, address and phone number on any correspondence with the office. Your time and effort are much appreciated.
Louie Flora
State Affairs, Resources, Fisheries, HB 25
(907) 465-4963
louie_flora ''@'' legis.state.ak.us
Katie Shows
Health Education and Social Services, HB 20, HB 24
(907) 465-2028
katie_shows ''@'' legis.state.ak.us
Ian Laing
Ways and Means, HB 50
(907) 465-2689
ian_laing ''@'' legis.state.ak.us
Rep. Paul Seaton
House District 35
(800) 665-2689
representative_paul_seaton ''@'' legis.state.ak.us # # # |
