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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
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Greetings from Juneau on this 120th day of the legislative session. The weather has been outstanding, though we have had little time to enjoy it as we focus on our last few days here. The house met every day this week, frequently lasting late into the evening. The defining battle has been over the reform of the Public Employee and Teacher Retirement Systems. passed the House with an amendment making the new Defined Contribution tier optional. The bill is now in a conference committee including three members from each body. I am on this committee, which will be working to hash out differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. It is too early to tell what will happen at this stage but I will be including a through report of the PERS/TRS reform legislation in my final newsletter next week.
Between the extended House sessions and various impromptu meetings, I was able to welcome Jim Pruit and D.J. Whitman from the Seward to talk about various local issues including the city’s drydock facility.
State Affairs Committee
The committee spent its final week discussing eight bills. names a University of Alaska Southeast Student Rec. Center/National Guard Readiness Center after Charles Gamble Jr. and Donald Sperl, two young men from Juneau who died in the Vietnam War.
increases the per diem that members of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Board receive from $100 to $400. This bill passed from committee.
also passed from committee, increasing the number of words that may be used on statewide ballot initiative and referendum titles from 6 to 25 words. This bill was amended in committee to include a timeline for the lieutenant governor to submit ballot language to the director of the division of elections. For initiative language the lieutenant governor has 30 days after the adjournment of the first legislative session convened after the petition is filed to get the language to the director. This allows the legislature a whole session to work on the issue that the initiative addresses before the ballot language is sent to the director to be put on the ballot. For referenda, the lieutenant governor has 60 days to submit language to the director after the petition is filed.
seeks to terminate daylight savings time in Alaska. This bill was amended in committee to put the issue to an advisory vote of the people and then passed.
creates a municipal dividend program to be administered by the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. A minimum payment of $40,000 per municipality would be transferred from the Earnings Reserve Account of the Permanent Fund to municipalities. This bill passed out of committee.
adds a provision to the State Human Rights Commission statutes, which gives the staff of the commission with greater authority to evaluate complaints of discrimination and to choose the complaints that it will hear. This bill seeks to reverse a state Supreme Court decision that a complaint before the Human Right Commission must be heard if it is supported by substantial evidence. Proponents of SB 132 have indicated that this court decision has swamped the Human Rights Commission with insignificant complaints that they must investigate, despite weak evidence. This bill also passed from committee.
delays payment of Permanent Fund dividends for Alaskans who are out of state on allowable absences until the individuals return to the state for one year without allowable absences. If an individual fails to maintain eligibility for an allowable absence, the individual’s eligibility for the delayed dividends is terminated and the delayed dividends will not be paid. In 2004, roughly 18,489 dividends were paid to people living out of state, removing $17,006,921 directly from the state’s economy. This bill was held in committee until next session.
Resources Committee
We heard three resolutions and four bills this week. is a statement of support for federal legislation seeking to affirm the authority of states to regulate hunting and fishing within state boundaries.
calls on Congress to repeal the Federal Lands Recreational Enhancement Act. This Act allows the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation to charge fees for recreational use of federally managed land by the general public. I gave this resolution a Do Not Pass.
supports the construction of a natural gas spur pipeline between Fairbanks, the Nenana Basin and Southcentral Alaska, recognizing the estimated 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Nenana Basin. I gave this resolution a Do Pass.
allows the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority to use an $8 million appropriation from the Railbelt energy fund to initiate and continue the preliminary engineering, design and construction of a gas transmission pipeline and other facilities for delivering gas from the principal Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline to Southcentral. I gave this bill a Do Pass.
extends the existing tax credit for investment in processing equipment used to produce value-added fish products by three years to 2008. This credit was initially created by the Joint Legislative Salmon Task Force. I gave this bill a Do Pass.
, the House State Affairs Committee bill extending deadlines within the Alaska Coastal Management Program met with its Senate counterpart, , on Friday morning. A substantial change was made to the bill repealing the entire program in 2011 if legislative action to extend the sunset is not taken before this date, and terminating the program on January 1, 2006, if the Federal Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management does not finish approving the state’s revised program. SB 102 passed out of committee.
imposes a 4-mill property tax on mines in unincorporated areas of the state, and prohibits municipalities from excising a severance tax on mineral mines incorporated after the January 1st, 2006. The original bill had provided that if the area were later incorporated, the mill rate could be raised a maximum of 2-mills to meet the minimum education requirement, and would stay in affect for the first 15 years of the mine’s operation. The intent of this bill is to bring revenue to the state while also providing stability for the industry. We felt, however, that if the other members of the newly incorporated municipality were willing to pay a higher mill rate, that the mine should match it. We submitted a committee substitute for the bill making this provision and passed it out.
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 # # # |
