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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
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Greetings from Juneau on this 34th day of the legislative session. This last week the staff kept all systems running while Tina and I joined my extended family in southern California to celebrate my father’s 97th birthday. It was a wonderful visit with nieces, grandnieces, my sister and especially my Dad. Fortunately the timing was just right with new bills having been introduced but not yet scheduled for hearings. The Resources Committee Pebble Mine Prospect Resolution (HCR 29) was the most contentious issue I missed, but I was able to catch up by the Gavel-to-Gavel video coverage.
The oil tax restructure proposal is in the final stage of bill preparation. The issue will require an extensive education for all Legislators so that we can make informed decisions regarding changes affecting the State’s primary source of income. This will not be a quick or easy process, but replacing the ELF was a goal I set during my first campaign. Our current tax structure was not designed to accommodate the high variance in oil prices we have experienced recently and is no longer providing for the state to receive the highest benefit from its resources. Although there is a clear need for revision, we will still need to get a majority in both houses to make any substantive change.
I enjoyed meeting with Mayor Vanta Shaffer, Councilman Willard Dunham, and assistant Seward City Manager Kirsten Vessel of Seward on Saturday.
State Affairs Committee
HB 399 creates an agency within the Office of Public Advocacy that deals with fraud cases targeting the elderly. The new agency would handle complaints of wire fraud, ponzi schemes, and other cases in which the elderly (which the legislation currently defines as age 55 and older) are exploited. The committee questioned whether the Office of Public Advocacy or the office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman would be the most appropriate place to house the agency. There were also questions from the committee as to whether or not a new agency was truly needed, or if problems could be addressed through better coordination of existing agencies with all having some level of jurisdiction over elder fraud issues. HB 399 was passed from committee.
HB 413 requires that all cigarettes sold in Alaska be tested by the manufacturer to ensure they meet certain fire safety performance standards. HB 413 mirrors legislation adopted in both California and New York. The bill attempts to limit the number of accidental fires started by untended cigarettes by requiring the sale of cigarettes that self-extinguish. HB 413 passed from committee.
HB 349 creates a citizens’ commission to review the salaries and benefits of Legislators and calls for a report to the Legislative Council every two years. The bill passed from committee with amendments. One of these requires that the committee report be made available to the public as well as the Legislative Council. Another amendment removed language from the bill that mandated a $500 monthly pay raise for the Speaker of the House and the Senate President and left the matter of additional compensation up to the citizen’s commission.
The committee will hear five bills this week: HB 347 allowing proof of insurance as a defense against the criminal charge of driving without a license, HB 238 creating a Past Service Cost Offset Account to make annual payments on the past service cost of PES/TRS employers, SB 186 Executive Branch Ethics, HB 344 allowing private auto dealers to be compensated for performing title and registration work otherwise done by the DMV, and SB 12 amending the state procurement code to limit financial relationships with organizations headquartered in countries that support or ignore slavery and human trafficking.
Resources Committee
Three bills passed out of committee last week. HB 360 requires the DEC drinking water program to regulate public accommodations for drinking water systems that serve 24 people or less for at least 60 days of the year. HB 395 extends the official fire season by one month, beginning in April instead of May. HB 380 gives the commissioner of DEC the ability to respond to avian flu and other zoonotic (animal borne) diseases; and deletes obsolete language, such as a requirement to report to the legislature on fur farming activities, in the statutes governing State Veterinarian duties. HB 380 was amended to allow DEC to adopt by reference an updated technical manual on rabies prevention and control.
HCR 29 requests that the Department of Natural Resources complete a site-specific management plan for the area encompassing the Pebble Gold/Copper/Molybdenum ore deposit, taking into consideration the proposed mine. The existing Bristol Bay Area management Plan, revised in 2005, explains that the management intent for the region is mineral development following a public process as extensive as the Area Plan itself. HCR 29 requests that a revision be made to the Management Plan to consider the Pebble mine before final permits for development are issued. A fiscal note for the resolution determined that for DNR to carry out the requested plan revision a $379,000 General Fund expenditure would be required. DNR has said that much of the data needed for the revision of the management plan would come from the Environmental Impact Statement required for federal permitting of the project. The fiscal note assumes that funding for four additional staff positions would be needed to carry out the update of the management plan. HCR 29 will be heard again this Monday.
Also up this week in House Resources committee: HB 300 changes language that has allowed for a single member of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission not to have a background as a petroleum engineer or a petroleum geologist, to require that they have a fundamental understanding of the petroleum industry in Alaska. HB 324 bans the importation, transfer, and cultivation of certain noxious weeds. HJR 14 urges the federal government to complete land transfers to the University of Alaska system granted prior to statehood.
Health and Social Services Committee
HB 408 changes the definition of child abuse and neglect to include infants affected by abuse of a controlled substance during prenatal exposure. This conforms Alaska statute to mirror federal language and does not change the actual practice of the Office of Children Services. The bill passed from committee.
The committee heard an overview of the Bring The Kids Home (BTKH) program, established to bring special needs children being sent out of state for mental health services back to Alaska. The state spends over $40 million annually sending children away for out of state services. BTKH is working to increase the level of services we can provide in order to keep our children and resources in Alaska.
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) gave a presentation on their Alcohol prevention program. In Alaska, the average drinker (66% of the 14+ population) consumes 526 alcoholic beverages each year. However, a mere 18% of these drinkers consume 76% of the alcohol. NCADD seeks to help all alcohol abusers but primarily targets children and teens as alcohol consumption can seriously damage the brain during critical periods of neurodevelopment.
Ways and Means Committee
The committee resumed hearings on HB 374 and HB 375. Both bills attempt to address the PERS/TRS under-funding by creating a Retirement Benefit Liability Account. HB 375 was amended in committee to remove the section appropriating money from the Amerada Hess account. The consensus of the committee was that the appropriation should be dealt with separately. This merely sets up a vehicle for payments. The bill was passed and now moves to State Affairs committee where I will be reviewing the bill again. HB 374 remained in committee.
Following Bills
All bills can be accessed through 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. You can view all bills relating to your specific areas of interest by selecting "Subject Summary" from the menu on the right. Access BASIS through the link below, or by doing a search for "BASIS Alaska".
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 328
(907) 465-4963
Ian Laing
Scheduling, Ways and Means, HB 415, HB 418
(907) 465-2689
Katie Shows
Health Education and Social Services, PERS/TRS, Budget, HCR 5, HCR 28, HB 238
(907) 465-2028
Rep. Paul Seaton
House District 35
(800) 665-2689
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