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This week I introduced a new bill recommended by the Joint Legislative Salmon Task Force. The bill (HB 118) is being called the "transporter" bill and I look forward to any comments you might have regarding the bill.
The bill allows fishermen to transport commercially caught fish for one another without acting for or as a licensed processor. The bill was introduced for those interested in moving fish to market quicker by allowing fishermen to consolidate their catches and transport their product on one vessel. This will save fishermen valuable time on the fishing grounds and potentially reduce fuel costs.
The bill was referred to the Fisheries and Resources Committees.
To view the bill click one the link below:
Two bits of legislation have passed the house recently. HCR6 -Extending the Joint Salmon Industry Legislative Task Force passed and HB71 -Extending the termination date for the Board of Direct Entry-Midwives.
GOV FILLS SENATE SEAT WITH REP. STEVENS
Rep. Gary Stevens was sworn in this past Friday and is now our new Senator. I have a good working relationship with Gary from the house and I am pleased that he will be our new contact in the Senate. With former Senator Alan Austerman in the governor's office, we should also have a clear avenue to the Governor when working on fisheries issues.
I want to thank all of the local people who were willing to put their names forward to be considered for the appointment. Those of you that submitted your name, I hope that you stay involved and keep working with me on local issues.
NEW HOUSE SEAT BECOMES VACANT WITH NEW APPOINTEE
With the recent appointment of Kodiak's Rep. Gary Stevens to the Senate, the governor now has another appointment to make. The Governor is at the National Governor's Conference this week and I expect that an appointment will be made by the end of next week. A representative will have to be appointed from Kodiak to replace the newly appointed Senator.
EDUCATION ISSUES
The House and Senate had a joint meeting with the contractor that conducted the School Cost-Differential Study. It was a marathon meeting starting at 1:30 in the afternoon and lasting well past 5pm. It was very nice to have some district folks in attendance.
The Devil is in the Details-for those of you following closely
There are some issues and problems that have been brought up about the data used, which will require some important investigation and correction. A point worth making is that a change of a tenth (.01) or even two-tenths (.02) is within the margin of error of the study. A tenth of a percentage is huge when considering funding for school districts. We may need to find a technical fix so we don't penalize school districts that would lose money yet fall within the margin of error.
I did verify that the study does not account for the increased costs associated with districts that have high teacher retention. For example, hiring experienced teachers vs. less expensive, new teachers are treated by the study as a "controllable" factor. The problem occurs when a district with a good working environment retains 60 or 70% of their tenured teachers. The costs escalate with step increases and are end up beyond the district's control concerning spending.
I am attempting to design a "factor" which could be used to recognize uncontrollable costs. This could further help the KPB school district. Additionally, I was able to get the contractor to agree that although it made sense to phase-in a "soft landing" for districts that lose dollars under the study, we should give full immediate implementation for the districts that gained. The study shows that districts are paying for costs that will only be partially reimbursed under the phase-in recommended by the study.
There have been several joint meetings between the House and the Senate and the Education Committees has not had time to meet. Two bills currently, before the committee are: a bill for early funding and for putting the Learning Opportunity Grants into the Foundation Formula. I support both bills.
FYI-we have not heard in committee a bill to increase the base student allocation; we should see something by the end of session.
Health, Education, and Social Services- Issues
This past week, we heard from the Division of Public Health on Medical and Public Assistance. We were scheduled to hear House Bill 25 (HB25), but decided to hold it in committee so we can discuss it further this week. I drafted an amendment to HB25 that will give people a choice to donate their body parts and retain their corpse for burial. HB25, commonly known as the "5 wishes" bill, is a good bill; similar legislation has been passed in many states. I think folks should have the chance to clearly delineate how they want to be treated before and after their deaths.
Fisheries Committee
This past week the House Fisheries Committee heard and moved out of Committee, HCR 6, the extension of the Salmon Task Force. On Friday, we also heard HB 22, bonding requirements for permit brokers, and HB 89, mandatory chilling for the commercial salmon industry.
Testimony on HB 22 was very informative and produced a consensus that requiring a trust or an escrow account for the brokers would be a better way of protecting permit buyers and sellers from bad-faith brokers. Currently, we are working on a committee substitute for the bill.
Testimony on HB 89 revealed that the bill had many technical, logistical and enforcement problems. Further discussion is warranted, before action will be taken by the committee. Both HB 22 and HB 89 were held in the committee for more committee time. This week we will be looking at HB 90, salmon product development tax credit, and HB 118, a fish transporter permit for salmon, herring, and Pacific cod.
Bill Access System
Remember, that all bills can be found on the State's BASIS system. You will find the system to be accessible at the website below.
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.
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