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ENERGY BREAK
Energy Council Break was last week, I think it should be called Spring Break since most offices were closed March 11th and 12th.
As many legislators were out of town at the end of the week, I had the pleasure of serving as the House Majority Leader for the
technical session on Friday the 12th. A number of legislators went to Washington D.C. over the break for oil and gas meetings, in
which the state is vitally involved. I remained here in Juneau to get ahead on some of the issues our district is interested in. I was able
to get a lot done since there were no committee meetings on Thursday or Friday to break up the day. However, the Energy Council
Break means there is less to report in this week’s newsletter.
SEWARD RESIDENT APPOINTED TO STATE BOARD
Ron Long of Seward was appointed by Governor Murkowski to fill a commercial agriculture production seat on the State Agriculture
and Conservation Board. Mr. Long is a mariculture expert responsible for all hatchery operations and procedures including: mission
compliance, budgeting and expenditure, maintenance, marketing, planning, personnel, public relations and external affairs for the
Qutekcak Shellfish Hatchery.
SHALLOW NATURAL GAS LEGISLATION UPDATES
SB 312 ends the shallow natural gas lease program of much controversy and replaces it with a “gas only” leasing program that
requires a best-interest-finding, public notice and public comment review process. This new program corrects the problems of the
Shallow Natural Gas program but fails to address the concerns surrounding the leases that have already been issued. SB 312 was
heard and held in Senate Resources on February 23rd. SB 312 is not scheduled for another hearing at this time. The Sponsor
Substitute for House Bill 364 was heard, amended, and held in the House Oil and Gas Committee on Tuesday, March 9th. The
amendment was one that I supported; it helps Homer’s situation by giving the Director of the Division of Oil and Gas some
discretionary guidelines in making the one-time decision to extend a shallow natural gas lease for a second three-year term. I am
hopeful for another Oil and Gas Committee hearing on March 16th. As I indicated in the last newsletter, this Sponsor Substitute
preempts the reissuance of the recently issued shallow natural gas leases in the Homer area 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 safeguarding the interests
of local residents. HB 395 was moved from the House Oil and Gas Committee on Tuesday the 9th. The version of HB 395 moved
from the Committee addresses water quality, notification, bonding, and public complaint resolution issues, but does not now repeal
the Commissioner of DNR’s override authority of local ordinances. HB 395 is scheduled for a House Resources Committee hearing
on March 19th, at 1:00pm; at that time I will ask to have the bill amended to reinstate the repealed provisons.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING
Last week the House Education Committee heard and passed HB 405 “An act relating to accountability of public schools and school
districts, and reports concerning assistance to improve school performance; and providing for an effective date.” HB 333 “An act
relating to an endowment for public education; and providing for an effective date,” was heard and held; HB 333 is scheduled for
another hearing in the Education Committee on Tuesday the 16th. HB 425 “An act relating to funding for school districts operating
secondary school boarding programs,” was also moved from Committee. SB 280 “An Act extending the termination date of the
special education service agency; and providing for an effective date,” was the final bill moved out of the Committee.
STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT
Here is a brief highlight of some of the bills currently before the State Affairs Committee: HJR 31- Cashing out the Permanent Fund,
HB 431- Providing a municipal dividend, HB 459- Creating a paper trail for Electronic Voting, and HB 527- Amending the Alaska
Securities Act. The Committee passed out two bills this past week; HB 438 offered by Rep. Holm, creates a ticketable offense for
drivers that do not yield or slow down for emergency vehicles stopped along roads. HB 438 also criminalizes those who fail to slow
down for emergency vehicles if personal injury results in their failure to slow. We also passed HB 423- Immunity for taxicab drivers
who drive someone’s car home for them. We spent some time working on HB 423, and recommended turning the bill into a pilot
program for Anchorage to be partnered by the Municipality of Anchorage and the Charitable Hosts, Restaurants and Retailers
Association. This week we are scheduled to hear an overview from DOT on many issues including: Southcentral driveway
applications, the Alaska Marine Highway Office move, and new fast ferries. The Committee will also look at municipal dividends and
placing the permanent fund dividend language into the constitution.
LAST WEEK IN THE HESS COMMITTEE
The House Health, Education and Social Services Committee heard and passed SB 285, relating to medical assistance coverage.
SB 285 allows the state to be federally reimbursed by Medicaid for expanding its targeted case management to include new
programs such as Family Preservation Services. This bill also amends the statutory definition of “rehabilitative services” to match the
federal definition. This allows school districts to bill Medicaid for more of the services they currently provide out of their budget, such
as speech therapy if a qualified practitioner is not on the school’s staff. We also heard and passed HB 175, which amends the
“look-back” date on DUI’s from a lifetime to 15 years. HB 175 also allows judges to issue limited driver’s licenses to DUI offenders
at their discretion if the individual in question has successfully completed an 18-month wellness or therapeutic court program, which
includes tri-weekly random urinary analyses. It is important to note that violent offenders would not be eligible for limited licenses.
SENATE BILL 63 PASSED HOUSE
Senate Bill 63 passed the House last week in a vote of 36-0. This bill clarifies ambiguity in current law regarding taxation of newly
incorporated areas and makes it clear that taxation of newly annexed areas shall begin on the January 1st following the annexation.
The House's vote of 36-0 reflects consensus on the language changes adopted in the bill. The Senate is expected to concur with the
House’s changes on Wednesday, March 17th.
HOUSE BILL 260 MOVES TO THE SENATE FLOOR
HB 260, the bill I sponsored to promote volunteerism among healthcare providers was heard in Senate Judiciary on March 10th, and
was moved out of Committee. This bill now awaits scheduling on the Senate floor.
HCR 28 PASSED FROM HOUSE RESOURCE COMMITTEE
House Concurrent Resolution 28 is a resolution to the Institute for Social and Economic Research of the University requesting them
to conduct further studies on the socioeconomic impacts of the Chignik Salmon Cooperative. This resolution came out of the Joint
Legislative Salmon Industry Task Force. It was heard and moved from the House Resources Committee on Wednesday, March
3rd. HCR 28 now goes to the House Finance Committee.
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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