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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:
Hello from Juneau on this 64th day of the legislative session. I spent a good part of this last week working to save the Fish and Game budget from severe cuts
and a redistribution of money away from the department’s core functions. There was a proposal at our closeout meeting to strip all the general fund money from
the headquarters of the Commercial Fisheries Division, in addition to more than half the money from the Commissioner’s office. Since about 40% of the
Commissioner’s budget is related to commercial fish this would have cut ¾ million dollars from the regional management. The proposal also would have
eliminated all the general fund money from the Subsistence Division, beyond what is needed to match federal grants. This would have impaired the state’s
subsistence management and would also have reduced harvests by commercial and sport users throughout the State. The boards are required under the
constitution to ensure adequate provision for subsistence. The largest shift of money was primarily intended to extend hours of operation at the Fairbanks and
Juneau indoor shooting ranges. Opposition within the committee to the reallocations delayed the budget closeout.
Another big item was the development of a bill meant to address the looming PERS/TRS debt situation. This is an extremely complex subject, which gets worse
every month. Hopefully the State Affairs committee will have a draft of this bill out by the end of next week.
On Friday, I had the privilege of attending the exhibit opening at the Alaska State Museum for Homer resident Alan Parks. The opening of his photo essay
"Ocean Home" was well attended and featured the familiar faces of Walter Meganack Jr., Pat Norman, Herman Moonin, Simeon Kvasnikoff, Bob Moss Sr.,
Francis and Maggie Bursch.
I would like to thank all the constituents that came for the Key Campaign visit this week, including Susan Drathman, Mary Jane Shows, Wynn Levitt and Quinton
and Caleb Arndt from Homer, Arthur Walters from Seward, and Belva Olsen and Jodi Hurd from Anchor Point. Thanks also, to all the individuals in Seward
who wrote me this week regarding the mobile hydrant unit and Camelot-Questa Woods spur road. We will be working to include this project.
District Visit
I will be returning to Homer for Easter weekend, March 24th – 28th. Charlene Ditton has offered to have an open house at the Homer LIO on Friday, March
25th from 6:00 – 8pm, after the opening ceremony for the new animal shelter. If there are any issues you would like to discuss with me, I would encourage you
to stop by. If you would prefer to meet one on one, please contact Ian in my office to schedule a time.
Education Funding
HB 1 passed out of the House on Thursday, establishing the Base Student Allocation at $4,919, an increase of $39 per student over the governor’s original
proposal. The bill has moved over to the Senate for further review.
There was a great deal of discussion this week regarding an important element of the foundation formula called the Area Cost Differential. This variable in the
education formula attempts to account for disparities in the cost of doing business throughout the state. The Legislature has tried to recalculate this number
several times over the last few years, but has been unable to agree on adequate terms of the analysis. The latest study commissioned by the state was released
this week. The calculations were very helpful regarding certain aspects like differing fuel costs. However, the largest element of the cost differential addressed
problems with teacher retention rates solely by adjusting teacher salaries. While this is certainly one part of the solution, some legislators are concerned that it
ignores other elements affecting a teacher’s decision to stay in a rural community. The study came back with an implementation price tag of 80 million dollars.
I am currently working with other legislators, as well as the Department of Education and Early Development to find a way to implement the cost differential
findings. Our Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will benefit from recognition of actual costs of delivering K-12 education throughout the state.
State Affairs Committee
We worked on several bills this week and held a Saturday meeting to get through some of our workload. We heard HB 114, a Governor’s bill dealing with child
protection. This bill seeks to allow children who are placed temporarily in out-of-state treatment facilities by the Department of Health and Social Services to
receive a permanent fund dividend. A provision to permit parents to relinquish their parental rights while retaining the privilege of ongoing communication may
have been annulled by a recent Supreme Court ruling. Also in the bill is a provision that permits courts to not use expert witnesses in ‘child in need of aid’ cases
involving parents who cannot be located or identified. This bill has already been heard twice in regular committee and once in a subcommittee, and will be
revisited in the future. Sections 1 and 5 are the only two in contention.
We heard and passed HB 103 from committee. This bill seeks to disallow jury trials in cases against the state. Jury trials in cases against the state have been
granted since 1975. The state currently conducts approximately 5-10 jury trials per year. I gave this bill a "no recommendation"
HB 12 seeks to ban drivers from watching television while driving. It also will outlaw the installation of entertainment devices capable of being viewed while the
vehicle is being driven. This bill arose from an accident on the Seward Highway involving a man who was accused of watching a DVD while driving. HB 12 was
held in committee, and will be heard again soon.
This committee schedule will be shortened this week because of the Energy Council meeting in Washington D.C., which is attended by many legislators. We will
hold one meeting, on Tuesday, to hear the following bills: HJR 8 SUPPORTING ALASKA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, HB 83 SEISMIC HAZARD
SAFETY COMMISSION, HB 94 ELECTIONS, and HB 144 ADVISORY VOTE ON COMMUNITY DIVIDEND.
Resources Committee
We passed the University Lands Bill, HB 130 out of committee on Friday. Significant work was done to the bill in response to concerns expressed by a number
of the districts. There were two major amendments to the bill. The first took 7,499 disputed acres off the slate to be conveyed to the University. Six parcels in
Southeast were taken out of the bill: Duke Island, Kelp Island, Lena Creek, Neets Creek, Port Alexander, and Warm Springs Bay. The Kodiak Rocket Range
was also taken out of the bill due to widespread concern that public access would be lost following the conveyance. (It should be noted that these lands will go
back to the pool of state land held by the Department of Natural Resources, and that they still may later be parceled and sold by the state.) The second major
amendment was the insertion of a set of requirements that the University Board of Regents must follow prior to developing any land conveyed to them under HB
130. Included in this list is a provision, absent in the first version of the bill, that the Board of Regents must seek public comment on proposals for land
development, exchange, or sale.
On Monday we passed out Representative Meyer’s pesticide registration fee bill HB 19. The next referral for this bill is to the House Finance Committee. I am
a co-sponsor of this bill.
HESS Committee
HB 100 is a proposal by the governor to build a new virology lab that would test for a variety of things, including rabies, measles, HIV, and influenza, among
others. The lab would be at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. A new lab will increase the State’s ability to perform research and respond to public
health, Homeland Security and natural disasters. HB 100 passed out of committee and will now move on to Finance.
Ways and Means Committee
We began discussing Representative Weyhrauch’s comprehensive tax proposal this week, starting with a review of income taxes in Alaska. The personal income
tax was repealed in 1980 during the peak of oil production, but with the steady decline in oil revenue the state will likely face a budget deficit during the coming
decade. Various bills to reinstitute the tax have been introduced over the last several years and these have been included as part of our review. It is worth noting
that there has been no formal proposal to reinstitute the income tax, but it is one of a number of things the committee will be looking at over the next months to
help boost state revenue.
HB 20 Early Funding of Education
I am pleased to announce that HB 20 was passed out of the Education Committee last Tuesday and will be heard in the HESS Committee this coming Tuesday.
HB 25
HB 25 passed out of House Community and Regional Affairs on Thursday. A committee substitute bill was offered by Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
(R-Kodiak) to "hold-harmless" cities with a population of 500 or less, as well as boroughs with a population less than 3,000 which are currently receiving funds
under the shared fisheries business tax program. This hold-harmless would apply to 52 cities and five boroughs. Under the new scenario, the Department of
Revenue will distribute to the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), a lump sum of the fisheries business tax collected
on exported/unprocessed fish. DCCED will then pay the hold harmless off the top and transfer the remaining funds back to the ports and boroughs which
generated the revenue. This will decrease the exported/unprocessed tax return to revenue generating ports by roughly 40%. We will be working to insert a
sunset clause into the Committee Substitute as it works its way through the committee process. The next committee of referral for HB 25 is House
Finance.
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 # # # |
