Anchorage – Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham) issued the following statement in response to Governor Walker’s proclamation calling the 30th Alaska State Legislature into a 4th Special Session next month. The Governor is asking lawmakers to consider criminal justice reform legislation and a bill to create new revenue for the State of Alaska.
Sitka – The Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) and Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka) are pleased to open public voting for Alaska’s Artistic License.
Anchorage – Representative Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) will join 2,000 groups across the country mobilizing to celebrate National Voter Registration Day on September 26, 2017. Voting is a right and a civic duty, but Alaskans can’t vote if they aren’t registered. Representative Tarr will be participating in voter registration efforts in the Mountain View and Airport Heights neighborhoods.
Anchorage – A statewide listening session on the future of the vital Alaska Senior Benefits Program will be held next week to gather input from Alaskan. The program is currently scheduled to sunset in June 2018. The listening session on Thursday, September 28 is sponsored by the House Health and Social Services Subcommittee on the Senior Benefits Program. The Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Ivy Spohnholz (D-Anchorage), will be taking public input on House Bill 236 to extend the program until 2022.
The Governor has called the legislature back for a fourth special session starting at 11am on Monday, Oct. 23. On the agenda is SB 54, the criminal justice legislation, and a payroll tax.
Rep. Les Gara, and Facing Foster Care in Alaska founder Amanda Metivier, are launching a Back To School drive to get more laptops to foster youth so they can succeed in school. Gara and Metivier, both former foster youth, founded the Laptops for Foster Youth effort at the suggestion of many youth, who faced barriers to success, and needed online access to schoolwork.
Greetings! I hope you can join me at one of the two town halls I am hosting on October 5 in District 31. Office of Management & Budget Director, Pat Pitney, will also be joining me. I look forward to meeting with you and answering your questions on the state's budget, District 31 issues, and the upcoming Special Session #4.
Today, the Governor announced a special session that will begin on October 23rd. It will focus on revenue and criminal justice reform. Though seemingly unrelated, the recent rise of criminal activity in Alaska is a direct consequence of the fiscal crisis.