The First Regular Session concluded Wednesday evening. The Governor immediately called the legislature into special session to continue work on the budget, education forward funding, and legislation to improve public safety.
Read More →JUNEAU – The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted against concurring with changes the Senate made to House Bill 49.
Read More →I remain committed as your representative to taking positive steps to improve public safety and making wise use of our public safety resources. I am working in the legislature to find common ground for an approach that will make sure Alaskans are working together to address public safety concerns.
Read More →House Bill 49, which passed 24-to-14, would enact changes that are tough on criminals and give police and prosecutors the tools they need to make Alaska safe. At the same time, the legislation helps victims receive justice and maintains a commitment to enacting policy changes based on objective information, data, and input from police officers, prosecutors, and public defenders.
Read More →The Alaska House of Representatives on Friday voted 37-to-1 to reject changes made by the Senate to the operating budget bill, House Bill 39.
Read More →On Wednesday, the Senate passed its version of the operating budget. Now that the Senate has passed its version of the operating budget, a conference committee will likely be appointed to resolve differences that remain between the budgets passed by the two bodies. The budget will then go to the Governor for final approval.
Read More →This week, the Senate Finance Committee adopted a committee substitute (“CS”) to the budget as approved by the House. The Senate CS includes $82 million less in agency operations spending than the House’s budget (the Senate CS includes a $281 million reduction from FY19 levels).
Read More →Last week, the House passed the operating budget, House Bill 39, and identified over $200 million in cuts, such as: $72.9 million in Medicaid efficiencies, $13 million in the Department of Corrections (efficiencies were based on encouraging the use of electronic monitoring and halfway houses in an effort to keep prisoners in-state while saving money), and $14.5 million to the Department of Transportation.
Read More →JUNEAU – House State Affairs Committee Co-Chair Representative Zack Fields and House Judiciary Committee Chair Representative Matt Claman on Tuesday expressed disappointment in Governor Mike Dunleavy’s decision to accelerate the departure of the state’s longtime Public Defender, Quinlan Steiner, by appointing an interim replacement.
Read More →This week, my colleagues and I spent two days on the House Floor debating amendments to the FY20 adjusted base operating budget, House Bill 39
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