March 7, 2014

There has been a disturbing lack of rigorous vetting of bills during this legislative session. Since 2008, the legislature shortened the session from 120 to 90 days. When the change first took place I was a strong proponent. However, experience has taught me that 90 days is simply not enough time for the legislature to thoroughly understand bills or get adequate public input. Recently, we’ve seen a concerning trend where bills only receive one committee of referral, reducing the opportunity for public input and resulting in less scrutiny on the effects to Alaskan families.