I am proud to announce that HB 87, my conflict of interest bill for the Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game, passed the House today by a vote of 27-11.
Spring is in the air, and of course there is eternal hope for a timely end to session here in our State Capitol. We are now down to less than a month to go for us to finish in our statutorily limited 90-day session. The budget is well on its way, with a big difference in where the House and the Senate would like to end up. The discussion about whether we provide adequate funding to support state services (House version of the budget) or whether we put undue pressure on state services by cutting education, health care, public safety (Senate version of the budget), will take place in conference committee where the two versions will be reconciled.
Juneau – Today, the Alaska House of Representatives passed legislation sponsored by Representative Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) to ensure that the expertise of members of the Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game is not excluded from the deliberative process. Currently, members of the boards with conflicts of interest are not allowed to vote and not allowed to offer input to the process. House Bill 87 changes the Ethics Act to allow those members to participate in the process while still being excluded from voting.
Greetings from Juneau this 70th day of session. Work towards a fiscal solution continues in earnest throughout the capitol. The finance committee spent hours last week considering HB 111, which looks to reform our oil and gas tax credit system to limit state liability and increase revenues when prices are higher. A key part of a stable fiscal plan is ensuring that the state balance sheet is protected against an accumulation of costly credits during low prices or because of bad investments by the oil companies. Thank you to all the Alaskans who came out Saturday to testify on HB 111.
