JUNEAU – As COVID-19 begins to take hold in Alaska, the House State Affairs Committee heard testimony yesterday from experts on the spread of infectious diseases to help guide legislators on the policies needed to keep Alaskans safe.
Category: Rep. Zack Fields
Unprepared.
Today on the House floor, we hoped to pass House Concurrent Resolution 17 to move quickly in response to COVID-19 with 24 hour notice for committee hearings. We encountered resistance from minority members who apparently don’t understand the magnitude of the crisis we’re facing.
Legislature Funds Response to COVID-19
Today, the House voted to leverage federal funding to address the Coronavirus in Alaska. With massive decline in oil prices and a collapse of the stock market, the budget has deteriorated to the point we may not be able to afford a PFD this year.
Containing Coronavirus
This afternoon, Senator Wielechowski and I sent a letter to the Governor expressing our concerns with Novel Coronavirus and asking his administration to waive health insurance fees for Alaskans who seek to be tested for the virus. Alaskans should know they can be tested and treated for this virus without risking potentially catastrophic medical bills, and we should follow the lead of state’s like New York, ensuring that even the uninsured are able to get tested.
Saving the Marine Highway
Great news: Thanks to Representative Stutes and other coastal legislators, the current draft of the operating budget has $11 million in additional Marine Highway funding to restore ferry service. Many communities have run out of food, diapers, and other essentials in stores.
Victory on Alaska Apprenticeships
Great news: The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development has withdrawn controversial anti-apprenticeship regulations that would have undermined workplace safety and encouraged replacement of Alaskans with out-of-state workers.
VETO OVERRIDE VOTE
Tomorrow at 10:30am, the legislature will convene in joint session to vote on overriding the Governor’s vetoes of Marine Highway and school bond debt reimbursement funding. I intend to vote “yes” to override. It is unacceptable that coastal communities have been cut off from ferry service for long periods of time, and that veto of school bond debt reimbursement shifts tens of millions of dollars in costs onto the back of local property tax payers.
DOC reverses course, cancels plan to send prisoners out-of-state
JUNEAU – Today, Department of Corrections Commissioner Nancy Dahlstrom informed the House State Affairs Committee that the state is canceling a plan to spend millions of dollars to send nearly 500 prisoners to Outside, private facilities.