With summer officially here, I hope that everyone is enjoying the longer days and the sunshine while staying safe. Things have quieted down for the moment on the legislative front. I am using the spare time I now find myself with to research various policy issues facing Alaska and help constituents navigate the difficulties of COVID-19 economic relief as best as I can.

As tumultuous times continue, I want to make sure that you remain informed and that your concerns are heard. I have really appreciated the increase in constituent and community member emails in the past week.

Thank you to everyone who joined me and Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson for our first ever virtual constituent meeting earlier this week. It was great to hear your thoughts and to see your faces! This is something we hope to continue to do occasionally as social distancing continues.

The pandemic continues and likely will for quite some time. As we all work to adapt to this new normal, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered by the legislature.

The legislature is in recess and lawmakers have dispersed across the state to hunker down in accordance with recent health mandates from Governor Dunleavy and Dr. Zink. I’m now back in Anchorage and glad to be home safely.

The operating budget, HB 205, passed the House last week and is now in the hands of the Senate.
This year, the House budget process went very quickly. I felt that there was a broad sense of cooperation and respect in the crafting of this year’s budget.

Later this week, the public will have their first chance to weigh in on the state budget for the upcoming year.

Last Friday, I introduced HB 242, which aims to improve the Alaska Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (AK PDMP) and to help doctors and other medical providers improve prescribing practices for controlled substances.