Happy Holidays! May celebration of the holidays and the coming New Year bring you and your loved ones joy and good health.
Happy Holidays! Before the New Year I want to share with you my vision for this upcoming legislative session. The Governor released his FY 2019 budget proposal on Friday, December 15. We are beginning to analyze it to see how it fits with our goals, especially education funding.
Coalition will work to craft a sustainable budget that adequately funds essential state services and fully funds public education FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 15, 2017
Anchorage – The Finance Committee in the Alaska House of Representatives has scheduled a series of budget subcommittee meetings to discuss the nexus between crime rates and available public resources in Alaska. The budget subcommittees for the Departments of Public Safety, Administration, Corrections, and Law will meet on October 5th at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office (LIO).
Anchorage – A statewide listening session on the future of the vital Alaska Senior Benefits Program will be held next week to gather input from Alaskan. The program is currently scheduled to sunset in June 2018. The listening session on Thursday, September 28 is sponsored by the House Health and Social Services Subcommittee on the Senior Benefits Program. The Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Ivy Spohnholz (D-Anchorage), will be taking public input on House Bill 236 to extend the program until 2022.
Anchorage – The members of the Alaska House Majority Coalition respond to news that Alaska Governor Bill Walker will call the 30th Alaska State Legislature into a 4th Special Session in late October. The special session will be focused on a not yet disclosed revenue measure, or measures, to fill the projected $2.7 billion budget gap brought on by the continued low price of oil, which has pushed Alaska into a fiscal crisis and lingering recession.
Greetings from your District 31 Representative. It has been a long, tough legislative session. The House and Senate were able to come to a compromise on some items, but there are several key pieces which were not resolved. The decisions the state faces are difficult ones and will affect all Alaskans and our future.
It has been a while since my last letter and I would like to update you on the legislature’s progress over the past two special sessions. This was a contentious year in Juneau and a difficult time for all Alaskans as uncertainty loomed in the form of a potential government shutdown, job losses, an economic recession, State credit-rating downgrades, and a reduction to PFDs. A potential income tax, the oil and gas tax restructuring, and other controversial solutions on the table added to the fervor of the debate.
