In the last year, we have had many new people participate in the public process and I want to thank you for your time and support as we work together during these tough times. This gives me hope for our future. These are challenging times and I am grateful to see new faces get involved. Thank you for your participation.
September is Suicide Prevention Month. Did you know that 1 in 4 people experience a mental illness at any given time? This is something that touches all of us, having lost a family member to suicide I know how devastating it can be to families in our community. As a member of the Suicide Prevention Council, I’m hoping to reduce the rates of suicide in Alaska. Here’s a list of resources in our community that you or a loved one can go to if you need information: NAMI, StopSuicideAlaska, Suicide.org,Alaska Suicide Prevention Council, and Alaska Suicide Prevention Resource. These issues are so important as Alaska has some of the highest rates of suicide. Please read the proclamation below or click on the link to read the official proclamation.
Juneau – Common sense legislation to honor Alaska’s first responders and their families is stuck in committee in both the Alaska House of Representatives and the Alaska Senate. House Bill 4002 and Senate Bill 4002 would allow the State of Alaska to continue insurance coverage for spouses and dependents of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Juneau – Today, the Alaska House of Representatives passed House Bill 273 to simplify, speed up, and lower the cost of vehicle transfers on death. HB 273 will allow a vehicle owner to file an application with the Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to designate a beneficiary to take title of a vehicle upon the death of the owner.Â
ANCHORAGE – Today, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) and Facing Foster Care in Alaska (FFCA) are launching a “Back to School” laptop donation drive for foster youth. The Laptops for Foster Youth effort works to match gently used and new laptop computers with the over 2,500 foster youth in Alaska. To date, over 600 new and used laptop computers have been matched with foster youth since Rep. Gara and Amanda Metivier of Facing Foster Care in Alaska began this community effort.
I am very excited to announce that I will be pre-filing legislation to enact Erin’s Law during the 29th Legislative Session. Last session, Erin’s Law had over 20 co-sponsors, as well as support from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. Erin and I also received widespread support from teachers, parents, and child abuse survivors.
JUNEAU – Today, the Alaska state House of Representatives accepted an amendment from House Democratic Leader Chris Tuck to help Alaska’s military families save time, money, and aggravation upon returning from a deployment. The amendment to SB 145 allows military families with special needs children who qualify for Home and Community Based Services under Medicaid to continue to receive those services when they return from a deployment without having to go through a lengthy re-application process.
JUNEAU – Yesterday, Representative Harriet Drummond’s husband, Elstun Lauesen, underwent successful open heart surgery at Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage. His recovery is expected to take several weeks and Rep. Drummond will stay in Anchorage to help with his recuperation.
