Lawmakers last week put what are likely the last big pieces of this year\u2019s budget fix on their agenda.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the members of the Senate Majority introduced Senate Bill 70, which combines a spending cap, Permanent Fund spending and a new formula for the Permanent Fund Dividend. Combined with $300 million in budget cuts (expected separately), that bill is the Senate\u2019s offering when it comes to fixing the state\u2019s $2.7 billion annual deficit.<\/p>\n
The House Majority has already begun detailed work on House Bill 115, its plan.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers continue to prove they can walk and chew gum at the same time: While the budget is No. 1 on Alaskans\u2019 priority list, judging by a flood of public testimony in the Capitol, lawmakers not on budgetary committees have been able to tackle other issues as well.<\/p>\n
Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, has listened to hours of testimony on problems with the state\u2019s Office of Children\u2019s Services, and that testimony has resulted in a pair of bills that are among the highlights of the latest new legislation:<\/p>\n
HOUSE BILLS<\/span><\/p>\n HB 133 (Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage) \u2014 Increases most oil and gas production taxes.<\/p>\n HB 134 (Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage) \u2014 The Board of Game has to include someone from the tourism industry, and at least one of the board\u2019s members has to represent non-hunting interests.<\/p>\n HB 135 (Rep. Dean Westlake, D-Kotzebue) \u2014 If a school district gets state money for school construction or renovation, they can get an extension on the time needed for the local match if they show good cause.<\/p>\n HB 136 (Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage) \u2014 Auto manufacturers have to relax their rules on car dealer franchises.<\/p>\n HB 137 (House Education Committee) \u2014 The Alaska State Council on the Arts is a state-owned corporation rather than part of the Department of Education and Early Development.<\/p>\n HB 138 (Westlake) \u2014 March is Sobriety Awareness Month.<\/p>\n HB 139 (Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole) \u2014 The state can no longer block people from getting professional licenses if they\u2019ve gotten a black mark from the Office of Children\u2019s Services.<\/p>\n HB 140 (Wilson) \u2014 If the state wants to take kids from their parents, the parents have the right to request a jury trial.<\/p>\n HB 141 (Rep. Zach Fansler, D-Bethel) \u2014 Extends the funding formula for the Alaska Workforce Investment Board.<\/p>\n HB 142 (Rep. Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage) \u2014 Increases unemployment payments for Alaskans making more than $42,000 per year before they lost their job.<\/p>\n HB 143 (Rep. Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski) \u2014 Names an Anchorage office building after Dan Fauske.<\/p>\n HB 144 (Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau) \u2014 Keeps the Board of Veterinary Examiners running through 2025.<\/p>\n HB 145 (Rep. Dean Westlake, D-Kotzebue) \u2014 The state can\u2019t refuse someone a massage therapist license because they\u2019ve been convicted of a crime.<\/p>\n HB 146 (Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage) \u2014 Starts a school tax of at least $100 per year. Alaskans making more money would pay more, based on their salary.<\/p>\n HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTIONS<\/span><\/p>\n HJR 11 (Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage) \u2014 Congress should pass legislation overturning the Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.<\/p>\n HJR 12 (Tarr) \u2014 Congress should require the labeling of genetically engineered products.<\/p>\n SENATE BILLS<\/span><\/p>\n SB 65 (Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla) \u2014 Establishes the Jonesville Public Use Area near Sutton.<\/p>\n SB 66 (Senate Education Committee) \u2014 The Alaska State Council on the Arts is a state-owned corporation rather than part of the Department of Education and Early Development.<\/p>\n SB 67 (Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole) \u2014 The Alaska Judicial Council doesn\u2019t have to collect and record information about all civil settlements in Alaska.<\/p>\n SB 68 (Dunleavy) \u2014 Fixes a land-ownership problem with the law that transferred the Alaska Railroad to the state in 1983 but made it more difficult for landowners near the tracks to use their land.<\/p>\n SB 69 (Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau) \u2014 If you have a weapon in your car, get pulled over by a police officer, and don\u2019t tell the officer you have a weapon, it\u2019s fifth-degree weapons misconduct.<\/p>\n SB 70 (Senate Finance Committee) \u2014 Fixes a big part of the state\u2019s budget deficit with money from the Alaska Permanent Fund\u2019s earnings reserve, creates a new formula for dividend distribution, and implements a spending cap.<\/p>\n SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS<\/span><\/p>\n SCR 3 (Senate Arctic committee) \u2014 Speeds the passage of HJR 5.<\/p>\n SCR 4 (Sen. Shelly Hughes, R-Palmer) \u2014 The Legislature\u2019s Task Force on Unmanned Aircraft Systems continues to exist.<\/p>\n SCR 5 (Sen. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage) \u2014 March 2, 2018 is Alaska Reads Day.<\/p>\n SENATE RESOLUTIONS<\/span><\/p>\n SR 4 (Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage) \u2014 Congress should let the state manage wildlife on federal parks and preserves.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or call 419-7732.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lawmakers last week put what are likely the last big pieces of this year\u2019s budget fix on their agenda. On Friday, the members of the Senate Majority introduced Senate Bill 70, which combines a spending cap, Permanent Fund spending and a new formula for the Permanent Fund Dividend. Combined with $300 million in budget cuts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":426,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[34,225],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-15496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-alaska-legislature","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/426"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15496"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=15496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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