The second week of the Alaska Legislature brought a continued flood of new legislative proposals including ferry names, Columbus Day and personal investment in the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.<\/p>\n
Between 8 a.m. Jan. 23 and 5 p.m. Jan. 27, lawmakers introduced 25 bills and five resolutions. In the first week of the 30th Legislature, lawmakers introduced 37 bills.<\/p>\n
Each measure must navigate a series of committee hearings and votes before it becomes law (and most never do become law). Most bills are changed before they come to a final vote, but a bill\u2019s introduction is one indicator of what a particular legislator is thinking and what her (or his) priorities are.<\/p>\n
Here are one-sentence summaries of each bill and resolution introduced during the second week of the 30th Legislature:<\/p>\n
HOUSE BILLS<\/p>\n
HB 73 (Gov. Bill Walker) \u2014 Officially names the new Alaska-class ferries Tazlina and Hubbard, respectively.<\/p>\n
HB 74 (governor) \u2014 The state has two sets of driver\u2019s licenses; one set that abides by the standards of the federal REAL ID Act, and one that doesn\u2019t. If you have one that doesn\u2019t, you\u2019ll need a passport to fly on a commercial flight.<\/p>\n
HB 75 (Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage) \u2014 If a court deems you a danger to yourself or others, you could lose their ability to own or buy a gun for up to six months.<\/p>\n
HB 76 (Rep. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan) \u2014 If you operate a hatchery for aquatic plants or seed shellfish, you\u2019re eligible for the state\u2019s loan fund for mariculture.<\/p>\n
HB 77 (Legislative Council) \u2014 The annual fix for technical errors in legislation passed last year.<\/p>\n
HB 78 (Rep. Dean Westlake, D-Kotzebue) \u2014 Instead of Columbus Day, Alaska has Indigenous People\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
HB 79 (governor) \u2014 Reduces costs in the state\u2019s workers\u2019 compensation program and increases service as part of an omnibus overhaul.<\/p>\n
HB 80 (Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks) \u2014 Boroughs and municipalities can levy a tax to pay for energy efficiency improvements or clean energy programs, even if they don\u2019t run the utility.<\/p>\n
HB 81 (Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka) \u2014 Tribes are eligible for the state\u2019s energy efficiency loan fund.<\/p>\n
HB 82 (Kreiss-Tomkins) \u2014 Makes it easier for the state to issue an \u201coff-road system\u201d driver\u2019s license that doesn\u2019t require you to take a driving test.<\/p>\n
HB 83 (Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau) \u2014 State employees and teachers can choose either a defined benefit pension or a defined contribution retirement account.<\/p>\n
HB 84 (Kreiss-Tomkins) \u2014 Allows municipalities to exempt up to $150,000 in property from local taxes. Currently, the maximum exemption is $50,000.<\/p>\n
HB 85 (Kreiss-Tomkins) \u2014 Petersburg, as a new borough, can select 14,666 acres of state land for municipal use.<\/p>\n
HB 86 (Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage) \u2014 The state can no longer revoke your driver\u2019s license if you fail to pay your student loans.<\/p>\n
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS<\/p>\n
HCR 2 (Tarr) \u2014 The governor should work to stop bad things from happening to children.<\/p>\n
HCR 3 (Tarr) \u2014 April 2017 is Child Abuse Prevention Month.<\/p>\n
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTIONS<\/p>\n
HJR 7 (Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla) \u2014 Proposes a constitutional amendment that limits any increase in state spending to the average increase of the previous three years.<\/p>\n
HJR 8 (Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome) \u2014 The state wants walrus, mammoth and mastodon ivory exempted from any national ivory ban.<\/p>\n
SENATE BILLS<\/p>\n
SB 32 (Sen. Shelly Hughes, R-Palmer) \u2014 Just as pharmacists can pres<\/p>\n
cribe generic drugs in place of brand-name ones, they can prescribe generic \u201cbiological products\u201d that are non-drug medical items.<\/p>\n
SB 33 (governor) \u2014 Officially names the new Alaska-class ferries Tazlina and Hubbard, respectively.<\/p>\n
SB 34 (governor) \u2014 The state has two sets of driver\u2019s licenses; one set that abides by the standards of the federal REAL ID Act, and one that doesn\u2019t. If you have one that doesn\u2019t, you\u2019ll need a passport to fly on a commercial flight.<\/p>\n
SB 35 (Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage) \u2014 Individual Alaskans can personally invest their savings in the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.<\/p>\n
SB 36 (Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage) \u2014 Optometrists can do more of the services currently limited to eye surgeons.<\/p>\n
SB 37 (Giessel) \u2014 The Alaska Board of Pharmacy regulates drug wholesalers that ship medical drugs into the state.<\/p>\n
SB 38 (Giessel) \u2014 Pharmacy benefits managers must be registered and are subject to audits.<\/p>\n
SB 39 (Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole) \u2014 Boroughs and municipalities can levy a fee on commercial property owners to pay for energy efficiency improvements or clean energy programs, even if the municipality doesn\u2019t run the utility.<\/p>\n
SB 40 (governor) \u2014 Reduces costs in the state\u2019s workers\u2019 compensation program and increases service as part of an omnibus overhaul.<\/p>\n
SB 41 (Giessel) \u2014 Tramadol and related drugs are listed as Schedule IVA restricted.<\/p>\n
SB 42 (Giessel) \u2014 Police must be trained to recognize and appropriately deal with people who have disabilities.<\/p>\n
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTIONS<\/p>\n
SJR 2 (Senate State Affairs) \u2014 Proposes a constitutional amendment limiting state spending to $4.25 billion per year (adjusted for population and inflation), and there\u2019s 14 different exceptions to this spending cap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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