Members of the state Senate Minority are optimistic about the progress being made in their body, saying communication and cooperation between caucuses has been good.<\/p>\n
In a meeting with reporters Monday, Senate Minority Leader Tom Begich, D-Anchorage, and Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, said the possibility of beneficial legislation passing during this session was high.<\/p>\n
Communication from Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office has increased, the senators said, and while disagreements on policy certainly exist, Begich said the governor’s office has shown a willingness to engage.<\/p>\n
“I don’t agree with about two-thirds of what the governor’s putting out there, but I’m willing to sit down with him,” Begich said.<\/p>\n
There were elements of the governor’s elections bill Begich said he could see working with and the same is true of other pieces of legislation coming from the governor or Senate Republicans.<\/p>\n
Begich has championed a comprehensive reading bill for the past few years and an altered version of that bill has gained bipartisan support in the Senate. The original version of that bill, the Alaska Reads Act, was originally introduced by Begich and Dunleavy in 2020.<\/p>\n
But there’s a lot on lawmakers’ plates this year. It’s an election year with the governor’s seat up for grabs and a raft of federal funding coming to the state. The Legislature has a constitutional obligation to pass a budget during their session, but lawmakers want to have a say in how funds for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are spent.<\/p>\n
“If the federal guidelines take as long as they tend to take, it may be an extra session,” Kiehl said. “I don’t think there’s interest in the Senate in letting the governor divvy up all the money.”<\/p>\n
Begich said there was a willingness in the Senate for lawmakers to call themselves into special session, allowing them to tackle whatever topics they choose. Special sessions called by the governor are limited to what the executive puts on the call of the session. All of last year’s four special sessions were called by Dunleavy.<\/p>\n
Begich estimated there would be around 18 votes out of 20 in the Senate willing to call themselves into session.<\/p>\n