Please Join Us This Saturday!
This Saturday is our first constituent meeting! Sen. Johnny Ellis and myself will be having a pizza party at the Mountain View Community Center (Mountain View Boys & Girls Club). We’ll be in the Teen Room starting at 4 p.m. If you have any questions, feel free to call my office at (907)465-3424. Check out the video we made!
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Bush Caucus is Back
I’ve joined the Bush Caucus. The Bush Caucus has evolved into more of a coastal caucus in recent years, and includes lawmakers from urban communities such as Juneau. But the spirit is the same: advocate the needs of rural and coastal Alaska. Goodness knows it’s a voice that needs to be heard.
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Today, the Alaska State House approved a resolution (HJR5) by Representative Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) opposing the federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Genetically Modified Salmon in the United States. This action brings the 28th Alaska State Legislature one step closer to joining the Alaska Congressional Delegation and the governor in standing with Alaska’s fishermen against “Frankenfish.”
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Education: Oh yeah. That happened.
“School vouchers” is a term you will hear discussed regularly this session. If education and school funding are important to you and your family then I urge you to pay attention. There are proponents of Constitutional changes to adopt a voucher system for corporate schools - but the danger hidden within this legislation is the number of children who will lose educational opportunities that are currently provided through a robust public education system. Right now, SJR9 is being fast-tracked through the Senate after being stripped of its Education Committee referral and is heading instead straight from the Judiciary to Finance committee.
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Today, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) called on the governor to explain his continuing change in position on Alaska’s oil tax law, known as ACES. In 2010, the governor took a position that was in line with that being pushed by House and Senate Democrats - that reasonable tax cuts should be tied to Alaska production, and breaks should not be given to companies that would spend them outside Alaska in “some other country.”
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