Rep. Petersen’s Report from the Capitol: Special Session Continues: Senior Benefits, Regulatory Commission Extended
Today is the fifth day of the special session, and it is getting to feel pretty weird here in Juneau. My Capitol office is bare, since almost everything in it has been boxed up and is being shipped to Anchorage. I am really anxious to go home, but I am going to stay here in Juneau as long as it takes to get the job done. The House and Senate Finance Committees are still at an impasse over the operating and capital budgets, but we have been able to pass some important bills in the last week.
Read More →
Rep. Doogan in Juneau: Special Halls (and falls) of Government Edition
Moving fast, but not getting far
We’ve been in special session since Monday morning. In that time, the House has met four times. The powerful House Finance Committee, of which I am a weary member, has met three times. And the House and Senate have sent three bills (HB 126, SB 42 and SB 84) to the governor.
One way to look at that is this: We should meet in special session all the time. Our bill-production rate is three times the rate of the regular session.
Read More →
Berta’s Briefings from Rep. Gardner: What the Heck Happened?
Shortly before the start of floor session on the 90th day, House Majority leadership notified the Democratic caucus that it was their intention to pass a resolution asking the Governor to adjourn the legislature and call us into special session immediately. A special session was needed because the legislature had not completed the statutory mandate of passing the operating budget.
Read More →
Note from Rep. Gara: The Avoidable Special Session: Why the Governor’s Threat Against the Senate on Oil Taxes Didn’t Help Things.
Let me say this for the record. The Legislative session should have ended yesterday. I was willing to get all my work done, but in politics at the end of session the negotiations get taken over by a few of the highest ranking leaders – and roughly 50 of the 60 of us have no say other than the moral prodding we can offer those negotiators. That’s not to say who among the negotiators was at fault. But here’s what I do know, and what most of the media didn’t report.
Read More →
[video] Rep. Gara House Floor Speech on The Avoidable Special Session
Click on the title to watch this video.
Read More →
