Rep. Mike Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL EXPAND-O-MATIC BUDGETS EDITION
We moved the state operating budget out of the powerful House Finance Committee, across the House floor and on to the Senate this week. The budget is a 79-page monster costing about $8.9 billion. At least that’s how it left the House. Budgets never get smaller, however. They only grow. So there’s no telling how much bigger it will get in the Senate, then in conference committee. But unless a meteor wipes out the Prudhoe Bay oil fields, we can probably afford it.
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Berta’s Briefings from Rep. Gardner: The $2 Billion (a Year) Question
Our airwaves are filled with stark commercials threatening the end of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAPS) unless we cut Alaska’s share of oil taxes. In the State Legislature, the discussion is all about Governor Parnell’s proposal (HB 110) to cut oil taxes by more than $2 billion per year in a bid to get more oil in the pipeline.
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Rep. Scott Kawasaki’s Juneau Note: Energy Council; Early Education Pre-K Program;
I returned Sunday night from my trip to the Energy Council. The four days spent in Washington were filled with non-stop meetings and seminars throughout the day. I travelled with three fellow House Democrats and a dozen House Republicans for meetings about Alaska. Meetings included visiting our Congressional Delegation and members of the Senate Energy Committee, the EPA and the Department of Interior.
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Committee Hears Statewide Preschool Bill; Legislation would establish a statewide early childhood education plan
“Pre-K education has proven to pay big dividends to both students and state budgets,” said Rep. Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks). “We’re simply asking the Department of Education and Early Development to develop an education plan for bringing these benefits to Alaskans.”
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Rep. Guttenberg’s Legislative Report: Operating Budget Update and Process; Stampede Recreation Area Legislation; UA Boosters Meeting;
How about those Nanooks! The UAF Nanook Hockey Team brought home the 2011 Governor’s Cup. Congratulations! Here in Juneau the House Finance Committee has kept me busy with the Operating Budget and other legislation.
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