I recently completed a trip to Texas and I thought I’d share my experiences with you. While a niece’s wedding was the catalyst for the trip, I learned a thing or two about Texas and the trip fed my interest in history along the way.
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ANCHORAGE – A new report from the Alaska Department of Revenue shows a substantial negative effect on the finances of the State of Alaska from large oil and gas tax credits. The report concludes that North Slope oil and gas production tax credits may be an inferior investment for Alaska compared to investing in the Constitutional Budget Reserve Fund.
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ANCHORAGE – Later today, Alaska Governor Bill Walker will sign the Alaska Safe Children’s Act during a ceremony as part of the 2015 Alaska Flag Day Celebration in Anchorage. HB 44 includes Erin’s Law, which requires school districts across the state to teach children how to recognize and report sexual abuse. Erin’s Law was championed in Alaska by Representative Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) who helped guide the law through multiple legislative sessions all the way to final passage on July 11, 2015.
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I hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend! Now for some sobering news - a big wallop to hit you with after a long weekend. And a solution so you hopefully don’t ever feel that wallop! A recent study says Alaska is either in a recession, or is on the possible brink of one. That’s a big concern. Standing still isn’t the way to address this news. Here’s something we should do to help avoid any protracted recession.
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Last week Governor Walker took an important step towards lowering energy costs in Fairbanks by signing HB 105 into law. This enables the Interior Energy Project to purchase natural gas from Cook Inlet to bring to Fairbanks. Previously they were only authorized to buy gas from the North Slope, which proved to be too expensive. Passing this bill was not easy- after it passed through the House Energy Committee, which I’m a member of, the House Resources Committee added amendments that could have killed the project. Luckily, the Interior Delegation rallied together across party lines and we were able to remove those amendments.
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