New laws crack down on arsonists and help families of deceased veterans
Today, the governor signed two bills by Representative Max Gruenberg (D-Anchorage) into law, protecting Alaskans from arsonists and helping families of deceased veterans in their time of loss.
Read More →Today, Rep. Les Gara launched the Summer Foster Youth Laptop Drive designed to pair foster youth with laptop computers donated by generous Alaskans.
“Past holiday drives were very successful, so we’re hoping to spread that success throughout the year,” said Rep. Gara, whose office started this effort with foster youth advocate Amanda Metivier two years ago.
Read More →“We need to take charge to guarantee Alaska’s housing market stays strong”
This afternoon, the governor signed HB 269, a bill by Representative Lindsey Holmes (D-Anchorage) that ensures housing projects in the state can keep moving forward.
Before this fix, an unintended glitch in state law could cause projects to stall out if their timeline ran a little too long. The obsolete provision was adopted in 1986 but has been updated nationally since 1994. HB 269 updates Alaska’s law to the national standard. The bill is widely supported by banks, trust companies, and homebuilders in Alaska.
Read More →Today, four members of the House Democratic Caucus said that today’s successful Cook Inlet lease sale was another reason for Alaskans to be optimistic about Alaska’s ability to meet long-term local energy needs with Alaskan gas.
“The industry’s renewed interest in Cook Inlet is not surprising given the incentives we’ve put in place and the real potential to find large amounts of untapped oil and gas,” said Representative Pete Petersen (D-Anchorage). “It shows they think there’s a lot of gas there, and that they’re willing to produce it. That’s good news for Alaska’s energy future.”
Read More →Ban Signed Into Law Today
Today, thanks to legislation led by Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) and Representative Bill Thomas (R-Haines), Alaska’s strong anti-texting law is officially back on the books. Last year, a number of judges questioned whether the law at the time covered texting while driving, but the new law is clear—it is illegal to text while driving in Alaska.
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