NEWS: Legislative Office Building Renegotiations: Rep. Gara Says Costs Should Not Exceed Moving to Much Cheaper Atwood State Office Building
ANCHORAGE – Last month, the Alaska Legislative Council voted to allow 45 days to potentially renegotiate the costs of the controversial Anchorage Legislative Information Office Building (LIO) in downtown Anchorage. Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) is concerned Republican leaders, who have repeatedly voted and stood against Democratic efforts to move from this space, might renegotiate a new contract that still costs far more than existing options. Rep. Gara wants the public to know how much one of the options would save so they can fairly evaluate any attempt to renegotiate this lease. A report by the non-partisan Legislative Research Division shows that moving to the Atwood State Office Building would be 80 to 90% cheaper than the current Legislative Information Office Building, which costs roughly $4.2 million a year. Whether moving to the Atwood Building would cut the costs by 80%, or over 90%, depends on how much space the Legislature leases. However, Rep. Gara believes the cost of any lease should be at least as low as moving to the Atwood Building.
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NEWS: Community Input Sought by East Side Anchorage Legislators Before Upcoming Legislative Session
ANCHORAGE – In the final days before the start of the Second Session of the 29th Alaska Legislature, Sen. Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) and Reps. Max Gruenberg (D-Anchorage) and Gabrielle LeDoux (R-Anchorage) invite East Anchorage and JBER constituents to a pre-session town hall constituent meeting on Thursday, January 7, from 6:30-8:00pm at the Begich Middle School, 7440 Creekside Center Drive, Anchorage.
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NEWS: It’s Time to Plan for the Impacts of Global Climate Change in Alaska
ANCHORAGE – Alaska is already experiencing damaging impacts from global climate change and the negative impacts are expected to intensify as the environment of the North Pacific continues to warm and change. Representative Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage) plans to introduce legislation later this month to create a nine member commission to help develop a statewide climate change strategy.
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NEWS: “Right to Try” Legislation Proposed to Help the Terminally Ill in Alaska
FAIRBANKS – Representative Scott Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks) and Representative Harriet Drummond (D-Anchorage) will introduce a “right to try” bill in the upcoming 2nd Session of the 29th Alaska Legislature. The bill will be the House companion to SB 113, which was introduced by Senator Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) in April.
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NEWS: Alaska Legislature Must Embrace Savings and Scrap Expensive and Unnecessary Anchorage Legislative Information Office
ANCHORAGE – On Saturday, the members of the Alaska Legislative Council are scheduled to discuss the available options to save money on office space for lawmakers and staff in Anchorage. The current Anchorage Legislative Information Office (LIO) building on 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage has been criticized as too expensive, and many lawmakers including Rep. Sam Kito (D-Juneau), believe it’s time to embrace budget savings and end the lease on the current building. Rep. Kito is the only member of the Alaska Independent Democratic Coalition (AIDC) on the Legislative Council. He notes that available space in the state-owned Atwood Building in Anchorage is the most viable option under consideration as an alternative to the continued leasing or purchase of the 4th Avenue building.
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