Rep. Drummond’s Newsletter: Spenard Road Update
July 15, 2016
The project managers for the Spenard Corridor Plan would like to invite you to participate in their first community survey.
Read More →
NEWS: House Ends Historic Fifth Special Session Without Progress on a Comprehensive Fiscal Plan
July 15, 2016
Juneau – Today, the Alaska House of Representatives adjourned the Fifth Special Session of the 29th Alaska Legislature. Lawmakers were unable to reach consensus on the components of the fiscal plan proposed by Alaska Governor Bill Walker. Despite the setback, the members of the Alaska Independent Democratic Coalition (AIDC) remain committed to finding acceptable solutions to close the budget gap that can garner approval from the Governor, the Alaska Legislature, and the people of Alaska.
Read More →
Rep. Wool’s Newsletter: Breaking Records, and Not The Good Kind
July 12, 2016
I’m writing to you on the second day of the fifth special session. We’re breaking records now…and not the good kind. This is the first time in Alaska’s history that there’s been five special sessions in a legislative term. Governor Walker called this special session to consider many of the proposals that didn’t pass during the last special session, including a bill seeking to withdraw money from the Permanent Fund earnings reserve to fund the state budget, bills that would implement an income tax, sales tax, and increases in the motor fuel, mining, fisheries, alcohol, and tobacco taxes, and reconsideration of parts of our oil and gas tax credit system.
Read More →
NEWS: Consumers Have a Right to Know the Genetically Modified Ingredients in Their Food
July 8, 2016
Anchorage – The U.S. Senate passed legislation Thursday that that would create a mandatory national system for disclosing genetically modified ingredients in food products. The bill passed by a vote of 63-30. Representative Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) has been a vocal advocate for a strong labeling system in Alaska. She is concerned the federal legislation would limit the ability for individual states to implement stricter labeling requirements than the proposed national system.
Read More →
Rep. Kito’s Newsletter: Update on Governor’s vetoes & 5th special session
July 8, 2016
We all know Alaska is in a bind. Oil prices are currently stabilized, but at a relatively low level, which means that our state income from oil is now in the neighborhood of $705 million unrestricted general funds (UGF). Add in $500 million from non-petroleum revenue and we have about $1.2 billion UGF. While that sounds like a lot of money, we are looking at a General Fund budget of around $4.5 billion. This means that we have a hole of more than a $3 billion in our state budget.
Read More →