Rep. Kreiss-Tomkins’ Newsletter: What are those yahoos in Juneau up to now?
March 7, 2014
Like a good story, most legislative sessions have a narrative. Last session’s narrative was simple and wholesome: the passage of a multi-billion dollar tax cut for oil companies. And by golly, we got the job done with SB 21, which passed the Senate 11-9, and fulfilled its unfortunate destiny by a vote of 27-12 on the floor of the House of Representatives at 2:07 a.m. in the wee hours of April 14, 2013. (I was among the dozen dissenters.)
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NEWS: Report: Governor’s Education Proposal Continues Teacher Cuts
March 6, 2014
JUNEAU – Today, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) released a report showing that, in order to avoid cutting educators a fourth year in a row, Alaska’s six largest school districts need an increase of roughly four times more per-pupil funding next year than the Governor has proposed.
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NEWS: Gara Debunks Oil Tax Myths: Pathway to Poverty Reduces Production, Threatens Education, Jobs, and Core Services
March 5, 2014
JUNEAU – Today Rep. Les Gara (D-Anch) has provided Alaskans with a source of information so they can see how the Governor’s oil giveaway kills Alaska’s ability to fund schools, construction jobs, and basic services. It will be on Gara’s website, with documents, most of which were provided by the Governor’s paid experts and administration officials when they were pushing SB 21. The latest state projections show oil production will fall under SB 21 from over 500,000 barrels a day to 285,000 barrels in 2024.
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CORRECTED: Note from Rep. Gara: Politicians Should Give Back Your Vote, Avoid Annual Abortion Scuffle
March 3, 2014
Today I filed legislation no party in power would like. It will give you back your vote by eliminating the power the party in power has to gerrymander districts in their favor. This hasn’t been a monopoly of Republicans, though they gerrymandered Alaska’s lines most recently in 2012. Parties have used their majority status to “gerrymander” districts, to try to pre-determine election results, since Governor Elbridge Gerry did it in 1812.
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Note from Rep. Gara: Budget Testimony Tuesday; Pebble Mine Being Panned?
February 28, 2014
There’s still quite a bit of work to do on the budget, and your input is needed. If you live in Anchorage, testimony is Tuesday from 4:15 to 5:45. The temporary legislative information office (LIO) is located at 733 W 4th Ave, Suite 100 (right across the street from the former location). You must sign in to testify, and testimony is limited to two minutes per person. A list of testimony times and days for people around the state can be found below.
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