Ellis Resolution on No Child Left Behind Passes
Senate State Affairs Committee

Senate Joint Resolution 30, sponsored [sponsor statement] by Senator Johnny Ellis (D-Anchorage), calls for changes to the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The resolution asks Congress to make the Act more workable for states and school districts and to provide full funding.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, appropriations have fallen $27 billion short of what the No Child Left Behind Act authorizes. For 2005, the Bush administration has proposed $10 billion less than what the act calls for.

The resolution stops short of calling for Alaska to opt out of the law, a step that would mean losing federal education money. According to Ellis, Alaska should work to make the law more flexible.

Alaska is not alone in speaking out about problems with the No Child Left Behind Act. States as diverse as Hawaii, Virginia and Utah have seen legislative efforts protesting the burdens placed on them by the act.

SJR 30 next goes to the Health, Education and Social Services Committee.

French's Bill to Aid Victims of Domestic Violence Passes
Senate Judiciary

Senate Bill 308, sponsored [sponsor statement] by Senator Hollis French (D-Anchorage), will change the maximum length of a long-term domestic violence restraining order from six months to up to one year. Requires more conspicuous notice of the penalties for falsifying information on an application for domestic violence or stalking protective orders.

Senate Bill 308 now moves to Senate Finance.

Kerttula's Avalanche Awareness Resolution Passes House

House Joint Resolution 41, a resolution sponsored by Representative Beth Kerttula (D-Juneau), to support efforts by U.S. Senator Ted Stevens to implement a federal program that would provide needed funding for avalanche safety education, forecasting, detection, research and control passed the House of Representatives unanimously.

HJR 41 supports Sen. Ted Stevens S. 931, which directs the Secretary of Interior to establish an avalanche protection program in the National Park System - there are 54 million acres of national parks in Alaska. It also provides money in the form of grants for avalanche danger identification, forecasting, detecting, mitigation, research and control (including munitions). These grants would be available to a wide variety of programs, including private industry, communities, and transportation entities, not just government programs. Grants are not restricted to the National Park system. Alaska will get a large share of the available grant money.

HJR 3 now goes to the Senate.

Upcoming Events-

Saturday, April 10 - Senator Guess will hold constituent meetings at the Mountain View Community Center (315 N. Price Street) from 10:00 a.m. to noon and the Northeast Community Center (1251 Muldoon Road) from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 10 - Senator Davis, Representative Cissna, and Representative Crawford will hold their second constituent meeting from noon to 3 at Russian Jack Elementary School. The entertainment will be provided by music students from Russian Jack Elementary School.

Tuesday, April 13 and Wednesday, April 14- The Senate Finance Committee will take public testimony on the operating budget next week.

Testimony from Legislative Information Offices (LIO):

Tuesday, April 13: 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm: Bethel, Nome and Kotzebue
6:30 pm to 7:00 pm: Barrow, Tok and Delta Junction.
7:00 pm to 7:30 pm: Fairbanks and Mat Su
7:30 pm to 8:30 pm: Anchorage

Wednesday, April 14:
9:00 am Public Testimony from offnet sites
6:00 pm to 6:30 pm: Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg
6:30 pm to 7:00 pm: Sitka, Cordova and Valdez
7:00 pm to 7:30 pm: Glennallen, Seward and Homer
7:30 pm to 8:30 pm: Kenai, Kodiak and Dillingham

**Juneau testimony may be taken during lags in teleconference sites and following the final set of LIOs.

OFF NET sites: for those residents living in communities not within 30 miles by road to an LIO office, you can call into the number below to give testimony at 9 am on Wednesday, April 14. If you live within 30 miles by road from an LIO, you need to go to your LIO to testify.

Off Net Number: 1-800-395-5073. Call about 5 minutes before the meeting, which begins at 9:00 am.

If you cannot or do not want to testify by voice, you are encouraged to submit written testimony to Senate Finance Committee members by e-mail, regular mail or fax, or submit a Public Opinion Message at your local LIO. You are also welcome to submit written testimony and testify by voice.

Putting Alaskans First - Moving Alaska Forward