Kapsner's Alaska History Curriculum Bill Passes House Education Committee
 Representative Mary Kapsner |
House Bill 84, sponsored [sponsor statement] by Representative Mary Kapsner (D-Bethel), allows school boards to include in their regular classroom studies one semester of Alaska history. Teaching materials, once rare, are becoming more abundant and a new Alaska History and Cultural Studies curriculum will soon be available to any district at no cost, thanks to an initiative started by the Alaska Humanities Forum, funded by Senator Ted Stevens. An Alaska History course requirement dovetails nicely with the existing social studies graduation requirement and does not need to add to the credit load required for graduation. A 1/2 credit Alaska History and Cultural Studies course could be part of the three social studies credits currently required of high school students for graduation.
HB 84 now moves to House Health, Education and Social Services Committee.
Ellis's Bill to Protect Public Health Passes Senate
Labor and Commerce Committee
 Senator Johnny Ellis |
Senate Bill 27, sponsored [sponsor statement] by Senator Johnny Ellis (D-Anchorage), will allow the Department of Environmental Conservation to study the suspected link of pesticides exposure to increasing cancer rates, immune system disorders, reproductive health problems, respiratory illnesses and allergies by creating a mechanism for tracking pesticide use in Alaska. SB 27 will allow DEC to charge pesticide manufacturers an $80 registration fee per label (Alaska is the only state that does not charge such a fee), establishes a $25 per annum registration fee for certified pesticide applicators, requires notice be given of commercial pesticide spraying, requires Certified Pesticide Applicators to report pesticide use to DEC, mandates DEC establish a pesticide tracking system that is readily available to the public, and establishes a seven-member Pesticide Advisory Board to assist the Department with development of the tracking system and outreach to the public regarding the safe use of pesticides.
SB 27 now moves to Senate Resources.
Guttenberg's Bill to Add a Second Student Regent
Passes House Education
 Rep. David Guttenberg |
House Bill 72, sponsored [sponsor statement] by Representative David Guttenberg (D-Fairbanks), seeks to add a second Student Regent, or Junior Regent, to the University of Alaska Board of Regents and establishes a new dynamic for both their service and succession. In practice, terms of individual Student Regents will still be two years but under this framework their terms will be overlapping and staggered. Newly appointed to the Board, the Junior Regent will spend his or her first year of service learning from the experience of the more Senior Regent and other members of the Board, attending meetings and participating in the subcommittee process as a voting member. The second year of the Student Regent's term will see him or her elevated to the position of Senior Regent, where they will be allowed to fully participate in and vote on Board decisions. House Bill 72 adds a further stipulation that at least one member of Board of Regents must have received either an undergraduate or graduate degree from the University of Alaska.
HB 72 now moves to the House Health, Education, and Social Services Committee.
Putting Alaskans First - Moving Alaska Forward
