Friends and Neighbors,

As we head into the last few weeks of session I am reminded how much I miss spring in Fairbanks! While Juneau is a very sunny pleasant spot, nothing beats breakup back home.

Oil Tax Debate

After over a month of debate in committees the Governors oil tax bill (HB 110) reached and passed the House Floor. As the floor debate went late into the evening there were many statistics, personal stories and heated arguments by all members of the House. Many members talked about their fustrations with a lack of information, past debates on oil taxes and the uncertanity of the future. One thing stood out, everyone there wanted to increase production and put more Alaskans to work.

I would have liked to have been able to vote yes for something that would have done that. HB 110 gave Alaskan’s no guarentee of any type of returns. It allowed for $2 Billion in tax breaks to the industry and never required neither increased production or jobs.

Maybe oil is king and we need keep TAPS running, our state needs to educate our children and provide services to our citizens. Using our savings while waiting and hoping for increased production was too risky under HB 110.

Above photo: Rep Beth Kerttula, indepedent oil consultant Rick Harper, Rep David Guttenberg

Upcoming Bill Hearings for School Gardens and Stampede Recreation Area

I am pleased to announce that HB 93 “School Gardens” and HB 113 “Stampede Recreation Area” will be heard next week. Both of these bills create healthy opportunities for Alaskans.

HB 93 “School Gardens” creates a program to encourage and support gardens in our schools. In Fairbanks many of our schools have been lucky to have the Calypso Farm School Garden Initiative to help build and education youth on gardening, nutrition and economics. This bill would allow schools statewide to partner with a non-profit to start a school garden.

School gardens are a great way to teach the next generation about food security, healthy eating, science, and economics and at the same time meeting curriculum standards opportunities. HB 93 commits money to school districts that have a non-profit partner and raise matching funds. This model allows for community buy in and stability for the garden.

HB 93 will be heard on Saturday April 9th by the House Finance Committee. For more information on this hearing or the legislation please contact my office.

HB 113 “Stampede Recreation Area” will have its first hearing on Friday April 8th at 1pm in the House Resources Committee. This bill creates a recreation area in the Denali Borough for all users. Many current users of the area have been waiting for a long time for this land to come to fruition and I am hopeful that it will make progress this year.

Above photo: Rep. Guttenberg and Rep. Gara

Thank you for reading and please feel free to call my office and share your ideas.