Rep. David Guttenberg's Legislative Report for District 38

Please join me for a community meeting on Wednesday, July 9th from 5:30-7:30pm at the Fairbanks Legislative Information Office located at 1292 Sadler Way, 3rd Floor of the Alaska USA Federal Credit Building.

Come to discuss energy, education, health care, jobs and more! Food will be provided.

If you cannot make it, I always want to hear from you. Please call my office at 456-8172 or e-mail me at rep.david.guttenberg@akleg.gov

Rural area meetings will be announced later as we continue to work on logistics.

The Alaska State Alone Pipeline (ASAP) is a small diameter in-state line designed for use by Alaskans. The project was created by the legislature to develop an affordable, long-term energy solution for the state. If built, it will be 727 miles long, from the North Slope to Point MacKenzie, with a 30-mile lateral line into Fairbanks.

This pipeline differs from the large diameter line known right now as the AKLNG project that will be mostly for export to Asia.

At the beginning of the year, the ASAP team realigned the possible route for the Fairbanks line, bringing it through Goldstream Valley. There has been a lack of communication, which ASAP has acknowledged and vowed to fix, with those in the area of the proposed route.

I want to make sure that residents of the area are aware of the project, know who to talk to with questions and feel included. Even though this project is in its infancy, it is still important that we speak up with our concerns.

To learn more about the whole project visit: http://asapgas.agdc.us/ . The Community Advisory Council meets around the state and is a way to voice your opinion as well as better understand ASAP. The next Fairbanks area meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 24th from 11am-1pm at the Westmark, Harper Conference Room. Agendas will be uploaded on the website closer to the meeting.

In the past weeks, Governor Parnell was in Fairbanks to sign a cluster of legislation. The main piece was the UAF Heat and Power Plant legislation that would authorize UAF to be able to borrow money from the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank Authority. During the legislative session, the UAF power plant took a front row seat during financial discussions. At the end of the day, a blend of financing options including loans, bonds and general funds were put forward as the solution.

Big issues like the power plant led to a larger discussion on the future of the University of Alaska’s buildings and infrastructure. This led to the creation of a University of Alaska Building Fund, via SB 74, allowing for better fiscal management of large-scale projects and associated maintenance.

The bill signing also included HB 154 “Natural and Cultural History Repositories”, which I co-sponsored, allowing the Museum of the North to take possession and care for natural and cultural artifacts permanently for researchers. This strengthens our commitment to research in Fairbanks and around the world.

The Governor signed HB 268 “ Bill Bull Moose Derbies; Snow Town Ice Classic” as well at the event. This bill creates a game of skill for non-profit benefit in which prizes are awarded based on the size or spread of moose antlers. It always important to give our non-profits opportunities to creatively raise funds, however over the course of the legislative session I had concerns about using our largest wildlife as the conditions for winning. I tried unsuccessfully to amend it to make it more of a game of chance, rather than run the risk of hunters being rewarded for taking the largest of the bulls.

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