Rep. David Guttenberg's Legislative Report for District 38

Last week I attended Brian Rogers’ retirement party at the Wood Center, where a group of his longtime friends, family and coworkers paid tribute to the contributions he has made over the years as Chancellor at UAF. I’ve known Brian since he sold lemonade out of a step ban on campus years ago. He is a dear friend of mine. Although we were there to say goodbye to one of Fairbanks’ great leaders, it remained a celebration as several people spoke in his honor.

Vic Fisher, a member of Alaska’s Constitutional Convention, spoke highly of Chancellor Rogers and recalled working with him in the Alaska State Legislature years ago when Alaska was expanding and developing. Former UAF President Mark Hamilton spoke about their time working together at UAF, and Representative Adam Wool read a citation he wrote in his honor. Those who spoke of Chancellor Rogers, expressed a sense of admiration for his hard work and integrity he displayed during his time at the University.

Chancellor Rogers has been working throughout the summer alongside the new Interim Chancellor, Mike Powers, to prepare him to take his this fall. I look forward to working with him to help our University grow and succeed to its highest potential.

Yesterday Governor Walker announced that the Healthy Alaska Plan will roll out on schedule, despite a futile attempt by the Legislative Council to block the expansion of Medicaid included in the plan. This means that as many as 40,000 uninsured Alaskans now qualify for federally subsidized healthcare, and thousands of new jobs will be created as the state saves upwards of $100 million on healthcare over the next six years. I did not support the decision by the Legislative Council to file a costly law suit against the Governor’s office over Walker’s unilateral expansion of Medicaid. That is why I am as pleased by the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday denying the Legislature’s motion to temporarily block the expansion as I was by Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner’s decision on Friday that permitted Walker’s administration to go forward with the roll out of the Healthy Alaska Plan this week. "The petition for review is denied on the ground that the council has failed to show the superior court erred in its legal analysis for the grant or denial of the motion for preliminary injection or abused its discretion in denying the motion for preliminary injunction," the Supreme Court's order said. "The motion for emergency relief is denied as moot."

Although the courts’ decisions pertained only to motions aimed at temporarily blocking Medicaid expansion, I think it’s now time that the Legislative Council drops their suit against the Governor. If they don’t, hundreds of thousands of dollars will continue to be wasted on a political power play that, even if successful, does nothing but damage public opinion and snub uninsured Alaskans. Affordable healthcare is as fundamental to society as clean water and good education, and it’s absolutely ridiculous that leadership in the Legislature is seeking to deny this liberty to Alaskans in the name of partisan politics.

If you are uninsured and would like to see if you qualify for subsidized healthcare, please visit the Governor’s Healthy Alaska Plan website here.

This fall I’ve said goodbye to two of my long time staffers, Chief of Staff Meredith Cameron, and Finance Staff, Ron Clarke . Meredith has been the backbone of my office for the last seven years and will be leaving us to work in Washington D.C. After years of working with me in Finance, Ron has taken a position as special assistant to the Commissioner of Military and Veterans Affairs, and I look forward to continuing to work with him on future legislation.
I’d also like to welcome Kyle Campbell as our new Finance Aide.

Kyle grew up in the Goldstream Valley and has been involved in community organizations for most of his life. He has worked as a wilderness guide and science educator, teaching about climate change and astronomy to communities throughout the state for UAF, where he earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in biology. Welcome aboard Kyle!

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