April 10,
2015
Dear Neighbors,
Budget
Awesome Artwork in the Capitol this month from Ryan Middle School. |
The state’s $3.5-billion budget deficit has headlined most newspapers this session and overshadowed almost every other issue. My office has received hundreds of calls, emails, letters and messages on a variety of topics ranging from dramatic cuts to schools to the silencing of public radio and the elimination some benefits to seniors. I will personally read and listen to each and every communication and work to protect the critical and constitutionally-mandated functions of government.
On Tuesday, the House selected our representatives to the operating budget conference committee where the final budget determinations will be made.
I strongly encourage you to contact Representatives Steve Thompson, Mark Neuman and Les Gara to ensure your voice is heard. They will be joined by their Senate counterparts, Senators Pete Kelly, Anna MacKinnon and Donny Olson.
I thank each and every Alaskan who took the time to contact my office. It is vitally important that Alaskans stay involved throughout the budget and legislative processes to ensure we reach a solution that works best for all of us.
Anchorage Representatives Delay Plans to bring Natural Gas to Fairbanks
Things move fast towards the end of session. |
The House Resources Committee added another delay to House Bill 105 which would bring natural gas to Fairbanks. The committee passed HB 105 with new restrictions on the plan to bring the Interior its desperately needed natural gas. One of the amendments could impose a delay of over one year!
With no Fairbanks representation on the Resources Committee, Anchorage republicans hampered our ability to keep the Interior Energy Project moving forward. HB 105 now moves to the House Finance Committee for further deliberations. Please contact members of the Finance Committee and let them know how important the Interior Energy Project is to Fairbanks.
Another hot topic this session... Medicaid
Session Ends April 19, 2015. |
House Bill 148 is now in House Finance where Health and Social Services Commissioner Valerie Davidson laid out why it would greatly benefit our state. HB 148 is our chance to get health insurance for 42,000 uninsured and working Alaskans. This would bring in $147-million in revenue for Alaska from the federal government in the first year. The projections of the first four years would bring $1 billion in for the state. This bill will grant greater access to healthcare services such as preventative healthcare and reduce the amount of state funded emergency room visits for the entire state because the individuals will be getting the preventative treatment needed to avoid more costly health issues. In a recent poll Alaskans strongly favor Medicaid expansion while opponents in the legislature continue to block the expansion.
HB 55: How Much Would it Cost You to Spend A Year in Prison?
My intern came prepared for the end of session. |
I was proud to pass House Bill 55 out of the State Affairs Committee Tuesday morning after a swift conversation about wrongful imprisonment and the morals of compensating those individuals who have been wrongfully incarcerated. HB 55 establishes an administrative process by which Alaskans can apply to the attorney general for $50,000 per year for which they were wrongfully incarcerated with a cap at $2 million. HB 55 adopts the federal standard for wrongful incarceration compensation signed into law by President George W. Bush in the Justice for All Act of 2004.
This is an important bill to our justice system as well as all Alaskans. When you or I make a mistake, there are ramifications. This will provide similar consequences when our legal system takes years away from an innocent individual. No amount of money can ever compensate for the time stolen from families, this bill provides some funds to help Alaskans get back on their feet and rebuild their lives.
Working Hard for Fairbanks Families,
![[SIGNED]](../../images/signatures/31.gif)
Representative Scott Kawasaki
Alaska State Representative
City of Fairbanks |
