April 18, 2012

Dear Neigbors,

The 27th Alaska Legislature adjourned in the early hours on Monday with acclamation from the House on a job ‘well done.’ The Legislature satisfied the Constitutional requirement of passing a budget and passed a handful of bills to improve the lives of people, lower the cost of energy and keep Alaska on firm economic footing. Within an hour of adjournment, members received the unfortunate news that we would be forced into special session to reconsider the Governor’s tax breaks for big oil corporations. It has been a contentious issue for the last two years and has not received sufficient statewide support from lawmakers. The 30-day special session began today at 1pm at a price tag of around $35K per day.

So much for the summer plans. But, here is a report on the session end, some of my priorities passed and some future challenges to confront.

Education Is a Solid Investment

In the late hours, the legislature approved a handful of pro-education bills originally used for political leverage. Though we weren’t able to provide the stable, long-term funding I desired, the one-time money will go a long way to keep classrooms small and kids achieving. I’m excited that many of my personal goals as a member of the House Education Committee were passed this year from Pre-K to UA!

Thanks to Sen. Joe Thomas and members of the budget conference committee, early education funding for pilot pre-K, vocation education dollars and over $30-million to K-12 schools was added to the budget. We know that kids who get quality pre-K perform better in school, earn more as adults and get in to trouble less in the future. The targeted money, along with a bill that I sponsored for healthy families, the Parents as Teachers bill, will go a long way toward making early education a reality in the future.

The Legislature also passed the Alaska Performance Scholarship, which was a priority of the education committees. The APS will give students a college scholarship if they take rigorous academics and perform well in school. The state should continue to make a commitment to education and reward kids for good performance.

In addition to the millions in operating funds, education was also supported through individual projects:

· $330,000 School Classroom Digital Technology Upgrades

· $3,200,000 Artificial Turf Fields

· $3,000,000 Noel Wien Library

· $100,000 We the People Program

· $50,000 Northstar Imagination Library

· $46,300,000 UAF Engineering Building

Energy is the Key to Economy

By far the biggest priority of the Interior Delegation is to find energy relief for consumers in the Interior. Many politicians will claim that there is a ‘silver bullet’ during a campaign. The truth is that we will need a shotgun with ‘silver buckshot’ to get cheaper electricity, heating oil and gasoline to consumers. Thanks to Senators Joe Paskvan and Joe Thomas and Representatives Thompson and Miller, we were able to accomplish a number of goals for interior residents.

Oil and gas exploration and development in South Central and the North Slope is booming with an all-time high in new companies, jobs and new construction. However, in “middle earth” we struggle with the high cost of energy and very little development. The Interior Delegation introduced a handful of direct subsidies for development in the unexplored with the hope of opening new ‘frontier’ basins. The $30-million subsidy, along with a $15-million storage credit, should make more local projects economic in the future. Many of the credits which exist in the Cook Inlet will now be allowed for the Interior.

The cheapest kilowatt or gallon of fuel is the one that is never needed. Over $50-million was put toward the popular home energy rebate and the home energy weatherization plans. Together, these two funds have been able to offset hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel in the few short years that they were first funded. Finally, renewable energy, like the Eva Creek Wind Farm, and future developments are likely to be funded through the reinstitution of the Renewable Energy Grant Fund which will capitalize over $250-million in a few short years.

In addition to the hundreds of millions in energy legislation, the capital budget contained specific items to curb the cost of energy.

· $3,750,000 GVEA Liquefied Natural Gas Facility Engineering and Design

· $3,000,000 FNSB Natural Gas Distribution Center Development

· $6,000,000 Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center

· $2,500,000 Fairbanks Air Quality Mitigation Funds

Not-So-Special Session Call

I just heard from Resources Chairman and Interior Delegation member Rep. Eric Feige that we will meet twice a day and on Saturday. It is the hope that we can bring in more experts, take a narrower focus and see if taxes should be raised or lowered, so that Alaskans get a fair share for our limited natural resource.

Needless to say, I will not be back in Fairbanks for breakup and will remain here and work hard until the job is done. I hope constituents will call me in Juneau to talk about your goals for the special session. I look forward to speaking with you; please call me in Juneau at 907-456-7423.

Working Hard for Fairbanks Families,