Southeast Spotlight: start of the special session

Dear Neighbors,

Yesterday, the Legislature adjourned, which should have been cause for relief (or celebration), but wasn’t.  Here’s why: the Legislature passed a budget that is not fully funded – which means the state would run out of money before the next session.  Despite days of negotiating, we were unable to reach an agreement on a budget that works for all Alaskans.  As a result, Governor Walker called us back into a special session, starting today, Tuesday, April 28 at 10 am.

April 28, 2015: We might not celebrate the continuation of the Session, but we did get a flashmob at the “Stop in the Name of Love” event. Rep. Kito and Rep. Claman rallied in the rain to support of LGBT equality – great music, great energy, and great company!

What does that mean? The governor is able to call a special session and direct the Legislature to address specific issues. Only those issues identified by the governor are up for discussion.  This special session, Governor Walker directed us address Erin’s Law, a fully-funded budget, and Medicaid reform and expansion. So we’re back at work.

ERIN’S LAW
This law outlines K-12 curriculum to help protect children from sexual abuse, which has a devastating effect on our families, communities, and our state.  Erin’s Law introduces age-appropriate curriculum for students to teach them about safe touch, healthy secrets, and how to identify a safe person to tell. This is the second year in a row that it hasn’t passed, despite the fact that there were several bills introduced dealing with Erin’s Law.  Public testimony demonstrated widespread support, but the legislation got caught up in end-of-session negotiations.  Alaska would be the 22nd state to pass a version of Erin’s Law.

BUDGET
You’ve heard the budget math, and it’s not pretty. We’re facing huge shortfalls, somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.0 billion dollars.  There is no question: we must cut, and we must cut now. The question of where and how is what has us stuck.  The primary disagreements on the budget are over: 1) funding for education; 2) Medicaid expansion; and 3) funding for employee bargaining agreement contracts.  Briefly, I’d like to discuss education funding and Medicaid expansion.

April 17, 2015: Rally in support of education. Image by Marc Lester from the Alaska Dispatch News photo journal of the Session, see more here. Thanks to the reporters, photographers, and film crews for their thorough coverage.

Education
I’m deeply troubled by the proposed cuts to education and the long-term impact these cuts will have on Alaska’s future. Here are some quick numbers to set the stage:

At the start of the budget process, Governor Walker and the Alaska House of Representatives proposed a $32 million cut to forward funding in education (these are funds that we pledge to schools so that they can plan ahead). The Alaska Senate then proposed a further $47 million cut to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) funding. That brings our total to $79 million cut from education.

Alaskans aren’t happy about this proposal. We know this because you called, emailed, or rallied (by the thousands!) in support of public education.  While I support reasonable cuts to the budget, my concern is that these cuts will do more harm than good.  The House and Senate Majorities proposed cuts that will only cover a fraction of our deficit yet risk chilling our state economy.  We do have a fiscal challenge, that under current oil prices, we will spend through our savings within three years.  We need strategic cuts that consider Alaska’s long-range economic health.

April , 2015: Annika Ord shares her own health care story during the Juneau rally to expand Medicaid. First Lady and Governor Walker, Lt. Governor Mallott, and many others showed their support.

Medicaid
We have received thousands of emails voicing support for Medicaid expansion.  It has overwhelming public support and makes fiscal sense. I am committed to moving forward with expansion and reform.

Alaska has a significant health care coverage problem to address (see this ISER report for the full picture).  Health care costs in Alaska are higher than elsewhere in the U.S. due to a number of factors.  We have a higher cost of living, limited competition for health care professionals, isolated communities and smaller markets. While these are tough to control, one factor that we can impact is the size of the market: we can make it bigger. The more people covered in a health care system, the more widely distributed and lower the costs.

Expansion is also good for the economy: it adds new jobs and brings the state savings.  The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services estimates that the first year savings will be $6.1 million, and the state will still be saving money in 2021.

April 18, 2015: Passed SB 63, which names the new State Libraries, Archives, and Museum after Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff and names the Reading Room after Representative Richard Foster. Rep. Kito pictured with Neal Foster (Rep. Richard Foster’s son), and Rep. Cathy Muñoz.

In order to accomplish expansion, the legislature should give Governor Walker the budget authority to receive federal funding as well as the legislative authority to expand and continue with reforms.

There are other issues in the budget that are critically important to Southeast Alaska that we will be working on in this special session as well.  Those include adequate funding for the Alaska Marine Highway System, and funding for critical local jobs and programs such as the Haines Forestry positions, and community jails funding.

As always if you have questions or concerns, please call, write, email, or stop by.

Best Wishes,

Sam Kito III