Yesterday, I and like-minded colleagues in the Alaska Legislature worked late into the night to protect our children’s future by offering fixes to House Bill 278, the major legislation of the year pertaining to our public education system.
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Dear Neighbors, There are sixteen days left in the 28th Alaska State Legislature and there is a lot of big legislation still on the table.
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We are sprinting towards the end of the 28th Alaska State Legislature and multiple bills are passing the House every day. As of this writing, we have more than 25 pieces of legislation that have passed out of committee and are waiting to be voted on in the House. My office has been working diligently to ensure everything is properly vetted before we vote. It is our duty as legislators to ensure we only pass legislation that is beneficial to all Alaskans and I will continue to work hard for Fairbanks and Alaskan families.
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On Tuesday evening, the Senate voted 15-5 to advance SB138, the Governor’s Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) proposal. The House will now have a mere 30 days to analyze the details of SB138, weigh the pros and cons, hear from the public, offer amendments and consider the impact to the state. This hurried pace once again has me concerned with the lack of due diligence that has become far too common this legislative session.
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There has been a disturbing lack of rigorous vetting of bills during this legislative session. Since 2008, the legislature shortened the session from 120 to 90 days. When the change first took place I was a strong proponent. However, experience has taught me that 90 days is simply not enough time for the legislature to thoroughly understand bills or get adequate public input. Recently, we’ve seen a concerning trend where bills only receive one committee of referral, reducing the opportunity for public input and resulting in less scrutiny on the effects to Alaskan families.
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