Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL I REALLY NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE EDITION

Thomas Jefferson we ain’t

Welcome to constitutional amendment week. Please don your powdered wig and listen up.

I’m not a big fan of constitutional amendments. Some of them, like the one establishing a right to privacy, are great. The jury is still out on others, like the Alaska Permanent Fund. Still others, the one outlawing same-sex marriage, for instance, are a stupid mistake.

NEWS: Democrats Move to Improve Small Gasline Proposal

Without fixes, bill could undercut development and lead to high gas prices for Alaskans

JUNEAU – Before voting on House Bill 9 (HB9) tonight, House Democrats offered a number of amendments to protect consumers, resource development incentives, and the state’s interests as the state moves forward on a small gasline from the North Slope.

“I am all for getting a gasline to get Alaska’s gas to market and to Alaskans. A small line should be our last option. With alternatives that bring cheaper energy to Alaskans moving forward, it’s premature to rush ahead with a bill that undercuts development and puts the state and consumers at risk.”

Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL LIMPING INTO THE HOME STRETCH EDITION

Bills, We Got Bills

Yesterday was the 66th day of the legislative session. Puts me in mind of the fabulous old TV show Route 66, Tod and Buz off to discover America in a ’59 Corvette. And, of course, it is 2/3s of the Number of the Beast as found in Revelations, an extremely dour book of the Bible.

So it is either an invitation to escape (only 24 days left!!!) or a harbinger of disaster (extended session, special session, name calling!!!). Take your pick.

Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL ATTENTION! FREE PIZZA SOON EDITION

Take two amendments and call me in the morning

It appears that serving in the Alaska State House of Representatives could be bad for your health.

And not just your mental health, either. (Although some of these committee meetings do leave me even more befuddled than usual.) I’m talking physical health.

Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL RAGING AGAINST THE MACHINE EDITION

To Tell the Truth

We had big fun in the House of Representatives Wednesday.

First, we listened to a speech by the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. I have lots and lots respect for the chief justice – especially since a guy never knows when he might get hauled in front of the court – but I have to say that the hour-long speech might have been just a skosh longer than my attention span. But then I’ve never been accused of having the longest attention span anyway.

Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL MORE PROOF THAT WOMEN ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD EDITION

Two Women, Two Jobs, One Conclusion

I had the pleasure of talking with two fine women on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and state Ombudsman Linda Lord-Jenkins. Both women have tough jobs and are doing them well.

Pretty much everybody in Alaska knows Murkowski. I met her when she was a state legislator and I was an ink-stained wretch. She was thoughtful and hard-working and, for the most part, non-partisan. Oh, she was – and still is – a Republican, but I always thought she was – and is – more interested in doing things the right way rather than the party way.

Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL OIL TAXES AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN. EDITION

Sean Parnell, Last of the Big Spenders

The Parnell administration is still flailing around, trying to find a pretext for hitting the oil industry in the palm with $1 billion or $2 billion a year until the sun goes out.

The rocket surgeons at the state Department of Revenue have tried a bunch of reasons for giving our money away: more jobs, more state revenue and keeping the trans-Alaska pipeline working. Finally, they settled on – all three. Plus anything else they can think of. Why, I once heard Commissioner of Revenue Bryan Butcher say that if we didn’t support the giveaway, we’d all have bad breath and dingy teeth. I immediately made a vow to switch my position on oil taxes – and floss more often.

Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL READ SOME OTHER WRITER EDITION

What, oil companies might not be telling the truth?

Dermot Cole, the columnist for the Fairbanks News-Miner, has been doing a bang-up job writing about how poorly the state is doing in extracting information from the oil companies and releasing it to the public.

If that sounds like a discussion that would put you to sleep so fast you’d get a concussion when your head hit the table, here are a couple of things to consider.

Rep. Doogan in Juneau: SPECIAL BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE $10 BILLION EDITION

I have started to try to get support for my bill to put $10 billion into the Alaska Permanent Fund. The bill is in the Powerful House Finance Committee, of which I am an insignificant member. I haven’t asked for a hearing yet; I want all the members of the House to have a chance to think about it first.

The bill has about the same chance to pass as a snowflake in Hades. There are many bills that offer us the chance to spend, spend, spend. Since spending is much more popular than saving – particularly in an election year – you can write your own script for poor House Bill 194. It won’t have a happy ending. But I’ll give you my pitch anyway.

Democrats Prioritize Education, Promote Solutions; FOCUS: parent involvement, commitment to districts, lowering cost of college and job training

JUNEAU – The state of Alaska needs to make education more of a priority, House Democrats told reporters at a press conference in the capitol today. House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula (Juneau), Representative Chris Tuck (Anchorage), Representative Pete Petersen (Anchorage) and Representative Les Gara (Anchorage) outlined their proposals to increase parent involvement in early education, to make sure school districts have the resources they need, and to make college and job training more affordable for Alaskans.