Democrats: State Must Do More to Avoid School Cuts
Governor’s budgets allow inflation to undercut Alaska’s schools
JUNEAU – Today, Anchorage Democratic legislators warned that the governor’s proposed budget will lead to even more school cuts in coming years, and they called on the Legislature to make sure school resources at least keep up with inflation.
Read More →Last night the Governor released his latest oil tax rollback bill. It maintains the worst part of last year’s bill, and makes it even more draconian. The largest part of the bill massively rolls back state revenue, and oil company taxes, with no commitment that companies spend that “reward” in Alaska. We’ve tried that before. Until 2006 our Production Tax was nearly 0% on almost every field on the North Slope, and what did we get for lower taxes that didn’t require Alaska investment and more Alaska production work? We got oil production that was declining between 5 - 8% a year, and 40% less investment in the North Slope than we have today. And a fraction of the new companies are exploring for new oil on the North Slope today.
Read More →Fair share, education and energy priorities for Democratic Legislators
in State of the State response
JUNEAU – Tonight, Senate Democratic Leader Johnny Ellis (D-Anchorage) and House Democratic Leader Beth Kerttula (D-Juneau) presented a strong vision for Alaska in their response to the governor’s state of the state speech. The two leaders said making a commitment to education, lowering the cost of energy, and standing up for Alaska’s fair return on its resources are the Democratic caucuses’ priorities.
Read More →JUNEAU – Senate Minority Leader Johnny Ellis (D-Anchorage) and House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula (D-Juneau) will give the Democratic caucuses’ response to the governor’s State of the State speech immediately following the conclusion of the governor’s speech on tonight.
Read More →JUNEAU - Today, House Democratic leadership announced updated committee assignments for the upcoming legislative session. The seats on the Finance and Resources Committees are tentative until a final decision is made once the entire caucus can meet in person. Currently, one member is out of town due to a family medical situation.
Read More →Well, first, Happy New Year! The extra six pounds I’m carrying around from the holiday season seem very happy, though I’m not too happy with them. I’ve been in a big fight with them lately. I’ll just say we’re not friends. OK, onto more important matters…
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