News: Bipartisan Bill to Stop Political Attacks in Publicly-Funded Alaska Election Pamphlet Passes Committee
Juneau – Today, the House State Affairs Committee passed House Bill 13 to eliminate the language in state statutes that allows political parties to include up to 2 pages of material in the official Alaska Election Pamphlet. Last year, some of that space was used for a negative ad. Reps. Les Gara (D-Anchorage) and Bob Lynn (R-Anchorage) are seeking the repeal of the section of state statutes that allows political ads in the election pamphlet.
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From Rep. Gara: Facts on Education and Three More Years of Education Cuts
ANCHORAGE - Today Rep. Les Gara (D-Anch), a lead sponsor of legislation to start reversing the last three years of over 600 layoffs to teachers and educators across the state, called the “three-year” education bill that passed “two, and likely three more years of layoffs on top of the more than 600 teachers staff Parnell and the GOP have cut since 2011.” Since 2011 Alaska schools have lost over 600 teachers and staff due to flat funding.
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NEWS: Costello, Gara Announce Bi-Partisan Bill to Protect Patient Dignity and Privacy in End of Life Health Care Decisions
Today, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) and Representative Mia Costello (R-Anchorage) announced they will pre-file legislation to protect the privacy and dignity of patients who are non-responsive and on life support. The bill would require the state Department of Health and Social Services to keep a person’s living will or health care directive on file to assist medical providers in locating it.
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NEWS: Democrats Introduce Oil Tax Alternative
Reduction for Production: Bill Targets New Oil in the Pipe and Protects Alaska
JUNEAU – House and Senate Democratic legislators introduced legislation today to grant tax concessions to oil producers who put new oil into the pipeline. The bill (SB50, HB 111) targets tax incentives to new fields and to new development in existing fields, and it offers other incentives outside the tax code to spark new development.
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Bill Protecting Public Access To Fishing Streams Passes Legislature
Today Representative Les Gara’s legislation to ensure future public access to Alaska’s fishing streams, House Bill 144, passed the Senate. It now goes to the Governor. The bill passed the House last year with a vote of 38 Yeas, and today passed the Senate by a vote of 20 to 0.
“We want to protect fishing stream access for this and the next generation. In other states you have to pay access fees, into the thousands of dollars, to fish a stream. We don’t ever want that to happen in Alaska,” said Rep. Les Gara (D-Anch.), an avid fisherman and fishing writer. The legislation will inexpensively promote access to important fishing streams by encouraging voluntary land trades or purchases with willing landowners so Alaskans have public easements to travel to and along fishing streams that will otherwise be lost over time.
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Legislation to Ban Unlimited Corporate and Union Election Spending Passes Committee
Today legislation calling for an end to unlimited corporate and union election spending passed the House State Affairs Committee.
“Unlimited spending by corporations and organizations to influence elections drowns out the public’s voice, and damages the basic democratic priniciple of one person one vote,” said Prime Sponsor of HJR 33, Rep. Les Gara (D-Anchorage). The legislation calls on the United States Congress to pass a constitutional amendment reversing the controversial 2010 Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, which reversed decades of precedent allowing states and Congress to ban corporate and Union “independent expenditures” by third party groups seeking to influence election outcomes.
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