NEWS: Last Minute Assault on Public Education Hits School Children
Juneau – As the Second Session of the 29th Alaska Legislature reaches the constitutionally mandated end of session, lawmakers and advocates for a healthy K-12 public education system are reeling from a surprise cut to public education. On Tuesday night, the House and Senate Operating Budget Conference Committee slipped a $50 cut to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) into the proposed FY 2017 budget in violation of funding promised by state law.
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NEWS: Alaska House Passes Legislation to Roll-Back Many Unsustainable Oil Industry Subsidies
Juneau – Today, the Alaska House of Representatives approved House Bill 247 to significantly reform Alaska’s unsustainable oil tax credit subsidy system. The members of the Alaska Independent Democratic Coalition (AIDC) cautiously supported the legislation after participating in a bipartisan effort to amend the bill to dramatically increase savings and fix flaws included in previous versions of the bill.
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NEWS: Independent and Democratic Lawmakers Call for a Halt to Illegal Lawsuit Challenging Medicaid Expansion in Alaska
Juneau – Today, the members of Alaska Independent Democratic Coalition sent a letter to the high-priced Washington D.C. law firm of Bancroft, PLLC asking them to not move forward on an appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court of a lawsuit challenging the expansion of Medicaid in Alaska. The authority to move forward with an appeal has not been granted by the full membership of the Alaska House of Representatives as is required by law. Last week, a notice of appeal was illegally filed with the Alaska Supreme Court on behalf of the Alaska Legislative Council and the Alaska House of Representatives. This is despite a clear legal opinion from the Alaska Division of Legal and Research Services that such an appeal must be authorized by a vote of the full Alaska Legislature, which it was not.
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Rep. Tarr’s Newsletter: Anti-Sex Ed Measure Passes, Wednesday Testimony on Oil and Gas Subsidies & Criminal Justice Reform
I’m still in Juneau, and we are working almost exclusively on the budget. I say almost because Representative Keller was able to bring up House Bill 156, that aims to end sex education, in a last minute procedural maneuver and get the one vote he needed for it to pass. This controversial bill received strong opposition statewide and hundreds wrote or testified to ask for a no vote. Most opposition discussed how critical this information is if we ever want to address our chronically high rates of sexual assault. Our rate of rape in Alaska far exceeds the national average.
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NEWS: House Republican Leadership Illegally Appeals Lawsuit to Stop Medicaid Expansion in Alaska
Juneau – The Republican-controlled leadership in the Alaska House of Representatives has filed an appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court of a lawsuit challenging Medicaid expansion in Alaska without approval of the full Alaska Legislature as required by law. The ill-advised lawsuit was dismissed in March by a Superior Court Judge after finding that the Social Security Act allowed the Governor to initiate Medicaid expansion and that existing state law required Governor Walker to provide Medicaid to the group of Alaskans eligible for expansion.
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EVENT: Work of University of Alaska Student Researchers to be Unveiled Today at Anchorage Legislative Information Office
Anchorage – Undergraduate students from the University of Alaska Anchorage will be displaying the results of their ongoing research projects today in the Anchorage Legislative Information Office. Students and faculty will be available to answer questions about the research projects today from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The University of Alaska Anchorage Undergraduate Research and Discovery Symposium is free and open to the public. The symposium is being sponsored by Representative Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage).
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