May 13, 2014

More Session Wrap-Up

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This session presented a number of challenges for Legislators, including the gasline bill, the omnibus education bill, and bills affecting ballot initiatives. Though there are clearly glaring exceptions to considering this session a perfect success, for a number of reasons I share below, I believe that the 2014 session was very successful:

• Democrats and moderate Republicans successfully worked together to ensure that education was not privatized through the voucher system.
• Partway through session, a minimum wage bill was proposed which, had it passed, would have taken the minimum wage initiative off of the ballot. A decade ago, Alaskans saw this happen and then watched the Legislature return and eradicate the effectiveness of the bill. That cannot happen to us again because this bill failed. Now, in November, the public will get to vote on a more lasting minimum wage bill in the general election.
• Largely due to public participation, HB 77, a bill to rush the permitting process for development projects, failed. Dubbed the "Silencing Alaskans Act" by opponents, this bill would have essentially cut regular Alaskans out of the governmental process by removing key requirements such as public notice about projects and the opportunity to voice opinions on the projects. It also would have seriously expanded the unilateral power of the commissioner of Natural Resources.
• Thanks to another joint effort between Democrats and moderate Republicans, there was no change to the method of judicial appointments by the Governor. Had this effort been successful it would have impacted every issue touching our daily lives.
• In effect, on the above issues we confronted a “David and Goliath”-type challenge and were successful against the Republican majority. In my eyes, and in the eyes of those of you who contacted my office on these topics, these were important wins during this Legislative session.
• As a teacher for the past 15 years, it pains me to oppose bills which are intended to benefit our public education system. However, I opposed this year’s omnibus education bill because some provisions are more detrimental to our school system and other provisions are insufficient to truly do what the Legislature needed to do – provide the funding we sorely lack:
• It grossly underfunds public education. A $425 increase of the BSA was needed and the schools only received a $226 BSA equivalent increase. Because of the hard work of public school advocates, including the Great Alaska Schools coalition, I feel that the education debate was a “moral” victory, though not an actual victory.
• It strips power from local school districts to decide when, where, and how to operate charter schools.
• It could result in the stripping away of the power over wages and benefits traditionally set by local school boards.
• It unconstitutionally uses tax credits for private and religious schools.

Welcome, Special Olympics Family!!

Rep. Tarr speaking to the guests at the ribbon cutting for the Special Olympics new Mountain View facility. She is joined on stage by Rep. Bill Stoltze and Ayesha Abdul-Jillil, one of the faces of Special Olympics Alaska.   Rep. Tarr presenting a citation from the 28th Alaska State Legislature celebrating the new facility.   Rep. Tarr is joined by Jim Balamaci, center, the President/CEO of Special Olympics Alaska, after the ribbon cutting event.

I was proud to join the Governor, the Mayor, and Representative Bill Stoltze at the ribbon cutting for the Mountain View Special Olympics Facility yesterday.

The sunny weather over the new facility made for a bright welcome to the neighborhood. This new sports, health, and wellness center will make a huge difference for thousands of Alaskans, hundreds of which joined us for the ribbon cutting.

There are a 180 Special Olympics programs around the world, but only four have comparable facilities. The 28,000-square-foot building is designed to help athletes gain more confidence and work toward a healthy lifestyle.

The facility will offer classes on how to deal with issues such as bullies, nutrition and obesity. It is also home to an indoor track, a basketball court, and a weight and workout room.

Special Olympics Alaska says that this $10 million project would not have been possible without the assistance of citizens across this great state.

Watch your in-boxes for next week’s E-News on Public Safety and Corrections!

Sincerely,

Representative Geran Tarr