JULY 16, 2015  

Erin’s Law Signed into Law!

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Last week something wonderful happened. After a long (2 years!), arduous journey that at times seemed doomed to fail, Governor Walker signed Erin’s Law on July 9th. It was absolutely one of the high points of my time serving as your Legislator, and I want to thank everyone again for standing with me in fighting to get this important law passed. The bill signing was held at the 125th anniversary of Alaska Youth and Family (formerly Alaska Children's Services) and I can't think of a more appropriate place. Alaska Youth and Family is a non-profit organization that provides services and runs a home for children who have experienced abuse. They do amazing work and if you don't know about them I hope you'll visit their website to learn more. Here's a link to their website.

We know we have more work to do, but this low-cost prevention tool is a great step forward. Erin's Law was amended to include teen dating violence prevention so we will now educate our youth on abuse prevention at all ages. In the state that leads the nation in rates of child sexual abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault, and the number of women killed by men we must do everything we can to prevent the cycle of violence from continuing.

In addition to the bill becoming law, another positive outcome of this effort is that I was joined by several legislators in the effort to get the bill passed. This bipartisan group of members from both the House and Senate share my passion for keeping our kids safe. I think we can do even more going forward!

Rep. Tarr, Gov. Walker, and watching the bill signing via Facetime from Rep. Tarr’s phone is the brave woman who started this whole movement, Erin Merryn.

Rep. Tarr with David Holthouse. If you haven’t read his powerful story of survival, Outing the Bogeyman, check it out here.

Governor Walker signs the bill into law. To see more pictures check out Rep. Tarr’s Facebook gallery!

Upcoming Event

It’s summer and we want to be outside every minute so I know it's tough to head inside for evening meetings, but there is an important meeting I want to let you know about regarding Anchorage transportation projects, including the Bragaw extension/U-Med North Access Rd. I know this contentious project has been a major issue for years and many in our area do not support this project, especially at this time when our revenue has changed so dramatically that we are cutting essential services. This is an opportunity with Mayor Berkowitz to stand up and have your voice heard. As our new mayor, he needs to hear from you about transportation priorities for our area.

When: Tuesday, July 21st from 5:30 – 7:30 pm

What: Public hearing on the Metropolitan Transportation Plan

Where: Mayor’s Conference Room @ City Hall

Also, there will be a public rally (organized by our neighbors and the group Citizens for Responsible Development in opposition of the Bragaw Rd project) before the meeting at 4:45.

If you cannot make it to the meeting, or don’t want to give in person public testimony, you can also submit written comments by July 27th to:

amatsinfo@muni.org
AMATS Planning
4700 Elmore Rd
Anchorage, AK 99507

Hope you're having a wonderful summer,

Representative Geran Tarr

P.S. Fun fact is that the idea for Erin's Law in Alaska came from our Russian Jack neighbor and former Anchorage Assembly member Brian Whittle who reached out to me and shared information. Do you have an idea for a bill? Please let me know!