JUNE 16, 2015

2015 Legislative Session Adjourns:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Dear Fairbanks Neighbors,

My first session as your representative in the State House finally ended on Thursday. This isn’t the first time that session has gone into overtime, but it was the longest extension in a while.  There used to be no set length, it just ended when everything was finished or when fishermen and farmers had to go back to work. I don’t think there are many fishermen or farmers in the legislature right now, but some do have regular jobs during the year, myself included. 

In the end we compromised to get a reasonable budget passed in the House. Ten days later we passed pretty much the same budget again after the Senate accepted the fact that the Independent Democratic Coalition wasn’t going to give up any more than we already had in the House compromise. This unnecessary delay caused a lot of people stress since the state had to send out notices of a possible government shutdown and forced lay-offs. Fortunately, this all was averted. Good news!

Representative Wool discussing budget priorities at a recent neighborhood meeting in Fairbanks

The Good: Responsible Budget Cuts While Protecting Our Schools; Gas for Fairbanks and Creamer’s Field Expansion Pass

Many good things happened this session. For one we did cut many hundreds of millions of dollars from the state budget. Some in the legislature wanted to cut more but I and many others felt that too many cuts too quickly would send the economy into an unnecessary tailspin. We need to keep the Alaskan economy intact for now and for our future, and the cuts that were proposed to education and the University of Alaska would have done immediate damage to our economy.  That is why the Independent Democratic Coalition insisted that the statutory funding for local schools not be cut, University funding be restored, and early childhood education programs continue.

Representative Wool, Governor Bill Walker, and Fairbanks community leaders breaking ground for the natural gas distribution system in North Pole

We passed HB 105 which allows the Interior Energy Project to move forward with bringing natural gas from Cook Inlet to Fairbanks. The Interior Gas Utility just broke ground on the new natural gas delivery lines, and we need all of our options available to us in the interior to help us get a cheap and reliable source of energy.

I had a personal win for Fairbanks this session by passing HB 70 to expand Creamers Field Wildlife Refuge. This was the only bill sponsored by a Democrat that passed this year.

Representative Wool signing the ceremonial first piece of pipe laid for the Interior Gas Utility

The Bad: Medicaid Expansion Doesn’t Pass, Leaving 40,000 Alaskans Without Healthcare

The Majority’s refusal to allow Medicaid expansion and reform to even be voted on was a major disappointment to me and many Alaskans.   I am confident that this bill would likely have passed had it been brought to the floor for a vote.  It would’ve been a big economic boost to the state and had support from many business groups including the Alaska Chamber of Commerce.  It is possible that Governor Walker may be able to authorize Medicaid expansion by executive order, and I hope he gives this serious consideration.

Representative Wool speaking in favor of Medicaid reform and expansion in the House Health and Social Services Committee

The Ugly: The Process Has to Improve

Disagreement is normal in politics, but unfortunately the last several weeks of the extended session were very unproductive and damaged public trust in their Legislature. The frustrating part of this year’s extended session was the fact that for much of it, not much happened.  There was a lot of posturing and refusing to negotiate.  It was unnecessary and inefficient to spend so much time doing so little.

In the end we all came to agreement on a budget that had things that we liked and things we didn’t like, but I feel we should have been able to reach this result 40 days ago.  I will be giving a lot of thought to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

I’m glad to be back home in Fairbanks.  As always, please send me your thoughts, ideas, and concerns.

Sincerely,

Representative Adam Wool