DECEMBER 31, 2015

Happy New Year Edition

Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Fellow Fairbanksans,

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and have a fun and safe New Year.  Here's some of the results of the budget survey I sent out in November.

Looking to the New Year- Budget Survey Results Preview

Tackling the state budget crisis and developing a long term budget plan for the state will be the biggest issue facing the state next year.  I want to thank everyone who answered my Budget Survey, I appreciate you taking the time to send me your thoughts on these important issues.  In my next e-newsletter I will go into the results in detail, but I wanted to share a couple key lessons I learned from your responses:

People want a comprehensive solution:  Nearly 70% of respondents thought the Legislature should address     next year's budget shortfall with a combination of savings from eliminating duplication and creating     efficiencies AND taking in new revenues.

It's time to reconsider mega-projects we can't afford:  88% of you said no to the Knik Arm Bridge, 67% said     no to Susitna Watana Hydroelectric Dam, 90% said no to Juneau Access Road.

There is strong support for funding our schools and universities:  72% of you want to see University of     Alaska funding stay at the same level or increase, 87% want to see K-12 funding increased or kept the same,     and 65% want Pre-Kindergarten funding maintained or increased.

2015 Year in Review

As 2015 brings a close to my first year as your representative, this seemed like a good time to reflect on what we accomplished this year.  We have made real progress on bringing natural gas to Fairbanks, expanded Creamer's Field Refuge, and protected UAF from crippling budget cuts.  There are major challenges still facing our state, but I am hopeful that working together we can find solutions.

Natural Gas for Fairbanks

In 2013 the Legislature appropriated $150 million to bring natural gas to the Interior, but unfortunately this bill required that the gas had to come from the North Slope and this ended up being too expensive at the time.  In order to revive this project Governor Walker introduced legislation to allow other in-state sources of gas to be considered.  Passing this bill was harder than I would have hoped, but working together across party lines the Interior Delegation was able to convince our colleagues to pass this bill.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but as a result of this bill two qualified bidders have been selected as finalists to provide gas to the Interior and these proposals are being reviewed by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.

Rep. Wool with Gov. Walker, Rep. Guttenberg, Sen. Coghill, and other community leaders at the Interior Gas Utility groundbreaking this summer

Creamer's Field Expansion Passes

This year the Legislature passed House Bill 70, my bill to expand the Creamer's Field Refuge.  This bill added three state owned parcels to the refuge, which allows these parcels to be formally managed by the Department of Fish and Game as part of the refuge.  A similar bill had passed in 2014, but Governor Parnell had to veto it because of errors in the legal descriptions.  My staff worked with Fish and Game and the Department of Natural Resources to correct these errors and present and accurate bill that allowed the refuge to be expanded.  This was the only bill sponsored by a Democratic caucus member that passed this year.

The Senate voted unanimously last session to pass Rep. Wool's bill, HB 70

Medicaid Expansion Comes to Alaska

Medicaid expansion was one of the biggest issues I worked on this year.  In the House Health and Social Services Committee we heard hours of testimony from experts about the governor's bill to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance for 40,000 Alaskans.  The testimony was clear that this would create good paying jobs in Alaska, while saving the state over $6 million per year.  After careful deliberation, and considering dozens of amendments, we passed the bill out of committee with a 6-1 vote.  I was confident this bill had the votes to pass, but unfortunately the majority caucus leadership decided to block this bill from even getting a vote.  After it was clear that it would not even get a vote, Governor Walker used his constitutional authority to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid without a legislative vote.  I appreciate the governor trying to work with the Legislature on this, but ultimately he made the right decision when it was clear that majority leadership was taking an obstructionist stance.

A sign from a rally last session in support of Medicaid expansion 

Standing up for the University of Alaska

One of the first things that happens in the legislative session is the finance subcommittees for each department review their departments' budgets.  I serve on the subcommittee for the University of Alaska, and this became a lot more controversial than I expected.  The University system understands the budget situation, and they proposed millions of dollars in budget cuts.  We heard from regents, the UA president, faculty, and students that these cuts would be painful but they could live with them.  But then the subcommittee chair proposed an additional $47 million in cuts, and faculty members told me this would cripple the UA system.  I worked with legislators from both sides of the aisle to build a consensus against these cuts, and the final budget was only $6 million less than the governor had proposed.

Rep. Wool and UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers at Chancellor Rogers' retirement event this summer

Sincerely,

Representative Adam Wool