[dropcap]J[/dropcap]uneau – Monday, the Alaska House of Representatives created the first ever House Special Committee on Tribal Affairs. Creation of such a committee has long been a goal of Representative Bryce Edgmon (I-Dillingham), Alaska’s first Alaska Native Speaker of the House. “We’ve never had a committee to deal solely with tribal issues in the […]
Repeal Would Cause Premium Price Hikes and Larger Budget Deficits Juneau – Today, Representatives Tiffany Zulkosky (D-Bethel) and Zack Fields (D-Anchorage) released a report outlining the potential impacts of repealing Medicaid expansion in Alaska. Medicaid expansion was implemented in 2015 to provide medical insurance coverage to a portion of Alaskans who live just above the […]
Gov. Dunleavy’s Proposed FY 20 Budget Fails to Meet That Standard Juneau – Wednesday, Alaska Governor Dunleavy unveiled his Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal, which includes $1.6 billion in cuts. The Governor ran for office on a message of restoring trust in government, and yet the process used by the Dunleavy administration to develop the […]
SB 57 Takes Away Petroleum Property Tax Revenue From Municipalities Across Alaska Juneau – Wednesday, Alaska Governor Michael J. Dunleavy put forward legislation to change the long-standing authority that allows municipalities and boroughs to collect taxes on all property within their jurisdiction. Senate Bill 57 would allow the State of Alaska to collect the […]
Additional Support for Alaska’s Only Psychiatric Hospital Will Improve Safety and Health Outcomes Juneau – Friday, the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Adam Crum, announced that he was taking over the day to day management of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API) in Anchorage, which is Alaska’s only psychiatric hospital. […]
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]uneau – Friday, Representative Andy Josephson pre-filed legislation to make vital improvements to Alaska’s Workers Compensation system. House Bill 30 features several improvements including adjusting benefits for inflation for those receiving Permanent Partial Impairment (PPI) and death benefits. These benefits have not been adjusted for inflation for approximately 20 and 50 years, respectively. The […]
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]uneau – Today, Representative Matt Claman (D-Anchorage) pre-filed legislation that supports the health of Alaskan women and their families by providing greater access to reproductive health care and prescription contraceptives. House Bill 21 requires health care insurers, including Medicaid services, to provide coverage for prescription contraceptives and medical services necessary for those products or […]
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nchorage – Tuesday, Representative-elect Zack Fields (D-Anchorage), Rep. Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage), Rep. Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage), and Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux (R-Anchorage) announced they would pre-file legislation for the upcoming 31st Alaska State Legislature to address the significant increase in vehicle theft across Alaska. Last year the rate of vehicle theft spiked by nearly 40 percent compared […]
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nchorage – Representative Matt Claman (D-Anchorage) plans to introduce legislation to close a loophole in Alaska’s sex offense statutes. The legislation, which is currently being drafted, would add unwanted contact with semen as a sex offense in Alaska. At the request of Rep. Claman, the non-partisan Legislative Research Services prepared a report reviewing statutes and […]