ANCHORAGE – With the recent killings of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Tony McDade (and so many others), the nation has drawn even greater attention to the use of police force, particularly within the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. Last week, Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson (D-Anchorage) pre-filed legislation to address this […]
JUNEAU – On Tuesday, Governor Mike Dunleavy, Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum, and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink extended Health Mandate 5, which postpones and cancels non-urgent or elective procedures until June 15, 2020. The Administration also included an attachment listing which types of surgeries must be delayed based […]
ANCHORAGE – On December 16, 2019, the Department of Administration announced they are seeking $60,000 in donations from Alaskans to implement REAL ID in rural Alaska. Last month, the Anchorage Daily News reported that the department needs these donations to create a rural outreach program to ensure rural Alaskans have the necessary access to […]
ANCHORAGE – On Monday, Governor Dunleavy announced 71 line-item vetoes for a second time to the state’s operating budget. Governor Dunleavy has made it clear he believes these reductions are the responsibility of local governments. Today, Senate Democrats released a report from the non-partisan Legislative Research agency outlining possible increased local taxes to offset […]
ANCHORAGE – Thursday, Governor Dunleavy announced his vetoes to the Capital Budget, Senate Bill 2002. Among Governor Dunleavy’s 27 line-item vetoes are addiction treatment facilities, homelessness assistance, weatherization, and the Interior gas project. Senate Bill 2002 passed the Senate unanimously on July 20, 2019, and the House on July 29, 2019, on a vote […]
JUNEAU – Today, the Alaska State Senate passed a Capital Budget unanimously for the second time this year. The Capital Budget, Senate Bill 2002, now heads over to the House of Representatives for consideration. The capital budget is vastly similar to the bare bones version that passed June 13, 2019, which was vetoed by […]
JUNEAU – Today, Governor Dunleavy took unprecedented action and swept the Alaska Higher Education Investment Fund, which funds Alaska Performance Scholarships (APS), Alaska Education Grants (AEG), and the WWAMI Regional Medical Education Program into the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) account, eliminating funding for these programs. The Higher Education Investment Fund had over $340 million […]
Governor Dunleavy’s Vetoes Illustrates Lack of Vision for Alaska ANCHORAGE-Today, Governor Dunleavy announced over $400 million in vetoes to the Fiscal Year 2020 operating budget. Among the vetoes, the Governor stripped $130 million from the University of Alaska, $50 million from Medicaid, forward funding of public education, and completely eliminated the Senior Benefits […]
Governor Urged to Drop Threat of Lawsuit Challenging Forward Funding of Education JUNEAU – Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee met to discuss Governor Dunleavy’s proposed Senate Bill 1001. In the 2018 legislative session, bipartisan and bicameral legislation was passed to fully fund education for fiscal year 2020. SB 1001 would repeal last year’s […]