Claman-AKMatters

Happy Spring! With a little over a month left in session, several of our bills are making good progress through the Legislature.

Today marks the 85th day of session. This week, the House will hear the operating budget and proposed amendments on the House floor and the Senate will hear the capital budget.

The Alaska Model – an example of collaboration across party lines – is on the rise. In this edition of Alaska Matters, I discuss bipartisanship in the Capital (and the kitchen).

Our constituent survey is out! Thank you to everyone who took the time to give us their feedback. We received nearly 440 answers and present the results below. We value this constituent feedback and will use it to inform our policy decisions going forward.

On Monday, the veto override vote on the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 140 failed by one vote. The Legislature will keep working to increase school funding despite this setback.

This week, Governor Dunleavy vetoed the hard-won compromise education bill, Senate Bill 140. The Legislature plans to meet in joint session early next week to consider an override.

As our Anchorage school students begin spring break, we’ve had a busy week in Juneau working to address Cook Inlet energy, public education funding, and governor’s executive orders.

Our work on public education continues. After weeks of negotiations, the Legislature finally passed a comprehensive education package that includes a $680 increase to the Base Student Allocation.

Each year, we send a constituent survey to get feedback on the legislative priorities for our district. By filling out the survey, you can weigh in on important issues such as public education, public safety, the dividend, and essential services.

Following last week’s newsletter about the Governor’s 12 new Executive Orders, the Senate introduced Special Senate Concurrent Resolutions to disapprove the Executive Orders. The legislature must decide whether to approve or reject these executive orders by March 16, 2024.