Kawasaki-JuneauNote

Today is the 66th legislative day of the 34th Alaska Legislative Session. Now that we are more than halfway through the session, we are really getting busy! A budget is being approved by the House Finance Committee before it comes to the floor. It still remains with more than $1.6-billion deficit in the next fiscal year and keeps growing from amendments offered by both Republicans and Democrats in the House Finance Committee.

Today is the 66th legislative day of the 34th Alaska Legislative Session. Now that we are more than halfway through the session, we are really getting busy! A budget is being approved by the House Finance Committee before it comes to the floor. It still remains with more than $1.6-billion deficit in the next fiscal year and keeps growing from amendments offered by both Republicans and Democrats in the House Finance Committee.

Today is the 60th legislative day, half way through the legislative session, the first official day of Spring and my birthday! The Capitol has been abuzz during this midpoint in the session as bills have begun to move, the budget has taken form, new initiatives have been introduced and others have been met with defeat. The education omnibus bill that has passed the State House is being considered in the Senate, United States Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Dan Sullivan visited Juneau to address the legislature in joint sessions with very differing viewpoints and the budget is set to be on the House floor in the upcoming week. Check out all of the news right here or contact me directly at the legislative offices at 907.456.7423.

Today is the 53rd day of legislative session. As usual, there is a lot going on here in the Capitol, as well as a lot going on in local, state and national news that is of importance to those of us who live in the Interior. Support for schools has been the main topic in the House and will now become the major topic in the Senate since passage of a major education funding bill. Springtime also means a focus on the financial outlook for the State and how we choose which public services are most important when compared to the finite revenue.

Today is the 45th day of the Thirty-Fourth Legislature which means we are just over 1/3 of the way through and it is beginning to heat up-both literally and figuratively. Legislators begin to make the mid-session treks home to have town hall meetings (my Republican colleague Rep. Will Stapp and I already hosted one together), education funding and the state budget approach a crucial vote, new revenue discussions begin and spring is almost here! However, Alaskans will LOSE an entire hour of sleep this week as we begin the observation of Daylight Saving Time and we have already lost millions in federal funding, construction, jobs and healthcare with the new administration in Washington. Check out my latest edition of the e-newsletter below!

Today is day 38 of our 120-day legislative session here in Juneau and that means that we are nearly 1/3 of the total way through! It also means that legislators will be returning home over the next two weekends to host town hall meetings, visit with constituents and provide updates on the progress of the budget passage through the State House. I will also return to Fairbanks for a brief weekend to meet with you either individually or at a large town hall meeting or at one of the many public events scheduled for the weekend. Here are some highlights of the week and some details of how to learn more about the start of the 34th Alaska Legislature.

We’ve had a lot of visitors coming to the Capitol these past few weeks. A lot of our visitors were from Fairbanks, including members of the FNSB school board, members of UAF’s faculty union and members from the Fairbanks Borough Assembly. Even Fairbanks Mayor David Pruhs stopped by the office to talk to me yesterday! I also really enjoyed my visit with the Asian American Pacific Islanders Coalition of Alaska. It has been fun seeing so many familiar faces!

While I’ve been settling in here in Juneau, I’ve been very invested in what’s going on at home. It was a stressful time for me, and I’m sure many of you, especially those of you who have children in elementary school, as we waited for Tuesday’s FSNB School Board meeting to find out which of our elementary schools would have to close.

I made it to Juneau! It has been a busy week, as I’ve been setting up the office, getting sworn in, going on Costco runs and getting ready for the session in general. While I am excited to be here in Juneau representing and looking out for Fairbanks, I do miss my hometown, and, of course, running into all of you when out and about.

Last Wednesday, the last of the votes were finally counted, and though a couple of races are set to go to a recount, for the most part things are settled.