ANCHORAGE – On Monday, twenty-four members of the Alaska State Legislature wrote to Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, urging the federal government to block the Kroger-Albertsons grocery store merger.
ANCHORAGE – Yesterday, Alaska was shocked by the news of the tragic death of Eugene Peltola, Jr., husband of Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola. Senate President Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) and Senate Rules Chair Senator Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) issued the following condolences:
NEWS: Senate Leaders Mourn the Loss of Eugene Peltola, Jr. Read More »
(Big Lake, AK) – Senate Bill 87, sponsored by Senator Jesse Bjorkman (R-Nikiski), was signed into law today. The bill creates a local lumber grading program for Alaska sawmill operators to become certified to grade and sell certain types of dimensional lumber that they have produced for residential construction.
NEWS: Senator Bjorkman’s Local Lumber Grading Bill Signed into Law Read More »
JUNEAU – Saturday, Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed House Bill 51 by Rep. Stanley Wright (R-Anchorage). The bill contained provisions from a bill by Sen. Jesse Kiehl (D-Juneau) preventing future spills of per- and polyflouroalkyl substances, added on the Senate Floor by agreement with the bill sponsor.
ANCHORAGE – Yesterday, Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson (D-Anchorage) attended the White House States Convening on Child Care to discuss child care policies throughout the nation. The meeting will helped support legislators’ work to make child care more affordable and accessible for working families, increase child care employment, and improve job quality for child care workers.
NEWS: Senator Gray-Jackson Attends the White House States Convening on Child Care Read More »
JUNEAU – Today, the Alaska Senate passed House Bill 39, Fiscal Year 2024 operating and capital budgets. The Senate’s version of the budget increases education funding outside the formula by $174.9 million – the single largest increase in state history, provides Alaskans with a $1,300 permanent fund dividend, and leaves the state with a $84.2
NEWS: Senate Passes a Balanced Budget with an $84.2 Million Surplus Read More »
JUNEAU – Today, the House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 123 by the Senate Transportation Committee, which repeals the requirement that applicants for a commercial driver’s license (CDL) hold a regular driver’s license for one year. This requirement was enacted in 1985 before state and federal regulators modernized the training and licensing standards for CDLs.
NEWS: Legislature Passes Bill Removing a Barrier to Entry for Prospective Truck Drivers Read More »
JUNEAU – Today, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, released the findings of a research report reviewing profit data recently released by ConocoPhillips. The legislature’s non-partisan research division found that in the first quarter of 2023, Alaska was the most profitable geographical area in the world for ConocoPhillips on a per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE). ConocoPhillips’
Juneau – Today, the Alaska State Senate passed Senate Bill 52 to increase education funding by $175 million for Alaska’s public schools and correspondence programs. This significant increase provides school districts with a $680 addition to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) calculation, which the Senate Education Committee determined is the simplest, fairest, and most effective
NEWS: Alaska Senate Passes Increase to Public Education Read More »
JUNEAU – Today, the Alaska Senate passed Senate Bill 22, sponsored by Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, establishing Juneteenth, June 19, as an annually observed state holiday. In 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, proclaiming the civil war had ended and that any enslaved people were now free. This day became known as Juneteenth, a
