Wielechowski-Capitol-Brief

It’s that time of year again! As the Alaska State Fair is getting ready to kick off this weekend, that means Anchorage students are heading back to school tomorrow – Thursday, August 17.

The Legislature approved a one-time increase of $680 per-student education funding to local schools, known as the Base Student Allocation (BSA), totaling $175 million. The Governor vetoed this increase in half to $87.5 million, or a $340 increase per student.

The first legislative session of the 33rd Alaska legislature is now a wrap, and I wanted to give you some highlights from the budget, updates on select legislation, and a rundown of some work that still needs to be done.

I am writing this special edition of my newsletter to ask for your support and testimony on Senate Bill 114, the oil revenue reform bill that will help solve our fiscal crisis, fund the needed school funding increase, and get our state back on track.

This newsletter includes updates on the recent East Anchorage Townhall meetings and a review of bills I am working on this year. One bill the Senate is working on fixes a tax loophole and an oil tax subsidy. Please consider sending the Senate Finance Committee a message of support for Senate Bill 114. You can

In this newsletter, you will find important updates about the Muni election on April 4th, the PFD application deadline, the neighborhood town hall meeting April 15th, and details about the State Senate plan to fix the state budget by closing oil tax loopholes.

Anchorage Town Hall on Sunday, Tikahtnu Theatre Update, and Eastside Neighbors in Juneau

My annual survey has been mailed out and I want to make sure you have an opportunity to take the online version as well.

I hope your new year is off to a great start! I have spent much of the last month moving offices to Juneau and handling the administrative duties in my new role as the Senate Rules Chair for this upcoming legislative session. Now that we are underway for our first full week, I wanted to