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Protecting Your Rights: Serving Sand Lake, Spenard, and Turnagain |
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January 11, 2019
Dear Friends and Neighbors, With the New Year comes a new legislative session. This week, legislators and staff head back to Juneau for the 1st Regular Session of the 31st Legislature, which convenes on January 15. On Saturday, January 19 at noon, I’ll be hosting a constituent meeting to gather input from West Anchorage residents. Food and drinks will be served! Start of Session Constituent Meeting Save the date for our upcoming event: Saturday, January 19 from 12:00 – 1:30 PM at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office.
For more information and to RSVP, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/545774559266013/. Pre-Filed Bills for the 31st Legislature The bills I have pre-filed for this legislative session include: House Joint Resolution 2 - CONST. AM: 90 DAY REGULAR SESSION House Joint Resolution 2 amends the Constitution of the State of Alaska to limit the length of legislative sessions to 90 days. The resolution aligns the Constitution with the statutory limit passed by voters in a 2006 ballot initiative limiting the Legislature to 90 day sessions. The variation between state statute and the constitution creates inconsistency in the law governing the length of regular sessions. Since 2008, when the ballot initiative took effect, the Legislature has only met the statutory 90-day limit four times. In 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 the Legislature ran past the statutory limit, incurring cumulative costs to the state of more than $1,000,000. House Bill 21 - CONTRACEPTIVES COVERAGE:INSURE;MED ASSIST House Bill 21 requires health care insurers, including Medicaid services, to provide coverage for prescription contraceptives and medical services necessary for those products or devices. HB 21 gives women full access to the contraceptive method that works best for her—including long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) such as intrauterine devices and implants—without barriers related to cost or availability. HB 21 also requires coverage for the dispensing of 12 months of prescriptive contraceptives at a time. House Bill 33 - SEXUAL ASSAULT; SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION House Bill 33 eliminates marriage as a defense in specific sexual assaults when a person is mentally incapable, incapacitated, or unaware that a sexual act is being committed. The bill also updates the sex offender registration requirements to include out-of-state convictions for sexual offenses. Community Events Mark your calendar for these upcoming events: The Frosty Bottom
When: Saturday, January 12 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Where: Kincaid Chalet, 9401 Raspberry Rd. For more information and to register, visit the Frosty Bottom webpage. Anchorage Folk Festival The 30th Anchorage Folk Festival kicks off the last weekend of January. The festival brings together folks of all ages to listen to live music and participate in local music and dance workshops. Local musical favorites include Hannah Yoter, Tanana Rafters, Steven Bacon, and the Hot Club of Nunaka, and this year’s musical guest artists are Dan Tyminksi and the honky-tonk group, Western Centuries.
When: All day events Thursday, January 24 – Sunday, January 27. See the detailed schedule of events for more information about the music, dances and workshops. Where: Various locations around Anchorage including the Wendy Williamson Auditorium, La Potato, Steamdot and Organic Oasis. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
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