Protecting Your Rights: Serving Sand Lake, Spenard and Turnagain

February 14, 2020

In this issue:

• State of the Judiciary

• Anchorage Caucus

• Mid-Session Constituent Meeting

• Community Events

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This week is the fourth week of the 2020 legislative session, and we're working to complete the budget in 90 days. Over the next few weeks, there will be opportunities to meet me and other legislators and to testify on bills that are moving through the legislative process.

State of the Judiciary

On Wednesday, February 12, Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Joel Bolger delivered the annual State of the Judiciary address to the Legislature. Justice Bolger recognized the justices currently sitting on the Alaska Supreme Court and shared Justice Craig Stowers' recent announcement that he will retire from the Alaska Supreme Court on June 1, 2020.

The Chief Justice thanked the Legislature for its "consistent support for the judiciary" and noted that "we come to you for only what we need and you have always responded." He used the remainder of his 30-minute speech to address efficiencies in the Alaska Court System borne out of the tight budget environment and to present the court system's FY21 budget requests for limited additional resources to the Legislature. The court system's requests include:

A 1% cost of living adjustment for non-judicial court system employees to match those provided to Executive Branch employees.
A temporary fourth Court of Appeals judge (which Senator David Wilson's SB 55 would provide) and a permanent Court of Appeals Staff Attorney to help with the current workload in the Court of Appeals for criminal cases (the number of felony cases filed in 2019 was the highest ever).
A new Deputy Commissioner position within the Therapeutic Court system to assist the Statewide Coordinator to improve the effectiveness and support the continued success of this program.

You can watch Chief Justice Joel Bolger's full address here.

Save the Date: Anchorage Caucus

This year, Anchorage Caucus will be held in the Anchorage Assembly Chambers. Here are the details:

When: Saturday, February 22 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Where: Anchorage Assembly Chambers, 3600 Denali St. (Loussac Library Building)

For more information and to RSVP, visit the Facebook event page.

Mid-Session Constituent Meeting

Please join me, Representative Drummond, Senator Gray-Jackson, and Representative Josephson after Anchorage Caucus for pizza, beverages, and an opportunity to discuss the legislative session. We look forward to seeing you!

When: Saturday, February 22 from 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Where: Anchorage Legislative Building, 1500 W. Benson Blvd.

For more information and to RSVP, visit the Facebook event page.

Community Events

Mark your calendars for this upcoming event:

Bill Hearing on HB 181

Earlier this year, my office introduced House Bill 181, which amends the existing health education statute to include mental health education in all K-12 health classrooms.

The goal of the legislation is to educate students on important information pertaining to mental health symptoms, resources, and treatment.

On Monday morning, the House Education Committee will take public testimony on HB 181. I’m encouraging community members who support this legislation to get the word out and call-in to testify. If you are available to testify, you can submit written testimony to House.Education@akleg.gov.

What: Public Testimony on House Bill 181

Where: House Education Committee, Room 106, Alaska State Capitol, Juneau

When: Monday, February 17 at 8:00 AM

For more information and to RSVP, visit the Facebook event page.