Protecting Your Rights: Serving Sand Lake, Spenard and Turnagain

May 7, 2020

impacted Alaskans, public health efforts, and other affected sectors of the state. In recent weeks and again on Monday, the U.S. Department of Treasury has provided guidance on the permitted uses for federal COVID-19 stimulus funds.

CARES Act Funding Updates

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee, which I chair, heard testimony from the Legislature’s non-partisan legal services director and the Anchorage municipal attorney on the next steps needed to get federal COVID-19 stimulus funds out to Alaskan organizations and individuals impacted by the pandemic.

During the hearing, committee members received an update on the legal uses of CARES Act funding, on a process that may be used to approve additional spending—known as the Revenue and Revised Program/Legislative (RPL) structure, and on the Legislature’s constitutional appropriation authority.

CARES Act Funding

People across the nation have raised concerns about the U.S. Department of Treasury’s initial guidelines for use of CARES Act funds that limit flexibility in spending of federal funds to support the economy by state and local governments. Specifically, U.S. Senators, governors, and local officials have criticized the Treasury’s guideline that prevents states and local governments from using CARES Act funds to replace lost revenue.

Last week, the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee approved a portion of the $1.25 billion in federal funds coming into Alaska through the CARES Act. The $125 million in funds released Friday include:

$45 million for K-12 education;
$42 million for child nutrition programs;
$29 million for rural transportation, including the marine highway;
$5 million for University of Alaska; and
$3.6 million for state and local law enforcement.

Details on those appropriations can be found here.

Lawmakers are reviewing the governor’s proposals for the use of the remaining funds.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Anchorage Municipal Attorney Kate Vogel assured House Judiciary Committee members that the Treasury recently amended its guidelines to more broadly interpret the CARES Act and allow use of the federal funds to pay for costs and expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic. For example, local governments can use CARES Act funds to pay first responders, public health workers, and public safety officers.

RPLs and the Legislature’s Appropriation Authority

Governor Dunleavy is attempting to use Revised Program Legislative requests, “RPLs,” to get legislative approval to distribute CARES Act funding. RPLs are approved by the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee and are typically used when the legislature is not in session to accept federal money for existing programs in which the actual federal funds received are greater than anticipated in the budget for that particular program.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Megan Wallace, Director of Legislative Legal Services, advised that while some of the governor’s RPL requests are appropriate, many of them do not meet the legal standard for that process because there is no existing program and no existing legislative appropriation. Under the Alaska Constitution, only the legislature has the power to appropriate funds from the state treasury.

Ms. Wallace discussed her analysis of five of the governor's proposed RPLs that involve over $1 billion in federal funds received by the state. Legislative Legal Services concluded that these RPLs "are not an increase to an existing appropriation," which does not comply with Alaska law; "attempt to create a new appropriation," which requires legislative action; involve a program that lacks specific statutory authority; and involve underlying appropriations with "no federal funds" attached. In summary, these five RPLs as currently proposed by the governor appear to violate both Alaska law and the Alaska Constitution.

The House Judiciary Committee invited the Attorney General to provide testimony on the RPL issues addressed by Legislative Legal Services, but the Attorney General declined the invitation and did not attend the hearing.

While the Legislative Budget and Audit committee has properly approved several of the RPLs, the Legislative Legal Services advised that the only legally-sound way to get federal funding to areas without an existing program is through an appropriations bill enacted by the legislature.

The Chair of the Legislative Budget and Audit committee, Representative Chris Tuck, is continuing to work with the governor to try and resolve these challenges.

Students Advocate for Bill to Implement Mental Health Education in Alaska Schools

House Bill 181, sponsored by my office, recognizes that the school setting provides an important platform for health education. Mental health education is just as important as physical health education, but the subject has been largely absent from schools’ health education curricula for many years.

Over the weekend, students wrote an opinion piece about how the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for better mental health education and resources for Alaska's youth. When Governor Dunleavy ordered the closing of all public and private schools in Alaska on March 20, students' lives were upended as they found themselves cut off from in-person contact with their teachers, peers, friends, and other school-based support systems. With the transition to online learning, students have struggled to stay engaged. The social isolation and upheaval of routine of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all Alaskans. But as Kaplan, Fraser, and Johnson point out, Alaskan youth and young adults, who account for the highest rates of suicide in Alaska, "are confronting the mental health challenges of this epidemic with inadequate education."

In a KTVA story on the same subject, student Zoe Kaplan points out that many students who haven’t previously dealt with mental health now find themselves affected by the isolation of the pandemic. These students have nowhere to turn and no base knowledge of mental health to guide and validate what they are feeling.

At a House Education Hearing on February 17, 2020, students pointed out the shortcomings of obtaining mental health information and education at home. Natalie Fraser, a West High senior, highlighted this shortcoming in her testimony: "I didn’t have knowledge about depression or what mental health conditions looked like–and neither did my family...none of us had ever had formal health education in early warning signs of mental illness." Rather, she said that "the knowledge that saved my life didn’t come from my family or my peers–it came from one math teacher who taught suicide prevention at my school."

HB 181 would task the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) with developing mental health education guidelines that schools could subsequently adopt into their current health education curricula, ensuring students' access to mental health education at school.

Community Events

Mark your calendars for this upcoming event:

Spenard Food Truck Carnival

The Spenard Food Truck Carnival has returned for its eighth year—this year, with new rules to operate safely during COVID-19. Weekly lunch hours are Thursdays under the windmill in Spenard! Each week's roster posted every Tuesday.

When: Every Thursday from 11:00 AM — 2:00 PM

For more information, visit their Facebook page.

Ongoing Events

Daily Briefings for Small Businesses

When: Monday - Friday at 2:00 PM

Join the Alaska Small Business Development Center Business Advisors for the latest updates in COVID-19 related news and resources (Emergency Loans, Unemployment, etc.) for small businesses. Participants will be able to ask the advisors and guests questions in real time to get the latest information and support.

These live webinars will be recorded and will be stored in the COVID-19 Informational Videos Channel.

Hunker Down Anchor Town

When: Thursday at 4:00 PM

The Mayor is giving weekly community updates about the Municipality’s response to COVID-19.

The discussion is hosted by longtime Alaska broadcaster, Steve Heimel. Community members may ask the Mayor questions by calling 907-222-1061 during the show or tweeting @outnorthradio.

Listeners outside of the Anchorage area can listen online from anywhere by visiting outnorthradio.com/stream from a computer or smartphone.

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