Here's what we've been up to:

 

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Sunday, March 5th: Please join us at the Anchorage Legislative Town Hall on from 2-4pm at UAA Rasmuson Hall (3416 Seawolf Dr, Anchorage). This is your opportunity to hear from Anchorage legislators in person, ask questions, and see what we're up to.

Legislation

I have introduced two pieces of legislation this month:

SB 56 AK Performance Scholarship; Eligibility

This is the companion bill to Rep. Story's HB 31. This bill seeks to modernize the Alaska Performance Scholarship. It will increase the award amounts to combat inflation, remove the standardized testing requirement, expand eligibility to include students with career and technical education, extend the time to use the scholarship from 6 to 8 years post graduation, and establish a notification deadline of September 30th of senior year, giving our students time to choose Alaska schools.

SB 77 Muni Prop Tax Exemption/Tax Blighted Prop

This bill gives local governments two new tools to incentivize economic development. First, it allows local governments to fully exempt instead of partially exempt certain economic development properties from property taxes. Second, it gives local governments the option to implement a tax on blighted/deteriorated properties. It has been referred to Senate Community & Regional Affairs.

Updates on Co-sponsored Legislation

· SB 10 Hunting/Trapping/Fishing: Disabled Vets passed the Senate unanimously and has moved on to the House.

· SB 33 Renewable Energy Grant Fund moved from the Resources Committee and has been referred to the Finance Committee

Bookmark my AKLeg.gov homepage to stay up-to-date on these and other bills from my office.

Committee Updates

Senate Community and Regional Affairs: As Chair of the committee, I have held hearings to learn more about various issues around the state ranging from public safety to broadband. We have had overviews from the Department of Public Safety, Department of Corrections, Division of Community and Regional Affairs, Alaska Municipal League, and Alaska’s Broadband Office. 

Health and Social Services: On Friday, February 17th, we voted out SB 58 Medicaid Eligibility: Postpartum Mothers, introduced by the Governor. This bill will Medicaid eligibility for postpartum mothers from 60 days to 12 months. It has now moved on to the Finance committee, and I look forward to voting for it on the Senate floor.

Staff the State Rally

State Employees Association/AFSCME Local 52 members, legislators, and I rallied on the Capitol steps Friday, February 10th to support our public employees, especially those working in the Division of Public Assistance (DPA). DPA's long standing vacancies have led to a significant backlog in processing SNAP applications. From processing public benefits to road maintenance, public service vacancies impact all of us. A fair wage and a return to a pension for our public employees is long overdue. I am hopeful this legislature will be able to address these issues.

Important Reminders

PFD:

· Applications are open for the 2023 PFD.

· Apply by March 31st at https://mypfd.alaska.gov/.

· Please call our office as soon as possible if you hit any roadblocks in this process.

Municipal Election: April 4th

· Register to vote or update your registration by March 5

· This is a Vote-by-Mail/Vote-at-Home election. Ballot packages will be mailed starting March 14th. USPS will not forward ballot packages, so make sure your mailing address is up-to-date. 

· Traditional polling locations will not be an option for voting, but three (3) Anchorage Vote Centers (AVCs) will be open for in-person voting March 27th through Election Day.

· Voters can also apply to vote by email or fax by calling (907) 243-VOTE (8683) by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28th.

· Other information about the election may be found at www.muni.org/elections. 

Honored to serve you,