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Greetings!
It
has been another productive session, and I wanted to give you a more
detailed update than usual now that my team and I have returned to
Anchorage. As was the case last year during the first half of the
Legislative session, in 2026 I again joined the Bipartisan Majority
and chaired the Senate Health and Social Services Committee. The
Majority passed a balanced budget, which included a $1000 PFD, a $200
energy relief payment, and a $144 million increase to our education
budget. While all of those amounts are better than they would have
been without the coalition, they are still insufficient. I continue
to support, and have voted for, additional revenue measures to
stabilize Alaska's finances, invest in our communities, and prevent
future cuts. Below are some of the more specific issues and
legislation that my office worked on this year.
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The
Senate Health and Social Services Committee had a busy session,
particularly regarding the federal government’s new Rural Health
Transformation Program (RHTP). Our committee spent most of session
learning about the Department of Health’s (DOH) work on their
application to secure a $272 million dollar award to the state.
Additionally, the committee held hearings about DOH’s process for
collecting letters of interest, distribution of funds, and process
for implementation of their six targeted goals to improve access to
care and strengthen the long-term stability of the state’s health
care system.
In
addition, the committee itself introduced and passed legislation to
enact five interstate medical licensure compacts to include: Social
Work, EMS, Physicians, Physician Assistants, and Psychologists. This
was a policy commitment from the Department of Health to the federal
government during their submission for Rural Health Funds. This
legislation ultimately passed the legislature and has been
transmitted to the governor.
As
of May 26th, the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF), the
sub-grantee administrator for RHTP funds, has responded to
organizations across Alaska who submitted 1,797 Letters of Interest
(LIO’s) for funding opportunities. There were 403 LOI’s that advanced
to Full Implementation and 28 advanced to a Planning
Pathway. The DOH anticipates opening a new LOI submission and/or
application period for Year 2 of Alaska’s Rural Health Transformation
Program in early fall 2026. We look forward to hearing from DOH about
the projects selected for the first round of funding, as well as
updates regarding improvements for the application process for future
funding cycles.
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Infant
Learning Program
The
Alaska Children’s Caucus, which I am a member of, prioritized
legislation this year to expand access to the Infant Learning
Program. The bill passed through both the Senate and the House and
has been sent to the governor to sign. The goal of this legislation
is to improve outcomes for Alaska’s children by expanding early
intervention services for young children experiencing developmental
delays. While passing this legislation, we also secured additional
funding for the program in the operating budget.
In
practice, passing this legislation aligns Alaska with the national
threshold for children to receive services from our current 50% delay
threshold to a 25% delay. The yearly cost of serving a child
through the ILP is about one-tenth the cost of providing equivalent
services after age three. Studies show a return of $2.05 to $17.07
for every dollar invested in early intervention.
This
bill will help thousands of children and is a reform that all
Alaskans can be proud of. Our current threshold has produced a system
that waits until a child's needs are severe before stepping in, which
costs more and fails to deliver the necessary intervention when it is
most needed. This policy aligns our eligibility standard with our
special education standard and puts the youngest Alaskans on better
footing for success in their educational careers and lives.
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Senate
Resources Committee
As
a member of the Senate Resources Committee (SRES), I have spent this
session working hard alongside my colleagues to protect our
fisheries, strengthen our farms, and make Alaska’s natural resources
more accessible to Alaskans. Our primary focus this year has been the
AK LNG project. This proposed pipeline would bring natural gas from
the North Slope down to Kenai for liquefaction and export. While a
North Slope pipeline has been discussed since the 1960s, it has never
moved past the planning stages, despite enormous subsidies from the
State of Alaska.
With
less than two months left in the regular session, Governor Dunleavy
introduced legislation to cut taxes for the AK LNG project by more
than 90%. The Governor claimed this massive tax break would guarantee
construction and lower local gas costs. Examining these claims, SRES
met 36 times to consult global experts, analyze similar international
projects, and run extensive economic models.
The
findings contradicted some of the Governor’s claims. The Department
of Revenue produced modeling showing that this project could raise
gas costs by 200% to 300%. Affordable energy to heat and power our
homes, schools, and businesses is my top priority, yet these numbers
were alarming. To safeguard Alaskans, our committee amended the bill
by adding necessary consumer protections and cost controls, while
preserving a substantial tax cut.
Because
the Legislature ran out of time to pass legislation before
adjournment, the Governor immediately called us back into special
session. The House and Senate Finance Committees are now reviewing a
new version of the bill introduced by the Governor, which grants the
enormous tax cut but strips out the consumer protections we fought to
include. My position remains firm that any tax cut passed for this
project must have protections for Alaskan consumers and communities,
and must not reduce our existing oil revenue (through gas lease
expenditures) in a way that requires cuts to education, the PFD, and
more. Alaskans deserve and require affordable energy, and I will
continue working towards that goal, while simultaneously doing my
constitutional and fiduciary duty to the people of Alaska.
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Personal
Legislation
AIDEA Finance Workforce Housing Development
In
2024, I introduced SB 14, authorizing AIDEA to loan money for
construction of housing projects of 5 or more dwelling units with
rents affordable to people with roughly the area median income. I
worked on this idea with Representative Andi Story (D-Juneau), who
introduced a House companion bill (HB 184). HB 184 passed through the
House with the income restrictions removed in February 2026 and the
final version passed the Senate by a vote of 17-3 on May 15th. I am
hopeful that the Governor will sign this legislation, as it provides
AIDEA with broad authority to deploy AIDEA’s financial resources to
help address Alaska’s housing crisis.
Funding for Alaska Legal Services Corporation
I
am pleased to share that a critical piece of legislation I have been
working on for several years has become law (without the Governor’s
signature).
This
legislation increases funding for Alaska Legal Services Corporation
(ALSC), a non-profit that provides civil legal assistance to Alaskans
who cannot afford representation. While our rights guarantee a public
defender in criminal cases, no such protection exists for civil
cases. ALSC helps Alaskans navigate issues like housing, child
support, financial abuse, and domestic violence protective orders.
ALSC is also the state’s leading representative for survivors of
sexual abuse.
This
bill increases the percentage of court filing fees that can be
directed to ALSC from 10% to 25%. This means ALSC will now be able to
serve approximately 800 more of our fellow Alaskans each year.
Creating the Invasive Species Management Council
Another
piece of legislation I introduced is Senate Bill 174, creating the
Invasive Species Management Council. This council will bridge the gap
between local, state, and non-profit organizations, allowing them to
coordinate the responses to invasive species together.
From
green crabs and northern pike to elodea and chokecherry trees,
invasive species pose a challenge statewide. As we have seen with
chokecherry trees here in Anchorage, without good information and a
unified response, non-native species can quickly threaten our
ecosystem.
This
council will help us act proactively to avoid economic and
environmental costs; the council is also required by law to produce a
5-year strategic plan to combat invasive species in Alaska. The
bill has passed the Senate and House and is awaiting the Governor's
decision.
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Right to Repair
I
introduced SB 111 in February 2025 to provide Alaskans with access to
replacement parts, tools, and repair documentation for their digital
products. It passed quickly through the Senate Community and Regional
Affairs Committee. Over the next year my staff and I worked
extensively with advocates, stakeholders, Legislative Legal Services,
and other Senators on the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee to
refine the bill. We made the difficult decision to narrow the scope
of the bill to consumer electronics to give it a chance of passing
this year. At the same time, Representative Maxine Dibert's companion
bill (HB 162) passed the House Community and Regional Affairs
committee, with key provisions removed and huge loopholes added.
SB
111 passed the Senate by a vote of 15-5 on May 11th of this year and,
thanks to Representative Dibert and her staff's work on HB 162, was
able to go directly to House Labor and Commerce. SB 111 passed
through HL&C quickly, landing in House Rules by May 15th. We
collected the 21 chits needed to get the bill to the floor and many
other representatives expressed support for the bill. However, a
small number of legislators personally committed to putting the
profits of large out-of-state manufacturers over the rights of
Alaskans and were determined to block the bill. One representative
threatened dozens of time-consuming amendments on the House Floor.
With only a few days left in session and other priorities (the
operating budget and AKLNG legislation) still to consider, the House
Rules Chair decided not to put the bill on the floor. Though I was
not able to pass Right to Repair legislation in the 34th Legislature,
I plan to try again next year.
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