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State Senator District E
Senate Majority Leader
Senator Cathy Giessel Newsletter
UPDATES
Issues affecting
your family, community and jobs.
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Legislative Day 101
April 25, 2024
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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We are now at Day 101!
The Budget - look at the Finance Committee meeting from April 24, when the Senate's Operating Budget rolled out: HB 268: Appropriation: Operating Budget; HB 270: Appropriation: Mental Health Budget; Presentation: Fiscal Update by Legislative Finance Division
You may have an item that you want to see in the budget. That item may be in the House Budget but not the Senate, or vise versa.
Here's how it works: There will be a "Conference Committee" (CC) made up of 3 House members and 3 Senate members. This CC negotiates the items and the amounts to come to an agreement on the final budget. That final budget is brought back to the House and the Senate, each whole body, for a final adoption vote.
Energy Topics - Carbon Capture and Sequestration is being considered. The Railbelt Transmission Organization is being considered and refined:
· April 19 - SB 217: Integrated Transmission Systems
· April 22 - HB 50: Carbon Storage
· April 24 - HB 50: Carbon Storage
Carbon Capture and Sequestration is being subsidized by Federal government credits. Other countries may be doing the same thing to incentivize "cleaner" air. The capture process can be done by gathering it directly from the air (very expensive process) or by putting capture devices on the stacks of electric generation, steel, concrete or other industrial facilities to capture the CO2 and other pollutants being emitted. Then the CO2 can be piped to an injection site where it is put underground.
The underground areas are ones from which oil or natural gas has been removed, or salt formations or brine reservoirs. Once its placed deep underground it can be sealed off and stored, sometimes forming new rock-like formations.
Alaska has a lot of reservoirs where oil and gas has been removed and could now hold CO2. We could lease these areas to companies or countries and have a source of revenue from this process. That's what the Senate Resources committee is looking at right now.
In the meeting on April 24, we learned that, while the Federal government is giving generous tax credits ("45Q") to companies to Carbon Capture & Sequester, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering putting in place a requirement for any coal powered generation plants by 2039 or so.
Learn more about this, and here the discussion at the links above.
At each of these links, you can also access documents, like budget sheet and powerpoint presentations that go along with the meetings.
Also being worked on:
· Cook Inlet Royalty Relief
· Natural Gas Storage facilities in Cook Inlet
· Geothermal resources
· Green Bank provisions
Education
We continue to work with the House and the Governor regarding a solution for correspondence school allotments. Prior to 2014, these financial subsidies for home school students were well defined and managed. After 2014, the rules became much more lenient, allowing funding to go to private and religious schools; this is a violation of our Constitution. Superior Court has nullified this use of public money, so now a solution needs to be found. Simply returning to 2014 rules would provide the subsidy but limit it to public education options.
Defined Benefit Pension
This bill continues to await a hearing in House State Affairs committee. Firefighters and police groups were here this week. The Anchorage Police Department has 50 openings for officers. The State Troopers have another 50 vacancies. Firefighters around the state, after becoming fully trained and experienced, are recruited to other states with better pay and pensions. So we are in constant churn of new employees, nearly $200,000 to train and equip them, and offering hiring bonuses up to $60,000. This is crazy!
The modest pension under consideration would recruit and retain public safety, teachers and other public employees like snow plow operators.
Items in this Newsletter:
· State Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth
· APFC Performance
· Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Press Release
· BLM Wildfire Awareness Event
· AEA Solar for All Grant
· Chugach Park Fund Events
· Senate Committee Meetings
· Current Topics: Education, Economy, Minerals, Healthcare, Politics
· Resource Values, Permanent Fund
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FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Today the Bureau of Land Management released its proposed plan to guide management of 13.3 million acres of public lands in central and northern Alaska, including portions of the central Yukon River watershed and the Dalton Highway corridor. The Central Yukon Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement reflects public input collected over more than a decade and balances development, recreational access, and resource protection, with an emphasis on landscape connectivity and protection of subsistence resources.
“These lands are important for all Alaskans, supporting a major transit and commerce corridor and home to subsistence resources that are vital for rural communities, including Alaska Native people,” said Alaska State Director Steve Cohn. “This proposed plan is the result of over a decade of discussion and input from Tribes, cooperating agencies, and stakeholders, and positions us to manage these lands for the benefit of Alaskans, today and into the future.”
The proposed plan recommends opening an additional 11.1 million acres to selection by eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans under the Dingell Act through the partial revocation of ANCSA 17(d)(1) withdrawals on those lands. While the plan does not recommend additional revocations, BLM will continue to engage the public in response to
the State of Alaska’s request to partially revoke withdrawals along the Dalton Highway corridor that the State has identified as critically important for completing their entitlements under the Alaska Statehood Act.
Given the importance of subsistence resources for Alaska communities, the proposed plan protects important habitat for fish and wildlife, designating approximately 3.6 million acres as areas of critical environmental concern, 746,000 acres as caribou core habitat areas for two non-migratory herds, and 4,600 acres as Dall sheep habitat areas. These protections will support important subsistence species Alaskans depend upon, including caribou, salmon, sheefish, and Dall sheep. The plan further supports healthy landscapes by committing to incorporating local and Indigenous Knowledge and exploring co-stewardship opportunities as the plan is implemented.
The proposed plan advances collaborative efforts by the BLM and partners to foster landscape connectivity and resilience in the face of dramatic change to Alaska’s ecosystems. In coordination with interested adjacent land managers and stakeholders, the plan proactively identifies several areas as ecological benchmarks, including 4.6 million acres of BLM-managed lands that will be managed for multiple uses and monitored for effects on key benchmark characteristics as part of a landscape-scale adaptive management effort. The plan also identifies 371,000 acres of BLM-managed lands as connectivity corridors, which weave together conservation areas to support ecosystem resilience and adaptive capacity in the face of change.
The proposed plan balances the many ways Alaskans use their public lands across this vast landscape, supporting recreation access and opportunities for development. The proposal meets the demand for increased recreation opportunities in the front-country and backcountry, protecting backcountry conservation areas and creating special recreation management areas along the Dalton Highway. The plan will also help guide appropriate development, identifying areas across more than 8.3 million acres that would remain open for the location of mining claims and 12 million acres where saleable materials, such as sand and gravel, would be available.
The proposed plan overlaps with and supports the Department of the Interior’s Gravel-to-Gravel Keystone Initiative, a $34-million commitment to date, which brings together Tribes, Indigenous leaders, federal agencies, and community partners to enhance the resilience of the region’s ecosystems and communities through investments in healthy habitats and salmon populations.
The BLM released the draft management plan for the Central Yukon area for comment in December 2020. Publication of this final proposed Central Yukon Resource Management Plan and Final EIS initiates a 30-day protest period that ends May 28 and a 60-day Governor’s consistency review that ends June 25. These periods will inform a Record of Decision to be issued later this year.
Information on filing a protest can be found on the BLM “Filing a Plan Protest” webpage. Protests must be filed in writing through the BLM ePlanning project webpage or via mail to the BLM Director, Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), Denver Federal Center, Building 40 (Door W-4), Lakewood, CO 80215.
For more information on the proposed Central Yukon plan and Final EIS, visit the BLM National NEPA Register.
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AEA and AHFC selected for $62.5 Million EPA Solar for All Grant
Program will enable low-income and disadvantaged
households to benefit from solar energy
(Anchorage) — The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) and its partner, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), announced today that they have been selected for a $62.5 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Solar for All program.
The Solar for All program is a $7 billion competitive grant program through EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Fund authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act. It is designed to deploy residential rooftop and residential-serving community solar projects benefiting low-income and disadvantaged households. The EPA’s program does not require a cost match from the grantees.
“Alaskans face some of the highest energy costs in the nation,” said AEA Executive Director Curtis W. Thayer. “The Solar for All program helps to level the playing field by making solar energy solutions more accessible.”
”AHFC and AEA have a long history of working together to assist Alaskans with their energy efficiency needs and this is the next chapter in our relationship,” said AHFC CEO/Executive Director Bryan Butcher. “Today’s announcement reflects a spirit of collaboration that will lead to access and advancement of emerging alternative energy technologies.”
In October 2023, AEA and AHFC submitted a coalition application to be shared evenly between the organizations. This will fund a two-pronged Solar for All program for Alaska, supporting community solar installations and residential rooftop solar for low-income and disadvantaged households.
With funding, AEA will administer a grant program to develop community solar arrays, including battery energy storage systems (BESS) that benefit customers in disadvantaged communities. BESS will fortify electrical distribution in rural Alaska communities, delivering resilience and reliability for the foreseeable future.
AHFC will administer a statewide residential program that provides subsidized rooftop solar installations for utility grid connected low-income in disadvantaged households where net metering applies.
With the final award, Alaska’s Solar for All program is anticipated to last five years, with the first year set aside for planning.
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Chugach Park Fund (CPF) is very appreciative to the Atwood Foundation which is once again supporting a sign project for CPF. The sign will be placed at the intersection of the Powerline Trail and the Hidden Lake Trail providing orientation, interpretation and safety information as well as acknowledgements to our partners and sponsors. Design is underway similar to signs we had made for Sunnyside and Little O’Malley, and we will dedicate the sign upon completion of the trail work this summer.
CPF is sponsoring seven volunteer events this year and we would love to see you and your family, friends or coworkers participate. If you cannot personally help out perhaps you would consider a donation to support one of these events.
Save the dates:
6/22/2024 South Fork Rim + Golden Grass Trails
7/6/2024 Near Point (Prospect side)
7/13/2024 Hanging Valley (South Fork Eagle River)
7/24/2024 Hemlock Knob
08/24/2024 South Fork Eagle River Trail (Eagle River)
08/31/2024 Wolverine Trail
09/14/2024 Junction of Hemlock Knob & Powerline Trails
You can sign up for the first few events here, and the rest will be listed on this website as the dates get closer.
Anchorage voters seemed to support Proposition 9 to bond for the Canyon Road improvement to Chugach State Park (the election has not been certified yet). It’s wonderful how many people value the park and understand the need for better roads to the park.
We're making Chugach State Park Trails better. Here's how you can help. ADN
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Current Topics
Centuries-old bottles of cherries unearthed at George Washington's home. ADN
Experts at Mount Vernon said last week that Beard and other archaeologists have now discovered two intact bottles that still had, along with liquid, some of the cherries they contained when they were buried about 250 years ago. The area of the discovery was believed to have once been a storeroom.
After a dozen years, statewide Yup'ik language spelling bee going strong. Alaska Public Media
This year’s tournament, on April 13, was held at the University of Alaska Anchorage at the home of the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Acceleration Program. The site is symbolic because it gives high-school students a leg up on earning a college degree, and also incorporates Native language and culture.
Education
"I don't think I've seen it this bad"; Walk-in demonstrates hope to effect change in Alaska education funding. KSRM
Walk-in demonstrations across the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on Wednesday, Apr. 24, aim to garner the attention of the Alaska legislative and executive branches and garner funding to compensate for budget deficits facing school districts statewide.
Politics
Alaska Senate rolls out operating budget with roughly $1,300 PFD plus energy relief check. Alaska Public Media
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has made large dividends a key part of his platform, said on the statewide call-in show Talk of Alaska Tuesday that he’d prefer a dividend above $2,000. He suggested spending a portion of the state’s roughly $2.8 billion savings account known as the Constitutional Budget Reserve. It takes a three-quarters vote in the House and Senate to spend from the account. That means the Republican-led majority couldn’t do it alone, and they may not get support from their colleagues — minority-caucus Democrats and independents spoke out against what they saw as an unbalanced budget as it passed the House earlier this month.
"Hear the bill": Public safety employees protest as pension legislation languishes in House committee. Alaska's News Source
At the Support for Public Safety rally, Senate majority members and House Minority members joined supporters and echoed support for SB 88, which would create a pension program for state employees. The bill passed out of the Senate back in January.
Healthcare
Physician coalition launches Accountable Care Organization for Alaska. Alaska Business
This Medicare-focused program is in response to the rapidly growing population of Medicare patients in the state. According to the Alaska Commission on Aging, the senior population is the fastest growing demographic in the state. Alaskans older than age 60 now represent more than 20 percent of the state’s total population; this age cohort increased by 68 percent between April 2010 and July of 2022.
Charting revenues. Axios
These companies are not just health insurers, and the increase in revenues reflects that. For example, CVS finalized its acquisition of Aetna in 2018—and thus Aetna became part of a company with a much bigger share of total health spending.
2023 was Alaska's deadliest year for opioid overdoses—and the state saw the highest increase in deaths in the nation. ADN
Alaska last year broke a grim record: More people in the state died from an opioid overdose in 2023 than any previous year.
The breaking point: Why mental health education can't wait. ADN
Alaska Senate considers plan that would allow teens to independently seek mental health care. Alaska Beacon
To address a surge in mental health problems among young Alaskans, the Alaska Senate is considering whether to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to seek therapy without their parents’ permission. During the current legislative session and past sessions, through public testimony and conversations with legislators across party lines, young people have bravely shared their struggles and losses. They have spoken of friends lost to suicide, of silently suffering with untreated conditions, and of their desire to help end the shame and silence around mental illness.
Solutions for Alaska's nurse shortage. ADN
The causes of this shortage are numerous and complex. Decades of understaffing, worsening working conditions and the unprecedented burdens imposed on nurses during the pandemic have led to a significant exodus from the profession. Compounding this is the inadequate capacity of nursing schools to produce graduates, owing to a shortage of qualified educators and insufficient investment in nursing workforce development. Those who do enter the workforce often find themselves unprepared for the demanding realities of bedside care.
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Alaska Oil Resource Values
Alaska North Slope crude oil price (4/24/24): $88.00
FY24 budget (beginning 7/1) is fully funded at a
forecast of $73/barrel of oil.
Price on 9/30/23: $87.99
Price on 9/30/22: $86.91
Price on 6/29/22: $116.84
Price on 3/08/22: $125.44
Price on 12/22/21: $75.55
ANS production (4/24/24): 473,905 bpd
Alaska House, seeking to boost oil and gas business, approves carbon storage bill. Alaska Beacon
Carbon storage bill off to Senate after House passage. Alaska's
News Source
Interest in carbon storage has grown over the past decade as companies sign “net zero” agreements that require them to balance their carbon dioxide emissions with programs that remove carbon from the atmosphere. Australia-based oil and gas firm Santos, for example, has publicly said that its goal is to be net zero by 2040. Santos is developing the Pikka oil project on Alaska’s North Slope.
Telling the story of Alaska's electrification. ACEP
Readers will find many interesting stories of energy innovation from these early years of Alaska’s electrical build-out, like how Juneau used hydroelectricity to became one of the nation’s first electrified cities (including all mining operations) a mere decade after Edison built Manhattan’s Pearl Street Station in 1882.
Alaskans need a modern electric grid. ADN
The Railbelt regions are currently connected through a single transmission line, which is limited in how much power it can carry between regions. The initial step to decongesting power movement, Phase I upgrades, will construct an additional line from the Kenai Peninsula to Southcentral. Phase II upgrades will construct an additional line from Southcentral to Healy.
(My Comment: I’m pleased to be working with the Governor’s office, the utilities, REAP, AKPIRG, independent power producers, and IBEW to put in place the foundation to move our transmission system into secure, redundant, reliable service.)
House approves tougher route for environmental protections on Alaska rivers, lakes. Alaska Beacon
“It’s essentially a lockup of that water and almost everything that pertains, even peripherally, with that water. It’s a very significant decision,” said House Majority Leader Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, speaking in favor of the bill. Since 1983, when the federal government required that each state create a process for labeling Tier III waters, the state of Alaska has never labeled something as Tier III.
Precious Metal Prices
April 24, 2024
Gold - $2330.24
Silver - $27.44
Platinum - $919.13
Palladium - $1034.84
Alaska Permanent Fund
website
Fund value April 24 - $79,399,700,000
PFD payout from ERA, Fiscal years 1980-2024: $29.7 Billion
Cost of PFD in Oct. 2022: $2.2 B
Cost of PFD Oct. 6, 2023: $881.5 Million
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Congratulations to Morgan Hegg, RN, Alaska School Nurse of the Year
I was pleased to present Morgan with a Legislative citation for her work in a Mat-Su Elementary School. She set up resources for her young students to access food and eye care through the school. School nurses are the door for students to enter the healthcare system to get needs met for themselves and their families.
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Alaska History
-Apr. 11, 1942: Troops began construction of Pioneer Road for Alaska Highway, Ft. Nelson, B.C.
-Apr. 17, 1878: Sheldon Jackson College opened in Sitka
-Apr. 17, 1824: Treaty of St. Petersburg signed by U.S. and Russia
-Apr. 19, 1867: Congress approved Alaska Purchase
-Apr. 23, 1917: First winner of Nenana Ice Classic
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