Sine Die, Special Session, and lots more!

Senate Majority Bipartisan Coalition Website

State Senator District E

Senate Majority Leader

Senator Cathy Giessel Newsletter

UPDATES

Issues affecting

your family, community and jobs.

May 22, 2026

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The Senate completed its work and adjourned last night (May 20) at about 8:30 PM. The House adjourned at about 9:45 PM.

The 34th Alaska Legislature is adjourned sine die.

Senate Floor bill passages have been noted for you in that section of the newsletter. (My staff did excellent work following all the work and recording it for you.)

Many bills were amended.

Budgets included increase for school funding, deferred maintenance, and a lot more. We will get an easy to understand summary for you in next newsletter.

May 21 - Special Session begins

The Senate will convene at 10 AM.

The Governor forgot to send a gasline bill to the Senate, so perhaps he will correct that. Only the Senate Finance committee will be functioning during this Special Session. My team and I will keep you updated.

Packing Up

We now have to pack up the office here. We must leave the office in a condition that our belongings are ready to move out and a new person could quickly move in. So that is what I will be doing the rest of the week.

I will be home in Anchorage but traveling back to Juneau periodically to fulfill my role as Majority Leader.

Staff continuing are Samantha, Paige, and Jane. When you call the office, one of them will be pleased to assist you.

I am always available via email, and happy to meet with you in Anchorage.

Please give us time to get ourselves and our temporary Juneau homes packed and back to Anchorage. We should be settled in about a week or so.

This newsletter will now go back to the once a week, Thursdays at 6 AM.

Budget Documents

HB263 : Operating Budget - House Floor

HB 265 : Mental Health Budget Approp

Items in this Newsletter:

· Special Session

· Pension Bill Update

· Bills Moving

· Senate Floor Sessions

· Senate Finance Committee Meetings

· Podcast: Dunleavy's Last Gas: A Ransom Note

· Press Release: Expand Early Childhood intervention Services

· Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics with Current Topics, Stuff I Found Interesting, Education, Politics, Healthcare

· Resource Values, Permanent Fund Data

· Alaska History

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Past Newsletters

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Special Session

Dunleavy calls special session Thursday on Alaska gasline tax break Alaska Beacon

Governor calls immediate special session to continue debate on Alaska LNG Anchorage Daily News

Dunleavy calls special session for gas line bill starting Thursday. Juneau Independent

‘Get the gas flowing’: Dunleavy brings Trump cabinet member to Anchorage, calls for LNG legislation. Alaska News Source

Senate President Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, did not mince words in a newsletter she issued Tuesday morning that said the governor has demanded that lawmakers “pass his version of a gas pipeline bill that no one is allowed to know much about. His version of a gas pipeline defies our Constitution – ignoring resource development for benefit of Alaskans (benefit for a private company), surrenders our taxing authority (removes local taxation authority, forbids financial transparency, logical financial assessment),” Giessel’s newsletter said.

Pension Bill Update

05/19/26 Joint Session

Alaska legislators fail to override governor’s veto of public pension bill Alaska Beacon

Pension bill dies following Dunleavy veto and failed override attempt Anchorage Daily News

Pipeline and pension plummet, Cox's back on the job and a floor blow-up. Alaska Memo

In a 33-27 vote Tuesday, the Alaska Legislature failed to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bill that would have created a new pension system for teachers, municipal employees and state employees in Alaska. Forty votes were needed for an override.

Gov. Dunleavy vetoes public pension bill Anchorage Daily News

Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Monday vetoed a bill that would have reinstated defined benefit pensions for Alaska’s public employees for the first time since 2006. In a message accompanying the veto, Dunleavy said that the new pension plan “contains unresolved legal, tax, administrative, and fiscal issues that create uncertainty” and that the plan would return “unfunded liability risk to the state and participating employers.” Dunleavy, who himself receives a state pension from his years as a public school educator in Alaska, has previously voiced opposition to reinstating a public pension system, reasoning that it would not solve the state’s recruitment and retention crisis, as supporters of the policy argued. But he told lawmakers earlier this month that he would allow the new pension system to become law — only if they pass a bill adhering to his specifications to advance the Alaska LNG megaproject.

Bills Moving

Alaska Legislature votes to ban certain synthetic food dyes in school meals Alaska Beacon

The synthetic dyes include several versions of red, yellow, green and blue and are used as color additives that provide no nutritional value, but give food and drinks a bright color. They are commonly used in candies, baked goods, breakfast cereals, snacks, ice cream and sports drinks, among others.

Alaska Legislature votes to ban certain synthetic food dyes in school meals Alaska Beacon

Alaska lawmakers approve bills to strengthen oversight for youth in psychiatric facilities Alaska Beacon

The Alaska Legislature approved new legislation to ensure greater oversight for Alaska youth in psychiatric facilities, including increased protections for foster youth.

Alaska Legislature votes to correct boundary errors at several state parks, public areas Alaska Beacon

State lawmakers are acting to fix technical errors affecting the boundaries of several Alaska wildlife refuges and other public areas. The errors were caused by the fact that the areas’ actual edges don’t match descriptions in state law and will be fixed if Senate Bill 230 is enacted by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

Alaska Legislature votes to increase fee transparency for University of Alaska Alaska Beacon

The University of Alaska will be required to provide advance notice before increasing student fees and an itemized list of fees charged to students and families under new legislation passed by the Alaska Legislature.

Alaska Legislature’s last-day action could cancel campaign-finance ballot measure Alaska Beacon

Late Tuesday night, the Alaska Senate voted 12-8 to approve House Bill 16, which would impose limits on the amount of money that individuals and groups can donate to political candidates.

Alaska Legislature passes the use of infant safety devices Juneau Independent

Senate Bill 9 by Sen. Robb Myers, R-North Pole, allows for infant safety devices or “baby boxes” at designated locations within the state, such as hospitals, fire and police stations, birth centers, rural health clinics, or a state trooper post. It passed the Senate in March.

Senate Floor Sessions

May 19th - Floor Recording

· HB 280 - Apportion Taxable Income

· HB 13 - Municipal Property Tax Exemptions

· HB 73 - Complex Care Residential Homes

· HB 173 - Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact

· HB 110 - Social Work Licensure Compact

· HB 193 - Unemployment Ben: Paid Leave: Parent/Sick

· HB 195 - Pharmacists: Physician Associates

· HB 239 - Crim. Neg. Homicide Failure to Assist , Version W

· HB 28 - Teacher/State Employee Student Loan Program

· HB 96 - Home Care Employment Standards ADV. Board

· HB 126 - Reinstatement Native Corp/Religious Corp

· HB 244 - CNA Training

· HB 249 - Transfer Vehicle Title to Insurer

May 20th - Floor Recording

· HB 50 - Snow classics

· HB 110 - Social Work Licensure Compact

· HB 195 - Pharmacists; Physician Associates

· HB 243 - Barbers & Hairdressers BD Licensing

· HB 388 - Bulk Fuel Loan Cap

· HB 280 - Apportion Taxable

· HB 13 - Municipal Property Tax Exemptions

· HB 73 - Complex Care Residential Homes

· HB 173 - Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact

· HB 246 - Special Education Service Agency Funding

· HB 302 - Travel Insurance

· HB 262 - Number of Superior Court Judges

· HB 14 - Repeal Catastrophic Illness/Med Assist

· HB 39 - Education for Deaf & Hard of Hearing

· HJR 20 - Hiring of Apprentices/Veterans

· HJR 18 - Urging Support For AKLNG

· HCR 4 - Myositis Awareness Month

Senate Bills Awaiting Concurrence in House Amendments

· SB 23 - Civics Education

· SB 24 - Tobacco/Nicotine/E-Cig Age; E-Cig Tax

· SB 146 - REAA Fund: Mt. Edgecumbe

· SB 167 - PFD Eligibility PFD For overturn Convic

· SB 200 - Farm & Agricultural Land Assessments

· SB 211 - Extend Occupational Licensing Boards

· SB 214 - Approp: Capital/Funds/Supp/Reapprop/Amend

· SB 237 - Electronic Driver's Licenses/Data Sharing

· SB 239 - Motor Vehicle Registration

· SB 249 - Virtual Currency Kiosks

· SB 282 - Military; Jt Armed Svcs Committee

Senate Finance Committee Meetings

May 19th - 9:00am - Recorded Meeting, Documents

· HB 280 - Apportion Taxable Income

· HB 388 - Bulk Fuel Loan Cap

· HB 239 - Crim. Neg. Homicide; Failure to Assist

· HB 110 - Social Work Licensure Compact

· HB 28 - Teacher/State Employee Student Loan Program

May 19th - 1:30pm - Recorded Meeting, Documents

· SB 280 - Supporting A Gasline For Alaskans Act, Presentation

· HB 110 - Social Work Licensure Compact

· HB 193 - Unemployment Ben; Paid Leave: Parent/Sick

· HB 195 - Pharmacists; Physician Associates

May 20th - 1:30pm - Recorded Meeting, Documents

· HB 28 - Teacher/State Employee Student Loan Prgrm.

Podcast: Dunleavy's Last Gas: A Ransom Note

May 19th, 2026 - 7mins.

Hosts: Andrew Halcro

Governor Mike Dunleavy holds hostage a pension reform bill to force lawmakers to pass his pipeline bill...and the legislature refuses to pay the ransom.

Listen Here

Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics

What secret promises have been made to Glenfarne? Reporting From Alaska

It would help all concerned if Alaskans were allowed to find out what secret promises have been made to Glenfarne by the state and why. Those promises may contain details of what circumstances would trigger a situation in which the state must pay Glenfarne for its work on the project if it does not decide to build a pipeline.

Lawmakers land on $1,200 payout, as they negotiate AKLNG bill AK Pub Media

The budget also includes up to $144 million in one-time funding for public schools. Much of that depends on the price of oil remaining high. House Finance Committee co-chair Andy Josephson, an Anchorage Democrat, said school districts would get the full amount if oil prices average over $98 a barrel from now until the end of the fiscal year.

Dunleavy calls special session Thursday on Alaska gasline tax break Alaska Beacon

Governor calls immediate special session to continue debate on Alaska LNG Anchorage Daily News

Dunleavy calls special session for gas line bill starting Thursday. Juneau Independent

‘Get the gas flowing’: Dunleavy brings Trump cabinet member to Anchorage, calls for LNG legislation. Alaska News Source

Current Topics

Gov. Dunleavy vetoes public pension bill Anchorage Daily News

Dunleavy still clueless about how to lead state government Reporting From Alaska

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is going to end his second term the way he began his first. Clueless about how to work with the Legislature. Clueless about how to work with people who don’t agree with him. Clueless about what it takes to be governor.

Stuff I found Interesting

Rare skeleton now on display at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center Alaska News Source

The building houses a rare beluga skeleton. The whale, named ‘Quinshi’, is a complete 10-foot skeleton of an eight-year-old beluga whale found near Nikiski in 2019. The whale, according to AWCC, was put together by Kenai College of UAA Extension.

The FCC sends billions to Alaska companies selling slow internet. You pay for it Anchorage Daily News

At the beginning of his three-year federal prison sentence for felony tax evasion, Roger Shoffstall lost his telephone privileges when a guard caught him running his small Alaska phone company from behind bars. Shoffstall, 75, can’t serve on a federal jury. Unlike most Alaskans, he doesn’t receive an annual Permanent Fund dividend check. And he is not allowed to own a gun. One thing never changes, however: Each year, the federal government sends his company, Summit Telephone, more than $1 million. The money comes from a special government subsidy program that Congress created to bring fast, affordable phone and internet service to hard-to-reach places. You help pay for it.

We’re investigating Alaska internet companies. We need your help Anchorage Daily News

The FCC sends billions to Alaska companies selling slow internet. You pay for it Anchorage Daily News

Education

Alaska Legislature votes to increase fee transparency for University of Alaska Alaska Beacon

Politics

Trader in chief Axios

In a government filing late last week, Trump disclosed more than 3,500 stock trades on his behalf in the first quarter — at least $1 million each was purchased in shares of Nvidia, Oracle, Microsoft, Boeing and more. In modern history, no president has had an active investment portfolio quite like this.

1 for the road: Trump's next renovation Axios

President Trump is planning to build a permanent helipad on the White House South Lawn to keep the powerful new Marine One helicopters from scorching the grass

Alaska Resource Values

Alaska North Slope crude oil price (05/18/2026): $121.79

FY26 budget (beginning 7/1/25) is fully funded at

$64/barrel of oil.

History of prices:

3/23/2026: $101.05 (Iran War)

12/17/25: $60.06

9/20/24: $63.63

9/30/23: $87.99

9/30/22: $86.91

6/29/22: $116.84

3/08/22: $125.44

12/22/21: $75.55

March 2020: $12.29 (COVID)

7/3/2008: $144.00

ANS production (5/18/26):460,488 bpd

Precious Metal Prices

May 20, 2026

Gold - $4548.66

Silver - $76.83

Platinum - $1966.50

Copper - $6.29

Palladium - $1397.00

Rhodium - $9,700

Alaska Permanent Fund

website

How is the Fund invested? Alaska Senate Finance Committee, presenters: Callan, Investment Advisors. Callan said that APF is "one of the best run portfolios among our clients".

February 25, 2026 Link to meeting. Meeting Notes.