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Senate Majority Coalition Website

State Senator District E

Senator Cathy Giessel Newsletter

UPDATES

Issues affecting

your family, community and jobs.

May 25, 2023

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It's good to be back home with my husband, after a very rewarding and positive Session.

Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference was held in Anchorage, May 23-25, with international and national experts speaking on renewable and clean energy technologies. Great information about Alaska's potential. At the Conference, Gov. Dunleavy signed the Carbon Offset bill that the Legislature passed this session (SB 48). (Photo)

Next year we will complete work on the Carbon Capture, Sequestration and Storage bill (SB 49).

Alaska is getting into the Carbon Market. Alaska Public Media

Alaska Gov. Dunleavy signs bill allowing state land to be used for carbon-offset credits. Alaska Beacon

The Senate Resources Committee added to SB 48 the authority for the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to pursue Class 3 Well Primacy. This makes Alaska the 3rd state to take this step of seeking Primacy. A Class 3 well is an injection well; this is the first step in pursuing CCUS through SB 49.

On a related topic, see Heat Pumps Webinar information in this newsletter.

At the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference, Governor Dunleavy released “The Alaska Standard”, an inaugural Sustainability Report that documents the State’s history of responsible resource development.

The report covers Alaska’s history of resource development since statehood and documents how this development has benefited the people of Alaska first and foremost through state services, infrastructure, jobs and economic opportunities, reduced poverty rates, increased lifespans, and nearly $30 billion in Permanent Fund Dividend distributions since 1982.

The report also highlights the work of the Alaska Energy Authority to reduce the cost of energy and displace diesel fuel in communities off the main power grids through decades of work in energy efficiency and renewable power projects.

Click here to view the report online.

The Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference covers nuclear, wind, solar, tidal, hydrogen & geothermal energy sources, as well as touching on oil/gas. It includes agriculture, mining, transportation, financing of projects, regulations and a whole lot more. It was a very comprehensive conference.

Senate Budget Work in First Session

The First Session of the 33^rd Legislature was very productive for the Bipartisan Senate Majority.

· Balanced Budget with a surplus of $84 Million with $73/barrel oil

· No savings withdrawal ($2.4 Billion in savings currently)

· No new taxes

· If oil goes higher, opportunity to invest in extra capital projects next spring

· $5 million for statehood defense

· $5 million for state tourism marketing

· $7.5 million for childcare block grants (increase wages for workforce and provide more services)

· $5 million increase to Head Start education grants

· $7.5 million State funds + $7.5 million Federal match for home/community based care services

· $1 million for re-entry housing post-incarceration

· $1 million for rural public radio grants

· $3 million for DOT maintenance station

Capital Budget Amendment details (House requests on May 18) link

Kenai

· $670,525 for Hope transfer site relocation

· $150,000 for the expansion of the Ninilchik Senior Citizens’ kitchen expansion

· $600,000 for the City of Kenai’s Wildwood Drive Roadway reconstruction

Rural

· $5 million for the City of Dillingham’s harbor float replacement

· $500,000 for the City of Kotzebue’s Cape Blossom Port Authority

· $269,410 for the City of Pilot Station to buy a bulldozer

· $500,000 for the City of Bethel Public Safety Communication Tower

Statewide

· $550,000 for the State of Alaska Police Policy Manual Project

Anchorage

· $1.5 million for the purchase and establishment of the Eagle River Cemetery

· $2 million for Mary Avenue area storm drainage

· $1 million for the Starner Bridge Road and drainage in Eagle River

· $447,500 for drainage and ditching in the South Anchorage Hillside service area

· $200,000 for South Anchorage’s Hillside fire prevention and mitigation

· $420,000 for Lower Virgo Avenue emergency egress improvements in South Anchorage

Interior

· $7.1 million for the Veterans Cemetery

· $3 million for abatement at the long-abandoned Polaris Hotel in downtown Fairbanks

· $474,000 for an ADA-compliant elevator at the Salcha Senior Center

· $85,000 for maintenance at the Tok Chamber of Commerce

· $25,000 for the Kenny Lake Volunteer Fire Department

Mat-Su

· $5 million for the reconstruction of the Palmer Library

· $5 million for a runway extension at the Wasilla Airport

· $4.75 million for Talkeetna water and sewer line repairs and upgrades

· $1 million for the Mat-Su Borough’s metropolitan planning organization support

Items in this Newsletter:

· Current Topics, Economy, Health Care, Energy

· Alaska Permanent Fund Monthly Report

· Heat Pumps Webinar

· Chugach State Park - volunteer opportunities

· Firewise - Are You Prepared?

· Oil and Permanent Fund Resources

Email me

Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation – April 2023

Financial Statements and Fund Values

Based on the February financial statements for the Alaska Permanent Fund, $4.6 billion of realized earnings is currently available for future appropriation.

Statutory Net Income will continue to flow into the realized earnings balance monthly. The remaining current realized balance of the ERA is committed for the FY24 POMV draw and FY23 inflation proofing for the Principal.

The financial statements for the Alaska Permanent Fund as of April 30, 2023, show the Fund's total value was $76.6 billion.

The Principal total includes:

• $52.2 billion in permanent savings contributions

• $ 9.8 billion in unrealized gains

The Earnings Reserve Account total includes:

• $4.6 billion of uncommitted realized earnings

• $3.5 billion for the FY24 POMV draw

• $4.2 billion for FY23 Inflation Proofing of the Principal

• $2.3 billion in unrealized gains

The Amerada Hess Settlement Fund has generated:

• $10.0 million of income for the Alaska Capital Income Account

From me: IMPORTANT TO NOTE: There is only $4.6 billion of real money (realized earnings) in the Earnings Reserve Account (ERA).

When Legislators want to “overdraw the POMV” (exceed the spending cap of the Percent of Market Value), they are wanting to raid part of the Permanent Fund.

It takes only a majority vote of the Legislature (11 Senators, 21 House) to raid the ERA (violating the spending limit). This is why it's so important that the Senate and most of the House members refused to exceed the POMV Spending Cap.

Educational Webinar: Heat Pumps in Alaska

Tuesday, June 13th from 5:30pm-6:30pm

Hosted by Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, Alaska Heat Smart, and Cold Climate Housing Research.

Experts from each will cover background on the technology, how different heat pumps work in different Alaska climates, what the rebates from the Inflation Reduction Act will look like, and finally answer questions. The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation will administer the rebate program here, so they will also use this as an opportunity to hear more from Alaskans on how the program should be structured.

Please feel welcome to attend and register for the webinar at https://bit.ly/akheatpumps

Current Topics

Safety Report on Valdez Pipeline Terminal. Alaska Public Media

The Valdez terminal of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is at “risk of a serious accident or incident in the near future.” That’s a main takeaway of a sweeping 180-page report that was published in April, detailing wide-ranging safety concerns at the Valdez Marine Terminal, where North Slope crude is loaded onto ocean tankers.

How mosquitos use your body chemistry to pick you for their next meal. ADN

Department of Education names Alaska's 2024 Teacher of the Year. Alaska Beacon

Anchorage School District sees high numbers of teachers retiring and resigning. ADN

Anchorage education leaders say the exits are likely due to a mix of factors, including a lack of competitive retirement benefits, flat state funding and the exhausting toll teaching has taken on educators in recent years. And they come alongside continued staff shortages across the district.

Economy

When Cash is Safer than Risk-Free. Axios

Is my money safe? That question — and the search for places where the answer is "yes" — undergirds the entire global financial system. Right now, we're in an extremely unusual situation, one where some assets are even safer than U.S. Treasury securities.

Statewide income in Alaska grew twice as fast at the U.S. last year, mostly because of PFDs. Alaska Public Media

Alaska's economy has lagged behind the rest of the country lately, but last year the state's total personal income grew 4.8%- twice the national rate. State economist Neal Fried says he sees signs for optimism in Alaska's historically strong job market and cooling inflation rates, but says not to put too much stock in 2022's income growth. He says the spike can be mostly explained by the large Permanent Fund Dividend last year.

A changing economy means Alaska's jobs will change. Alaska's News Source

Right now, Alaska has a "people" problem, according to Neal Fried, an economist with the Alaska Department of Labor. "The biggest explainer of that is that fewer people have been coming to Alaska," Fried said. "And one of our challenges is we are more dependent on migration than any other state. We have more turnover in our population than any other state in the United State, so we feel that even more than any other state in the country." He says that with unemployment so low in the Lower 48, there are fewer reasons for migrants to consider moving to Alaska. That's one reason so many businesses here are having trouble finding employees.

Fisheries

3 Alaska Trollers contemplate Summer without Chinook. Alaska Public Media

Politics

How the Alaska Legislature finally reached a budget deal- and what it means. ADN

Opinion: A great budget is only the first step. ADN

The first balanced budget that doesn't draw from state savings in a decade, with a largest-in-history increase for education, is a major step to restore fiscal stability and population growth for Alaska.

The reversal of Jay Hammond's Permanent Fund dream. ADN

Health Care

New Substance abuse center for active duty military and veterans opens in Wasilla. Alaska Public Media

According to the Mental Health Trust, about one in nine Alaskans need treatment for a drug or alcohol problem. But there's only treatment space for a fraction of that population.

Surgeon general issues advisory about social media risks for kids. Axios

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is issuing a warning today that social media poses a threat to kids' mental health, escalating calls for new safeguards aimed at minors.

Chugach Park Fund will be sponsoring six volunteer events throughout the summer, organized by Alaska Trails. With the late snow melt, only two are scheduled so far, both in June. We encourage you to sign up to help and to forward the following information on volunteer opportunities to anyone you know who may be interested!

· On June 3 (National Trails Day), sponsored by Matson - This

volunteer event will focus on brushing the gasline trail. The project will be staged from the Prospect Heights parking lot in the area closest to the road and run from 9:00AM to 1:00PM. Sign up here:

· Matson volunteer day

· On June 17, from 10:00AM to 4:00PM volunteers will brush portions of Falls Creek Trail (carpooling is encouraged due to the small parking lot). This event is sponsored by the Rasmuson Foundation and BassCabela’s. For more specifics see:

· Falls Creek

Anchorage Hillside Firewise

Weekend Wildfire Preparation

Memorial Day Weekend is a great time to do that work around the outside of your home.

Here is a link to a guide to preparing around your home to reduce the risk of embers from a wildfire igniting material close to your house. Moving firewood wood piles and cleaning up dry grass and leaves from around your house is quick first step.

Here’s a link to the Anchorage Fire Department burn day information page:

https://www.muni.org/Departments/Fire/Wildfire/Pages/IsTodayaBurnDay.aspx

The recorded burn hotline number is: 907-267-5020

The area EGRESS Study has been completed. The study result, with maps, can be found here: https://sites.google.com/alaska.edu/jenschmidt/wilfire/egress

· ER woodlot at Anchorage Regional Land Fill at Hiland Road is scheduled to open June 2^nd.

· Firewise Inspections will be offered free of charge to interested homeowners. There currently is no cost-share for tree removal.

· Anticipate opening application for new Firewise Home Assessments via AFD website by June 1^st.

For ongoing information about keeping your property safe, or getting involved in the Firewise effort, contact Ky Holland. He convenes monthly evening Zoom meetings on the 4th Monday of the month. The next meeting is June 26 at 7 PM

Alaska Oil Resource Values

ANS crude oil price (5/24/23): $77.82

The current budget requires $89 per barrel to be fully funded.

Price on 9/30/22: $86.91

Price on 6/29/22: $116.84

Price on 3/8/22: $125.44

Price on 12/22/21: $75.55

ANS production (5/24/23): 462,516 bpd

Lower Oil Price Forecast for 2023 & 2024. U.S. Energy Information Administration

We lowered our crude oil price forecast for the rest of 2023 and for 2024 in our May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) because of relatively rapid declines in the crude oil price since April. Between April 12, 2023, and May 4, 2023, the Brent crude oil price fell $16 per barrel (b) to $73/b; the West Texas Intermediate crude oil price fell $15/b to $69/b. We expect that a drop in OPEC production and increases in demand will lead to relatively moderate price increases over the next few months.

Despite decades of warning, looming natural gas shortage threatens to drive up Alaska energy prices. Alaska Public Media

For the second time in just over a decade, utilities are talking about importing liquified natural gas amid looming Cook Inlet gas shortages.

'Leap of Faith:' Alaska pursues carbon offset market while embracing oil. AP News

Gov. Mike Dunleavy successfully pushed through the legislature a bill he is expected to sign Tuesday that would allow the oil-reliant state to cash in on the sale of so-called carbon credits to companies looing to offset their carbon emissions. Projects could include credits for improving a forest's health through thinning or by allowing trees to grow bigger, thereby increasing a forest's potential to hold carbon.

Permanent Fund 5/24/2023: $76,547,900,000

Value 9/30/22 : $70,625,300,300

Value 8/31/22 was: $73,670,500,000

Value 4/30/22 was: $81,387,500,000

Principle - $61.7B

$52.1 B savings, royalties, other deposits

$9.6 B unrealized gains

(special transfers from Legislature - $4 B in 2021; $4.943 B in 2020)

ERA - $12.6 B (was $16.9B May 2022)

$3.5 B set aside for FY24 POMV

$4.2 B for FY23 Inflation Proofing

$ 2.2 B unrealized gains