Special Session and Pensions

19 May 2026

Dear Neighbors,

Today, Tuesday, is the penultimate day of the 34th Alaska Legislature. The House and Senate are expected to adjourn before midnight on Wednesday, leaving only about 30 hours to complete much work. The edition will cover the last few major items expected to be voted on before the end of the session.

After the late adjournment last night and the veto of a retirement/pension bill that passed earlier this year, Governor Dunleavy has called a special session. For those not in the know, the Governor can call a special session ‘immediately’ after the legislative branch adjourns. The Legislature may also call itself into a special session if 2/3 of each chamber of the House and Senate agree. The Legislature may also extend the session for up to 10 days if 2/3 of members of both chambers agree.

Governor Dunleavy announced that, as of today, we will begin a special session on May 21 at 10:00AM. In a special session, the Governor controls the items on the agenda. The session will focus on the AKLNG bill pending in the Finance Committees of each House.

Retirement with Dignity

Alaska teachers, Troopers, healthcare workers, and firefighters used to have a pension system where a person who worked hard in public service for two to three decades for lower pay would be rewarded and able to retire at 65 with a fairly decent retirement. Many people from around the US came to Alaska during the 70’s and 80’s and then stayed because of a very strong pension system. In 2004, the system was rolled back to a defined contribution system which does not make any guarantees and means that it is harder to retain long-term employees. The legislature passed a new defined benefits system over 10 days ago and last night the Governor vetoed it.

Today, the Legislature held an override vote and sadly we could not garner the 40 votes needed to change our system. The state must turn around our outmigration problem and my Senate colleagues and I will be working to return to a retirement system where employees want to live, work, raise a family and retire!

Bill to Fight the Strain on Schools and Attract New Teachers

Ensuring our schools have the resources to help every student thrive is my top priority. HB28 is legislation that takes practical steps to support classrooms, provide school districts relief for their energy costs and tackle the teacher shortage head on.

Heat and electricity at a school in Alaska are massive and growing expenses, and too much of the Base Student Allocation is spent on fuel rather than education. The bill authorizes a $43.7 million one-time energy cost relief payment to school districts. By helping schools pay utility bills, teachers can focus on educational outcomes for kids.

Alaska is struggling to attract top talent. Teachers are leaving Alaska, and the state is having a difficult time finding qualified applicants to fill in those open positions. HB28 bill launches a Student Loan Repayment Pilot Program. Full-time public school teachers in high-demand fields such as Special Education and STEM can receive up to $5,000 per year for 3 years to help pay down student debt. HB28 also lets experienced, retired teachers return temporarily during critical staff shortages without losing their pension benefits.

When a school district must consolidate schools, a sudden drop in state funding can destabilize the community. HB28 establishes a four-year financial buffer to give consolidating districts a stable transition. It also places a 5% cap on annual increases to the required local funding contribution, protecting municipal property taxpayers from sudden spikes.

Finally, the bill updates School Board member qualifications, ensuring that members meet Borough voter qualifications and provide clear guidelines on past felony records. It also cuts unnecessary bureaucracy by allowing local homeschool students to keep their textbooks and learning materials if they unenroll. HB28 is an important step in ensuring our schools have the resources necessary to provide the best education for the children of Alaska.

Public Safety "Omnibus" Bill

A public safety omnibus bill is approaching a final key vote in the State Senate and then an expected concurrence in the House. The approach to making laws is frustrating because fewer members see the internal workings of the legislation, the public is carved out from testimony and the other chamber is forced to vote either yes or no with no time to make any changes in the final days of session.

HB239 started out as legislation by Representative Chuck Kopp relating to leaving the scene of a car accident that results in a death. The bill by itself probably makes good law and passed the House unanimously. HB239 now contains about a dozen provisions and has grown from four pages to 58 pages in the Senate Finance Committee where they are continuing deliberations. I do not sit on any committees to which the bill was referred and made a comment about the bill in third reading.

The bill contains the following elements:

· Speeds tracking of sex assault kits

· Raises the age of consent to 18

· Allows for tribal government victim counseling centers

· Mail theft improvements

· Criminalizes artificial intelligence child sex abuse material

· Allows for expanded electronic monitoring

· Streamlines court system operations

Welcome to the Capitol AKLNG Advocates!

From now until the remainder of the session, I will publish an update to the important AKLNG legislation and where it might end.

As you have seen in my previous newsletters, the biggest debate nearing the end of this year in the legislature has been the Alaska Liquid Natural Gas Project or AKLNG. It turns out this same debate is happening across the state, including in Fairbanks. My office is always open for robust conversation and I was delighted when John Thies and Andrew Rossow of Golden Heart Waste Management brought a contingent of business owners from the Interior to share their thoughts about the possibility of an AKLNG.

The AKLNG is the newest in a long line of proposals to market natural gas from the North Slope to foreign markets in Asia. The close proximity to the far east, our low cost natural gas supply and the Trump White House make it a different situation than we may have had in past years. I have said that we are as close to a pipeline as we have ever been and that statement is true. It does still seem pretty far away because the basic economics require massive government subsidies, billions in private equity and the state would need to give up major taxing authority which puts the risk directly on to local taxpayers.

The Senate Resources Committee held over 35 meetings over two months since the Governor provided the necessary AKLNG legislation and finally passed the bill yesterday. The pipeline has been a dream of generations of Alaskans because of promises of cheap energy, 12,000 new construction jobs and billions of dollars in future revenues over the lifetime of the project. You can hear my comments HERE at around the 37 minute mark.

Stephen Cox Failed to Be Confirmed

Governor Dunleavy’s choice for Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox was not confirmed by the Legislature by a vote of 29-31. An appointment by the Governor is taken very seriously and must receive a simple majority or 31 members of the Legislature in a joint session. While I usually will defer to the wisdom of the Governor designing his own cabinet, I could not support this AG who brought baggage from the Lower-48 from where he was appointed.

My major concern included his lavish spending of scarce Alaska resources on over 100 amicus briefs in just over seven months of his tenure, many of which did not have anything to do with Alaska priorities and in fact supported ideals against the Alaska constitution.

At a confirmation hearing he tried to explain why he advised to the Division of Elections to comply with a U.S. Department of Justice request to turn over the private information of each Alaska voter when many other states rejected the notion. During the hearing Mr. Cox stated he did not know Alaska law as well as he should and was still learning it. The comment did not lead me to believe he held a strong enough grasp of Alaskans. Another area of concern was creation and hiring of a new solicitor general to deal with state and federal laws. The Department of Law has been served well by people in the Statehood Defense corps of the DOL and the AG should have hired internally rather than someone who had no Alaska record.

I was surprised that Governor Dunleavy appointed Mr. Cox to a new state position called “counsel to the Governor” soon after the Legislature voted down the nomination. I was also pleased to see the Governor appointed a seasoned Assistant Attorney General, Cori Mills, to assume the position as the new acting attorney general. Cori has knowledge of Alaska and its people and she is a great choice to lead the department.

Bob O 'CUE: Celebrating 30 Years of Fun!

My mom and I are looking forward to being home for Memorial Day weekend to see our friends and neighbors. One of our favorite traditions during the weekend is to attend Bob Eley’s annual “Bob B Que” downtown. Bob has shared his culinary skills for over 20 years and I look forward to presenting him a legislative citation recognizing the good time and fun he has shared with so many people over the years.

The Final days and The Fairbanks Move

As the Legislative session is in the final days and legislation is moving at greater speeds, my staff and I are packing the Juneau office and preparing for the transition back to Fairbanks for the interim. While traveling home the office will be offline, but we will respond to mail, phone calls and e-mails as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding. The office looks forward to seeing you all in Fairbanks very soon!

Hearings and Public Testimony

The Legislature publishes the next week hearing schedule on Thursdays and one can find them at the Alaska Legislature website HERE. There are also a couple of hearings that directly impact the interior and Fairbanks that are highlighted below.

Legislative Teleconference Phone Numbers

All other Callers (844) 586 - 9085
From JNU 586- 9085
From ANC 563 - 9085

My Staff and I are Here for You

As always, I will continue to keep you updated on what I’m working on in Juneau throughout the session. If you have any questions about anything going on in the Capitol or at home, feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email – as always, my staff and I are working for you. We will assist you with the issues important to you and your family.

Working Hard for Fairbanks Families,