Neither Snow Nor Snow Nor More Snow
January 28, 2024
|
|
|
|
Dear Friends and Neighbors, |
Much of the capital city shut down this week because folks were smart enough to get in out of the snow... and more snow. Not so the legislature—we will not be deterred. I like to think it's because we're so deeply dedicated and not just too dumb to come in out of the cold.
We did some pretty important stuff this week. I'm thrilled to report SB 88, the bill to return pensions to public servants is already out of the blocks. There's more on that below, along with a weighty fly-in and a testimony opportunity.
|
Reps. Hannan, Story, & I joined the Juneau Assembly for a 7:30 am work session Thursday. |
Pension Progress
Late last session SB 88, the bill that would give public employees back a pension, was heard in the Senate Finance Committee. This week we moved it out of committee and onto the Senate floor. But it wasn't as easy as it sounds.
Retirement bills get the most intense financial analysis of anything the legislature does. (Sometimes we do as thorough a job on oil taxes, and sometimes not.) The official cost prediction is prepared by the governor's shop, using analysis done by the state's contracted actuary. The committee also hired an actuary. So did advocates for the bill. When they all presented their findings in May, there were some big dollar differences. One said the bill would have a big price tag, while two said it would cost the same as the current setup.
Over the interim, the actuaries got together. They talked and mathed and eventually agreed. This past week they told us where the differences came from. The executive branch actuary assumed the bill would basically solve public employers' turnover problems. They said every person with the current 401(k)-style plan would switch to the pension. They said worker retention would go up so much that state, city, and school district payrolls would all increase. More wages means more contributions.
But they also agreed that analysis was really incomplete. It doesn't count the savings on hiring and training employees since so many more stick around. It leaves out the overtime savings and efficiency jumps when an office (or a prison, or a Trooper post) is staffed up.
We also heard from an economist who pointed out that, even though Alaska has no way to measure it, there's a real economic benefit to having a functional government. Commerce flows better when the roads get plowed, people start businesses where their families are safe and their kids get good schooling, &c.
The Finance Committee version of the pension bill got read across the Senate Floor Friday without much commotion. The work (and fireworks) will happen during Monday's floor session, after which it moves on to the House!
|
I had a great meeting this week with UAS Chancellor Aparna Palmer. Sara Perman from the university's statewide office joined us. |
Human and Sex Trafficking
When folks from around the state come to the Capitol to advocate en masse, we often call it a "fly-in." Public school supporters do it, the Chamber of Commerce does it, and so do countless others. The joke goes: when you agree with what they want, they're citizens participating in one of the grandest traditions of democracy—but when you don't, they're grubby special interests.
One of this week's fly-ins was a group of folks working on a topic that doesn't lend itself to jokes: advocates working to prevent and respond to human and sex trafficking. ("Human trafficking" refers to moving or holding people for forced or unpaid work. "Sex trafficking" is a specific, horrifying subset of that.)
There have been big movies and splashy news stories about the topic. But bright lights miss most of what really goes on in how some people exploit others. Vulnerable people find themselves forced to do things in order to eat, have a roof over their heads, or sate an addiction. Perpetrators trap desperate immigrants or folks from rural areas without support in urban hubs. They often use violence.
I did warn you this one wouldn't be funny.
I've served for a couple of years on the Governor's Council on Human and Sex Trafficking to work on addressing these issues. There are bills to change Alaska's crime laws to better address trafficking. Today Alaska law enforcement often hands over cases to federal prosecutors. We should give our state the tools to punish these criminals.
But that will make only a very small dent in the problem.
Addressing this takes a multi-layered approach. Survivors need safety, support, and education to heal. It takes housing and jobs to escape for more than a short time. They need addiction treatment so desperation doesn't drive them back to a trafficker. We need to train social service workers and first responders in what to look for and how to intervene.
Ultimately, cultures need to change, too. I'm not sure exactly how to stop people from treating fellow human beings as exploitable for their own profit. Or as things to be rented. There are some things we know help to break intergenerational cycles of trauma and abuse, and we need to invest in them, too. In the long run, it will take shifts in how we see each other. I'm in it for the long haul.
|
So many folks from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce came up to the Capitol to advocate this week I needed two meetings! |
Your Opportunity to Weigh in on the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Council
Of the governor's dozen or so executive orders introduced earlier this month, by far the most buzz in my inbox is about the one to delete the citizen council that oversees the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and give its duties to the Department of Natural Resources. On Friday, the Senate Resources Committee will take public testimony on the order.
The meeting starts at 3:30 p.m. and they expect to start testimony about 4:00 p.m. It's an excellent opportunity to tell the legislature what you think. Each person will probably have about two minutes to speak.
If you're coming in person, the meeting will be in the Butrovich Room (205) at the Capitol. (Don't forget to sign in.) You can also testify by phone. The phone numbers depend on where you're calling from:
From Juneau: (907) 586-9085
From Anchorage: (907) 563-9085
Everywhere Else: (844) 586-9085
|
|
Did someone forward you this newsletter and now you want your very own copy?
Did you fall into it through the series of tubes but now you want it sent straight to you?
|
|
Events & Happenings Around District B |
|
Juneau Platypus-Con
Juneau WorldQuest
Juneau Modern Quilt Guild
The Juneau Modern Quilt Guild is opening a display at the City Museum! Check out this cool art, starting with an opening reception on Feb. 2.
Juneau Fireside Lecture
Great Gustavus Bake Off
|
|
Gustavus History Trivia
Haines First Friday
Haines Winterfest
Skagway Gathering of Artists
Skagway Late Night Library
On Friday Feb. 2, pre-teens and teens can hang out at the Library for Friday fun! |
|
Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email!
|
|
Want to Send Snail Mail?
Alaska State Capitol
Room 514
Juneau, AK 99801
You Can Call:
800 550 4947
907 465 4947
|
|
Contact My Staff,
the people who power the work:
Aurora Hauke
907 465 5051
Ella Adkison
907 465 6419
Cathy Schlingheyde
907 465 6827
John Goeckermann
907 465 4947
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
