The Legislature will approach the half-way mark, day 60, on Friday of this week. For now, we remain on schedule to conclude on time on May 20th, but that can change with the rise in oil prices due to the war in Iran. In fact, the recent debate in the State House has been whether to balance the budget on the war-driven oil prices or to conservatively use the state savings account or Constitutional Budget Reserve fund. As you know, oil prices can rise or fall and ‘hope’ is not a sound budget principle.

The legislature has been busy as we approach the spring recess, at which time some legislators go home to host town hall meetings. The Anchorage Delegation and Mat-Su Delegation will host their annual town hall on March 14th with details forthcoming. Because Rep. Maxine Dibert and Rep. Will Stapp and I hosted a town hall meeting only three weeks ago, my next scheduled trip home will not be until early April – And we will certainly have a lot to talk about!