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Dear Neighbors
I just wanted to give you a quick update on some of the things we are working on in Juneau. And for those of you who missed last week’s constituent meeting held by our and Senator Ellis’ office – but have questions or concerns – please let us know. I’ll give the hard questions to Johnny. Kidding Johnny. Just kidding. There are two controversial bills that I want to share some information on. First, on HJR 16 the House Finance Committee will take public testimony on a proposed constitutional amendment to use state money to pay for private schools. I believe we should work towards a strong public school system, and that private vouchers will cause legislators to withdraw their support for our public school system – exacerbating academic underachievement. Public testimony is scheduled for Tuesday, February 28 from 4:00 – 9:00 pm. If you’d like to testify you can go to your Legislative Information Office (716 W 4th Ave in Anchorage), or contact Rose or Toby in my office if you are unable to go to the LIO. Sometimes we can make special arrangements for people to call in from another location. And there is a bill to REQUIRE WOMEN TO SEEK AN ULTRASOUND (even if they have already had one earlier in their pregnancy) that they would be asked whether they wanted to view if they sought a LEGAL FIRST TRIMESTER ABORTION. In some cases this may be an unnecessary second ultrasound, and it seems to inject unnecessary expense and controversy into a woman’s personal choice. There is no evidence that the Bipartisan Senate will let that bill advance, as they’ve tried to drive the middle of the road, and not focus the energy of the Legislature on divisive abortion issues in a session when we should be focusing on energy and education. OK, now the big thing. WE NEED YOUR HELP (and e-mails and testimony)..... Loan Rate Reductions for Those Who Remain in or Return to Alaska: In December I went to my credit union to find out I could get a used car loan for 3% or even lower. But at the same time, students were telling me their Alaska student loans were 7% and 8%. Hmm, I thought. Or, I thought something like that. Maybe “Hmph,” or, “Geez,” or, “#!@!@##!!”. Probably not the latter. So we filed a bill to grant students a 3% loan reduction if they remained in Alaska for, or returned after, college or job training. We want qualified Alaskans to work here, and can’t afford, as a state, to lose our best and brightest to the Lower 48 while we fill teaching and other jobs with non-residents. House Bill 272 will be up in the House Education Committee Wednesday February 29 at 8am. If you’d like to e-mail or send in a letter of support, please do. It’ll help. And if you have a relevant story, about the difficulty of paying your state loan debt, or about how a lower rate will help keep you in Alaska, we’d like to hear from you. You can testify by going to your local Legislative Information Office (716 W 4th Ave in Anchorage). If you can’t make it to a Legislative office to testify, call my Aide Toby Smith who may be able to help you call in from work/home. Just let us know if you wish to testify. Home Energy Efficiency Upgrade Rebate Program Still Up And Running Despite rumors that the state has discontinued this popular effort – it’s still up and running strongly. If you want to upgrade your home’s energy efficiency – which will save you money over the long term, and conserve fuel – the Home Weatherization and Home Energy Rebate Programs administered by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) are still up and running. While the Governor proposed funding last year that would have ground the efforts to a halt, the Legislature added the funding needed to keep the programs working, and to shrink waiting lists. We’ll have to work on his funding proposal again this year, which appears to fund what’s necessary to avoid increased application waitlists. If you are a homeowner or renter and meet AHFC income guidelines, you may apply to have your residence weatherized by a weatherization service provider through the Weatherization Program. Go here to learn more about this program. The other program is the Home Energy Rebate Program, which has no income requirements. Homeowners pay up front and then are rebated for making eligible improvements to their homes. As of January 30 over 16,000 rebates had been paid, and the average amount was $6,375. To learn more, go here or call 877-AK-REBATE (877-257-3228). You can’t participate in both programs, and there are waitlists. Corporate Election $pending Bill Passes State Affairs Committee Thursday OK, here goes that Bob Dole “third person” thing again. I, Les Gara, am going to use my name for a moment here – because the following article isn’t really an article – it’s a copy of the press release we sent out Thursday on our legislation calling for a constitutional amendment to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. That’s the one that said corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts of money to elect or defeat candidates. Well, I’m not a big fan of third party groups that mislead voters, and spend millions to get their way, especially when it’s corporations, which have a legal duty to maximize the profits of their shareholders. Do you really want corporations telling people who to elect? So . . . here’s the press release: Today legislation calling for an end to unlimited corporate and union election spending passed the House State Affairs Committee. “Unlimited spending by corporations and organizations to influence elections drowns out the public’s voice, and damages the basic democratic principle of one person one vote,” said Prime Sponsor of HJR 33, Rep. Les Gara (D-Anchorage). The legislation calls on the United States Congress to pass a constitutional amendment reversing the controversial 2010 Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, which reversed decades of precedent allowing states and Congress to ban corporate and union “independent expenditures” by third party groups seeking to influence election outcomes. “Third party ads tend to be negative, tend to be deceptive, and tend to corrupt a political process that requires more honesty, not more deception,” said Gara. Many Americans recognize that the ability of large contributions from corporations, wealthy individuals and organizations to political candidates harms the ability of average citizens to have a voice in their own government. Prior to the landmark United States Supreme Court ruling of Citizens United vs. Federal Election, unlimited independent expenditures from corporations and unions was prohibited. Comparing two non-election years, independent expenditures increased from roughly $68 million to over $300 million between 2006, and 2010, when the Citizens United ruling was issued. “Corporate money is having an influence on elections, and it is not a good one. Citizens vote for better government; corporations spend on those candidates who will send them the greatest profits,” said Gara. Unless the Supreme Court reverses its ruling, the only way to reverse the harmful effects of the Citizens United ruling is to amend the Constitution of the United States. House Joint Resolution 33 passed the House State Affairs Committee today on a 4-3 vote, with Reps. Lynn, Gruenberg, Seaton and Petersen voting “yes”. Representatives Les Gara, Berta Gardner, Lindsey Holmes, Beth Kerttula, Chris Tuck, Scott Kawasaki, Bob Miller, and Pete Petersen are the bill’s prime sponsors. OK, that’s it for now. As always, I hope this letter finds you well. My Best, |
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(![[signed] Les Gara](../../images/signatures/5.jpg)
