End of Session Wrap-up Part One

Friends and Neighbors,

Let me first say that it is great to be back home in Fairbanks.  The air is warm and everyone is out and about getting ready for another beautiful summer in the Interior. 

The Legislature wrapped things up last week in the nick of time, passing several important pieces of legislation at breakneck speed in the final hours.  I want to thank all of you for all the phone calls, emails, and letters to my office throughout the session.  I am here to work for you and your voice is an important influence on the decisions I make in Juneau.  In all, the Legislature passed 183 bills and 91 resolutions.  Left behind were 556 bills and 81 resolutions.

Rep. Guttenberg and Rep. Salmon share a laugh on the House Floor

Here are some of the highlights:

Curbing the effects of Citizens United v. FEC
In January the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, decided that it was unconstitutional for the FEC to limit campaign spending by corporations, unions, and issue groups.  Essentially, these groups are now allowed to spend unlimited funds on campaign advertisements for or against candidates without disclosure.  This was a very misguided decision by the Supreme Court. 

The Alaska Legislature responded with a bi-partisan effort to curb the effects of the Supreme Court’s ruling.  SB 284 (Campaign Expenditures) amends state election laws to clarify that corporations and labor unions must comply with state disclosure requirements.  The new law will make all spending for or against a candidate transparent.  It is an important part of our electoral process for voters to know who is spending money to support or oppose a candidate. 

Discussing a bill with House Majority Leader Kyle Johansen

Goldstream Public Use Area
A simple, but very important, bill to remove the sunset on the Goldstream Public Use Area passed the legislature late in the session. Senate Bill 195, sponsored by Sen. Joe Thomas, received unanimous support in both the House and Senate (Rep. Kelly and I sponsored the House companion bill). 

The public use area was created through legislation by Sen. Bettye Fahrenkamp and Rep. Mike Davis in 1990.  Over the years the area has become a central location for outdoor recreation in the Interior.  Without this legislation the public use area designation would have been dissolved July 2010.

Scholarships
I was pleased to see the issue of scholarships take center stage in the Legislature this session.  For as long as I’ve been in office I have been a strong proponent of increasing financial aid opportunities for Alaskans seeking higher education.  Specifically I have advocated for and sponsored legislation to create a needs-based scholarship program for Alaska.  Alaska ranks near the bottom of the list among other states for providing needs-based aid for college. 

Unfortunately a needs-based scholarship bill did not emerge from the Legislature.  Instead, the Legislature passed a bill that contained many of the provisions of the Governor’s merit-based scholarship bill and created a taskforce to identify a means for funding it.  If funded, this scholarship program will certainly help some Alaskans get a college education. However, without an adequate needs-based scholarship program many Alaskans will continue to miss out on a college education. 

Thank you for reading and please feel free to call my office and share your ideas.