Volume 2 Issue 13

Session Wrap-Up Installment #2

Other Important Legislation

May 7, 2010

Thank you to everyone who attended the community meeting hosted by Senator Egan and me this week!

Last week’s newsletter focused on what happened to end-game legislation – legislation that plays off each other, gets rolled into each other and is considered “do or die” by the majority. But there is a whole slew of important legislation that is not necessarily part of the end-game. This newsletter is dedicated to some of that legislation.

I’ll talk about some of my legislation, good legislation that did pass, good legislation that didn’t pass, problematic legislation that did pass and problematic legislation that didn’t pass. Some of it I’ll cover in more detail in future issues, so if you’re particularly interested in something, let me know so I can be sure to include it later!

Thank you again for reading my newsletter. I appreciate hearing from you, so please stop by the office, call, write or email!

Douglas resident Claudette Curtis received a very well-deserved First Lady’s Volunteer of the Year Award on Thursday (read the Empire article here).

HB 52 will provide ten hours of group counseling for jurors who serve on particularly gruesome or disturbing trials.

HJR 48 encourages Congress to increase the amount of money distributed from the Crime Victims Fund, providing more services for victims of violent crime and their families.

If you’re interested in learning more about these bills, I talked about both in the February 26 newsletter.

There are a few pieces of legislation that I carried this year that I believe are very important and will continue to work on.

HB 32 would require notification to the legislature and local government whenever state jobs move around – an important step in preventing capital creep.

HB 47 would require a runoff election in the case of a tie vote for a legislative seat – instead of a coin toss.

HB 56 would provide up to 50% student loan forgiveness for Alaskan residents. There were a couple other student loan forgiveness/repayment bills out there this year (HB 58 and HB 235) and I applaud all the sponsors and cosponsors for working to bring our next generation workforce back to the state!

HB 57 would allow child care centers in state buildings and provide a framework for their operation. Child care in our state is reaching a crisis point and this is just one of the many ideas to help ensure quality child care for all Alaska’s children.

HB 6 improved our animal cruelty laws by adding a felony level animal cruelty crime for particularly gruesome or repeated cases of animal cruelty. It also made bestiality a crime – previously there was no stronger charge than criminal mischief for the act.

HB 10 by Representative Max Gruenberg establishes a “cop on the block” program, allowing for property tax exemptions to peace officers living in higher-crime areas. It also establishes a property tax exemption for Alaska Pacific University and allows municipalities to provide property tax exemptions for widows or widowers of disabled veterans.

HB 14, introduced by Representative Berta Gardner on behalf of a second grade class at Polaris K-12 School in Anchorage, establishes the Alaskan Malamute as the Alaska State Dog.

HB 51 limits mandatory overtime for registered nurses, improving their ability to provide quality care and protect them from having to work unnecessarily long hours.

HB 126 by Representative Les Gara helps foster children transition into successful independence and adulthood by providing the ability to continue receiving services until their 21^st birthday.

HB 168 by Senator John Coghill (when he was a Rep.) helps improve Alaska’s trauma care system by creating a fund to reimburse for uncompensated and undercompensated trauma care and encouraging the creation of certified trauma centers. Good trauma care is so important in catastrophic injuries where care received in the first hour following an accident can make the difference between life and death.

HJR 26 encourages Congress to fund land surveys that will allow for the completion of the transfer of millions of acres of land to the State of Alaska and Alaska Native Corporations.

HR 12 and SR 8 show the Legislature’s support for the Kensington Gold Mine.

SB 10 by Senator Bettye Davis provides for Medicaid and insurance coverage of cancer clinical trials.

SB 13, also by Senator Davis, raises the eligibility level for Denali KidCare to 200% of the federal poverty level.

SB 163 by Senator Joe Paskvan increases the payout for injury or disability from the Fishermen’s Fund and allows vessel owners to recover a portion of their deductible following a claim by an injured fisherman.

SB 172 by Senator Donny Olson establishes the Alaska Health Care Commission to provide recommendations and support for a statewide plan for providing quality, accessible, available health care for all Alaskans. 

SB 199 by Senator Johnny Ellis allows for a two-year funding cycle for Medicaid covered dentures – allowing Medicaid clients to get a full set of dentures instead of having to get the top one year and the bottom the next.

SB 219 provides Medicaid coverage for traumatic brain injury services.

SB 257 by Juneau’s own Senator Dennis Egan establishes a permanent funding stream for Alaska’s youth courts, which have been proven to reduce recidivism rates in young offenders.

SCR 14, also by Senator Egan, establishes October 2010 as Filipino American History Month.

Senator Egan and I chat with a teacher at the community meeting on Wednesday.

Several pieces of legislation were introduced that would have returned state employees to a defined benefit retirement system, HB 30, HB 54 and SB 23. Although almost half the legislature showed their support by either sponsoring or cosponsoring at least one of these bills, they were largely ignored.

HB 68 by Representatives Pete Petersen, Chris Tuck et al. would have helped ensure fairer gasoline prices for Alaskans.

HB 69 by Representative Chris Tuck would have provided a state-supported education program for children ages 0-5 for families that chose to participate. Parents as Teachers is a nationally recognized and used program that allows children to receive quality pre-school education in their own homes, delivered by their own parents.

HB 130 and SB 101 would have returned to an opt-out parental permission format for student participation in the anonymous questionnaires and surveys that help policy-makers, educators, program planners and parents better understand and deal with important health and social issues that face children today.

HB 187 by Representative Pete Petersen (and SB 250) would have mandated insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorders.

HB 236 by Representative Harry Crawford would have provided for a special election in the case of a legislative vacancy.

HB 420 and SB 298 would have provided the framework for fair and accurate geographic differentials for the pay of state employees. For instance, it costs 11% more to live in Juneau than in Anchorage, yet most Juneau state employees don’t receive a geographic differential.

SB 32 by Senator Johnny Ellis would have provided a mechanism for fairly covering costs for personal care attendant services and other in-home services for Medicaid recipients. These services allow people to stay in their own homes longer, saving the state money on expensive assisted living and nursing home facility services.

SB 43 would have officially added a second verse to Alaska’s state song that recognizes the contribution of Alaska Natives to the state. This bill almost made it all the way, but was held in the House Rules Committee without explanation rather than being scheduled for a vote on the House Floor, where it surely would have passed.

HJR 40 opposes endangered species designation for the Cook Inlet beluga whale population.

HJR 49 opposes regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

HB 9 would have reinstated the death penalty in Alaska.

HB 3 would have required proof of legal presence in the United States to get a driver’s license in Alaska – with decreased periods of validity that would have been problematic, especially for our rural residents who don’t necessarily live where there’s a DMV. It was also a step toward Real-ID and we do not want to be like Arizona.

HB 19 would have eliminated Daylight Saving Time in Alaska, leaving us in “fall back” status and five hours behind the east coast for half of the year. While the costs throughout the state would have been devastating, one issue that was brought forth was how children are ill-equipped to deal with a sudden shift in their schedules and how this makes getting to school in the morning dangerous because they’re less alert. The sponsor also put a plug in to repeal DST nationwide (HJR 20).

Several pieces of “union-busting” legislation were introduced this year and none of them were passed. HB 37 would have made Alaska a so-called “right to work” state by reducing the ability of unions to bargain for fair wages and benefits for workers. HB 185 would have prohibited the State from considering union status in construction contracts. HR 5 would have opposed the Employee Free Choice Act, which supporting employees’ rights to form, join and assist labor unions.

HB 381 would have changed the self-defense statute in such a way that could have dramatically changed the way the courts look at self-defense shootings in Alaska. The way it was written, it would have allowed anybody to kill anyone threatening them, even though the person being threatened knew they were safe.

Wednesday’s community meeting was a great success – thanks to everyone who attended and participated.

The U.S. Census Bureau will be holding a public information session on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in the CBJ second floor conference room on South Seward Street. They will discuss the Bureau’s efforts to collect information from households that did not send back their questionnaires.