Representative
CHRIS TUCK

I want to hear from you, share your thoughts, voice your opinion. Together we will make a difference.

Click here to visit my Website
 
Click here to write me an email

Call me anytime:
   (907) 465-2095
   Toll-Free (866) 465-2095

Visit me:
   January-April
   State Capitol Bldg. Rm. 426
   Juneau, AK 99801
   (907) 465-3810 fax

   May-December
   716 W. 4th St., Ste. 370
   Anchorage, AK 99501
   (907) 269-0242 fax

Contact Other Elected Officials:

Governor Parnell,
Anchorage Office:
907-269-7450
EMAIL: Gov. Sean Parnell

Senator Mark Begich,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5915
EMAIL: Sen. Mark Begich

Congressman Don Young,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5978
EMAIL: Rep. Don Young

Senator Lisa Murkowski,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-3735,
EMAIL: Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Creating Opportunities
Economic Development, Education, Energy

Dear Neighbor,

Now that the dust had settled on the 90 day legislative session I wanted to take a minute to bring you up to speed on my work representing you in the Alaska State House. 

Firstly, thank you for allowing me to serve you.   I’ve spent this session working hard for those things you’ve told me are important: 

• Protecting our quality of life;
• Building our economy and creating jobs; and
• Improving education. 

The position of trust to which you’ve elected me is one I take very seriously.  Not only did I sit on three committees --Resources, Energy, and Economic Development -- where the future direction of our state was debated, but I worked every available channel to help create solutions in other arenas. 

At the end of this newsletter is a summary of major bills that passed the Legislature this session.

Representatives Anna Fairclough, Pete Petersen, Tammie Wilson, Lindsey Holmes and Chris Tuck watch as Governor Sean Parnell signs their bill, HB 307, allowing magistrate and district court judges jurisdiction to grant protective orders in cases of sexual assault.

Even though session is over, I am still very busy helping fix local street problems, solve constituent concerns, further District 29’s legislative priorities, and more.

I greatly value your thoughts and opinions, and would like to know if there is any way I can be of service to you.  Here are two ways we can get together:

Post-Session Community Meeting
Please join me for a post-session legislative update, to share news on education and schools, plans for local street upgrades, economic development, energy solutions and more.

• Saturday, May 15th
• 2:00-4:00 p.m.
• Elim Café, 561 W. Dimond Blvd. (between Gallo’s and Las Margaritas)

Weekly Coffee With Chris

I meet constituents for coffee every week, to catch up in a casual setting.
Please join me each Tuesday, at Café Vivachi, from 7:00-7:30 a.m. The café is on the corner of Dimond and King Street. 
 

It is truly a rewarding experience to get to know you, and to work together helping our families grow safely into prosperity. 

I’m here for you, and look forward to seeing you in person!

      Chris Tuck
      Alaska State Representative
      District 29 – Anchorage

Key Legislation Passed During the
Second Session of the 26th Alaska Legislature

Energy and Economic Development Bills

• HB 280, the Cook Inlet Recovery Act, will incentivize local gas storage and development.
• HB 369, to create a Joint In-State Gasline Development Team and speed us towards securing a gas line, has already been signed by the governor.
• SB 220, the Energy Omnibus Bill, and HB 306, which establishes a state energy policy, passed on the last day of session. These bills represent a great step forward for energy conservation and alternative and renewable energy production in the state.
• SB 305, which would separate oil and gas taxes, passed the Legislature, but was vetoed by the governor.
• SB 309 incentives gas exploration and development statewide.
• SB 312 reduced the cruise ship head tax from $46.00 to $34.50 per person, to entice passengers to Alaska during this period of economic downturn.

Veterans Support

• HB 24 provides financial support to encourage veterans to start businesses in Alaska, and helps them succeed.
• HB 274 establishes August 7th as Purple Heart Day.
• SB217 authorizes a statewide public vote on revenue bonds to finance the Veterans Home Mortgage Program.

Budget Bills

1.       The Capital Budget topped out at $3 billion dollars. That broke down to $1 billion from federal funds, $1 billion from the Governor for State needs, and $1 billion for infrastructure and jobs around Alaska.

Projects affecting District 29 residents include:

• Funds for important upgrades at our K-12 schools
• Independence Dr. upgrade and extension
• 75th Ave/Margaret Circle-area drainage improvements
• Funds for local pavement fixes
• Flashing lights on Lake Otis at Abbott Loop Elementary
• Extension of 100th Ave. from Minnesota to C St.
• $5 million for a UAA Engineering building
• $9 million for the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Clinic, which is the only clinic in Anchorage taking new Medicaid patients
• Funds for a new medic unit which will free up our local ambulances for quicker response time in our area

Along with the capital spending, the budget includes a $1.1 billion deposit to forward fund K-12 education and a $400 million deposit of the surplus in to the state savings account, which has been used to make up the difference between revenues and expenditures in leaner years.

2.       The state’s Fiscal Year 2011 Statewide Operating and Mental Health budget bills include:

• $11 million for gas pipeline development
• $6.5 million for in-state gas development
• $15.5 million for priority program enhancements at the University of Alaska
• $2.2 million to ensure Anchorage’s streets are swept promptly and thoroughly
• Over $3 million for the domestic violence and sexual assault prevention initiative
• Over $1 billion to forward fund public education for the next year

3.       HB 424 will bring almost $400 million in construction bonds for education projects to the voters for approval in November. This includes $88 million for the University of Alaska Life Sciences building and $60 million for the UAA Sports Complex.

Education

• The Legislature passed SB 221, which 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. 
• My bi-partisan early education bill, HB 69, which would help parents provide a good learning environment for their young children in any setting, passed the House on a vote of 32-5 during the last few days of session. It didn’t have time to work through the Senate, but the strong House vote bodes well for future early education bills.
• SB 237 provides more certainty in school construction funding, and provides for the first time a funding mechanism for school construction in the Rural Education Attendance Areas, which don’t have the bonding capacity to help build schools.

Fighting Crime

• Several bills (SB 222 and  HB 324) passed to deal with the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska.
• SB 110 revamped post-conviction relief procedures, including how to go about getting DNA evidence tested for possible exoneration.
• HB 307 allows magistrate and district court judges jurisdiction to grant protective orders in cases of sexual assault.
• HB 6 improved our animal cruelty laws by adding a felony level animal cruelty crime for particularly gruesome or repeated cases of animal cruelty. HB 10 establishes a “cop on the block” program, allowing for property tax exemptions to peace officers living in higher-crime areas.
• HB 52 will provide ten hours of group counseling for jurors who serve on particularly gruesome or disturbing trials.

Campaign and Citizen Initiative Bills

• SB 284 somewhat mitigates damages to our election system that will be caused by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow corporate campaigning.  It requires full visible and audible disclosures for the biggest donors behind an ad or a candidate, so that voters know whose agenda is being pushed.
• HB 36 changes the initiative process allowing for more disclosure of contributions and for informing the public on the issue. The bill also has the potential to seriously limit an individual’s right to participate in our constitutional right to have citizen-driven initiatives in our state, so I’ll be watching the effects of this closely.

Legislative Representation

• SJR 21 will put before voters in November the question about whether or not to increase the number of legislators.

Health Care

• SB219 establishes a traumatic or acquired brain injury program, to help families of brain injury victims access appropriate and available care.
• SB 10 extends insurance coverage to cancer patients participating in clinical trials.
• SB 199 makes a simple change to the Adult Medicaid Dental program that would allow patients who are approved for dentures to receive both the uppers and lowers in a single fiscal year.
• SB 13 expands Denali Kid Care.
• 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.
• SB 172 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. 

Tuck’s Tips: 

Anchorage Summer activities guide

The Muni’s Parks and Recreation department offers education, events and fun for the whole family!

• Click here for a list of special events, classes on anything from babysitting to raised bed gardening and woodworking, pool hours, and more.

Census and Home Security

On Monday, May 3rd, census takers started collecting information from households that didn’t mail back their 2010 Census forms. 

Responding to the census is mandatory, but there are several ways to ensure you’re your privacy and security are preserved:

• When a census worker visits a household, he or she will have a badge with a Department of Commerce watermark.
• The census taker also may be carrying a bag with a Census Bureau logo.
• If asked, he or she will provide supervisor contact information and/or the Local Census Office phone number for verification.

The census workers will:

• Visit all the addresses that didn't send back a filled out census form, and record the answers to the questions on the form.
• ONLY ask the questions that appear on the census form.
• Visit a home up to three times if nobody is home, and attempt to reach the household by phone three times.
• Leave a double-sided (English and Spanish) notice of visit in the doorway that includes a phone number for the resident to schedule an appointment.

Census workers will NOT ask for citizenship status, Social Security numbers, credit card or banking information.

The census taker who collects your information is sworn for life to protect your data under Federal Law Title 13. Those who violate the oath face criminal penalties of up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

Why is the census so important?

• Census data determine boundaries for state and local legislative and congressional districts.
• More than $400 billion in federal funds are distributed annually based on census data to pay for local programs and services, such as schools, highways, vocational training, emergency services, hospitals and much more.

For more information, go to http://2010.census.gov.