After years of study, public testimony, and debate, Alaska turned the corner this week to a brighter economic future. The Legislature voted to create greater opportunity for Alaskans by putting our state’s oil patch in a more competitive position globally.

In 2010 I directed my office and the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) to “defederalize” the new Alaska Class Ferry project.

Back then, I said: If we can build an Alaska ferry with all-Alaska dollars, we’ll have a better shot at building it with an all-Alaska workforce.

The state subsequently returned the federal dollars for the project and embarked on a new approach to get Alaska Marine Highway vessels built at home.

Our challenge now is to get vessels built in Alaska, by Alaskans, while being wise stewards of public dollars.

As summer comes to a close and schools ready their campuses for that exciting first week of classes, parents and young people welcome the new school year. A new school year brings fresh opportunities to earn scholarships.

One recent education policy change has the potential to be transformational for students and their families: The creation and funding of the Alaska Performance Scholarship.

My reason for pursuing meaningful oil tax reform has been consistent: To turn around declining production and create Alaskan opportunity.

This requires investment, the kind that other oil-producing regions in the Western hemisphere attract during a high-priced environment. Alaska’s North Slope lacks this investment.

We have a world-class hydrocarbon basin: the North Slope. Yet unlike these other oil-rich areas — places such as North Dakota, Alberta, Texas — our production decline continues.