Senate Bill 24, which would add a 12th seat to the Marine Transportation Advisory Board, passed the Senate Friday morning in a unanimous vote.

The bill by Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, seeks to split off several communities in the Kodiak Island Borough and on the western Kenai Peninsula from the “southwest Alaska” seat currently represented by Unalaska Mayor Shirley Marquardt on the board.

“It’s simply a better opportunity to have the representatives from those communities to have input and to have something to say and to be at the table,” said Stevens on the Senate floor.

The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to forward its version of the state operating budget for next fiscal year for consideration by the Alaska Senate after briefly meeting to approve amendments adding to the legislation.

While its House counterpart took hours to debate amendments, the Senate Finance Committee advanced rapidly through 11 amendments in a meeting that lasted about 23 minutes Tuesday morning, before recessing until the afternoon to allow staff time to incorporate the amendments into the legislation.

In one way or another, Alaska’s children were the subjects of many Juneau residents’ testimony on the proposed state operating budget at a rare Saturday meeting of the Senate Finance Committee.

First among the members of the public to testify on the budget, which passed out of the House of Representatives at $9.81 billion — more than $100 million leaner than Republican Gov. Sean Parnell’s proposal — was Alaska’s first lady, Sandy Parnell.

Alaska Airlines officials addressed members of the House Finance Committee and attendees from the public at Tuesday’s “Lunch and Learn” event at the Alaska State Capitol, touting advancements they said are intended to better serve Alaskans and hinting at the airline’s future plans.

Marilyn Romano, regional vice president for Alaska, said the SeaTac, Wash.-based airline will likely add new flight destinations this year, which she said will be “a very exciting year for us.”