Progress made during first half of '10 session

The second session of the 26th Alaska Legislature is now at the halfway point, and the House is closing out the operating budget. This is a good time to give an update on issues important to Juneau.

Traditionally, the House initiates the operating budget process. The Senate first focuses on the capital budget with each district submitting capital priority requests.

Of my seven committee assignments, three are Finance subcommittees for the Law, Education and Corrections budgets. In Law, a new assistant attorney general position will focus specifically on Endangered Species Act litigation, and an additional $800,000 is included for endangered species work and litigation.

The Education spending plan put forward funds education, continues a popular pilot pre-K program, and includes funding for additional curriculum specialists in reading, math and science.

The Education Committee approved legislation to forward funds for two years, and to increase the base student allocation by $125 per student and the block grant vocational educational funding by 1.5 percent. If the bill becomes law, Juneau would receive an additional $650,000 for vocational education programs.

Also in the Education Committee, we have passed debt reimbursement legislation that includes 70 percent reimbursement to Juneau taxpayers for six voter-approved school projects.

Gov. Sean Parnell's scholarship proposal has taken a great deal of committee time, and thanks to Alaskans' suggestions and advice, we have strengthened the product. It treats scholarship awards for university and vocational schools equally, allows cyberschooling alternatives for districts unable to offer four years of math or science, and includes a need-based provision for those students who qualify academically but continue to have unmet financial need.

We are working on the university lands bill in the Community and Regional Affairs Committee, adding 200,000 acres to the university land base. Many of the more controversial parcels have been removed. The bill includes a large tract of land near the Lena bypass, a small parcel near Auke Lake and a 20 acre parcel near the Kensington mine.

A main agenda item in the House Transportation Committee has been an Alaska Transportation Fund. The $1 billion fund would need voter approval to dedicate fund income to transportation projects.

The capital budget plan includes the Alaska Class ferry ($128 million), and funds terminal upgrades, the Auke Bay intersection, Riverside Drive improvements, Egan Drive upgrades, and a $9.5 million reconstruction of the Johnson Youth Center.

As you may know, our bill enabling the Mental Health Trust to construct an office building in downtown Juneau passed the House unanimously last year. We continue to press for a hearing before Senate Finance so that the Senate can vote on this important project. The entire Juneau delegation is working to obtain Museum Archives project funding, and we hope that the Senate will fund it in the capital budget.

Constituent meetings, responses to our email bulletins and Web site news, and calls to the office provide invaluable information for the Legislative process.

Thank you so much for your time and input. The remaining weeks of the session will go quickly so please continue to let me know your ideas, concerns and news.

• Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, is a representative in the Alaska House.