Weyhrauch meets with constituents
Juneau Rep.-elect Bruce Weyhrauch met for the first time with constituents Wednesday night at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library.
Weyhrauch was elected in November to represent House District 4, which covers most of the Mendenhall Valley, Auke Bay and all points north. He will be sworn in on the first day of the 23rd legislative session on Jan. 21.
Weyhrauch updated about 20 participants on the reorganization of the House following the Nov. 5 general election, highlighted some of the top issues lawmakers will address next session, and solicited comments on issues.
He said during a retreat in early December in Girdwood, House Republicans discussed the state's fiscal problems, the future of the Alaska Permanent Fund, education, and how to spur oil and gas development.
"Major (oil and gas) companies are not doing the exploration that small oil companies want to do," Weyhrauch said. "We need to figure out what incentives we can provide to smaller companies or how to attract larger companies."
Lawmakers also discussed plans to address the fiscal gap next session through a Ways and Means Committee as opposed to the ad hoc fiscal policy caucus.
Last session, the bipartisan fiscal policy caucus, which was headed by Weyhrauch's predecessor, Bill Hudson, rallied the House to pass a package of revenue-generating measures such as an income tax, an alcohol tax and use of the earnings of the Alaska Permanent Fund. All but the tax on alcohol failed to pass the Senate.
Weyhrauch said a Ways and Means Committee would serve to formalize the process of negotiating a long-range fiscal plan and get the Senate involved.
Constituents at Wednesday's meeting voiced their concerns and suggested legislation they'd like to see passed next session.
Lynn Squires-White, a sex-offender treatment provider who works with prisoners at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center and paroled offenders living in the community, recommended adopting a statewide policy requiring polygraph tests for sex offenders.
"With two people reoffending (in Juneau) in the last couple of weeks I have a lot of energy behind this right now," Squires-White said after the meeting.
The use of polygraph tests gives treatment providers a better sense of whether parolees are reoffending, Squires-White said. She said most Lower 48 states use polygraph tests, adding that prisoners pay the cost.
Steven and Cindy Schlaffman were concerned about the money paid by the city of Juneau to lobbyists Jerry Mackie and Clark Gruening during the legislative sessions. In 2001, the city paid Mackie $40,000 and Gruening $60,000 to work as lobbyists .
"What's the difference between what you are elected to do and what they are paid to do?" Steven Schlaffman asked Weyhrauch.
Weyhrauch said he supports the city's decision to pay a lobbyist, noting that a lobbyist can supplement the work of a legislator.
George Davidson, a Juneau Assembly member in the mid-'80s and early-'90s, said lobbyists for the city also can work to provide a unified voice for the city's interests.
Weyhrauch said he plans to hold more constituent meetings during the legislative session and the interim between sessions.
Timothy Inklebarger can be reached at timothyi@juneauempire.com.