A measure to grant benefits to the families of firefighters and police killed in the line of duty continued its slow advance through the Legislature on Tuesday as the House Finance Committee considered more than a dozen amendments to the proposal.
House Bill 23, suggested by Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, is scheduled to reappear in the committee at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Despite widespread support in the Legislature, HB 23 and its predecessors have endured a slog. Last year, there was a widespread consensus that the Legislature should grant health insurance to the spouses and children of slain firefighters and police, but the measure failed to pass before the Legislature adjourned its regular session. Conflicts arose over who should be eligible and who should pay for those benefits. Gov. Bill Walker revived the bill during a summer special session, but it again failed to gain traction.
This year, lawmakers in the House majority and House minority sponsored identical versions of the bill, and the majority bill is progressing. The Senate has its own version as well.
If approved Wednesday in committee, HB 23 could be read onto the House floor as early as Friday and could reach a floor vote early next week.
Petersburg land selections advance
While HB 23 lingered in House Finance, parallel measures giving the Petersburg Borough 14,666 acres of state land advanced Tuesday.
In separate actions, the Community and Regional Affairs Committee approved House Bill 85 and the Senate Community and Regional Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill 28.
Both bills, identical in content, give a gift to the borough from the state. Newly created boroughs are entitled to a grant of state land as a startup measure. SB 28, sponsored by Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, will advance to the Senate floor for a vote. HB 85, sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, will head to the House Finance Committee for consideration.
Other action
In other business Tuesday:
- The House Community and Regional Affairs Committee approved House Bill 80, sponsored by Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks, and previously approved by the House special committee on energy. HB 80, which allows municipalities and boroughs to create an incentive loan program for commercial property energy efficiency improvements, will next advance to the House Rules Committee and a floor vote. Its companion measure, Senate Bill 39, is in the Senate Finance Committee.
- House Bill 31, sponsored by Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, advanced out of the House State Affairs Committee and to the House Finance Committee. HB 31 calls for improvements to the state’s handling of evidence kits collected from rape victims. The state has an extensive backlog of evidence to be processed by a crime lab, though that backlog is decreasing, statistics show.
- The House Transportation Committee heard extensive public testimony on House Bill 60, the governor’s proposed increase to the state tax on car, truck, boat, and airplane fuel. If enacted, HB 60 would triple the state tax per gallon of gasoline by July 1, 2018. Alaska would go from having the lowest state gasoline tax in the country to being merely below the national average. HB 60 is scheduled for an additional hearing at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
- The Senate State Affairs Committee heard an initial presentation on Senate Bill 26, the governor’s proposal to use the earnings of the Alaska Permanent Fund to pay a portion of the state budget and erase about 60 percent of the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit. Other, similar bills have been proposed by various lawmakers. “We’ll bring it back and continue the discussion,” said Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, at the conclusion of the hearing.
Coming up
On Wednesday, the Alaska House and Senate will hold a joint session at 11 a.m. to hear the annual State of the Judiciary Address from Alaska Chief Justice Craig Stowers. After the address, the House will vote on House Bill 16, a measure from Rep. Steve Thompson, R-Fairbanks, that requires police to be trained to deal with Alaskans who have mental and physical disabilities. Under the bill, those with disabilities would be able to receive a special label on their driver’s license.
Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or call 419-7732.
