The second week of the Alaska Legislature brought a continued flood of new legislative proposals including ferry names, Columbus Day and personal investment in the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
Between 8 a.m. Jan. 23 and 5 p.m. Jan. 27, lawmakers introduced 25 bills and five resolutions. In the first week of the 30th Legislature, lawmakers introduced 37 bills.
Each measure must navigate a series of committee hearings and votes before it becomes law (and most never do become law). Most bills are changed before they come to a final vote, but a bill’s introduction is one indicator of what a particular legislator is thinking and what her (or his) priorities are.
Here are one-sentence summaries of each bill and resolution introduced during the second week of the 30th Legislature:
HOUSE BILLS
HB 73 (Gov. Bill Walker) — Officially names the new Alaska-class ferries Tazlina and Hubbard, respectively.
HB 74 (governor) — The state has two sets of driver’s licenses; one set that abides by the standards of the federal REAL ID Act, and one that doesn’t. If you have one that doesn’t, you’ll need a passport to fly on a commercial flight.
HB 75 (Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage) — If a court deems you a danger to yourself or others, you could lose their ability to own or buy a gun for up to six months.
HB 76 (Rep. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan) — If you operate a hatchery for aquatic plants or seed shellfish, you’re eligible for the state’s loan fund for mariculture.
HB 77 (Legislative Council) — The annual fix for technical errors in legislation passed last year.
HB 78 (Rep. Dean Westlake, D-Kotzebue) — Instead of Columbus Day, Alaska has Indigenous People’s Day.
HB 79 (governor) — Reduces costs in the state’s workers’ compensation program and increases service as part of an omnibus overhaul.
HB 80 (Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks) — Boroughs and municipalities can levy a tax to pay for energy efficiency improvements or clean energy programs, even if they don’t run the utility.
HB 81 (Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka) — Tribes are eligible for the state’s energy efficiency loan fund.
HB 82 (Kreiss-Tomkins) — Makes it easier for the state to issue an “off-road system” driver’s license that doesn’t require you to take a driving test.
HB 83 (Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau) — State employees and teachers can choose either a defined benefit pension or a defined contribution retirement account.
HB 84 (Kreiss-Tomkins) — Allows municipalities to exempt up to $150,000 in property from local taxes. Currently, the maximum exemption is $50,000.
HB 85 (Kreiss-Tomkins) — Petersburg, as a new borough, can select 14,666 acres of state land for municipal use.
HB 86 (Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage) — The state can no longer revoke your driver’s license if you fail to pay your student loans.
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS
HCR 2 (Tarr) — The governor should work to stop bad things from happening to children.
HCR 3 (Tarr) — April 2017 is Child Abuse Prevention Month.
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTIONS
HJR 7 (Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla) — Proposes a constitutional amendment that limits any increase in state spending to the average increase of the previous three years.
HJR 8 (Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome) — The state wants walrus, mammoth and mastodon ivory exempted from any national ivory ban.
SENATE BILLS
SB 32 (Sen. Shelly Hughes, R-Palmer) — Just as pharmacists can pres
cribe generic drugs in place of brand-name ones, they can prescribe generic “biological products” that are non-drug medical items.
SB 33 (governor) — Officially names the new Alaska-class ferries Tazlina and Hubbard, respectively.
SB 34 (governor) — The state has two sets of driver’s licenses; one set that abides by the standards of the federal REAL ID Act, and one that doesn’t. If you have one that doesn’t, you’ll need a passport to fly on a commercial flight.
SB 35 (Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage) — Individual Alaskans can personally invest their savings in the trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
SB 36 (Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage) — Optometrists can do more of the services currently limited to eye surgeons.
SB 37 (Giessel) — The Alaska Board of Pharmacy regulates drug wholesalers that ship medical drugs into the state.
SB 38 (Giessel) — Pharmacy benefits managers must be registered and are subject to audits.
SB 39 (Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole) — Boroughs and municipalities can levy a fee on commercial property owners to pay for energy efficiency improvements or clean energy programs, even if the municipality doesn’t run the utility.
SB 40 (governor) — Reduces costs in the state’s workers’ compensation program and increases service as part of an omnibus overhaul.
SB 41 (Giessel) — Tramadol and related drugs are listed as Schedule IVA restricted.
SB 42 (Giessel) — Police must be trained to recognize and appropriately deal with people who have disabilities.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTIONS
SJR 2 (Senate State Affairs) — Proposes a constitutional amendment limiting state spending to $4.25 billion per year (adjusted for population and inflation), and there’s 14 different exceptions to this spending cap.
