In the three weeks since the 29th Alaska Legislature convened its second session, lawmakers haven’t just been working on the budget.
In the 19 days since the Legislature convened, 105 bills have been introduced in the House and Senate. These are in addition 40 other bills prefiled by legislators before the session’s start. Piled atop the bills introduced during the first session, 304 have been introduced in the House and 174 in the Senate.
There have also been 11 resolutions introduced so far this session. Resolutions deal with the business of the Legislature itself or act as letters of complaint and intent. Another resolution was prefiled.
Speaking Wednesday in the Senate Resources Committee on the topic of distractions this session, Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said the public shouldn’t worry. “The Legislature’s been pretty frugal with their time this year dealing with the fiscal issues in front of us,” he said. “I can assure the public that the political machine to deal with the issue at hand, which is the budget, is full speed ahead.”
INTRODUCED THIS SESSION:
HOUSE
HB 244, Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage – Lawmakers and legislative staff face much stricter limits on how much they can be reimbursed for travel expenses, and if a conference is being hosted by an Outside corporation, no reimbursement is allowed.
HB 245, governor – The Alaska Permanent Fund is restructured so some of its earnings go to pay annual government expenses, and dividends are tied directly to oil and gas revenue.
HB 246, governor – Creates a state oil and gas loan fund under the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to help oil companies with development in the state when and if the state’s oil tax credit program goes away.
HB 247, governor – This replaces the state’s billion-dollar tax credit program for oil companies with the oil and gas loan fund created under HB 246.
HB 248, governor – Doubles the state’s excise tax on alcohol and allows taxpayers to submit documents electronically rather than just by mail.
HB 249, governor – Doubles the state’s gasoline tax and allows taxpayers to submit documents electronically.
HB 250, governor – Creates a state income tax equivalent to 6 percent of each Alaskan’s federal income tax payment.
HB 251, governor – Raises the state’s various fisheries taxes.
HB 252, governor – Cruise ship companies can’t deduct local head taxes (the ones levied by Juneau and Ketchikan) from the head taxes they pay the state.
HB 253, governor – Raises license taxes for the state’s largest mines.
HB 254, Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak – The Big Game Commercial Services Board can keep operating until 2019.
HB 255, governor – This is the state’s capital budget for fiscal year 2017, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017.
HB 256, governor – This is the state’s operations budget for fiscal year 2017, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017.
HB 257, governor – This is the state’s mental health budget for fiscal year 2017, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017.
HB 258, Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage – Genetically modified fish can’t be sold in Alaska.
HB 259, governor – If a home or business has to move because of a federal program (like a disaster aid program), its owner can get more money.
HB 260, governor – If someone applies for day care assistance or child care grants and is accidentally overpaid, the state can take parts of their Permanent Fund Dividend to compensate for the overpayment.
HB 261, governor – Instead of spending the net income from the public school trust fund, the state will spend 5 percent of the average value of the fund over the past three years; the bill takes effect once a court rules that the idea doesn’t violate existing law.
HB 262, governor – Senior benefits can only be paid to citizens or “qualified aliens,” which means illegal immigrants are out.
HB 263, governor – Employers have to report all cases in which an employee loses an eye or a limb on the job; they can’t just classify those cases as a general injury.
HB 264, Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole – If you get a state scholarship but don’t graduate within six years, you have to repay the scholarship.
HB 265, Rep. Wilson – Instead of going to a noncompetitive grant program, Alaska unemployment tax receipts will go to the general fund and a competitive training and job assistance program.
HB 266, Rep. Wilson – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game can no longer prohibit people from capturing animals alive, or from releasing them into the wild; and the Board of Game has to take proposals from the public each year to change regulations.
HB 267, Rep. Wilson – Miners that use dredges, gold pans, sieves, rockers or similar equipment don’t have to abide by state water-quality standards as long as they don’t use chemicals.
HB 268, governor – When the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority pays dividends to the state, it has to include more of its financial pieces in the formula that calculates the dividend.
HB 269, governor – The Commissioner of Military and Veterans Affairs is a member of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
HB 270, governor – Parents or guardians of children who were abused or neglected can’t work for any company or agency that is licensed by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
HB 271, governor – Anyone licensed to exchange foreign currency in Alaska can’t be banned from doing so by the federal government, and licensees have to file reports and pay annual fees to keep their licenses; if they lie, they can have their license revoked.
HB 272, Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River – Health insurance companies can’t charge more for anti-cancer medicine you give yourself than for anti-cancer medicine a clinic or hospital has to administer.
HB 273, House State Affairs Committee – If you die, you can will a car, mobile home or house trailer to someone, and that transfer includes the vehicle title.
HB 274, Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau – Relaxes the rules on land swaps between the state and private owners; those swaps have more time to take place.
HB 275, Rep. Harriet Drummond, D-Anchorage – The second Monday of October is Indigenous Peoples Day.
HB 276, Rep. Lynn Gattis, R-Wasilla – If a person gets a misdemeanor DUI, the person can get their license back if they go through an alcohol abuse prevention program and use an ignition interlock to prove they are sober – even if they’ve had previous DUIs.
HB 277, Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage – A claw machine isn’t considered gambling, and neither are arcades that let you exchange tickets for prizes, like Chuck-e-Cheese does.
HB 278, Rep. Gattis – A doctor who prescribes medicine without a physical exam can’t be censured by the state medical board if the drug isn’t a controlled substance.
HB 279, Rep. LeDoux – Any printed newspaper that publishes at least once a month (instead of once a week) can carry state public notices.
HB 280, Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau – State employees and teachers can choose either a defined benefit pension or a defined contribution retirement account.
HB 281, Rep. Muñoz – Anyone who wants to be a licensed real estate broker has to have more experience and more training before getting a license.
HB 282, Rep. Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski – Two Alaska Legislators can serve on the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation board in nonvoting seats.
HB 283, governor – Creates a new class of protected lakes, rivers and streams.
HB 284, Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage – Your boss can’t ask for your social network account information or tell you to do anything with that account, but if you’re using a social network for malicious things, he or she isn’t liable: You are.
HB 285, Rep. Josephson – A student can’t get in trouble with a school for things done on a social network outside of school hours, and a school can’t penalize a teacher or administrator for the same thing, but malicious activity on a school network isn’t the fault of the school, it’s the fault of the user.
HB 286, governor – Anyone who gets in trouble with Alaska Wildlife Troopers for not having their tag or permit with them can bring the tag or permit into the office to correct the problem.
HB 287, Rep. Chenault – Alaska’s attorney general can’t serve on appointed boards, including the board of the Alaska Permanent Fund.
HB 288, Rep. Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage – If you serve in the National Guard in another state, your boss has to give you time off to perform your National Guard duties in that other state.
HB 289, Rep. LeDoux – Adds a manicurist to the state board of barbers.
HB 290, Labor and Commerce Committee – The Real Estate Commission of Alaska can keep operating through 2018.
HB 291, Rep. Drummond – If you’re from the Yukon, you can’t get Alaska resident rates for sportfishing licenses anymore.
HB 292, Rep. Kito – Towns, cities and boroughs can contribute money to the operations of the Alaska Marine Highway.
HB 293, governor – This is the state’s supplemental budget for the current fiscal year, covering about $65 million in expenses that either can’t wait or couldn’t wait until after July 1.
HB 294, Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka – The Sitka Tribe of Alaska can hold a herring spawn classic in which Alaskans are allowed to bet how many miles of shoreline will receive herring spawn between March and May.
HB 295, Rep. Wilson – You can’t get more than 60 months of public assistance in your lifetime.
HB 296, Rep. Drummond – You can’t pay a woman less than a man for the same work, once factors like seniority are taken into account. (Companion bill to SB 153)
HB 297, Rep. Saddler – Any company that ships prescription drugs by mail directly to a patient has to be certified by the Alaska Board of Pharmacy, even if the company is Outside.
HB 298, Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla – School districts can lay off tenured teachers even if enrollment isn’t going down (currently, that’s a requirement).
HB 299, Rep. Wilson – If you’re a state contractor or an employee of a contractor, you’re not eligible for the state’s retirement system.
HB 300, governor – Alaskans can establish nonprofit shellfish hatcheries in the same way they establish nonprofit salmon hatcheries.
HB 301, governor – If the state loses a court case requiring it to pay money, the Department of Law, not the Department of Administration, is in charge of reviewing the decision.
HB 302, Rep. Tarr – A student can’t be expelled from school just for talking back to a teacher, being disrespectful or being late to class; the student has to be a danger to other students, teachers, or him/herself.
RESOLUTIONS
HCR 15, Rep. Chenault – Legislators can have a say in the regulations state agencies use to do their work below a legislative level.
HCR 16, Rep. Kawasaki – The Legislature can operate a Ways and Means Committee.
HCR 17, Rep. Shelly Hughes, R-Palmer – Alaska should make state land available for drone testing.
HCR 18, Rep. Tarr – Schools and businesses should reduce food waste and recycle it where possible.
HCR 19, House State Affairs Committee – Suspends a few Legislative rules to speed the passage of Senate Bill 9.
HCR 20, Rep. Kito – A joint resolution requires a two-thirds majority of each house, not a simple majority, except on issues affecting the Alaska Constitution.
HCR 21, Rep. Tarr – The state should focus on early childhood care.
HCR 22, House Health and Social Services Committee – Suspends a few Legislative rules to speed the passage of Senate Bill 23.
HJR 28, Rep. Tarr – The state opposes genetically engineered salmon and thinks they should be labeled if sold in the U.S.
HJR 29, Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla – The U.S. Congress should hold a constitutional convention to enact term limits for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
SENATE
SB 127, Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla – If insurance companies take credit ratings into account when setting rates, they have to also take into account a serious injury or firing from work that might affect that credit rating.
SB 128, governor – The Alaska Permanent Fund is restructured so some of its earnings go to pay annual government expenses, and dividends are tied directly to oil and gas revenue. (Companion bill to HB 245)
SB 129, governor – Creates a state oil and gas loan fund under the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to help oil companies with development in the state when and if the state’s oil tax credit program goes away. (Companion bill to HB 246)
SB 130, governor – This replaces the state’s billion-dollar tax credit program for oil companies with the oil and gas loan fund created under HB 246. (Companion bill to HB 247)
SB 131, governor – Doubles the state’s excise tax on alcohol and allows taxpayers to submit documents electronically rather than just by mail. (Companion bill to HB 248)
SB 132, governor – Doubles the state’s gasoline tax and allows taxpayers to submit documents electronically. (Companion bill to HB 249)
SB 133, governor – Doubles the tax on cigarettes and tobacco and allows taxpayers to submit documents electronically.
SB 134, governor – Creates a state income tax equivalent to 6 percent of each Alaskan’s federal income tax payment. (Companion bill to HB 250)
SB 135, governor – Raises the state’s various fisheries taxes. (Companion bill to HB 251)
SB 136, governor – Cruise ship companies can’t deduct local head taxes (the ones levied by Juneau and Ketchikan) from the head taxes they pay the state. (Companion bill to HB 252)
SB 137, governor – Raises license taxes for the state’s largest mines. (Companion bill to HB 253)
SB 138, governor – This is the state’s capital budget for fiscal year 2017, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017. (Companion bill to HB 255)
SB 139, governor – This is the state’s operations budget for fiscal year 2017, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017. (Companion bill to HB 256)
SB 140, governor – This is the state’s mental health budget for fiscal year 2017, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017. (Companion bill to HB 257)
SB 141, Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak – If you’re under 19, you can’t buy an e-cigarette or vaporizer.
SB 142, Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage – Health insurance companies can’t charge more for anti-cancer medicine you give yourself than for anti-cancer medicine a clinic or hospital has to administer. (Companion bill to HB 272)
SB 143, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage – If legislators don’t pass a budget within 90 days of a session, they don’t get paid.
SB 144, governor – If a home or business has to move because of a federal program (like a disaster aid program), its owner can get more money. (Companion bill to HB 259)
SB 145, governor – If someone applies for day care assistance or child care grants and is accidentally overpaid, the state can take parts of their Permanent Fund Dividend to compensate for the overpayment. (Companion bill to HB 260)
SB 146, governor – Instead of spending the net income from the public school trust fund, the state will spend 5 percent of the average value of the fund over the past three years; the bill takes effect once a court rules that the idea doesn’t violate existing law. (Companion bill to HB 261)
SB 147, governor – Senior benefits can only be paid to citizens or “qualified aliens,” which means illegal immigrants are out. (Companion bill to HB 262)
SB 148, governor – Employers have to report all cases in which an employee loses an eye or a limb on the job; they can’t just classify those cases as a general injury. (Companion bill to HB 263)
SB 149, governor – When the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority pays dividends to the state, it has to include more of its financial pieces in the formula that calculates the dividend. (Companion bill to HB 268)
SB 150, governor – The Commissioner of Military and Veterans Affairs is a member of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. (Companion bill to HB 269)
SB 151, governor – Parents or guardians of children who were abused or neglected can’t work for any company or agency that is licensed by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. (Companion bill to HB 270)
SB 152, governor – Anyone licensed to exchange foreign currency in Alaska can’t be banned from doing so by the federal government, and licensees have to file reports and pay annual fees to keep their licenses; if they lie, they can have their license revoked. (Companion bill to HB 271)
SB 153, Sen. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage – You can’t pay a woman less than a man for the same work, once factors like seniority are taken into account.
SB 154, State Affairs Committee – Alaskans can spend $50 to buy a special license plate commemorating the Blood Bank of Alaska.
SB 155, Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau – Instead of buying fundraiser raffle tickets from the 12-year-old at the grocery store, you can buy them from a vending machine or electronic kiosk instead. (Companion bill to HB 235)
SB 156, Sen. Gardner – Health insurance has to cover birth control, and women who use birth control can get a year’s worth of pills instead of just a month’s worth when they go to the pharmacy.
SB 157, Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage – A claw machine isn’t considered gambling, and neither are arcades that let you exchange tickets for prizes, like Chuck-e-Cheese does. (Companion bill to HB 277)
SB 158, Labor and Commerce Committee – Anyone who wants to be a licensed real estate broker has to have more experience and more training before getting a license. (Companion bill to HB 281)
SB 159, Sen. Donny Olson, D-Golovin – The second Monday of October is Indigenous Peoples Day. (Companion bill to HB 275)
SB 160, Sen. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks – Insurers have to send notices through certified mail with receipt confirmation.
SB 161, Labor and Commerce Committee – If you own a home but sell it within two years of building it or renovating it yourself, the state will check to make sure you’re not trying to get around its rules on registered construction contractors.
SB 162, Sen. Gardner, D-Anchorage – The child custody rights of a rapist can be denied under all cases, not just when the child is being given up for adoption.
SB 163, governor – Creates a new class of protected lakes, rivers and streams. (Companion bill to HB 283)
SB 164, governor – Anyone who gets in trouble with Alaska Wildlife Troopers for not having their tag or permit with them can bring the tag or permit into the office to correct the problem. (Companion bill to HB 286)
SB 165, Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna – This is a slimmed-down version of Senate Bill 99, introduced last year, which includes the most uncontroversial reforms to the state’s alcohol licensing program in order to increase the chance that some reform passes this year.
SB 166, Sen. Wielechowski – State medical boards have to help doctors, dentists, nurses, optometrists, and pharmacists register with the controlled substance prescription database.
SB 167, governor – This is the state’s supplemental budget for the current fiscal year, covering about $65 million in expenses that either can’t wait or couldn’t wait until after July 1. (Companion bill to HB 293)
SB 168, Sen. McGuire – Adds a manicurist to the state board of barbers. (Companion bill to HB 289)
SB 169, Sen. Gardner – Pharmacists can prescribe and provide birth control injections that you give yourself.
SB 170, Sen. Giessel – State geologists can collect fees for a variety of services ranging from storing geological samples to printing maps and geological reports.
SB 171, governor – If the state loses a court case requiring it to pay money, the Department of Law, not the Department of Administration, is in charge of reviewing the decision. (Companion bill to HB 301)
SB 172, governor – Alaskans can establish nonprofit shellfish hatcheries in the same way they establish nonprofit salmon hatcheries. (Companion bill to HB 300)
RESOLUTIONS
SCR 19, Sen. Gardner – Creates a Ways and Means committee in the Legislature.
