Alaska House bill to bar males from female’s school athletic competitions moves along, and Republicans in Congress call on NCAA to do the same | #alaska | #politics
In Alaska’s Capitol, House Bill 183 has left House Judiciary Committee with Republican Reps. Craig Johnson, Ben Carpenter, Jesse Sumner, Jamie Allard, and Sarah Vance recommending “do pass.” Democrat Reps. Andrew Gray and Cliff Groh recommended “do not pass.” The bill is now in the Rules Committee, the last stop before the House floor. The […]
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Compare and contrast: Alaska Senate pension bill peters out, Illinois has worst unfunded pension in U.S. | #alaska | #politics
MUST READ ALASKA | THE CENTER SQUARE The Alaska Senate passed Senate Bill 88, legislation that would revive a pension plan that was retired by the Legislature in 2006, when it became clear that such pensions were unsustainable for the State budget. Newer hires in public employee jobs were put into 401(k) contribution plans that […]
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House passes operating budget early, with Permanent Fund dividend at $2,273 | #alaska | #politics
The Alaska House of Representatives passed the Operating and Mental Health budgets, HB 268 and HB 270 on Thursday, with unanimous support from House Majority members. The vote was 23-17. The consolidated efforts in HB 268 and HB 270, total $12.3 billion from all fund sources, including state and federal, plus Permanent Fund earnings. HB 268, […]
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Mat-Su Republican proposes bill that would define life as beginning at conception | #alaska | #politics
By Iris Samuels Updated: February 27, 2024 Published: February 27, 2024 Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023 at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. (Loren Holmes / ADN) JUNEAU — A Republican state lawmaker has proposed a bill that could limit abortion access in Alaska by defining human life as beginning […]
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OPINION: Failed veto override on education funding put politics over kids | #alaska | #politics
A board in the House Chamber shows the results of the failed override vote. The Alaska Legislature met in a joint session at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau on March 18, 2024, to consider overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of an education funding bill. Lawmakers were one vote short of overriding the veto. (Marc […]
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Legislature fails to override governor on education mega-bill | #alaska | #politics
The Alaska Legislature, in a joint session on Monday voted 39-20, but it was one vote short of what was needed to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of an education bill, Senate Bill 140, that started out as an internet bill for rural Alaska, but turned into the dream of the National Education Association Alaska […]
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Legislature only lets Dunleavy cut four advisory boards, keeps eight in place | #alaska | #politics
Democrat Rep. Andy Josephson speaks in favor of denying the governor his executive order #134 The Alaska Legislature met in joint session on Tuesday to vote on resolutions denying Gov. Mike Dunleavy several executive orders that would have dismantled some bureaucratic layers of government. Dunleavy made 12 executive orders, listed here, in January. They went […]
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When is a baby a person? Alaska House Bill 107 seeks to define legal status of the unborn | #alaska | #politics
In the logic of some, a developing infant in the womb is only a baby if the mom wants it to be. Otherwise, it’s extraneous tissue. The debate over when a living organism in the womb actually has any rights at all has been debated for decades in America. A bill by Alaska House Rep. […]
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Scott Ogan: Rural sexual assault and the politics of good intentions | #alaska | #politics
Rep. Sarah Vance By SCOTT OGAN There are those who posture and talk about societal ills, and then there are those who do something about them. When it comes to rural physical and sexual assault and human trafficking, Rep. Sarah Vance of District 6 Homer is among those trying to affect real change. Vance recently apologized for […]
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EDITORIAL: Are culture wars really what Alaska schools need? | #alaska | #politics
The Alaska State Capitol building, photographed on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023 in Juneau. (Loren Holmes / ADN) Just about everyone you talk to in Alaska agrees that we need to make improvements in schools. But what those preferred “improvements” look like depend a great deal on people’s personal politics — and lately, Gov. Mike Dunleavy […]
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