Members of the Alaska Senate and House say that they won’t be working on any legislation this year that deals with controversial social issues such as abortion and transgender right until Juneau, two weeks before the Alaska Legislature convenes.
“It’s safe to assume that those social issues along these lines won’t get a lot movement,” said Rep. Cathy Tilton (R-Wasilla).
These bills will be presented as soon as Monday. This is the first day legislation that has been prefiled before the legislative session begins.
However, with a bipartisan supermajority controlling the Senate and tight margins expected to be in the House they say they don’t expect controversial bills will advance. This is because Democrats will be able block conservative legislation while Republicans will be allowed to block progressive items.
DeLena Johnson (R-Palmer) supports restrictions on abortion. While she said that she and other legislators have the right to propose bills dealing with social problems, she is pragmatic.
“The Dobbs Decision is on everyone’s minds –has been nationwide,” she stated about , the U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing states ban abortion.
“I don’t believe there is any exception here in Alaska. Although there will be interest in what people do, given our current setup, I doubt that it will happen. She said that nothing will happen with this.
Any law that is made will need compromise, bipartisan support, and the consent of the Republican Governor. Mike Dunleavy. This can be difficult to find. In the 32nd Legislative, 686 bills were presented but only 111 became law.
Because the Alaska Supreme Court has ruled abortion access is protected under the privacy clause in the Alaska Constitution, legislation relating to abortion faces a particular hurdle. A new ruling by the court or constitutional amendment would be required to restrict abortion. Dunleavy stated that he would propose an amendment to restrict abortion, but it requires supermajority of the House and Senate.
“I don’t see anything too radical, either left or right, getting through the Senate,” stated Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan).
Senator President Gary Stevens announced that members of the 17-member Senate supermajority will meet in Girdwood starting Thursday to discuss their legislative priorities.
He said that this work will continue until the beginning of the session on January 17.
“It’s going be fairly moderate issues that are dealt with. He said that there were no extreme issues.
Stevens stated that his top priorities include avoiding excess spending from the Alaska Permanent Fund, and preventing the introduction of an income or sales tax.
He added that he expected education funding, food security, and retirement of state employees to be major issues.
These priorities align with the ones expressed by Alaska House members. After serving four terms in 2010, Dan Saddler (Rep.Elect), is back in the House.
He said that the budget would be large and that the dividend would be even bigger. These are items that will take up legislative time.
“You can see a push from the chattering classes to increase education funding. He said that inflation is now a bigger factor in Alaska’s finances than it was for the past 20 years.
Alaska’s pension program for state employees was terminated in 2006. However, the state has had difficulty recruiting and retaining employees in recent years. There is an effort to revive a pension plan in order to encourage hiring.
Last year, the House passed a pension program for public safety workers. However, it died in the Senate. Many lawmakers expect a renewed push this year.
Representative-elect Rebecca Himschoot is an elementary teacher from Sitka who will be sworn in to the House on 17th.
She said, “Defining benefits fits into any discussion I’m going have about a state providing the workforce and the services that communities need to thrive.”
Rep. Bryce Edgmon (I-Dillingham) stated that defined benefits, which is the formal name for a retirement plan, “needs” to be and will continue to be advanced in the House.
He stated that the “holy-grail” issue facing state legislators is agreement on a long term fiscal plan. This theme was repeated by other members.
A bicameral, bipartisan working party created the framework to a fiscal plan in 2021. It included a revised state expenditure cap, new formula Permanent Fund dividend payments and budget cuts.
Last year, legislators were unable agree on the exact structure of any part of a plan. None of these plans were passed into law.
Although the Dunleavy administration is expected later this month to announce a carbon-monetization program, it could not satisfy the demand for new revenue. However, multiple legislators stated that any idea along these lines would likely take more than a year.
Johnson stated that it takes time for people to discover new ideas.
Himschoot suggested that the House Ways and Means Committee might be charged with drafting a fiscal plan. Himschoot thought that a special session on long-term fiscal issues might be appropriate.
In either case lawmakers are confident that it will not be quick or easy to resolve the session this year, even if there are no social issues.
Four special sessions were required by lawmakers in 2017, the first year for the 30th Legislature. Two years later, the 31st Legislature had two special sessions. They needed four special sessions in 2021, which was the first year of The 32nd Legislature.
The Alaska Beacon originally published this story. It is republished with permission.
