by Representative Neal Foster
Hello to House District 39 constituents in the Lower Yukon. This includes Russian Mission, Marshall, Pilot Station, Saint Mary’s, Pitka’s Point, Mountain Village, Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, Nunam Iqua, Alakanuk, Emmonak, and Kotlik. But if you’re anywhere in rural Alaska then this applies to you, so please read on!
We adjourned the 33rd legislative session with a balanced budget, a larger PFD than last year, funding for important rural programs, and the passage of rural friendly legislation.
Our Bush legislators including Senator Lyman Hoffman, Senator Donny Olson, Representative Bryce Edgmon, and Representative CJ McCormick have established strong seniority & power to protect and advance rural Alaska’s interests.
I now share the distinction (with Al Adams of Kotzebue) of being the longest serving chair or co-chair of House Finance (8 years) going all the way back to statehood in 1959. Being in this position has meant that I can fight effectively to ensure rural Alaska receives its fair share. And just as important, it means I can stop bad things from happening including the eradication of rural Alaska’s energy assistance program. Rural legislators are greatly outnumbered by urban legislators, and the only way we can overcome this is by securing key chairmanships.
THE BUDGET
The budget was completed on time and with some important additions.
Education: We currently pay about $5,960 per student, but this hasn’t kept up with inflation over the past 10 years. We added another $680 in this year’s budget. We tried to make this a permanent increase (as opposed to funding for just one year) through legislation, but the Governor vetoed the bill.
Head Start: $5.2 million to fully maximize the federal match. Head Start provides school readiness for toddlers up to age five. Nearly all of our communities have a Head Start program, and without these funds some villages were at risk of having their programs closed. Notably, we included a provision requiring the 20% Head Start federal match to be automatically appropriated each year. This is a big win for us and means that we don’t have to fight for it each year.
VPSO’s: 10 additional Village Public Safety Officer’s and increased pay to address the shortage of VPSO’s in our villages.
Adult Day Services: $1.5 million to help care for our elders and adults with impairments.
Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault: $3.7 million to fill a reduction in federal funds. These funds were “added to the base”, which means that we don’t have to fight to add these funds in future years.
Food Banks: $1.5 million to help families keep food on the table. If folks need information about resources, please call my office at 800-478-3789.
Community Assistance: $30 million to fully capitalize the community assistance fund. This helps with operating our local governments as they seek to improve infrastructure such as water & sewer.
Public Broadcasting: $1.2 million to assist our rural radio stations provide information regarding weather and emergencies.
Energy Assistance: PCE (power cost equalization) was fully funded, and every rural household will see electricity credits of up to $2,800 per year on their utility bills. There was an attempt to defund this program, but we stopped it. Such efforts pop up periodically, and it is very worrying. One of my highest priorities has been to defend the PCE program and provide some energy relief for our residents.
Capital Projects: The capital budget funds construction projects, and our district did very well. The list is long and includes things like school maintenance & improvements, tank farm repairs, heavy equipment, water & sewer construction, city and tribal office buildings, housing for medical staff, utility shop, road maintenance and resurfacing, renewable energy projects and more. If you’d like to know what kind of construction will be happening in your community, please feel free to contact me at the number or email below.
PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND
Our House budget had a PFD of $2,300 per Alaskan resident. The Senate’s budget had a PFD of $1,475. The operating budget chairs (Senator Steadman of Sitka and Representative Johnson of Palmer) agreed on a final PFD of $1,655. Last year’s PFD was $1,312.
I voted yes on an amendment to eliminate a tax break for large oil companies. The amendment narrowly failed on a vote of 18 yays to 22 nays. If passed it would have meant hundreds of millions in additional revenue that could be used for the dividend.
LEGISLATION
Each session approximately 600 bills and resolutions are introduced. A small percentage pass the House and Senate. The following are some of the bills that made it through the legislature. However, the Governor can still veto any of one of them.
Senior Benefits: This program was a priority for me because it gives our low-income elders up to $250 per month ($3,000 per year) to assist with food and heating bills. Senior Benefits was set to expire this June, but the bill extends the program another 10 years.
Missing & Murdered Indigenous People: I co-sponsored SB 151, otherwise known as the MMIP bill. It dedicates investigators to MMIP cases and establishes a commission that includes folks from tribes, victim advocacy organizations, village public safety, and the commissioner of public safety.
Child Care: HB 189 was eventually rolled into another bill to provide child care tax credits and expand eligibility for families. We also added $7.5 million in the budget to assist child care centers.
Food Assistance: HB 344 helps more Alaskans get food assistance through the SNAP program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Food prices in Alaska are higher than the Lower 48, and HB 344 raises eligibility from 130% of the federal poverty level to 200%. It also removes an asset test that prohibits folks from having more than $4,000 in assets (which would easily disqualify someone who owns a snowmachine or 4-wheeler). Removing the asset test will also speed up the application process and reduce the potential for backlogs.
Fish board: The Alaska Board of Fish currently has 7 members. I pre-filed a bill to make 2 of the 7 seats on the board designated as representing subsistence users.
Village Weather Reporting: SJR 20 is a resolution asking Congress to upgrade the AWOS (automatic weather reporting systems) in our villages. We have seen an increasing number of outages in recent years. This system is important for medical evacuations and the consistent supply of food and medicine.
I hope everyone has a safe & wonderful summer! As always, if folks need assistance with state programs or have suggestions, please feel free to contact me at 800-465-3789 or [email protected].
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