by Senator Lyman F. Hoffman
Good Morning—
Day 102 in the Capital City, this week we saw sunny skies to begin the week, then snow, and now rain to end the week. This week Senate Finance moved out the following bills from committee. SB 64 Shellfish Projects; Hatcheries; Fees, SB 10 Free/Reduced Tuition for Essential workers, SB 95 Search & Rescue Surplus State Property, and SB 101 Advisory Commission on Federal Management Areas.
Community and Regional Affairs heard and held a couple bills on Tuesday HB 10 Funter Bay Marine Park: Unangan Cemetery and SB 81 Village Public Safety Officer Grants. Last newsletter I wrote about an opportunity to testify on SB 81 on Thursday; Thursdays Committee meeting was marred by internet connectivity issues throughout Juneau. Testimony for SB 81 will be taken up on Tuesday May 4th at 3:30 pm.
On the Senate Floor HB 76 Extending COVID 19 Disaster Emergency passed the Senate. HB 76 will be transmitted to the Governor for his approval or his veto. Support for HB 76 at this point should be directed to the Governor Office. SB 89 Assisted Living Home: Home Rules passed the body and is now being heard in House Health and Social Services.
Real ID Deadline Extension
Due to circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the national emergency declaration, the Department of Homeland Security is extending the REAL ID enforcement deadline by a year. Beginning May 3, 2023, every air traveler 18 years of age or older will need a REAL ID compliant drivers license, state issued enhanced driver’s license, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States.
Alternative Acceptable Forms of ID – Identification | Transportation Security Administration (tsa.gov)
HB 76 – Disaster Declaration
Late Wednesday night The House of Representatives passed HB 76 on a vote of 25-15 accepting the Senate’s changes and sending the bill to the governor’s desk. These are a few provisions in the bill Alaskan’s can look forward to once signed into law.
•$ 8 million per month in federal food assistance to COVID-19 impacted Alaskans.
•Ensures the state is eligible for federal air and reimbursement for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) costs.
•Limits the governor’s ability to spend federal funds without legislative approval.
•Continuing the legal operation of off-site testing and vaccination sites and waivers to care for patients telephonically.
•Allows healthcare and mental health providers to ensure the delivery of telehealth services to Alaskans.
Senate Finance Subcommittees
On Thursday we closed out 3 of the Senate Finance budget subcommittees I chair, the departments of Administration, Fish and Game, and Education and Early Development.
The subcommittees make operating budget recommendations to the budget submitted by the Governor for the corresponding departments, which then go to the full Senate Finance committee to review and take action on.
A few notable items in the department subcommittees: for Administration, several DMV’s across the state were targeted for closure and we worked with the department and the Governor to keep them from being shut down. In Fish and Game, we submitted a fisheries plan to help with food security and economic development in the region; and in Education we added funding to the Libraries and Museums divisions to help with ongoing distance learning due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
There is still a ways to go before the budgets are finalized.
