by Senator Lyman Hoffman
Good afternoon,
The Legislature is at day 102 of the 121 day session. This week, the Senate Finance Committee heard the following bills; SB 149: Food Stamp Program Eligibility; SB 248: Big Game Commercial Services Board; SB 182: Extend Big Game Commercial Services Board; SB 234: Extend Marijuana Control Board; SB 89: Child Care Tax Credits/Assistance Grants; HB 28: Access to Marijuana Conviction Records; and HB 155: Establish Alaska Military Affairs Commission.
The Senate Finance committee moved the following bills; SB 204: Certification of Fitness/Plumbers/Electricians; SB 131: Asian American/Pacific Islander Program; SB 85: Permanent Fund Employment Eligibility; SB 206: Workers’ Comp Stay-at-Work program; SB 84: Money Transmission/Virtual Currency; SB 28: Workplace Violence Protective Order and the two major bills, HB 268: FY25 Operating Budget and HB 270: FY25 Mental Health Budget. These bills transfer to the Senate Rules committee for consideration to schedule for the Senate floor.
The Senate considered and approved the following bills; SB 115: Physician Assistant Scope of Practice; SB 118: Critical Natural Resource Reports; SB 240: School District Medical Assistance; SB 259: Compensation for Certain State Employees; SB 152: Community Energy Facilities Net Metering; SB 171: Residency Requirement for Hunting, Trapping, Fishing; SB 239: AIDEA Workforce Housing Development; SB189: Extend Alaska Commission on Aging; SJR 20: Weather Observing System Station Outages; SB 113: REAA Fund Mt. Edgecumbe Teacher Housing; SB 151: Missing/Murdered Indigenous People Report; SB 183: Workers’ Comp Benefits Guaranty Fund; and SB 205: AHFC Authority to Acquire Bldg. These bills are transferred to the House for their consideration. Bills are moving fast. If you have questions or concerns on any bills, please contact my office.
SB 113: REAA Fund, Mt. Edgecumbe, Teacher Housing
SB 113 equalizes construction and maintenance funding opportunities for Mt. Edgecumbe High School and adds major maintenance grants for rural teacher housing to the list of eligible programs. In addition, the bill deletes language that “capped” the REAA Fund at $70 million. SB 113 is transferred to the House for consideration.
SCR 10 – Joint Legislative Seafood Industry Task Force
The Alaska State Legislature is currently working on SCR 10 establishing a Seafood Industry Task Force to address economic crisis facing the seafood industry. The duty of the task force is to evaluate public policy options by which the state can:
• assist the seafood industry as well as the communities that are severely impacted by the seafood industry.
• improving coordination of harvesting, processing, and marketing of seafood.
• Incentivizing new seafood product development
• Improving the quality of state’s seafood products
• Long term strategic plan for state’s seafood industry
• Process and procedures executing the limited entry permit buy-back program.
The task force will be composed of 16 members.
• 9 public members
• 3 members representing the seafood processing sector – 2 large processors, 1 small processor.
• 3 commercial seafood harvesters who actively participate in state-managed fisheries- 1 salmon harvester, 1 whitefish harvester, 1 shellfish harvester.
• 3 representatives of fishing-dependent coastal communities – 1 member from rural Western Alaska, 1 member from the Gulf of Alaska, 1 member from Southeast Alaska.
Perspective Applicants send your application to both presiding officers:
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