Wonderful to be back in Juneau with my amazing staff, Aimee Bushnell and Buddy Whitt! You’ll notice we’re one less than last year, as I’m allotted less staff (and happy to be saving state dollars). My former aide, Joshua Banks, is starting his career as an accountant in Fairbanks, Alaska; I wish him the greatest success.
Friends and neighbors,
Greetings from Juneau! Your legislative session newsletter is back in swing as am I too! After my third (and final) surgery last week in my victorious conquest of breast cancer, I’m thrilled to be at your service cancer-free. I can’t tell how much I appreciate the love, support, prayers, and well wishes many of you extended – and I want to reassure you that I’m at full capacity to attend to your best interests here in the state capital.
As you know, I strive to always be #Telling_it_like_it_is. Here’s the situation in Juneau. There’s always a bit of figuring things out at the beginning of a session: getting a handle on new bills, studying the governor’s proposed budget, sensing which issues will surface as the most significant factors, and assessing the priorities of the various caucuses. Legislators are still in the midst of this “figuring things out.” Since I was dealing with medical issues the first week and am not in a caucus (due to my budget vote on behalf of the district last June), I have to work a little harder in this regard and do a little catch-up. No worries: I’ll “git ‘er done”!
This is why this newsletter will be a little shorter and why we’re waiting to kick-off my Facebook Live Q & A’s next week. BTW, we’re going with “Telling_it_like_it_is Tuesdays with Hughes” this year so join us next week at 7pm.
Before I give a super-mini “state of the state,” I’d like to highlight an opportunity for you – as well as applaud Alaskans for weathering the tsunami warning the other night. That incident, and the recent false alarm in Hawaii regarding a nuclear threat, prompted my coordinating with Alaska’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to speak with you and answer your questions next week as part of our Facebook Live. Some questions I’ve heard that perhaps we’ll get answered:
- Where can we head if there’s a nuclear threat warning, a tsunami, etc.?
- Do all our communities have warning alarms? Why did some communities sound alarms and others didn’t?
- Why did or did not the tsunami warning blast on my phone?
- Why did my TV return to regular programming while the warning was still active?
- Where is the best place to monitor new information on the internet for those impacted by the disaster or the warning/potential of a disaster?
- How should I prepare differently for the different type of disasters?
And now back to Juneau business. With a renewed sense of optimism, I am confident that there’s not a challenge Alaska is facing that cannot be met. If vision for the prosperity of Alaska, for ensuring continued opportunities for Alaskans, is carefully weighed and accounted for in the solutions we choose, we will be better, stronger, more resilient, for having faced and met the challenges. We can do this, Alaska! We are on our way up and out of this recession. It’s not time to rest on our laurels, but at the same time, the sky is not falling.
We are seeing a rise in oil prices. Recent forecasts predict an increase in oil production for the third year in a row; – a first since 1988 – and increased revenues. After decades of inaction, Congress finally authorized exploration in the 10-02 area of ANWR. New opportunities are abounding in Alaska and the future is bright. Our job in the meantime is to navigate the waters to close the narrowing state fiscal gap.
Allow me to interject at this point that I respectfully disagree with the governor, the House Majority, and some other legislators who appear to be clinging in desperation to the mantra, “Never let a crisis got to waste!”and continue to push for an increased budget, taxes, and taking a portion of Alaskans’ PFDs. Although I truly appreciate those who’d be happy to pay new taxes and give up part of their PFD, we are not in a crisis. Please realize that these measures are not needed and would actually have a negative drag on our economy. They would take us in the wrong direction.
Prudent and necessary reductions, limited savings, and careful use of some of the earnings of the Permanent Fund to help pay for government services – without shortchanging the people’s share of the PFD – can close the gap while we allow the economy to continue to grow stronger than ever. I will detail some of my recommendations for needed reductions in a future article coming soon.
Working on your behalf,
Don’t Miss! Happening this Saturday
I’ll be there and hope to see you!
Thank you for spreading the word.
Many legislators gathered at a rally yesterday with Knights of Columbus and other Alaskans in front of the Capitol and prayed for the protection of unborn babies and the end to abortion.
Serving You on Committees
Please note that my committee assignments have changed due to my exit from caucus.
- Senate Education — Member
- Unmanned Aircraft Systems Legislative Task Force — Co-Chair
- Alaska Commission on Post-Secondary Education — Member
- Senate Law Finance Subcommittee
For additional information,
contact my staff:
Buddy Whitt
Buddy.Whitt@akleg.gov
907-465-5025
Aimee Bushnell
Aimee.Bushnell@akleg.gov
907-465-3743
For information on bills I’m co-sponsoring,
click here.
For information on all bills filed by others,
click here.
Legislation Update
Bills I’m Sponsoring
Click on bill number for more info. Detailed descriptions are also available in previous editions of newsletters which you can find here.
SB6 — “Industrial Hemp Production” — Unanimously passed Senate. Scheduled for a hearing this Friday at 1:30pm before the House Finance Commitee. Would allow new economic opportunity for farmers. Livestock ranchers interested in hemp as an easy-to-grow, nutritious crop for feed.
SB16— “Digital Assets Act”— My office began work on bill in 2016, but in odd twist, the House version passed (I provided the language for it). Unanimous, it has been signed into law. Online tools designating who gets your electronic assets after you die will now be recognized by the state. If you’d like to give your photo, social media, email, music or other electronic assets or accounts to particular people, your wishes will be carried out. If your will designates who will get them, Facebook, iTunes, Shutterfly, etc. now must comply.
SB32 — “Interchangeable Biological Products” — Passed Senate. Awaits 2nd hearing in House Finance, its final committee referral. Will increase access to affordable biosimilar medications (made from living cells rather than chemicals) by allowing substitutions in some cases, similar to generic medications.
SB96 — “Alaska Education Transformation Act” — As former Education Committee Chair, my office worked with both chambers and all caucuses to draft this bill. Goal is to bridge achievement gap, to employ technology – not for technology sake – but to improve student success, to partially address teacher retention/shortage problem, to streamline administrations, to promote collaboration between districts. Awaits 2nd hearing in Senate Finance Committee.
SCR4 — “Task Force on Unmanned Aircraft Systems” — Passed unanimously. Task Force met Dec. 7. Updated on industry and worked on privacy solutions. Rep. Neal Foster is my co-chair.
SB111 — “Alaska State Defense Force Powers” — Awaits State Affairs, Finance Committee hearings. Restores right-to-bear arms to state militia. Eliminates changes from administration to administration.
SB119 — “Alaska Health Care Consumers Right to Shop Act” — Awaits a Labor & Commerce hearing (which we hope will be next week), followed by Finance hearings. Would allow consumers with health insurance to receive a check for a portion of savings if they chose a provider who charges less than average cost for procedure. Requires providers and insurance companies to readily provide cost information, including out-of-pocket costs, to consumers.
You may recognize these guys! Welcoming these tall young men as new Senate Pages from Palmer in Juneau. Walter Campbell (left) graduated from Wasilla Lake Christian School, and David Cordero (right) from Mat-Su Career and Technical High School.
Pages keep things running behind the scenes and help maintain decorum in the capitol procedures. As one of the few positions that are allowed on the floor during session, the pages also help with communication between the senators and their staff.
Meet My Wonderful Staff
Buddy Whitt
“It is an honor to be back once again this session assisting Senator Hughes in her service to the constituents of Senate District F. While I was not born in Alaska, I have lived in the Great Land for twenty years, which is quite an achievement when you consider I have lived in ten different locations throughout my life. I have always had a passion for service to others.
I give credit for that to my upbringing as a United States Air Force brat and having come from a long line of military service members that extend all the way back to the American Revolution. After spending eight years of service in the United States Marine Corps, thirteen in hotel management and four years as Executive Director of the Armed Services YMCA of Alaska, I am proud to be serving District F and all Alaskans in this current role. I am especially thankful for the love and support of my beautiful wife Lindsey and my wonderful children Emilia and Cole. I hope that through the example of service that my wife and I display, we can teach our children the importance of service before self and the fulfillment that comes with it.”
Aimee Bushnell
“I feel quite lucky to be back in this office for my second year. Over the summer I was in Washington D.C. with an internship, and in the fall continued studying at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. If you remember me from last year, I’m still working on becoming an Ambassador and Diplomat for the United States and represent our nation abroad.
Until then, I am happy to be working with Senator Hughes in Alaska. I graduated from Wasilla High School, like my father before me, my grandma before him, and my great-grandmother over 20 years before Alaska was even a state. With that, I am very happy to continue applying the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’ and ‘Peace Through Understanding’ to my job serving the constituents of District F.”
– Let Your Voice Be Heard –
– Participate in Public Testimony –
Public testimony is available for every bill heard in a committee. Follow bills you have interest in on the Alaska State Legislature Page. To testify, go to your local Legislative Information Office (LIO) which you can find here. If you are unable to testify, written testimony can also be submitted by sending an email to the committee.
Public testimony times on bills
that might interest you:
Find it here!
For budget bills, tax bills, and Permanent Fund bills in the Finance Committees, please arrive 15 minutes early for sign-in process, and please arrive 15 minutes prior to the end of the allotted time or testimony may close early. Public testimony may be limited to two minutes per person, so it’s best to prepare concise comments.
Join Shelley on Facebook Live each week to ask questions and give input.
We typically broadcast Tuesdays at 7pm, but watch for a notification on Facebook as the day/time is subject to change.
Be sure to “like” the “Senator Shelley Hughes” Facebook page www.facebook.com/AKShelleyHughes
so you’ll get a heads-up each time we air!
TIPS TO STAY IN THE LOOP
More important than ever!
TIP #1: The Alaska State Legislature web site is the place to track bills, locate and contact your legislators (session), and access committee information. Questions? Try the help wizard or call 1-800-478-4648.
TIP #2: SMS Bill Tracking! Once you know what bill(s) you want to monitor, here’s a convenient way to track what’s happening. Text any bill number (ex: SB1) to 559-245-2529 to enroll in text alerts for that particular piece of legislation. You’ll receive an enrollment confirmation as well as instructions on how to unsubscribe.
TIP #3: How to Get in Touch with Shelley! Give our office a call at (907)465-3743 or 800-565-3743 in Juneau or (907) 376-3725 or (907) 622-8963 in district or send an email to Sen.Shelley.Hughes@akleg.gov.
Buddy Whitt – Chief of Staff
Buddy.Whitt@akleg.gov
Aimee Bushnell – Legislative Aide during session
Aimee.Bushnell@akleg.gov
Mat-Su Office (closed while in Juneau)
600 E. Railroad Avenue
Wasilla, Alaska 99654
907-376-3725
Chugiak Office (closed while in Juneau)
12641 Old Glenn Hwy, Ste 201
Eagle River, Alaska 99577
907-622-8963
Best regards,
Copyright © 2018 Senator Shelley Hughes. All rights reserved.
