SESSION UPDATE – March 13, 2023
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
In my role, meeting new friends and strengthening relationships is at the center of my work. With St. Patrick’s Day nearly here, I’m reminded of the lovely Irish saying I’m sure will resonate with you like it does me:
☘️“Here’s to good friends—never above you, never below you, always beside you.”☘️
Just like the color green is associated with St. Patrick (despite his color actually being blue); just like the shamrock symbolizes luck (despite St. Patrick used it as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity); and just like our assumption that the patron saint was Irish (despite that he was really British), so goes information coming out of Juneau. It is not always what it seems to be!
But before I get into an example of that, please allow me to make a shameless plug for our new Alaska Senate Minority page.
Brand Spanking New for the 33rd Legislature
Alaska Senate Minority Facebook Page
Still in its infancy at just over 1-month old, our new Alaska Senate Minority Facebook page needs a little TLC from you – it is starving for your attention! Like it. Follow it. Check it for updates. Remember, our caucus is small but mighty – and even though we don’t have a press person like the Senate Majority caucus or the two caucuses in the House, we work to keep you informed. Don’t procrastinate; follow it now! [Alaska Senate Minority FB]
Babies are grateful too
Group of legislators thanks Walgreens for following law
We all know that somethings are not what they seem. That occurred this past week. All we heard in the media as a response from the legislature regarding Walgreen’s decision to not mail abortion pills to Alaska was an outcry in letterform bashing the company and urging the reversal of its decision. What you didn’t hear was… [continue reading online]
New “House State Affairs Subcommittee on House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 88”
The pension bills’ detour: Applauded and criticized
Fiscal conservatives are applauding the assignment of pension bills to a subcommittee while public unions are criticizing the move. I for one think State Affairs Chair Rep. Laddie Shaw did the right thing by creating a subcommittee to study and make recommendations on HB 22 and SB 88. These bills are immensely consequential. The former defined benefit system was about to break the bank back in 2006 when we switched to a defined contribution system to dig the state out of the hole. Yet today, we still owe more in unfunded liabilities on that old system per capita than what any other state owes on their unfunded liabilities. These bills are by no means slam dunk deals, particularly SB 88 which is for all public employees, not just first responders. [read article online]
Who knows what’s best? Parents or the schools?
SB 96, HB 105, SB 43
Many of you have contacted me to let me know you are in adamant opposition to SB 43, a bill that would require comprehensive sexual health education beginning in kindergarten and [continue reading online]
SB 52: Rewrite is not yet truly student-centered or teacher-focused
Double downs on dollars and reporting
The revised Senate Education bill that would raise the base student allocation (BSA) increased spending by almost 4Xs what was in the original bill. A $1000 increase applies to FY24, the amount for FY25 jumps to $1348, and the amount for FY26 grows again to $1348 + inflation. The new version also calls for a dashboard and more data collecting and reporting. What the bill doesn’t do yet is focus on students and teachers, on funds guaranteed to go to student learning and the classroom. It hasn’t yet heeded my urging nor the urging of others to use this opportunity to really and truly improve student learning outcomes as I outlined on the Senate floor in a special order. [read article online]
Putting fiscal house in order may gain traction
Spending cap, PFD, and SB9 should be first not taxes
Discussion among leadership and the governor ensued last week about the need for a fiscal plan (sooner rather than later) after a conversation about what our fiscal situation will look like in just… [continue reading online]
Food Strategy Task Force takes root
Executive Board formed
A new legislative task force is picking up where Governor Dunleavy’s Alaska Food Security and Independence Task Force left off when it expired on February 27, 2023. The Alaska Food Strategies Task Force (AFSTF) was established by HB 298 and signed into law during the 32nd Legislative session. The recently established AFSTF executive board has… [continue reading online]
Two Worth Repeating
1. Enough is enough! Healthcare costs are breaking the bank
Four solutions await your advocacy
No one likes being in last place, but this time, oh how I wish we were. Alaska is number one among the 50 states for what we spend on healthcare. Brace yourself, because it gets worse. Alaska is [continue reading]
2. Why is Lady Justices’ blindfold slipping in Alaska?
And what can we do about it?
This is such an important issue in serious need of repair, I am going to continue to highlight it in my newsletters. If we don’t make some changes, our state will become less and less like the Alaska we’ve known and loved – and more like California. This is not simply an op-ed moaning about the problem but lays out why the problem exists (with data insights you likely haven’t seen) and achievable steps we can take to address it. [read article]
Stay in touch!
And, as always, I look forward to meeting more of you in the following months locally when I’m back in district as well as here in Juneau when any of you come for a visit. My next coffee chat is Saturday, March 25 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm at a brand new location on the western side of District M. Scroll down to the flyer for details.
As I state on my Facebook page and mention in live broadcasts Mondays at 6pm, with the volume of contacts I receive daily (multiple hundreds), my staff and I work hard to read and listen to everything so I can understand what you, our district, and the rest of the state is thinking. If you would like to ensure you receive my feedback on your issue and ideas, please call my office (907) 465-3743 to set up a phone call with me or come by one of my coffee chats.
My responsibility to you is front and center, whether I am on the Senate floor, drafting policy, in a meeting, out and about in our community, or communicating with you. I strive to be available to hear what concerns you most. I am on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at AKShelleyHughes. You can also email me at Sen.Shelley.Hughes@akleg.com or call my office (907) 465-3743 to get in touch.
Keep scrolling, my friends!
Don’t miss the quotes by Alaskans giving me input—always insightful and varied. Lots of great info and photos of friends and neighbors await you below. Be sure to click on “view entire message” at the bottom, so you don’t miss out on what may be relevant to you
Working on your behalf,
Our ALASKA SENATE MINORITY FACEBOOK is live!
Check out our priorities, proposed solutions, viewpoints, video clips, press releases and more by clicking the image above.
Your “one-stop shop”!
Bookmark the site and check for updates as they happen!
Ryan Ponder, VP Legal and Michael Burke, CEO of MTA came and talked with the Senator about projects bringing broadband services to all of Alaska.
Delegates from the Alaska Trucking Association met with Sen. Hughes to discuss several issues facing the industry and its drivers within Alaska. From left: Joe Michel of Alaska Trucking Association, Josh Norum from Sourdough Express, Phil Whitlatch from Crowley Fuels, and Kristal Fiser of UPS.
The Senator met with Ella Ede, Executive Director of Alaska Resource Education and Judy Patrick (a constituent and professional photographer) about ways to capture kids’ interest in Alaska natural resources industry careers.
“Transphobic? How is protecting women from unfair disadvantages in sports transphobic? … Maybe you are femiphobic – the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against females. Quit unjustly discriminat[ing] against me and my sisterhood.”
“Can our schools Focus on Reading Math Science and Writing..my goodness We are failed in most of these subjects. If we are going to add to what we teach mabe [sic] we should teach hunting again.”
“There is a long game here that is being ignored in favor of short-term gains.
We will need these minerals long into the future.
The resources are finite.
The cost will rise as they become more difficult to obtain.
The better plan is to buy from foreign countries at the current low prices. Then tap our own resources when the prices increase.
The first one to run out of a critical element loses.”
“When a politician is speaking there’s always some underlying catch.”
“Please resist the globalist CO2 scam that will lock up even more of Alaska’s lands.”
“I support the approach led by Convention of States, of calling an Article V Convention to propose only amendments that would impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit its power and jurisdiction, and impose term limits on its officials.”
“Thanks for listening to our desperate cries for help when almost no one else does or did.”
“Senator Shelley Hughes is a pro-women-only sexist bigot.”
“It’s kind of scary. Just heard about a sex trafficking bill and now they want to pass a bill that will get kids interested in sex in elementary school? Terrible. Look what’s happening in California with prostitution. We don’t want to be a state like that. What kind of person thinks let’s move to California with my daughters after the changes they’ve made. Horrible.”
“Lol my friend Kati said that you’re super cool and I should just call.”
“[B]etter not say what I want to or I’ll be in FB jail again. [G]ood night.”
An issue currently rising to the top in Juneau.
SB 88:
We Better Read the Warning Label
Senator Cathy Giessel, the sponsor of SB 88, and nine co-sponsors from the Senate Majority are touting the bill to reinstate pensions for public employees (rather than the current 401K type retirement system adopted in 2006) as a cure for recruitment and retention challenges.
Although the bill might help ease the workforce issue, it won’t be the cure to the extent they hope – but the harmful side effects are what are troubling. Unfunded state pension liabilities are growing rapidly across the US. One study estimates the total is now $8.28 trillion or just under $25,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States. This analysis uses a risk-free fixed rate of 4.5% to account for constitutional/legal obligations…Continue Reading Online
Senator Hughes provided invited testimony at Chair Carpenter’s request this past week to the House Ways and Means Committee on bills and joint resolutions aimed at resolving the handling of the Permanent Fund Dividend.
Senator Hughes is the only legislator who served on both the Bicameral Permanent Fund Working Group in 2019-2020 and the Fiscal Policy Working Group in 2021. She provided her historical perspective as well as findings from her work as part of the two groups.
The first working group only concluded that the Permanent Fund draw should be protected. The second working group offered a more comprehensive approach including settling the PFD and fixing the spending cap in the constitution and closing any remaining gap with a mix of reductions and revenue. A 50/50 split of the POMV draw was agreed upon as the PFD solution in the proposal.
Following the August 2021 release of the second working group’s report, more than 3/4 of the legislature was interested in the proposal moving forward. Key chairs, however, of committees of jurisdiction were not even interested in hearing the proposal or moving any of the components forward.
The working groups were comprised of members from across the political spectrum, from both the House and the Senate, and from all four caucuses.
Paul Nelson, a concerned citizen from Haines, stopped in to speak with Senator Hughes about some of the judicial branch issues regarding grand juries that legislators have been hearing about via emails. A number of Alaskans are planning a sit-in on March 15 at several courthouses in the state.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO WEIGH IN THIS WEEK
Public Testimony
🎙️
Below is list of bills scheduled to be heard in various committees this week. If you’d like to provide public testimony, enter the bill number (for example “HB 22”) into the search bar here to learn the date and time. Scroll down toward the bottom of this newsletter or view the highlighted bill images to find the public testimony call-in phone numbers.
The following “News from Hughes Alerts” are highlighted bills for this week.
🖱️ Click on the image to view the referenced bill.
Click here to see all public testimony opportunities
occurring within the next seven days.
Click on the bill number to see all the information on that bill.
SB 77 MUNICIPAL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION/TAX BLIGHTED PROPERTY
SPONSOR: Senator Dunbar
heard by Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee
March 16th, 1:30pm
SB 98 POWER COST EQUALIZATION ENDOWMENT FUND (AK Permanent Fund Corporation)
SPONSOR: Senate Finance
heard by Senate Finance Committee
March 14th, 9:00am
HJR 5 ALASKA FISHERIES: TROLL FISHERIES
SPONSOR: Representative Himschoot
heard by Senate Resources Committee
March 13th, 3:30pm
SB 46 BRAIN INJURY AWARENESS MONTH
SPONSOR: Senator Tobin
SB 21 STRATEGIC PLANS FOR STATE AGENCIES
SPONSOR: Senator Kaufman
heard by Senate State Affairs Committee
March 14th, 3:30pm
HB 17 CONTRACEPTIVES COVERAGE: INSURANCE & MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
SPONSOR: Representative Carrick
HB 78 COMMUNITY HEALTH AIDE APPRECIATION DAY
SPONSOR: Representative McCormick
heard by House Community & Regional Affairs Committee
March 16th, 8:00am
HB 58 ADULT HOME CARE: MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
SPONSOR: Governor Dunleavy
heard by House Labor & Commerce Committee
March 13th, 3:15pm
HJR 4 HONORING THE ALASKA-KOREA RELATIONSHIP
SPONSOR: Representative Mina
HB 53 STATE IDENTIFICATION CARD FOR PRISONERS
SPONSOR: Representative Gray
HB 15 PEER SUPPORT COUNSELING PROGRAM
SPONSOR: Representative Josephson
heard by House State Affairs Committee
March 16th, 3:00pm
HB 92 FISHERMEN’S FUND: VESSEL OWNER CLAIMS
SPONSOR: Fisheries Committee
heard by House Fisheries Committee
March 14th, 10:00am
HB 26 COUNCIL FOR ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGES
SPONSOR: Representative Story
heard by House Tribal Affairs Committee
March 13th, 3:00pm
🔎Hearings That May Interest You
- SB 88 RETIREMENT SYSTEMS: DEFINED BENEFIT OPTION
heard by House Labor & Commerce Committee
March 13th & 15th, 1:30pm - SB 49 CARBON STORAGE
heard by Senate Resources Committee
March 13th, 3:30pm. - HB 78 OBSERVE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ALL YEAR
heard by House Community & Regional Affairs Committee
March 14th, 8:00am. - HB 106 TEACHER RECRUITMENT: LUMP SUM PAYMENT
HB 105 SEX/REPRODUCTION EDUCATION: SCHOOLS
HB 21 SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE
heard by House Education Committee
March 13th, 8:00am. - HB 62 RENEWABLE ENERGY GRANT FUND
heard by House Finance Committee
March 15th, 1:30pm. - HB 43 CONVERSION THERAPY PROHIBITIONS
heard by House Health & Social Services Committee
March 16th, 3:00pm. - HB 49 CARBON OFFSET PROGRAM ON STATE LAND
heard by House Labor & Commerce Committee
March 13th & 17th, 1:00pm. - HJR 3 CONCEALED HANDGUN RECIPROCITY BETWEEN STATES
heard by House State Affairs Committee
March 14th, 3:00pm. - HB 25 PFD ELIGIBILITY: UNIFORMED SERVICES
heard by House Military & Veteran Affairs Committee
March 14th & 16th, 1:00pm.
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 8:00am
HOUSE COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Consideration of Governor’s Appointees:
Regulatory Commission of Alaska: Robert Doyle
TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 3:30pm
SENATE HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
Consideration of Governor’s Appointees:
Commissioner-Designee for Dept. of Family and Community Services: Kim Kovol
We have a venue! Be sure to share this event with your friends and colleagues. I look forward to meeting with you then!
Senate Assignments:
- Special Committee on World Trade
- Victims’ Advocate Selection Committee
- Food and Farm Caucus, Co-Chair
- Law Finance Subcommittee
Other Appointments and Assignments:
- Alaska Food Security and Independence Task Force (Est. by Gov. Dunleavy, expires Feb. 27, 2023)
- Alaska Food Strategy Task Force (Est. by legislature, launched Feb 16, 2023)
- State Agricultural and Rural Leaders, National Board Member
- Article V Phoenix Correspondence Commission, National Commissioner
- NCSL Cybersecurity Task
- CSG-West Canada Relations
- CSG Interbranch Committee
| HOT TIP OF THE WEEK!
Did you know? In addition to contacting legislators about specific bills, testimonies can also be delivered in writing by e‑mailing the hearing committee currently attached to the bill. To find the committee’s email address, click on the committee name within the Committee List. The e-mail will be shown on that page under the title. |
For information on bills I’m co‑sponsoring
click here.
For information on all bills filed during this session,
click here.
Bills I’ve Filed on Your Behalf
Health Insurance Info; Incentives/Agreements
Alaska Sunset Commission
Constitutional Amendment: Abortion/Funding
Keep up with updates, notices, news, and photos throughout the week and live broadcasts every Monday evening at 6pm.
Join Shelley on Facebook Live each week to ask questions and give input.
We typically broadcast Mondays at 6:00 pm, 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!
WATCH OUR MOST RECENT BROADCAST BELOW
& THEN JOIN US LIVE TONIGHT AT 6PM!
MORE TIPS TO STAY IN THE LOOP✏️
More important than ever!
#1
Alaska State Legislature web site is the place to track bills, locate and contact your legislators, and access committee information. Questions? Try the help wizard or call 1-800-478-4648.
#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.
#3
How to Get in Touch with Shelley! Give our office a call at 907-465-3743 or 800-565-3743 or send an email to Sen.Shelley.Hughes@akleg.gov. If you need assistance, want a response, or need other follow-up, please call rather than email.
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Gaby Gonzalez Staff Intern Gaby.Gonzalez@akleg.gov 907-465-3743 |
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Stephen Knouse Legislative Aide Stephen.Knouse@akleg.gov 907-465-1172 |
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Anneliese Roberts Chief of Staff Anneliese.Roberts@akleg.gov 907-465-5025 |
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| Juneau Office Alaska State Capitol Rm 7 Juneau, Alaska 99801 907-465-3743 800-565-3743 |
Mat-Su Office (closed while in Juneau) 600 E. Railroad Avenue Wasilla, Alaska 99654 907-376-3725 |
HAVE A FEDERAL ISSUE???
Contact Alaska’s US Senators and Congressman
| Lisa Murkowski – Senator Anchorage: 907-271-3735 Mat-Su: 907-376-7665 |
Dan Sullivan – Senator Anchorage: 907-271-5915 Mat-Su: 907-357-9956 |
| Mary Peltola – Representative Anchorage: 907-921-6675 |
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