The Governor’s State of The State Address is next week (7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25). It is sure to contain grievances about the Federal Government, excitement about mineral resource development projects in Alaska, and a dash of “Election Integrity” talk. It will maybe/probably contain a few lines about renewable energy, fisheries, Alaska’s strategic economic and military location, and “greatest …
A Look to What is Looming: Legislative Update
What looms ahead for our legislative session Our team shares hot takes from a cold place around policy, process, shenanigans, and how Alaskans can build a sustainable future, TOGETHER.
New Year, New Session 2022
Happy New Year and new Legislative Session from The Alaska Center. We anticipate both opportunity and struggle in the year ahead, another year in the lifetime work of protecting and nurturing our Democracy and saving our home from the ravages of climate change. The 2022 legislative session will likely be consumed with election-year grandstanding antics. We already see some of …
STATEMENT: A Strong Democracy Requires Safety and Civility
The Alaska Center stands in solidarity with those calling for respect and safety to return to our chambers of democracy. We urge Mayor Bronson and other government leaders to call for civil behavior regardless of political beliefs, and to condemn those that will not follow the rules of order.
Leg With Louie: Summer Homework 2021
This letter will be shorter than usual. I am busy getting intimate with the boat engine and hydraulic system, with typical pre-season nerves and an ear for rumors of the impending Salmon run. The news here comes in snippets and is often less real and immediate than the rust frozen bolt that stands between me and a functioning boat (there …
Leg With Louie: Who Benefits? – May 21
Conference committees established under Legislative Uniform Rule 42 are as natural to the legislative process as cottonwood buds are to spring. The state’s operating budget always goes to the conference committee, marking the closure of the regular session. These six-member (three-House, three-Senate) committees settle disagreements between bodies on big-ticket bills. The members seated on the committee generally are not there …
Leg With Louie: “to hell with politics, just do what’s right for Alaska” – May 7
There are two resolutions under consideration in the legislature as the House and Senate wend their way toward what will be a messy and confused terminus of the regular session. The likely special session will focus on the Permanent Fund Dividend and federal American Rescue Plan funds. The resolutions are SJR 13 and HJR 19. Both are designed to clarify …
Leg With Louie: Another DNR Power Grab – April 30
Did you know that under HB 82, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would be able to authorize lateral drilling and fracking for oil and gas development beneath all of the areas that the state legislature has specifically set aside for special protection? This includes State Game Sanctuaries, State Game Refuges, State Parks, and State Critical Habitat Areas. Lateral drilling …
Leg With Louie: Building Alaska Better – April 2
After the intellectual, moral, racial, political, and physical trauma of 2020, this year is starting to look OK, like a new day and not a false dawn. The monumental federal investments proposed by the Biden-Harris Administration in Pittsburgh on Wednesday are smart and just and envision a modern America we might be OK sending our kids off into. The Thrive …
Leg With Louie: Another Plea from Alaska – March 26
HJR 12 passed its final committee hurdle in the legislature this week and will head to the Senate floor next. HJR 12 is essentially a very long and rather pitiful letter from Alaska to Washington D.C. which bears no legal weight yet has a stunningly long title: Urging the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to …