There is little to no chance the legislature will accede to Governor Dunleavy’s request for a special session at a middle school in Wasilla (though the idea is fun). This administration is no friend to the Legislative majorities right now and appears to have an instinct for bullying. I bet if they go, they go to gavel in and gavel …
Leg With Louie: Summer Homework
Friends, I know it is sad to think about, but someday the fanfare will fade, the bloggers and pundits and lobbyists will move on to other questionable endeavors, and the special session will conclude. Our lawmakers will voyage in the annual diaspora to their home districts where they will convert to members of the community again, and be welcomed back …
Leg With Louie: The Awesome Power of the Dividend
Without an income tax and/or a change in oil taxes we cannot have an adequately funded state government and a full statutory PFD at the same time, at least I think we cannot. Please correct me if I am wrong. My kids heard about 3K Dividends and went spinning around the yard like Sufis with visions of new phones, video …
Leg With Louie: Alaska legislature and 415 parts per million
The Earth’s atmosphere is reported, as of May 12, 2019, to contain 415 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, primarily from human activities. 415 ppm is a number unknown to humans. The news that humanity is killing itself off by way of petroleum use is not new news; hitting 415 ppm is an ominous benchmark and it …
Leg With Louie: A process you never knew you had, and you are about to lose
In 2006 the very unpopular administration of Governor Frank Murkowski approved a regulation allowing the dumping of water pollution into salmon spawning and rearing areas. This regulation was an extreme change to the rules protecting our salmon. Before it went into effect statewide, a review and certification by the Environmental Protection Agency were required. This regulation was so incredibly offensive to everyone besides …
Leg with Louie: Confirmed!
The Dunleavy Cabinet is in place now. Given the political makeup of the legislature, there was never a great deal of doubt that department heads would be confirmed, though DEC Commissioner Jason Brune was lobbying legislators with some persistence in the days before the vote. Brune wears the albatross of the Pebble Mine around his neck, as a former …
PRESS RELEASE: The Alaska Center Stands With Thousands of Alaskans in Opposition to Brune Appointment
Alaskans hold up Brune’s Pebble past as another example of compromised leadership and Pebble’s influence on Alaska’s future. TODAY – Legislators voted to confirm Jason Brune as Commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Those legislators ignored the voice of Alaskans by voting to confirm a former Pebble Limited Partnership spokesperson. The Alaska Center applauds the 24 legislators voting …
Leg with Louie: Predicting Success!
Here’s a prediction: before too long, someone out in our great state who is tired of this self-imposed budget calamity will file a citizen’s initiative to change the oil tax structure. The oil industry will charge this Alaskan citizen with playing unfairly – pulling the rug out from under them, not being a good partner, creating an unstable investment …
Leg with Louie: The Illusion of a process
Senate Bill 51 (SB 51) creates the illusion of a process for citizens to nominate waters in Alaska for special protection. It is a response to the mandate under the Federal Clean Water Act that all states must provide a way for citizens to nominate high-value waters (Tier III waters) for protection in each state. Because it was written with …