Articles written by james brooks


Sorted by date  Results 51 - 75 of 84

Page Up

  • House-passed bill would trim the time needed for Alaska loggers to cut state-owned forests

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Apr 27, 2023

    A bill advancing in the Alaska Legislature would dramatically shorten the time needed to approve the logging of some state-owned lands, shrinking approval time from years to days in the most extreme cases. Proponents say the bill will alleviate fire danger and revitalize the state’s dwindling logging industry by expanding the amount of timber that can be sold from public land, but legislative and public critics have noted that the bill’s lack of specificity gives the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources almost unlimited dis... Full story

  • Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy weighs a statewide sales tax amid broader push for fiscal plan

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Apr 20, 2023

    In a pair of closed-door meetings with members of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he is prepared to introduce a statewide sales tax as part of a long-term budget plan for the state. In his first term, the governor said he would not approve new taxes without a statewide vote — he didn’t include that caveat Tuesday. Legislators said the governor also did not immediately dismiss an income tax as he has in the past, but a spokesman for the governor denied that the governor would support one. “He said that every... Full story

  • House approves $6.4 billion proposal would cover state services for 12 months starting July 1 and includes a $2,700 PFD

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Apr 20, 2023

    The Alaska House of Representatives on Monday approved a $6.4 billion state operating budget for the 12 months that begin July 1, passing by a 23-17 vote a major hurdle needed for final acceptance of the state’s annual operating plan. “This bill is far from perfect … but it is a good-faith, collaborative effort, with strong input from the governor,” said Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer and co-chair of the House Finance Committee. The proposal passed by the House now goes to the Senate, which is preparing an alternative proposal whose first d... Full story

  • Alaska House votes for temporary boost to public school funding

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Apr 6, 2023

    The Alaska House of Representatives voted Monday to increase the amount of money the state pays K-12 schools per student in the 2023-2024 school year. The vote came as legislators opened floor debate on the state’s operating budget for the 12 months that begin July 1. That debate is expected to continue Tuesday. In addition to boosting school funding, the House on Monday voted to restore funding for a proposal that would have the state take over a federal program that regulates construction permits in wetland areas, and it confirmed House l... Full story

  • State sales tax, envisioned as part of long-term plan, gets first hearing in Alaska Capitol

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Apr 6, 2023

    A 2% statewide sales tax proposed by Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, received its first legislative hearing last Wednesday night, with its sponsor saying he envisions it as a component of a long-term plan to bring state spending and revenue into balance. Other components of that plan, including a tougher state spending cap and a new formula for the Permanent Fund dividend, are also under discussion in the House Ways and Means Committee, which heard Carpenter’s bill. “I don’t take this lightly, of instituting or bringing forward a bill that would... Full story

  • Fast-track budget bill, intended to help food-stamp program, speeds through Alaska Legislature

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Mar 30, 2023

    The Alaska Legislature has passed a fast-track budget bill intended to immediately address problems with the state’s food-aid program for poor Alaskans and other immediate concerns. House Bill 79, proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, is intended to address the food-aid problem. It transfers $3.1 million from the state’s Medicaid program to the Division of Public Assistance, which oversees the program. It also allows the division to use $3.7 million in additional federal funding available for food aid. The Alaska Senate voted 20-0 on Monday to app... Full story

  • K-12 funding increase takes first step forward in Alaska House

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Mar 23, 2023

    The Alaska House Education Committee voted 5-2 Wednesday morning to raise the amount Alaska pays K-12 schools per student, a figure known as the base student allocation. The decision followed five hours of public testimony — almost entirely in favor of the idea — Tuesday night in the Capitol. Advocates for public schools say an increase is needed to compensate for inflation-driven increases in the cost to educate Alaska students. Two members of the House’s predominantly Republican coalition majority voted in favor of the increase, a sign that... Full story

  • Testifiers support new Alaska housing anti-discrimination bill, sharing personal stories

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Mar 23, 2023

    Dozens of Alaskans testified in the state Capitol on Monday, urging lawmakers to advance a new anti-discrimination measure that would protect Alaskans from being denied housing or access to public accommodations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. House Bill 99, from Rep. Jennifer Armstrong, D-Anchorage, is being considered by the House Labor and Commerce Committee, which heard two hours of public testimony, almost entirely in support of the idea. Members of the committee have received more than 1,000 emails... Full story

  • New anti-discrimination bill proposes housing protections for more Alaskans

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Mar 16, 2023

    Anchorage Democratic Rep. Jennie Armstrong, one of three newly elected LGBTQ members of the Alaska Legislature, has introduced a new proposal to ban housing discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation. House Bill 99 was scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in the House Labor and Commerce Committee. The bill’s introduction on Wednesday came days after the Anchorage Daily News published an article noting that the state of Alaska had dropped a policy that banned most forms of discrimination against LGBTQ people here. Armstrong said this week t... Full story

  • Alaska legislators worry that killer whales and a federal judge may doom a key fishery

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Mar 9, 2023

    The Alaska House of Representatives voted 35-1 on Wednesday to approve a letter urging state and federal officials to fight a lawsuit that could shut down a major king salmon fishery in Southeast Alaska. “This fishery has come under attack,” said Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, and the sponsor of the letter, House Joint Resolution 5, which now goes to the Senate. The resolution has broad bipartisan support in the Alaska Legislature, where lawmakers view the issue as one about an outside group attacking Alaskans’ way of life. “This resolut... Full story

  • Alaska sends food aid to Ukraine, but state declines to act on investments

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Feb 23, 2023

    More than 90,000 pounds of canned Alaska pink salmon purchased and donated by the state of Alaska is being distributed as wartime relief in Ukraine. The cans were donated to the nonprofit World Central Kitchen and arrived in Ukraine this month after months of shipping and customs delays. They are the state's biggest contribution to Ukraine's defense against a Russian invasion that's now almost a year old. Though Alaska borders one of the combatants, the war has remained a back-burner issue in...

  • Report shows Alaska has almost eliminated its backlog of untested sexual assault evidence

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Feb 2, 2023

    Alaska’s backlog of untested sexual assault examination kits has all but disappeared after a five-year, multimillion-dollar effort, according to a report presented to the Alaska Legislature. The kits, colloquially known as “rape kits,” are used to collect physical evidence after a sexual assault. Figures published by the Alaska Department of Public Safety and dated Nov. 1 show only 75 untested kits, all at the state crime lab. In 2017, a statewide survey found almost 3,500 untested kits across the state, many held by local police depar... Full story

  • USDA will restore the 'roadless rule' in the Tongass

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Jan 26, 2023

    The Biden administration will ban new logging roads and most development in much of Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. The decision, which repeals a 2020 USDA action under the Trump administration, continues a quarter-century of action and counter-action over development in the region, which contains the world’s largest temperate coastal rainforest and is home to more than 72,000 people. “As our nation’s largest national forest and the largest intact temperate rainforest in the... Full story

  • University of Alaska will gain land under new federal budget law

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Jan 5, 2023

    An obscure clause in the just-passed $1.7 trillion federal omnibus budget law has awarded the University of Alaska a plot of land half the size of the state of Rhode Island. The clause begins on page 2,819 of the 4,126-page law and calls for the university to receive 360,000 acres of federal land within the next four years, fulfilling the amount owed to it because of its status as a land-grant school. The university earns between $7 million and $8 million per year in revenue from 151,000 acres it already owns, and development of the new land is... Full story

  • After legislative vote, federal aid to Alaska seafood processors is again delayed

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Dec 22, 2022

    A joint House-Senate committee of the Alaska Legislature voted against accepting $20 million in federal aid to seafood processors, with lawmakers saying that a new state law prevents them from accepting that much money outside the normal state budget process. The 3-4 vote came Wednesday during a meeting of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, which makes financial decisions on behalf of the Legislature when lawmakers are not in session. The failed vote means seafood processing companies in Alaska will wait several more months to receive... Full story

  • Ahead of first-draft state budget, oil prices are driving a tighter Alaska fiscal picture

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Dec 15, 2022

    The lowest crude oil prices of the year are coming at a bad time for Alaska. This week, as required by state law, Gov. Mike Dunleavy will unveil his first budget plan of his second term. Accompanying that plan will be a significantly smaller state revenue forecast. This spring, the Legislature passed — and Dunleavy signed — a budget that anticipated $8.3 billion in general-purpose revenue. With Dunleavy preparing to release his first draft for the budget for the 12 months starting in July 2023, preliminary indications are that the state wil... Full story

  • Murkowski, Peltola and Dunleavy projected to win

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Nov 24, 2022

    All three incumbents likely clinched final victory in Alaska's statewide elections Friday, as the Alaska Division of Elections updated results with thousands of additional absentee, questioned and early ballots from this fall's general election. Final unofficial results will not be available until 4 p.m. Wednesday, November 23, when the division implements the state's new ranked choice sorting system, but voting trends have made the results clear in most races. With 264,994 votes counted,... Full story

  • With more votes counted, Alaska House races are split 20-20 between Republicans and others

    James Brooks|Nov 17, 2022

    Democratic candidate Donna Mears overtook Republican candidate Forrest Wolfe in a closely watched Alaska House race as the Alaska Division of Elections counted 27,178 early, absentee and questioned ballots, about three-fifths of the number outstanding from the Nov. 8 general election. Additional absentee ballots are expected to arrive in the coming days, and the Division of Elections’ next scheduled count is Friday. With Mears taking a lead, the 40-seat Alaska House is split exactly in half. In 20 seats, Republicans lead. In the other 20, D...

  • Years of flat state funding create budget stress for schools across Alaska

    James Brooks and Lisa Phu, Alaska Beacon|Nov 10, 2022

    The Anchorage School District, which is considering the closure of six elementary schools amid a projected $68 million budget shortfall, isn’t the only district facing a major fiscal problem. At the end of the last school year, Fairbanks closed three schools. In Juneau, the school board is considering whether to fire specialists intended to help students recover reading skills lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. In rural Alaska, districts are trying to balance their books while dealing with high transportation and heating costs. Local and s... Full story

  • Dunleavy, Peltola seek federal relief after failure of Alaska crab fisheries

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Nov 10, 2022

    Gov. Mike Dunleavy has requested a federal disaster declaration and U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola has requested $250 million in relief funding after the failure of this year’s Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fisheries. Peltola asked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the chair of the House Appropriations Committee to include relief funding for crab fishermen and the crabbing industry in Congress’ year-end appropriation bill. Disaster relief funding could be available if Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo declares a fis... Full story

  • Alaska absentee ballots should have two stamps, but one is OK, officials say

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Oct 20, 2022

    This year’s Alaska general election absentee ballot is a hefty document, weighing in between 1.1 and 1.2 ounces. If it were an ordinary letter, that’s weighty enough to need two stamps. But if voters forget, officials at the Alaska Division of Elections and the U.S. Postal Service say this year’s absentee ballots will still be carried — and counted — with just one stamp. “If a return ballot is nevertheless entered into the mailstream with insufficient or unpaid postage, it is the Postal Service’s policy not to delay the delivery of completed... Full story

  • To boost local lumber, Alaska plans to alter quality-testing requirement

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon writer|Sep 29, 2022

    The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is preparing a new program that would allow Alaska sawmills to sell lumber for local construction without having that wood graded for quality by an Outside inspector. The program was announced Tuesday at Southeast Conference, a gathering of Southeast Alaska political and business leaders, by Alaska State Forester Helge Eng. Eng said the program, which may take two years to implement, would encourage the growth of Alaska’s lumber industry by making it easier to use locally produced lumber. Many r... Full story

  • Five takeaway lessons from Alaska's first ranked choice election

    James Brooks|Sep 8, 2022

    The Alaska Division of Elections on Friday certified the state’s Aug. 16 special general election for U.S. House, confirming Democrat Mary Peltola as the winner. Peltola will be sworn in as Alaska’s lone U.S. representative later this month after defeating Republican candidates Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III. Though elections officials are still compiling statistics from the vote, political advisers, pollers and independent observers say there are five early lessons from Alaska’s first ranked choice election: Ranked choice voting mostly worke...

  • Peltola wins U.S. House race

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon writer|Sep 1, 2022

    Democrat Mary Peltola will become Alaska’s first congresswoman and the first Alaska Native in the U.S. House of Representatives. Peltola defeated Republican candidates Sarah Palin and Nick Begich in ranked-choice voting results announced Wednesday. All three candidates were vying to serve the last four months of the term left unfinished when Congressman Don Young died in March. A special primary election in June narrowed a field of 48 candidates to four, and the withdrawal of nonpartisan c... Full story

  • Permanent Fund lost money for first time since 2012

    James Brooks, Alaska Beacon|Aug 18, 2022

    For the first time in a decade, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., source of more than half of Alaska’s general-purpose state revenue, posted negative investment returns for an entire fiscal year. As of June 30, the last day of the just-ended fiscal year 2022, the fund reported having earned minus-1.32% over the preceding 12 months. The decline will not have an immediate effect on state finances, but continued losses over multiple years would reduce the amount of money available each year for state services and the Permanent Fund dividend. B... Full story

Page Down