Sorted by date Results 401 - 410 of 410
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska state Sen. Mike Dunleavy plans to resign his seat to focus on running for governor. In a statement released Monday, the Wasilla Republican said the best way for him to advocate for his constituents’ values is to devote his full time and attention to ensuring that a new governor is elected this year. A Dunleavy campaign spokeswoman, Amanda Price, said the resignation will be effective Jan. 15 — the day before the new legislative session begins. State Republican party Chairman Tuckerman Babcock said he expects local...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Gov. Bill Walker said Friday that he will probably run for re-election. But he currently has more pressing issues on his mind including crafting a tax bill that he hopes will garner support from lawmakers. In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Walker said it’s imperative that revenue issues be addressed this year. He expects to unveil a tax proposal for consideration sometime this year, but he could not provide a timeline for doing so or details on what the bill might include. He did say it would not be...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Legislature, motivated by the threat of a government shutdown, approved a plan late Thursday to fund state operations for another year. The proposal, advanced by budget negotiators and passed by the House and Senate, would continue to draw from savings to help fill the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit, something Gov. Bill Walker had hoped to avoid. It also would fully fund K-12 education, provide $57 million for oil and gas tax credits and limit to $1,100 the size of this year’s dividend check Alaskans recei...
Entering its third full week of the session, Alaska’s Legislature continues to look at a variety of spending cuts and revenue options. On February 2, the Senate Finance Committee heard SB 21, a proposal of Sen. Bert Stedman to restructure how Permanent Fund earnings are appropriated. Currently the $56B in the fund are constitutionally protected, but the bill proposes further limiting the amount of money that can be withdrawn from the principal to 4.5 percent of market value, based on a rolling five-year average. That rate falls within the f...
JUNEAU (AP) – Legislators on opposite ends of the political spectrum are supporting an Alaska Senate bill to restore the portion of Alaskans’ oil wealth checks cut by Gov. Bill Walker last year. Walker vetoed about half the amount available for checks after legislative sessions that focused on the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit ended in gridlock. Senators who want the rest of the checks restored disagree with Walker’s veto but they also have different ideas on what a fiscal plan should include. Signing on as co-sponsors to Republi...
JUNEAU (AP) – Alaska legislators agree on the need to address the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit. But rifts remain over how best to do that, with divisions forming over taxes, how much to keep cutting spending and whether the state needs to tinker with Alaskans’ beloved yearly oil wealth checks. A new 90-day legislative session begins Tuesday, with many lawmakers citing a sense of urgency amid the continued drawdown of state savings. Last year’s regular and special sessions were snarled by gridlock ahead of a heated electio...
WRANGELL – Alaska’s 30th Legislature convened for its new session on Tuesday, with the state’s finances presenting a daunting challenge for the next 90 days. The spending deficit is projected at around $3.1 billion this year if the budget is left as-is. Agency spending has come to just over 13-percent since FY15, and the budget as a whole has taken a 29-percent cut when capital projects and other funding is considered. Revenue has failed to cover operating expenses since FY13, but has covered an ever-dwindling proportion since. This year the $...
JUNEAU (AP) – Bills that would restore the portion of Alaskans’ oil wealth checks that were cut by Gov. Bill Walker last year were filed Monday, ahead of the start of the new legislative session. The legislation to restore dividends was proposed by Republican Sen. Mike Dunleavy of Wasilla and incoming Republican Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla. Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski of Anchorage revived a proposal he has pushed previously with little success which he said would enshrine the current dividend formula in the state Constitution. The Ala...
JUNEAU – A state court judge ruled Thursday that Gov. Bill Walker had the authority to reduce this year’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, siding with the state in the politically charged case. Superior Court Judge William Morse’s decision followed arguments presented by both sides in Anchorage on Thursday morning. Morse said he expected the issue ultimately to be decided by the Alaska Supreme Court. State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said he planned to appeal. The lawsuit, brought by the Anchorage Democrat and tw...
Volunteers are needed to help craft new safety rules that are being written for older boats – which includes the bulk of Alaska’s fishing vessels. Called the Alternate Compliance Safety Program (ACSP), it is part of the 2010 US Coast Guard Authorization Act and is aimed atvessels that will be 25 years old by 2020, are greater than 50 feet in length, and operate beyond three nautical miles. The program will include most of Alaska’s fishing fleet — a 2014 maritime study by the Juneau-based McDowell Group shows that the majority of Alaska...
