Foster Report

By Rep. Neal Foster Greetings to folks in House District 39. I hope everyone is well, and I look forward to visiting all of you soon now that our communities are being vaccinated.

The House of Representatives recently formed a bipartisan majority coalition. The good news is that our district is in that majority, and for the third time I was chosen to chair the House Finance Committee to write the state’s budget. Our district has held the gavel for the past four years and we will continue to hold it for another two. Since we became a state in 1959 western Alaska has only held a finance chairmanship one other time. So, the rarity of this occurrence is not lost on me in terms of maximizing the time to defend rural Alaska’s interests.

The bad news is that our majority coalition contains a bare minimum 21 members in the 40 member House. This means that our group must be in 100 percent agreement to get the budget or any legislation passed. In addition, we have fewer options available to fix the deficit. The pressure for more cuts means we are in defensive mode. We have the challenge of passing the budget during a global pandemic, but we are up to the challenge. Last year we were able to pass the budget out of the House in a record 37 days and our coalition has a strong working relationship with many common goals.

Operating budget

The Governor introduced a fairly flat operating budget. Revenue is about $4.3 billion and operating expenditures (excluding the PFD) are about $4.3 billion. Many folks on both sides of the aisle feel that it’s a reasonable budget with numerous compromises. However, after the Governor’s PFD proposal is included, the bottom line becomes a $3.2 billion deficit. The only way to fill the hole is to raise additional revenue, eliminate 75 percent of state services or continue to use savings.

The Governor has said he does not support additional taxes and therefore would likely veto any new tax measure. It’s not feasible to cut 75 percent of our teachers, troopers and road maintenance money. That leaves the likelihood of tapping into our savings as a real possibility. Whatever happens it must get the support of the House, Senate, and Governor. As the saying goes: “We’re threading a very fine needle.”

In terms of specific budget items, I am keeping an eye on a variety of things important to rural Alaska. These include village safe water & sewer, education, village public safety officers, senior benefits, rural power system upgrades, bulk fuel upgrades, weatherization and community assistance.

Permanent Fund Dividend

The Governor introduced one bill that would pay a $2,000 PFD this spring and another bill that would pay $3,000 this fall. I will be voting in support of both bills. This money will not only help families pay for heating fuel and food, but it will also help to support our local economies. The permanent fund was created to be a “rainy day fund”, and there is no better time than now to tap into it.

Power Cost Equalization (PCE)

PCE is rural Alaska’s energy assistance program. It reduces the cost of electricity by $1,000 to $2,000 per year for most of our rural households. Each year the program comes under attack from urban legislators and last year there was the real possibility that the program would not be funded. I introduced House Bill 56 to make the payments automatic instead of having to be appropriated by the legislature. This is similar to the way community assistance payments are made.

Legislation

House Bill 76 gives the Governor the power to require testing for COVID-19 at the Anchorage airport for people coming from out of state, receive federal food assistance funds and allow for pop-up vaccination clinics. In an interesting twist, the Governor does not want many of the powers that the bill affords. The thinking is that he does not want to be blamed for any COVID-related restrictions. There also seems to be some misconception that the bill mandates masks and vaccinations, and that is simply not true. I support the bill and I voted for an amendment to allow schools to carry over funds from one fiscal year to the next to help deal with the impacts of the pandemic.

A gasoline tax bill to double taxes from 8 cents to 16 cents is making its way through the House. The rate has not changed since 1970. While it is one of the lowest rates in the nation, I think the timing is bad with economies and businesses struggling to get through the pandemic.

House Bill 5 relates to sexual assault. It gives more definition to

“consent” and also reduces the time it takes labs to test rape kits.

House Bill 38 adds liaisons within the Department of Public Safety to work with tribes on missing and murdered indigenous women cases.

Senate Bill 81 seeks to make funds more readily available to the Village Public Safety Officer program.

Senate Bill 39 seeks to make changes to voting laws. I do not support any part of this bill that might make it more difficult for rural Alaskans to vote. For example, our villages do not have physical elections offices that allow folks to walk in and vote early. But they can vote by mail early. So, I do not support restrictions on voting by mail.

If constituents have questions or need assistance please feel free to contact me by calling 877-465-3789 or by emailing me at