Foster Report
In this report I will do a quick recap of the budget and then I will focus on legislation.
The House passed the operating budget to the Senate on April 9. Once they send it back to us then the two bodies will go into conference committee to resolve the differences. We expect to send the budget to the Governor in late May. He is up for reelection this year, so he may not be as active with his veto pen.
Highlights of the budget largely focus on the permanent fund dividend and education. While I voted for the full PFD in both House Finance and on the House Floor there was not enough support from other legislators to pass it. There was, however, support for adding an Energy Relief Check to the dividend. The House passed out a combined PFD and energy relief check of $2,600. This is an increase over last year’s $1,100 PFD.
With regard to education the House included an increase of $57 million for K-12 schools, $5 million for pre-K, $45 million for the University and $395 million to recapitalize the scholarship fund.
Both the House and Senate are expected to release the first version of a capital budget this week. This budget funds our airports, roads, buildings, school maintenance and other infrastructure. I have made the case to our capital co-chairs for all the requested projects submitted by each of our 33 communities. Particularly important are those projects that involve life, safety and health issues.
With regard to legislation there were nearly 700 bills introduced by legislators in this two-year session. Of those only 44 had been passed by both the House and Senate as of midApril. The committee process is rigorous and bills that make substantive changes to law face high hurdles.
One very important piece of legislation that I co-sponsored and is currently headed to the House Floor is HB 363 Broadband. This sets up a broadband office and the structure needed to accept what is expected to be about $1.5 billion in federal funds. There is a great deal of emphasis on making sure that resources are prioritized to rural areas where service is poor. The bill also sets up a fund to equalize costs so that rural and urban areas pay about the same for internet service.
SB 243 will raise the amount of electricity that households can be subsidized for electric consumption under the power cost equalization (PCE) program. The current ceiling is 500 kilowatts, and this bill would raise that to 750 kilowatts.
HB 111 creates the dental hygienist advanced practitioner permit. It allows dental hygiene preventive services to be performed outside of a dental office in facilities where patients may be unable to travel to a dental office due to age, infirmity, or disability.
SB 111 is the Alaska Reads Act. It seeks to improve children’s reading skills through third grade. It also adds funding for Pre-K education.
SB 81 creates more flexibility to use VPSO funds. The bill mandates that organizations who administer VPSO programs (such as Kawerak and AVCP) be reimbursed for their full costs. And it creates a consultation process if the State wants to make changes to the VPSO program.
Last, SJR 23 names a mountain near Anchorage after former Speaker of the House, Gail McIver Phillips. Gail grew up in Nome to a mining family, and even after she moved to Homer, she remained a powerful ally for our district and rural Alaska.
If folks have questions regarding legislation, please feel free to contact my office by calling me at 800-4783789 or emailing me at Rep.Neal.Foster@akleg.gov. You can also go online and find information regarding legislation at akleg.gov. You can also contact our Nome Legislation Information Office at 907-435-5555.