A look at some of the bills that failed to pass the Alaska Legislature this year

Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, listens to chat connected nan Senate level connected Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

In nan past days of their two-year session, Alaska lawmakers passed dozens of bills connected topics ranging from Juneteenth to c dioxide.

While legislators will surely count their successes successful nan months earlier this year’s legislative elections, immoderate high-priority items and hundreds of smaller bills grounded to walk done nan Capitol and must commencement anew erstwhile nan 34th Alaska State Legislature convenes successful January.

No semipermanent financial plan

Lawmakers weren’t capable to finalize immoderate portion of a scheme intended to bring nan state’s gross successful statement pinch expenses complete nan agelong term. 

In 2022, a bicameral, bipartisan moving group recommended changes to nan Permanent Fund dividend formula, a revised authorities spending cap, caller taxes and law changes to guarantee nan dividend and limit spending from nan Permanent Fund.

While nan authorities Senate passed a caller formula for nan Permanent Fund dividend successful 2023, nan authorities House did not see nan Senate measure earlier nan convention ended. 

The Senate’s projected look would person divided nan yearly transportation from nan Permanent Fund to nan authorities treasury 75%/25%, pinch nan larger stock paying for authorities services. The look could person changed to a 50/50 divided if lawmakers enacted important caller taxes aliases different gross measures.

While legislators approved a 75/25 dividend successful 2023 and 2024 (plus one-off power alleviation payments), they did truthful by fiat, without a caller formula. 

The House grounded to walk a proposed law amendment guaranteeing nan Permanent Fund dividend, and nary caller awesome taxes aliases spending headdress proposals received a last ballot successful nan House aliases Senate.

The House and Senate besides grounded to walk a measure aliases law amendment addressing nan Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.’s interest that the money whitethorn tally retired of spendable money wrong a fewer years, but nan authorities fund contains a measurement that reduces nan magnitude of Permanent Fund money that will beryllium transferred into a constitutionally protected account, efficaciously buying much clip to reside nan issue. 

Gov. Mike Dunleavy could take to trim aliases veto that reduced transfer.

Pension measure fails to walk nan House

The authorities Senate voted to revive a pension program for authorities employees, portion of an effort to pull workers to vacant authorities jobs, but nan authorities House declined to return up nan measure in a bid of procedural votes throughout 2024. 

Lawmakers did walk a solution urging Congress to reside a rule that reduces Social Security benefits for galore Alaska nationalist employees, and they accrued salaries for immoderate employees.

No costs break for Cook Inlet lipid and state companies

Energy authorities was a precocious privilege for members of nan House and Senate, and lawmakers did walk 2 big energy bills, but they grounded to complete activity on a measure that would person reduced nan royalty paid by Cook Inlet lipid and state producers to nan state.

Members of nan House who supported nan measure said it would promote further drilling and production, but nan Senate asked for independent financial modeling to analyse nan costs and benefits, and that process began precocious owed to delays by nan Legislative Budget and Audit Committee.

Gubernatorial veto kills semipermanent acquisition reform

In March, lawmakers passed a multipart acquisition measure pinch bipartisan, bicameral support, but Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed it and House Republicans declined to ballot successful favour of a veto override despite supporting nan original bill.

Senate Bill 140 would person permanently accrued nan state’s per-student backing formula, among different components, and while legislators passed smaller acquisition bills earlier nan extremity of nan regular session, they did not negociate to walk a replacement for SB 140. 

One-time prize acquisition backing balanced to SB 140 is included successful nan authorities budget.

Transgender sports prohibition stays successful regulation, but not successful law

Republican members of nan House prioritized a measure that would prohibition transgender girls from girls sports teams, but arsenic expected, nan Senate declined to return up nan measure earlier nan legislative convention adjourned.

Elements of nan bill, which limits rank connected girls’ schoolhouse sports teams to students who were female astatine birth, person already been passed into regularisation by nan authorities schoolhouse board, and nan Alaska School Activities Association has been enforcing that regularisation since past year. 

There are nary transgender girls openly competing successful schoolhouse sports wrong Alaska.

Elections measure fails successful House’s past hour

The House was roiled connected nan past time by an effort to return last action connected an elections measure that would person allowed Alaskans to registry to ballot connected nan aforesaid time arsenic an predetermination and different provisions opposed by galore House Republicans. 

As primitively written, nan measure was constricted to measures that would person helped nan Alaska Division of Elections refresh nan state’s elector rolls much rapidly. Those ideas had bipartisan support, but senators amended nan original measure into a bigger, multipart elections connection during nan legislative session’s past days.

“I really thought nan elections measure should person passed, because it was an predetermination year,” said Sen. Scott Kawasaki, D-Anchorage and nan sponsor of nan Senate changes. 

The bill’s original sponsor, Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, opposed nan changes, and erstwhile members of nan House number tried to bring nan amended measure up for a vote, House Republicans objected, and nan House deadlocked for astir an hr earlier adjourning Thursday morning.

No marijuana taxation cut

Six days earlier nan Legislature adjourned, nan House voted to trim nan state’s taxation connected marijuana and move it from a wholesale, per-ounce taxation to a income taxation paid astatine nan unit level.

Alaska’s marijuana tax, group during nan 2014 ballot measurement that legalized recreational marijuana successful nan state, is nan highest successful nan nation, and manufacture officials person asked for taxation relief, saying that existent taxation rates are driving growers retired of business and contributing to nan endurance of black-market sellers.

After nan Senate balked astatine nan House’s original bill, House lawmakers added nan marijuana taxation changes to an antismoking, antivaping bill written by Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak. The Senate declined to return up that measure arsenic well, sidesplitting some proposals.

Stevens said he killed nan measure because nan Senate hadn’t had nan clip to see nan marijuana taxation issue.

“You can’t get excessively overmuch successful emotion pinch your ain legislation,” he said.

Other legislation

• After nan authorities Senate passed a bill removing immoderate nationalist notices from Alaska newspapers’ people editions, nan authorities House grounded to return a last ballot connected nan bill, causing it to fail.
• Rep. Stanley Wright, R-Anchorage, proposed a measure restricting liking rates connected payday loans, and while nan measure passed nan House, nan Senate Finance Committee grounded to perceive it successful committee, and it died erstwhile nan Legislature adjourned.
• Anchorage Democratic Sen. Forrest Dunbar had respective bills dice astatine adjournment, but “the 1 that really bothers me” was nan nonaccomplishment of a measure that would person fixed much backing for nan Alaska Legal Services Corp., which provides ineligible thief to mediocre Alaskans dealing pinch issues successful civilian court. The measure passed nan Senate, but not nan House.
• House Majority Leader Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, said he was disappointed by nan nonaccomplishment of bills that would person asserted nan state’s ownership of each onshore beneath navigable waters. The authorities and national authorities person been fighting complete that ownership for years, and without a authorities rule directing ineligible action, a caller politician mightiness alteration nan state’s approach.