State lawmakers wrapped up their four-month session last night. Here’s what they did.

Lawmakers time off nan House enclosure aft adjourning sine dice successful nan early greeting hours of Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)

After 121 days successful Juneau, authorities lawmakers person concluded their work. That’s aft passing dozens of bills and finalizing nan state’s operating fund for nan fiscal twelvemonth that originates this July.

The budget, if signed into rule by nan governor, would supply Alaskans a costs of astir $1,655 this fall, including a $1,360 Permanent Fund dividend and an power alleviation cheque of $295.

Lawmakers besides passed bills that they opportunity would reside a number of pressing issues, from precocious power costs and declining earthy state accumulation to uncertainty successful nan homeschool strategy brought astir by a caller tribunal ruling. Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, said he’s proud of what he and his colleagues successful nan bipartisan mostly caucus accomplished.

“It’s been a beautiful successful 2 years, I believe, successful truthful galore ways, whether it’s successful nan fund issues that our committees person been moving on, whether it’s successful power aliases successful education, each of those areas we’ve worked forward, and I deliberation we’ve made immoderate awesome successes,” Stevens said.

Several high-profile bills did not make it crossed nan decorativeness line, including royalty cuts for earthy state producers successful Cook Inlet and a arguable elections measure that saw a precocious push for passage. 

House Speaker Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, said she expects lawmakers to proceed to activity connected royalty alleviation proposals earlier nan adjacent legislative session, aliases perchance successful a typical session. Like Stevens, Tilton said legislators took awesome strides connected a wide array of issues complete their 4 months successful Juneau.

“I deliberation it was a awesome session. There was a batch of things that were taken attraction of,” Tilton said. “We’ve taken immoderate starts successful energy, we were capable to return attraction of nan correspondence folks and we had a awesome crime measure that we passed, truthful I deliberation it was a awesome session. We sewage a batch done for nan group of Alaska.”

House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, said he was gladsome to spot immoderate of nan number coalition’s priorities included successful nan authorities budget. But he said respective things — among them, a fiscal plan, a pension scheme for public-sector workers and a semipermanent summation successful acquisition backing — were missed opportunities.

“Those were each things that Alaskans were really clamoring for, and it’s disappointing to spot that we weren’t capable to return action,” Schrage said.

The Senate adjourned soon earlier midnight. The House, however, continued past nan midnight deadline successful an effort to walk further bills earlier gaveling retired astatine 1:22 a.m. 

Here’s immoderate of what nan Legislature passed to nan governor’s desk.

Education

Correspondence schools

Lawmakers approved a measurement that would reside nan consequence of a caller tribunal ruling that recovered 2 statutes underpinning Alaska’s homeschool strategy break a conception of nan Alaska Constitution barring nan usage of authorities costs for backstage aliases belief education. It’s a impermanent hole aimed astatine ensuring homeschooling nether nan state’s correspondence schoolhouse programs tin proceed contempt nan tribunal decision, said Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski.

“It gives immoderate certainty and surety that our Alaskan families, Mr. President, that worth their state and their acquisition choice, tin usage those homeschool allotment monies arsenic they person for a decade,” he said.

The 2 laws ruled unconstitutional outlined individual learning plans for homeschool students and rate payments to homeschool families, known arsenic allotments, utilized to acquisition program and different materials — but Anchorage Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman ruled that nan laws unconstitutionally allowed families to usage their allotments to salary for backstage schoolhouse classes. The authorities has appealed nan ruling to nan Alaska Supreme Court.

The connection approved by nan House and Senate would require nan Department of Education and Early Development to show and study to nan Legislature really allotments are spent. That request would expire pinch nan remainder of nan impermanent measure successful July 2025.

“It’s providing an accountability measurement that this is successful spot until nan tribunal lawsuit is resolved,” said Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer. “Hopefully, by adjacent summer, we’ll person immoderate much clear answers.”

The homeschool connection was added arsenic an amendment to House Bill 202, which would require schools to transportation opioid overdose reversal narcotics for illustration naloxone.

School funding

Lawmakers approved $175 cardinal successful further one-time backing supra nan accepted look for nationalist schools. That’s astir balanced to a $680 summation successful nan guidelines student allocation, which provides nan basal authorities backing for Alaska’s nationalist schools. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has said he does not scheme to trim nan magnitude pinch a line-item veto.

At nan opening of nan session, lawmakers from some parties successful nan House and Senate said they would for illustration an ongoing summation successful schoolhouse backing done nan guidelines student allocation, alternatively than different information of one-time funding. But aft Dunleavy vetoed a discuss measure that would person boosted nan guidelines fig by $680, and nan Legislature grounded to override it, lawmakers settled connected a one-time boost.

That’s near districts astir nan authorities unsure of really overmuch money they’d receive, starring immoderate to laic disconnected teachers and trim schoolhouse programs. Citing nan backing uncertainty, Ketchikan’s schoolhouse territory notified much than 50 teachers and administrators they’d beryllium laid disconnected connected Wednesday, nan Ketchikan Daily News reported, though arsenic galore arsenic 30 could beryllium fixed their jobs backmost if nan one-time boost is not vetoed.

House Bill 230: Teacher pay

One measure that passed nan House and Senate would assistance a headdress connected nan number of years of out-of-state acquisition utilized to cipher coach salaries. It would besides let districts to supply $5,000 yearly bonuses if they complete a certification from nan National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

“I deliberation we would travel retired up by retaining nan much qualified teachers,” Rep. Mike Prax, R-North Pole said of House Bill 230.

Energy bills

With state producers successful Cook Inlet informing that accumulation is dwindling, power — some from fossil fuels and renewable power — was a cardinal argumentation privilege for members successful some bodies this session. And successful nan end, nan Legislature passed respective proposals aimed astatine lowering costs, expanding state supplies and boosting renewable energy.

House Bill 50: Carbon Storage

House Bill 50 would authorize nan retention of c dioxide heavy underground successful what’s known arsenic “pore space,” including things for illustration depleted lipid and state reservoirs, salty aquifers and unmineable ember seams. 

Backers, including Gov. Mike Dunleavy, person sounded it arsenic a root of authorities revenue. The authorities would complaint a minimum royalty of $2.50 for each ton of c dioxide injected underground, positive $20 per acre of onshore leased from nan Department of Natural Resources. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission would beryllium tasked pinch coming up pinch regulations.

“Carbon capture, utilization and retention is an expanding manufacture that companies are opening to perpetrate billions of dollars to put in,” Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said. “HB 50 will let Alaska to return portion successful that.” 

Part of nan logic for nan finance Stedman mentioned is nan Inflation Reduction Act’s inclusion of important taxation credits for geologic c storage.

That c could travel from overseas and beryllium stored successful depleted state fields successful Cook Inlet — nan Biden management is studying whether Japanese c emissions could beryllium liquefied and shipped to Alaska. But that’s apt a measurement off.

It could besides travel from wrong Alaska. Maybe from a location powerfulness works connected nan Railbelt, aliases possibly from operations connected nan North Slope, which comprise 62% of nan state’s full c emissions, according to Nicholas Fulford, a advisor pinch GaffneyCline who evaluated nan connection for nan Legislature. 

That could mean utilizing c dioxide injection to compression much lipid retired of existing wells, a believe known arsenic “enhanced lipid recovery” incentivized by nan Inflation Reduction Act. Decarbonizing North Slope accumulation could besides make Alaska lipid much competitory connected nan world market, nan authorities Department of Natural Resources said.

But arsenic nan measure worked its measurement done nan Legislature, lawmakers added respective different proposals to it. One would create a reserve-based lending programme for Cook Inlet lipid and state wrong nan Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. That’d let AIDEA to indebtedness money to state producers struggling to find investors. 

Another proviso would let nan Regulatory Commission of Alaska to modulate nan value of earthy state retention successful an effort to grow retention capacity and support costs down.

House Bill 307: Integrated Transmission Systems

House Bill 307 was different privilege for Gov. Dunleavy. The measure reduces nan costs of moving powerfulness on nan Railbelt, provides spot and income taxation breaks for caller powerfulness plants and sets up a caller Railbelt Transmission Organization tasked pinch governing nan backbone of nan Railbelt grid. It’d beryllium led by nan 5 utilities that contributed to nan Bradley Lake hydroelectric task successful Homer and housed wrong nan Alaska Energy Authority.

“After moving done nan legislative process, nan measure that stands earlier you coming is thing that still achieves nan governor’s argumentation goals,” Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, said. “We each want affordable and inexpensive energy.”

But nan Senate stripped retired an earlier proviso added successful nan House that would forestall utilities from incorporating nan costs of building a liquefied earthy state import terminal into their rates. That led to pushback from Kenai Peninsula legislators, who said they feared large-scale LNG imports — which utilities person discussed arsenic a consequence to falling state accumulation — could make Cook Inlet drilling uneconomic. 

But will it beryllium capable to support power prices down? Tilton, nan House speaker, said residents shouldn’t expect contiguous relief, but she said she’s optimistic.

“I’m not judge they’re going to spot a simplification successful their power rates correct away. But I deliberation that complete time, location will beryllium a reduction,” Tilton said. “I cognize that that is our goal, to beryllium capable to supply low-cost power passim nan state.”

Sen. Bill Wielechoski, D-Anchorage, said nan state retention provisions should thief guarantee supplies enactment patient capable for acold wintertime days successful nan short term. He said nan reserve-based lending programme could beryllium adjuvant successful nan adjacent twelvemonth aliases two. And he said nan renewable power initiatives, including bills authorizing organization star projects and a money dedicated to supporting renewable power projects, could besides support costs down.

“The Railbelt is going green, and that’s retired of necessity,” he said.

Crime bill

Lawmakers besides approved House Bill 66, a sprawling crime measure rubbing connected galore elements of nan justness system. The bill, primitively introduced by nan governor, would let sellers and manufacturers of fentanyl, methamphetamine and different narcotics listed connected nan state’s Schedule IIA to beryllium charged pinch execution if personification dies from taking their drugs. The management sounded it arsenic a consequence to a crisp summation successful overdose deaths.

Other provisions would grow involuntary civilian commitments to see group who are recovered incompetent to guidelines proceedings connected convulsive felonies if they person a convulsive history and airs a consequence to nan public, let constabulary officers to coming hearsay to expansive juries and adjacent a loophole successful an earlier measure that allowed immoderate activity offenders to debar registering aft moving to Alaska.

“I deliberation these are each affirmative steps to amended nationalist information and make wise usage of our nationalist information resources,” said Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage.

The fentanyl measure was a privilege for nan Republican-led House mostly caucus. Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, said successful support connected nan House floor. The crime measure package besides renames “child pornography” to “child intersexual maltreatment material” successful authorities law, besides backed by nan House majority.

“We walk a batch of clip successful this assemblage — iPads for prisoners, upgraded nutrient — fundamentally coddling criminals. This is nan first measure that I’ve seen successful my tenure that really protects victims. This is 1 that group tin scope retired and consciousness safer about. There are things successful present that will prevention lives,” Johnson said.

But immoderate lawmakers said they had reservations. Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, said he wasn’t convinced upgrading supplier penalties would make a difference.

“It upsets maine that, alternatively than do thing genuine that we cognize could work, for illustration treatment, for illustration intelligence health, those kinds of approaches, we are taking this point we’ve been trying now for decades of ratcheting up these supplier charges erstwhile it has grounded to nutrient nan results we want,” Dunbar said. He voted for nan bill, saying different provisions were worthy supporting.

The ACLU of Alaska said nan measure threatened Alaskans’ law authorities and would apt beryllium ineffective astatine addressing nan opioid crisis.

Sen. Löki Tobin, D- Anchorage, was nan lone Senate ballot against nan crime bill. She expressed akin concerns to Dunbar, saying she did not expect situation clip to meaningfully thief group addicted to drugs.

“That was not a difficult ballot for me,” she said.

The bills passed by nan House and Senate now caput to nan governor’s desk. Once they’re checked for errors and officially transmitted to him, Dunleavy will person 20 days, excluding Sundays, to sign, veto, aliases let them to go rule without his signature.