February 6, 2020
Senator
Bill Wielechowski
State Capitol, Rm 9
Juneau, AK 99801
800-550-2435
907-465-2435
1500 W Benson #315
Anchorage, AK 99503
907-269-0120
Contact My Staff
Sonja Kawasaki
Chief of Staff
Office: 907-269-0120
Nate Graham
Legislative Aide
Office: 907-269-0120
David Dunsmore
Legislative Aide
Office: 907-269-0120
Alexander Schroeder Legislative Aide Office: 907-465-2435
Contact Alaska's Federal Delegation
Senator Lisa Murkowski
Phone: 907-271-3735
Senator Dan Sullivan
Phone: 907-271-5915
Representative Don Young
Phone: 907-271-5950
Contact the Governor
Governor Dunleavy's Anchorage office may be reached at 269-7450, or e-mail him at [email protected]
Visit the state website
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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The 2020 legislative session is underway! I will be back in Anchorage on Saturday, February 22nd, and I will be hosting an Eastside Meet and Greet with Representatives Gabrielle LeDoux and Ivy Spohnholz from 4 - 5:30 pm at Ptarmigan Elementary at 888 Edward Street. I will also be attending the annual Anchorage Caucus public hearing from 10 am - noon at the Assembly Chambers in the Loussac Library on February 22nd. This will be an opportunity to share your thoughts with all the Anchorage area legislators.
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It's always great when my Eastside neighbors have a chance to stop by my office!
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Senate Finance Committee
I am serving on the Finance Committee again this year. This committee is responsible for the state budget and hears all bills that have a financial impact on the state. Despite significant budget cuts over the last six years, Governor Dunleavy's proposed budget reflects a $2.6 billion deficit. Gov. Dunleavy proposes to use $1.0 billion from the Permanent Fund earnings to fill the deficit and take the rest from the Constitutional Budget Reserve. I will be scrutinizing this budget proposal very carefully and I am committed to working across the aisle to craft a budget the protects the vital services and infrastructure Alaskans rely.
I am the chair of two Finance subcommittees and will be overseeing the budget for the Alaska Court System and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. I will be working to ensure that our court system has the necessary resources to make sure cases can be heard in a timely manner and that our veterans and service members receive the benefits they have earned. I also serve on the subcommittees for the Department of Public Safety and the University of Alaska. Subcommittees will start considering departments' budgets next week.
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The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority met with me to speak about ways to improve our communities.
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Supplemental Budget Released
Yesterday Governor Dunleavy released his supplemental budget proposal, requesting the Legislature add $262 million to this fiscal year's budget. The state fiscal year starts on July 1 and every year the governor submits a supplemental budget to address issues that arise in the middle of the fiscal year. The two largest requests are $110 million as a result of the wildfires last summer and $120 million in Medicaid funding.
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I had a great meeting with the Jack and Jill organization from Anchorage.
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Protecting Our Share of Oil Revenue This session I introduced two pieces of legislation to make sure Alaska gets our rightful share of our oil resources. Yesterday I introduced SJR 15 to request that Congress honor the Alaska Statehood Act and give Alaska the full 90% of oil revenue from and oil and gas lease sales in the the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. When Congress voted to open ANWR to oil exploration they allowed the federal government to keep 50% of the revenue from ANWR even though the Statehood Act guarantees Alaska 90% of revenue from oil on federal lands in Alaska. For similar reasons I introduced SB 129 to ensure that Alaskans receive the maximum benefit from our oil resources. This bill would raise an additional $1 billion dollars in revenue per year by eliminating the per-barrel deductible tax credits, increasing the gross tax on our oil, and creating transparency. Alaska's Constitution requires Alaskans to receive the maximum benefit from our natural resources, yet during three of the last five years we have actually had an effective negative tax rate on oil production. Under this bill Alaska would remain the most profitable place in the world for the oil industry. Improving Government Accountability On Friday I will introduce a bill to make Alaska's finances more accessible and accountable to the public by allowing the public to search through every revenue and expenditure transaction that the state makes online. Alaska consistently is ranked as one of the worst states in the nation at providing easily accessible financial information to the public and this bill will help change that.
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Glad to have Alexander Schroeder working in my office this session through the University of Alaska Internship Program. Alexander attended Bartlett High School and is working on a degree in political science
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Saving Money by Repealing an Unnecessary Bureaucracy Last week the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee heard my bill to save $425,900 per year
by eliminating the Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission and allow Workers' Compensation appeals to be considered by the Superior Court. Currently the Commission has two full-time employees even though they only had 20 new cases filed in 2019. The courts have testified they can handle these appeals without needing any additional funding so this bill will save the state $425,900 while preserving Alaskans' rights to have their appeals heard in court.
As always, please feel free to call or email me anytime with your ideas and concerns.
Warmly,
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