Appropriators, Assemble!
April 17, 2020
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Dear Friends and Neighbors, |
It's sunny out there this afternoon. This newsletter will be short. |
Calvin, pictured before the virus stopped all haircuts. |
It's been an exceptionally strange time for all of us, including my intern, Calvin Zuelow. Today was Calvin's last day in the office. He didn't get to work a full—or normal—session. Still, he's earned my thanks. Calvin did tremendous work carrying legislation, researching policy issues, helping constituents, and keeping things running. He's a hard worker, and sharper than a Ginsu knife.
I'm sad to lose him in the office, but very excited to see where his future endeavors take him. He's a good egg.
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31st Legislature—The Reunion Tour
There's more than $1.2 billion coming from Uncle Sam to help push the damper pedal on the costs Alaskans face from the coronavirus. Saving lives is not cheap.
My top priorities include helping Alaskans who've lost income, and keeping Alaska small businesses out of bankruptcy. We need both people and local businesses afloat to rebuild the economy. Our municipalities and hospitals are also facing shocking revenue drops. And the governor’s vetoes have made things worse—and recovery less likely—for our communities, schools, ferries, and more.
We’re still learning the boundaries of how the state can spend the federal funds. The US Treasury Department should have some guidelines out soon. There was a fine overview of what we know about the money so far at the House Finance Committee this week.
While we research, we’re working on how the legislature can safely reconvene session to appropriate the cash. Why? As with all federal money, the state needs an appropriation to spend it. So the legislature needs to put “receipt authority” into specific programs. We already did that for direct health spending—things like lab tests or public health nurses.
There’s also a way for the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee to increase federal receipt authority here and there without the rest of the legislature meeting. As you might imagine, it's not broad enough to deal with $1.2 billion of pandemic economic response. It only works for things that already have federal funds appropriated to them and happen to get some more. So we need to get at least 21 members of the House and 11 Senators back together here in the Capitol to play a budget encore.
$1.2 billion won't go as far as we'd all like, so we'll have to figure out how to harmonize. For instance: the tourism industry alone is worth about $4 billion per year statewide. If we tried to replace even a quarter of that, we'd have almost nothing left to help fisheries, healthcare, transportation, retail, and other sectors. I look forward to working with the governor and my colleagues from all across the state to put together a plan to make the best use of the available money.
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Rep. Hannan and I have tele-town halls for Skagway, Haines, and Klukwan next week! There are a lot of questions right now, and we want to hear from you. As always, please feel free to reach out anytime. I'm always happy to dig for answers, or get your ideas about where we head next. |
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Did someone forward you this newsletter?
Did you fall into it through the series of tubes? Want more?
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Socially-Distanced Virtual Trip Around District Q |
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Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center
Check out the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center’s guided tour gallery! You can also learn about Klukwan’s weaving legacy, storytelling and dance in the clan house, & more.
Juneau Douglas City Museum
The Juneau Douglas City Museum has some online exhibits. I also highly recommend checking out their fun Facebook page, with special artifact reveals, poetry readings, and virtual tours of Juneau landmarks.
The Hammer Museum
There’s no substitute for seeing that giant hammer in person, but the museum’s got some fun online resources. Plus their Instagram has even more!
Klondike Gold Rush
National Historic Park
Learn about Chilkoot Trail history, the women of the gold rush, and more—including neat virtual tours. For the kids, there’s a
complete at home, then mail or email back to get their badge!
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Marie Drake Planetarium
We’re supposed to get some clear(er) skies this weekend, so check out the night sky! Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn will have good visibility, with a shot at Mercury and Mars too. Check out the best times to see them. The Marie Drake Planetarium has more great resources on the Southeast night sky. (My brother once taught me a trick: no telescope? Regular binoculars are awesome, too!)
Haines Sheldon Museum
Check out he Haines Sheldon Museum’s “History Tidbits,” livestreamed every Wednesday and Friday at Noon. You can find all the ones they’ve done so far here. There’s fossils, women & the vote, spruce root baskets, medical care in the Chilkat Valley (including DIY stethoscopes for kids), fossils, and so much more.
Glacier Bay National Park
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Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email!
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Visit Me!
Alaska State Capitol
Room 419
Juneau, AK 99801
800 550 4947
907 465 4947
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Contact My Staff:
Edric Carrillo
907 465 6419
Cathy Schlingheyde
907 465 6827
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