Email from Alaska Senate Majority

Halftime at Half Court

March 28, 2025

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It's a big week for Southeast sports. I've been cheering for the Klukwan, Haines, and Juneau-AML teams at Gold Medal.

We're also just a hair past the halfway point of session. That has us all sprinting back and forth from floor sessions to caucuses to committee meetings. But don't worry, it'll all speed up soon.

Some of Alaska's Professional Firefighters stopped in to talk about how important pensions are to recruit and keep firefighters.

Thanks to everyone who came out to our town hall last night! Rep. Hannan, Rep. Story, & I appreciate your excellent questions and good ideas.

Get Faculty off the Bench

When I was on the Juneau Assembly, we needed to fix the city bus schedule. An Outside consultant with gobs of expertise wrote draft after draft that bus users panned—and the Assembly shot down in flames. Eventually, the city manager worked with Capital Transit drivers to come up with a fix that worked. Score one for the people who actually do the work.

This week, the Senate Education Committee looked at SB 118, a bill to add a faculty member to the University of Alaska Board of Regents. It's based on the same theory: people who work at a place often have really good ideas about how to make it better.

The bill would have the governor appoint from a list of six tenured professors—two from each major unit, nominated by their fellow faculty. It's a lot like the way we get the student regent now, even down to the two-year terms.

One faculty member won't fix the sycophantic Board of Regents we have today. They appear utterly dedicated to kissing the federal ring no matter the effect on students or UA's reputation. But while no one member can stop a bad board from being bad, a good structure can help in the long run.

As we heard in testimony on the bill, there is sometimes a feeling of “consultation theater,” where no real weight is given to how things actually work in classrooms and on campuses. That's a recipe for leaving students behind and building bad morale. A faculty Regent would bring UA a little closer to what CBJ finally figured out, and listening to the folks who do the work.

I helped Sitka Rep. Himschoot present a citation honoring the memory of James Lindoff, Jr. L'Too Da Xaan. James was a Vietnam veteran, and a leader in his communities. We presented the citation to his family at Gold Medal after the Hoonah v. Hydaburg match.

Protecting the Point Guard

Weather and water conditions are a matter of life and death in Alaska. All around the coast, NOAA buoys provide real time information fishermen, tankers, tenders, tugs, barges, and recreational boaters need. Alaskans can see wind speeds, wave heights, and more to help decide when to go out and when to anchor up.

This week the Senate Transportation Committee passed out SJR 12, calling on Uncle Sam to keep these buoys operational. Down south, folks don't often have as close a relationship with the ocean as Alaskans do. They don't always understand just how critical weather monitoring is. SJR 12 will help Alaska's Congressional Delegation tell our story when it's time to dole out the maintenance dollars.

Example one might just be the Seal Rocks Buoy in Prince William Sound. It bobs at Hinchinbrook Entrance, where 940-foot oil tankers transit a narrow shipping lane out of Valdez. We learned the hard way how devastating a tanker accident can be. At least, I hope the country hasn't used the (almost exactly) 35 years since the Exxon-Valdez spill to forget. That crucial buoy has only been operational for 35 days out of the last 18 months.

We're not short on important buoys here in Southeast, either. They don't all work. While resolutions don't fix anything by themselves, it's worth turning up the volume to get them fixed.

The team from the Marine Exchange of Alaska briefed us on their great work keeping ships and sailors safe in Alaska waters!

Half Court Shot (or maybe 3/4)

Before we settle the state budget for next year, we’ve got to fix the funding problem for the year we're in.

Quick recap: an overly-rosy oil price forecast left us with about $80 million less revenue than it takes to fund the current year budget. Unplanned or under-managed costs left us with about $110 million more expenses than we budgeted for. Take those together and we're in a budget hole almost $200 million deep.

This week both the Senate and House Finance Committees took up supplemental budget bills. They cover cost overruns the governor sent us, from disaster relief to prisons, and from lawsuit settlements to interest on late retirement contributions. There's only one thing added by the legislature: money for a spring wildfire season. I have my fingers crossed for limited firefighting needs, but it’s been a pretty dry winter all across the state...

But how to pay for it? The bill funds the cost overruns and the low revenue out of our last savings account: the Constitutional Budget Reserve. Nobody wants to budget out of savings. But we don’t have a lot of good options to fill the hole this year. We can’t cut $200 million with only a quarter of the year left, and we'd be hard pressed to raise any new revenues before July even if the governor wouldn't veto them.

Funding the current year hole from savings is far from guaranteed. It takes a ¾ vote in both the House and the Senate—separately—to take money from the CBR. That’s the highest bar we have to clear in the Alaska Legislature. 30 representatives and 15 senators rarely agree on fiscal policy.

On the flip side, the folks in the House minority caucus this year were almost all in last year's majority that wrote the current budget. And both bodies' minority caucuses are of the same political party as the governor. They may be reluctant to hand him a short-funded situation.

Stay tuned!

Ida Meyer has been helping in my office this session. She also helped out on the Senate floor this week. Ida is headed to Gonzaga this fall--perhaps to prepare for a future career as Senate president!

All my best,

Did someone forward you this newsletter and you want your very own copy?

Did you fall into it through the series of tubes and now want it sent straight to you?

Events & Happenings Around District B

Juneau Showtime

Come by JDHS to see an amazing performance by the JDHS dance team, with guests from dance studios all over Juneau! Be there April 19!

Juneau Family Fun

On April 11, bring your little ones for a community indoor play night! There'll be wagons, slides, toys--what more could a kid ask for?

Juneau T&H Banquet

On April 18, head over to Centennial for the annual Tlingit & Haida President's Award Banquet and Fundraiser. Honor some amazing community members, and support a good cause!

Juneau Traditional Games

Whether you're competing or want to volunteer, this year's Traditional Games are April 4-6 at JDHS!

Juneau Gold Medal

The last games of the Lions Club's legendary annual Basketball tournament are tonight and Saturday at JDHS.

Juneau Folk Festival

It's the 50th Alaska Folk Festival! Concerts, dances, jam sessions, and more April 7-13!

Haines River Talk

On April 16, come listen to (or share) a seven minute story. This month’s theme: WTF!

Haines First Friday

Enjoy a springtime walkabout downtown and check out the featured exhibits at all the shops!

Haines Armchair Traveler: Cycling Ghana

On April 9, visit the library or Zoom in to explore the people and culture of Ghana.

Haines Blood

That sounds ominous…but it’s just the opposite! Give a little (blood) for your community at the Haines school on March 29-30.

Chilkat Valley ArtFest!

ArtFest doesn't officially start until April 19, but you can get in on the fun early with hands-on arts activities at the Haines Public Library, starting with egg dying on April 14.

Skagway Mammography

The big pink mobile mammography unit will be in Skagway April 26-27. They're taking appointments now! Contact the Dahl Memorial Clinic for a referral.

Skagway Gamers

Do you enjoy a night of D&D, MTG, or other geeky acronyms? Lumberchaun Axe Throwing is hosting the night for Saturdays all April

Skagway Annual International Folk Festival

On April 18, join the fun for a night of folk music! This annual musical event is always a good time.

Skagway Spring Show of Winter Work

Did you take up a new art this winter? Create new pieces in a continuing craft? Share your work with the community at the Spring Show from April 18-20!

Skagway Spring Concert

The end of the school year is just around the corner. Skagway School’s spring concert is May 6. Come applaud the students' musical accomplishments this year!

Skagway Tournament of the Books

Vote to crown a Tournament Champion at this year’s final Tournament of the Books on April 27! Listen to debates and join the fun discussing eight books from the shortlist.

Gustavus Maker Meeting

Come to the library Wednesday evenings to work on art projects, get inspiration, and socialize with other makers!

Gustavus Easter Market

The April 12 Second Saturday Market is Easter themed! Come check out the market and get in the holiday spirit.

Gustavus Contra Dance

Put on your dancing shoes! There’s contra dancing on Saturday April 26 at 7pm at the Gustavus Community Center.

Gustavus Music

There’s music galore on Thursdays at the library. At 4:30pm you can learn to play the banjo (and other instruments.) Then at 5:30pm join the Everybody Welcome Band and learn some old-time dance tunes! You can even help play the live music for contra dances!

Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email!