A Bad Call, A Great One, & Sad News A Bad Call, A Great One, & Sad News March 18, 2022 Dear Friends and Neighbors, The House held some marathon floor sessions this week. All that work got some good bills over to the Senate. We, on the other hand, did a little damage we'll need 'the other body' to clean up. It was great to talk with AmeriCorps volunteers in Juneau, plus some of the alumni! Most of them are working on early literacy in Juneau schools and nonprofits. Thanks for your important work! Ban the Ban This week the Senate passed a bill (over my strongly stated objections) to prevent anyone—government or private—from requiring a COVID vaccine. Ever. Under any circumstances. Mandates are very serious and should be used sparingly. I think some of the federal government's recent efforts went too far. But a blanket ban goes way too far the other direction. SB 156 wouldn't just stop the government from issuing a mandate to the general population (which nobody has attempted anywhere in America.) It also means a city-owned hospital couldn’t require employees to get vaccinated. That’s a risk to patients, who’ll be more likely to be exposed to COVID when they come to the hospital for a broken arm, or cancer care. They're less likely to find the hospital fully staffed, because COVID outbreaks are worse among the unvaccinated, and the isolation period is longer. When a business owner can’t require vaccines they’re forced to risk their own health to keep the doors open. And many businesses choose to require COVID precautions so they can safely serve their customers. That goes double for tourism businesses here in Southeast. The Canadian government just dropped their testing requirement to cross the border, but they kept the vaccine mandate. If SB 156 passes the House, bus and train trips from Skagway won't be able to restrict ticket sales to people who can cross the border. Perhaps the bill's sponsor thinks they'll be able to easily drop unvaccinated passengers by the side of the highway or the tracks? How a cruise ship might get in and out of Vancouver or Victoria, BC with unvaccinated passengers I can't begin to guess. And even beyond the mandate debate, the bill would forbid any sort of government incentive to get a vaccine. The successful CBJ-Chamber of Commerce gift card program, or offering extra help to people experiencing homelessness, would have been illegal. The debate on the bill quickly devolved into disproven theories about vaccines being secretly harmful. And there was something about, apparently, the Anglo-Soviet Treaty of 1942? I won't even pretend I followed that part... Bottom line: I don’t support a blanket government mandate for the COVID 19 vaccines. But banning any COVID vaccine requirements—or even incentives—is bad for public health and bad for business. I'm counting on my colleagues in the House to stop this bad bill from becoming law. Canadian diplomats visited the Capitol this week. My meeting with them included (by Zoom) the mayors of the two border communities in our district: Haines Mayor Doug Olerud and Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata. We had a productive discussion with Consul General Mia Yen (center,) Deputy Consul Nathalie Beaudoin (right,) Honorary Consul Karen Matthias (not pictured,) and Megan Graves (left.) The Stolen Child Becoming an Alaska legislator really only comes with one superpower: you can perform weddings. This week while the House was passing a minor bill to adjust the number of witnesses and tweak ethics rules to keep legislators from making a business out of the privilege, they added a much needed amendment. They stopped 14 and 15 year-old children getting married. I know what you’re thinking: is that really legal now? Yup. If there’s consent from the parents and/or a judge. That relic in our law needs to be fixed. Consider: it's a felony in Alaska for an adult to have sex with a 14 or 15 year old. That's good. High school freshmen are not old enough to consent to a sexual relationship with an adult. Thankfully, these marriages don’t happen very often. But our state has had 14 year-olds file for divorce from spouses over 30. And once from a spouse aged 55. Those marriages were never OK to begin with. I'm signing on as a cross-sponsor of the bill at our next floor session. With Rep. Don Young last year at the Juneau Chamber of Commerce. In Memory This afternoon Alaska lost the only Congressman who's ever represented me—since before I was even born. We disagreed a lot. (I volunteered for John Devens' campaign in 1992, and backed many other challengers since.) But when campaigns are over, Alaskans get to work. A lot of important things aren't about Rs or Ds. I got the chance to work with Congressman Young on many of those—from tourism, to clean water, to important infrastructure projects. My deepest condolences to his daughters, and his wife Anne. Your loss today is Alaska's. All my best, Did someone forward you this newsletter? Did you fall into it through the series of tubes? Want more? SUBSCRIBE Events & Happenings Around District Q Virtual Town Hall Join us on live on the Alaska State Legislature’s YouTube—share your priorities and hear our updates. March 22d at 5:30 pm! Juneau Sham Jam This 36-year tradition was created by the late Sen. Johnny Ellis. In his honor it's coming back March 26th with a 70’s theme! Alaska Folk Festival Don’t miss the 47th annual Folk Fest! It's just around the corner: April 4-10. Juneau Tax Aid AARP is hosting a series of free tax prep sessions at St. Paul’s Catholic Church—schedule an appointment and get some help getting your taxes in order! Juneau Weeds Join the Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners Association for their free “weedy” Wednesdays talk. They’ll provide some good tips and answer any questions! Juneau Science Leap into science experiments and stories at the Mendenhall Valley Library. It's all happening the rest of March and into April! Haines Wine Tasting Mark your calendars for April 9th—Support KHNS public radio, have a great time, and try some excellent wines. Skagway Babies Stories, songs, and fun with Ms. Anna! The Windy Valley Babies get together every Wednesday in the library at 10 am. Skagway Teens Get out of the house and go to the library for a weekly night when your parents aren’t allowed to come bug you - Fridays at 6:30 pm! Skagway Folk Fest The Skagway Arts Council is hosting a one-day folk festival April 15. Sign up to play 3 tunes (or 15 minutes) – or just come enjoy the music! Skagway Winter Artwork Showcase your work from the past two years. Professionals and first time dabblers welcome! Submit your form by April 12 and your work by the 14th. Gustavus Teens Try the Wii, ping-pong, games, and more. Plus, there’s popcorn! It's all free and fun—stop by the Gustavus Community Center after school on Mondays. Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email! Snail Mail? Alaska State Capitol Room 419 Juneau, AK 99801 Call: 800 550 4947 907 465 4947 Email Me! ‌ ‌ ‌ Contact My Staff, the people who power the work: Edric Carrillo 907 465 6419 [email protected] Cathy Schlingheyde 907 465 6827 [email protected] Senator Jesse Kiehl | Alaska State Capitol, Rm. 419, 4th Avenue & Main Street, Juneau, AK 99801 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]