Thoughts While You Turkey Edition Thoughts to Chew On With Your Turkey November 25, 2019 Dear Friends and Neighbors, Happy early Thanksgiving! I'm a huge fan of feasting with friends and family (and, of course, the food!) I hope you take some time to be with loved ones too. I'll be in a food coma this Friday, so this newsletter will cover two weeks. Also, I went to a couple conferences last week. I figure if the public paid for my plane ticket, I owe you some sort of a report, right? Resources Review We'll have a lot resources issues on the table next session. From the oil tax questions to fish, and water to otters, I'm studying up. Ten days ago, the Department of Natural Resources did a briefing on North Slope oil & gas fields. Have you ever been on that conference call where the presenter keeps forgetting people are on the phone and points to the screen to make their points? And every other question you have to break in and ask who was speaking? I STILL learned a lot about the geology (and I'm following up on the stuff I couldn't track.) Then last week I heard from experts and had some fascinating conversations at the Resource Development Council conference. Two of the most interesting were about where economies and communities overlap. Many resource developers talk about a "social license"—the need to engage with a community and increase local input and support for a project quite separate from getting air and water permits. But former Juneau resident (now NANA vice president) Lance Miller went beyond that. He suggested developers think about whether their projects serve a "social purpose." That means planning resource development in ways that benefit Alaskans and our state over and above profit from extraction. Working in the mining industry, he suggested several he sees, from making renewable power possible to infrastructure for residents. It wasn't the central focus of his talk, but his idea set a lot of minds working. I was still mulling it over when I talked with a woman from Norway who was there as part of an Arctic Economic Panel. A number of Europeans talked to RDC about the future of the pan-Arctic ocean economy—from Russian oil extraction to new shipping routes, renewable power to the rapid expansion of fisheries in the Arctic and the global economics of it all. It's really valuable to get an outsiders' view on Alaska. Some of the Norwegians clearly see Alaska as having a classic colonial economy—where non-local interest owners extract things of value for export and exert disproportionate impact over local decisions. Where the military is an outsized portion of the economy, and conversations are steeped in the idea of being 'exotic.' One Scandinavian pointed out it's very rare for colonized places to change that basic structure. It takes conscious, sustained effort. I see the need to diversify our economy—and continually expand Alaskans' control over our state—as key to Alaska's future. That means investment in education, in infrastructure, and in means of self-sufficiency like renewables. It means while resource extraction will stay important, it can't be the only thing we invest in. Long before I met him or interned in his office, Ted Stevens once argued Alaska's most valuable resource in the future should be enriched minds. It's time to really pursue that vision. It will bring us value-added seafood, software, and I-don't-know-what-else That's the point: We can't know what comes next, so we need smart people with the tools to take advantage. It's hard to see that in a legislature focused on budget cuts, but we have to find the way. Volunteering Friday morning at the "Sharing is Caring" food drive with Southeast Alaska Food Bank manager Chris Schapp and KINY's Matt Walker Municipal Money I also went to the Alaska Municipal League conference. It covered loads of stuff on my work list, from pensions for Troopers, teachers, and other state employees, to ferry service, to PFAS contamination. One of the great things about AML is the chance to talk about these issues with the people in local government who deal with them every day. Top of mind for a lot of those folks was the state's budget cuts and shifting costs to municipalities. That hits every town's ability to provide the services we rely on. That's where the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year in the Wayfair case comes in. The ruling took the feds out of the way of local sales taxes applying to online sales just the same as local ones. Still, most aren't getting it because there's been no way to actually collect from the thousands of online vendors. And no simple way for sellers to collect the right tax rates on the right items for each local code. Since Alaska has no statewide sales tax, there's no state agency to make that happen the way other states are doing. Enter AML. 15 municipalities have already signed on to a statewide agreement. The League will create a single point of contact for online vendors. They'll apply the right rates and exemptions, so citizens keep local control. They'll also make sure the taxes reach the cities. Each government needs to opt-in to participate. Now is the time for Alaskans to talk with Assemblies and Councils about whether taxing online sales on par with local sales is a chance to lower tax rates, exempt some essentials, add important services, or backfill state cuts. We'll be able to have that conversation because once again local governments worked together, stepped up, and built the tools to serve their citizens. Well done. All my best, Did someone forward you this newsletter? Did you fall into it through the series of tubes? Want more? SUBSCRIBE Events around District Q Juneau Community Thanksgiving Join community Thanksgiving at the Hangar on Nov. 28, hosted by the Salvation Army. Find out more here. Juneau Treadwell Arena Free Skate Ice skate for free Nov. 29, hosted by Parks & Rec and the Douglas Fourth of July Committee. Here’s info. Juneau Free Holiday Showing: The Grinch Come watch this holiday classic on Nov. 30. Here are details. Haines Lust for Dust Come out and watch the Lynn Canal Players on Nov. 22 & 23! More info here. Haines KHNS News Drive #GivingTuesday Support KHNS in its fundraising drive on Dec. 3. Here's more. Haines Community Thanksgiving All are invited to this community Thanksgiving at Haines High School on Nov. 28 hosted by the Klukwan Assembly of G-d. Find more information here. Skagway Tongass National Forest Roadless Rule Meeting Come hear from the US Forest Service and share your thoughts on proposed changes to the roadless rule on Nov. 26. Learn more here. Skagway #ShopSmall Saturday Get started on your holiday shopping at Skagway’s locally owned businesses on Nov. 30. Here’s more info. Skagway Yuletide Public Safety Open House Come for food and station tours with the Volunteer Fire Department and the Police Department before the town tree lighting on Dec. 6. Here are details. Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email! Visit Me! Alaska State Capitol Room 419 Juneau, AK 99801 800 550 4947 907 465 4947 Email Me! ‌ ‌ ‌ Contact My Staff: 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 | About Constant Contact Sent by [email protected]