Passing Common Sense Legislation for Alaska
Since I joined the Legislature, I have been working on a number of important pieces of legislation. My team and I have successfully passed nine common-sense bills into law and we continue to push needed reforms this year. Learn more about them below!
My Continuing Priorities
Linking Government Spending to Alaska's Economy
Alaska has been caught in a boom and bust cycle of government spending for decades. As oil revenue continues to decline, I have proposed a functional state spending cap that will ensure we will continue to sustainably meet the needs of Alaskans into the future.
Reforming Alaska's Budgeting Process
This legislation seeks to integrate strategic planning into Alaska's budgeting process.
My Legislation that is now Law
Government Efficiency: Repealing Unused Funds and Accounts
With this bill, we cleaned up our books, deleting fund accounts that we no longer used but that still cost us to maintain. The bill further established a mechanism to help repeat this clean up process every two years to help get our books up-to-date.
Government Efficiency: Reducing the Production of Unneeded, Outdated Documents
At the request of the legislature, state agencies produce hundreds of reports every year. Many of these reports are important and replied upon for our work. However, there are many reports were established decades ago, and are no longer needed. This bill repealed several of these reports to remove an unnecessary burden from our state agencies.
Public Safety: Honoring our Fallen Peace Officers
Originally submitted as its own bill (SB 26), I worked with Senator Merrick’s office to integrate my bill to create specialty license plates dedicated to fallen Peace officers into SB 95. These specialty plates will commemorate State troopers, VPSO’s, police officers, officers of the court, and Department of Corrections employees who have been killed in the line of duty.
Special thanks to Doug Fifer, a long time veteran of the Anchorage Police Department, who has worked for 9 years (and with my office for the last three of those years) to get these plates created.
These specialty plates are available for anyone to purchase now!
Workforce: Addressing the Trucker Shortage by Removing a Barrier to Entry
SB 123 removed an unnecessary barrier to obtaining a Commercial Driver’s License to help address the over 500 trucker shortage in Alaska. Now, whether you are coming in from a remote community of Alaska with limited DMV access, new to the country, or just waited longer than normal to get your regular driver’s license, you will be able to begin pursuing your Commercial Driver’s License without holding that regular license for a year.
Alaskans are ready to work, and this bill helps our state attract drivers to fill jobs in industries critical for food security, construction, transportation of goods, mining, oil, and gas.
Energy: Supporting Renewable Energy Around the State
The Renewable Energy Grant Fund (REF) ensures that communities facing higher-than-average energy prices can continue leveraging REF Grants to pursue cheaper renewable alternatives.
Resources: Protecting Alaskan’s Access to Our Land
For decades, the Citizens’ Adivsory Commission on Federal Areas, also known as CACFA, monitored federal rules and actions taken on federal land in Alaska and ensured that individual Alaskans had a place to go to understand and engage constructively with those federal decisions that affected them. It was a source of institutional knowledge on the major laws that govern how our land is used, it helped Alaskans navigate federal permitting processes, and most importantly, was an entity focused on constructively advocating for Alaskans to policy makers on the federal level. Unfortunately, the commission sunset in 2021.
The importance of the Commission led my team and I to take up the bill to reinstate the commission last year. After two years of collaboration with stakeholders and my colleagues, the Legislature overwhelmingly supported my SB 34 and CACFA was reauthorized on August 29th, 2024.
In the coming weeks, the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and Senate President will appoint members to the Commission. Once everyone is appointed, they will hire an Executive Director and their work will begin.
If you want to learn more about how CACFA served Alaskans, you can visit its archived website (it will be updated again once the Commission gets up and running again):
Privacy: Protecting Your Private Data
The last few years have seen several high-profile data breaches (both in Alaska and nationally). My Senate Bill 134 came about because I, like you, am greatly concerned about the safety of our personal data.
I worked with the Division of Insurance and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to craft legislation that will protect your data stored by insurance companies. The bill was modeled after the best practices in other states but also included specific provisions that cater to Alaska’s unique market.
Recognizing the critical need for better safeguards, this law mandates that insurance companies in Alaska conduct a full risk assessment of their internal and external threats, and then develop, implement, and maintain an information security program based on those threats.
Senate Bill 134 became law on August 29th, 2024
Healthcare: Expanding Access to Live-Saving Mammograms
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and it is the second deadliest cancer among women in the US. When detected early, breast cancer is treatable. However, while screening mammograms are fully covered by insurance, follow-up diagnostic mammograms are not, posing a cost barrier to those at a higher risk of cancer.
During the vetting process of SB 134, we were presented with the opportunity to address a gap in how state health insurance companies cover the costs of supplemental mammograms.
SB 134 passed with language that ensures supplemental mammograms are covered (at no cost to the insured) under applicable state health insurance plans. Regular mammograms save lives, and this bill removes a substantial barrier for women who need them the most.
I am proud to have championed this legislation that works towards enhancing the data security position of the insurance industry as well as removing the costs of mammograms for the insured.
Workforce: Getting Alaskans Back to Work
There was a growing consensus and recognition that Alaska’s reemployment system was not working effectively. Of the hundreds of workers hurt on the job who applied for the reemployment benefits they paid into, less than a dozen few successfully made it through the process and into another meaningful job. Over the last year, I collaborated with the Division of Workers Compensation to craft SB 147 to address the shortcomings of the system and to more effectively reintegrate injured workers back into the workforce.
One of the key aspects of SB 147 is its focus on refining the regulations governing reemployment rights for injured workers. The legislation provides clearer guidelines for employers and better support for their employees—aligning Alaska’s system with broader efforts to modernize the reemployment system to meet the needs of our constantly evolving job market.
Through the legislative process and in collaboration with my colleagues in the House, additional provisions were added to the bill, including an extension to senior benefits funding.
SB 147 became law on July 11th, 2024 and workers should already be able to qualify under the updated program.
Housing: Increasing Efficiency to Support Affordable Housing
The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation manages over 1600 units of affordable public housing around the state. For many years, AHFC maintenance personnel have relied on shipping containers around Anchorage to meet storage needs for their operations. In the last several years, these containers have become attractive targets for vandalism, break-ins, and theft of equipment and materials. In addition to the safety risks, the burden to maintain these units grows as their units age.
In response to these concerns, I worked with AHFC and my colleagues to enable them to purchase a building (using federal funds) that they can use as a maintenance and training hub. Ownership of a building will enable them to more efficiently plan, stage, and deploy personnel, materials, and equipment to service their properties in Anchorage and statewide (as a containerization hub).
AHFC (as a state-owned corporation) has many resources for renters, landlords, and prospective homebuyers. Learn more here: