The biggest stumbling block for completing the session is finding agreement on changes to oil and gas taxes.
State Government
‘It Just Didn’t Work’: Legacy of botched project haunts port’s future
“We have zero ability to bond and help the Port of Anchorage,” said Senate Finance Committee co-chair Anna MacKinnon.
State organizing new opioid task force
The group is expected to have recommendations for the governor and Legislature by the end of November.
Inside the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.
“We all are managing billions each, but we think of it as units,” says Jim Parise, one of just 18 people managing investments at the fund. “If you think of it as actual money, you’d go crazy.”
‘Slow motion disaster’ threatens state’s key port
The nexus point for most of the state’s fuel, food, and building supplies could be wiped out by a minor earthquake or long-term decay.
When Alaska’s lawmakers get loopy
In the end-of-session flurry of lawmaking, some strange things happen, especially at the tail end of marathon sessions.
Correctional farm saves money, redirects lives
Inmates raise pigs, cattle and chickens, and farm thousands of pounds of potatoes, tomatoes and other produce each year. But the farm does more than provide food and savings for the state. It helps people turn their lives around.
Committee to work out differences on bill drawing from rural power fund
Because the state government has a $4 billion deficit, some lawmakers have suggested drawing money from the fund to pay for other state costs.
Budget talks are quiet as Walker projects optimism
Progress on the state government budget has slowed to a crawl this week, but Gov. Bill Walker remains hopeful the Legislature will reach an agreement on an oil and gas tax bill that’s at the center of budget talks.
Audit: Skagway misspent cruise head tax on playground equipment
The research was conducted by the state Division of the Legislative Audit after a request from Eagle River Sen. Anna MacKinnon. MacKinnon wanted to get to the bottom of assertions that some communities stockpile CPV funds or use them on inappropriate projects.