"Alaska Senate"

Black Republican candidates Marilyn Stewart, Ceezar Martinson, Marcus Sanders, and Stanley Wright are all running for the Alaska House of Representatives in Democratic-leaning districts.

Former Alaska legislator Drue Pearce has a new job in the Trump administration. She is now the deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The approach is raising concerns with the fund’s leader and a bond-rating firm.

Senate Bill 88, sponsored by Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman, allows a land trade between Alaska Mental Health Trust and the U.S. Forest Service, in which the trust would receive nearly 20,000 acres for timber harvest in exchange for approximately 18,000 acres near several Southeast communities.

As expected, Sen. Lisa Murkowski easily beat three lesser known Republican candidates. Congressman Don Young had no trouble in his race Tuesday.

Overall, the Senate’s capital budget is comparable to the one passed last year. But the portion of that spending plan funded with money state lawmakers’ readily control is very small, historically speaking.

What’s drawn more controversy is that the measure would bar schools from using educational material from any “abortion services provider.” That includes Planned Parenthood, which says it currently provides education to over 2,000 Alaskan children.

The Majority Caucus in the State Senate has one priority this year: restoring fiscal stability to Alaska.

The state Senate voted to dismantle the program, even as other tax credits are being considered.

The Alaska Senate has delayed a vote on its signature marijuana bill after saying they need more time to consider an amendment that would largely ban concentrates.