The pace of new bills in the Alaska Legislature is continuing to slow as lawmakers deal with what’s already on their plate.
Between March 10 and March 24, members of the House and Senate (plus Gov. Bill Walker) introduced only 29 new bills, an average of less than 15 per week. In the previous two-week period, lawmakers introduced 51.
Compare those figures to the first week of the session, when lawmakers presented 37 new bills plus a handful of resolutions.
Many of the bills proposed at this point in the session — the Constitutional 121-day limit is more than half-exhausted — are looking forward to next year. Keep in mind that this is only the first year of the two-year 30th Legislature, and bills do not die at the end of the session. Instead, they’ll be rolled over to next year.
Here are the one-sentence summaries of bills introduced between March 10 and March 24:
HOUSE BILLS
HB 175 (Rep. Zach Fansler, D-Bethel) — Alaska will choose its Electoral College delegates by popular vote if enough other states agree to do the same.
HB 176 (Fansler) — The state will subsidize ambulance service for poor people.
HB 177 (Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage) — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has a special fund to fight the spread of invasive species into Alaska waters, and it has the ability to declare an invasive species emergency, giving it special powers.
HB 178 (Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla) — Regularizes the process of naming a bridge or a portion of road in honor of a veteran.
HB 179 (Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak) — Any commercial aviator must have $500,000 in injury or death insurance for each passenger, instead of $150,000.
HB 180 (Fansler) — Anyone who wires money or exchanges currencies faces new regulations.
HB 181 (Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka) — An independent panel will recommend how much money legislators should get for living expenses.
HB 182 (Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Soldotna) — Raises are less common for state employees.
HB 183 (Rep. David Talerico, R-Healy) — Creates a land lottery open only to Permanent Fund Dividend recipients. Land could be purchased from the state by docking the dividends of winners.
HB 184 (Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage) — Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal.
HB 185 (Rep. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, R-Wasilla) — The Legislature should meet in Anchorage, not Juneau.
HB 186 (Talerico) — It’s easier to donate excess food to food banks.
HB 187 (Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole) — Changes the rules for deposits into and withdrawals from the Alaska Permanent Fund.
HB 188 (Kreiss-Tomkins) — Alaskans can create fisheries trusts to buy limited-entry commercial fishing permits, then lease those permits to Alaskans who otherwise couldn’t afford one.
HB 189 (Wilson) — The Department of Education can create a fee to pay for school bus inspections.
HB 190 (Talerico) — If someone requests the chance to give oral public comments on a state regulation change, a regulatory board has to give it to them.
HB 191 (Rep. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River) — Doctors can’t be barred from working at a hospital just because they haven’t kept their certificates up to date.
HB 192 (Rep. Lance Pruitt, R-Anchorage) — This is an alternative way to reduce some of the deficit using the Permanent Fund without capping dividends.
HB 193 (Rep. Jason Grenn, I-Anchorage) — If someone has a medical emergency, their insurance company can’t charge them a higher rate because they had to use an out-of-network hospital or ambulance during the emergency.
HB 194 (Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage) — The state’s definition of “veteran” includes veterans of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Corps.
HB 195 (Gov. Bill Walker) — An insurance company can use your credit history to determine your insurance rate. This bill was vetoed by the governor last year, so he added more consumer protections to the bill and is resubmitting it.
HB 196 (Kreiss-Tomkins) — Opioids are taxed at one cent per morphine milligram equivalent, and the money goes into the drug abuse treatment and prevention fund.
HB 197 (Rep. Jennifer Johnston, R-Anchorage) — The Department of Natural Resources can help set up and operate community seed libraries and exchanges.
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTIONS
HJR 15 (Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer) — Congress should repeal the REAL ID Act of 2005.
HJR 16 (Rep. Mark Neuman, R-Big Lake) — The federal government should respect the 10th Amendment more.
SENATE BILLS
SB 93 (Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole) — Parents can put a security freeze on their kids’ credit if something goes wrong, and someone serving as a guardian for someone else who is disabled or incapable can do the same.
SB 94 (Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage) — Changes the powers of trust appointees.
SB 95 (Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak) — Creates a state loan fund to support hatcheries that grow aquatic plants or shellfish.
SB 96 (Senate Education Committee) — Kids can enroll in online schools to fulfill their legal education requirement.
SB 97 (Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Anchorage) — The state can issue pension obligation bonds to cover its retirement debt.
SB 98 (Gov. Bill Walker) — An insurance company can use your credit history to determine your insurance rate. This bill was vetoed by the governor last year, so he added more consumer protections to the bill and is resubmitting it.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or call 419-7732.
